Final Reflective Post

     My experiences in EME204 have been great! I really enjoy the fact that we were able to do a lot of independent work but still get feed back from our peers as well as Professor Coleman. The textbook was helpful in getting our blog posts done and I like the fact that we weren't meant to read it every night like some other classes. The discussions that we did were very interesting because you were able to see how everyone interpreted what we were supposed to be reading and you were able to see their views on certain topics. I did confused a couple of times when we were having little group discussions in class about what we were supposed to be talking about but once it was explained another time, I understood what we were supposed to be discussing. I found the assignments to be very helpful in letting us be independent and figuring out how to work with certain websites on our own and see how creative we could get with them.
      I learned a lot of technology tools while in this course that I hope to be able to incorporate into my future classroom. While we did learn about a lot of different tools, my favorite was definitely the Kahoot. I found this tool to be very interactive and useful for students,and it does not matter if they have a cell phone to connect with or not because they are able to join the class on a computer. This would probably be a good thing to do if my class had a computer lab time or if I had computers in my classroom. The thing that I like the most about this tool is that the students are able to choose whichever answer they think is correct and if they are wrong, it is okay because it will not show which answer the students chose by name. If a student does get a question wrong, you can address the whole class and explain why the correct answer fits the question better than the other choices.
      I think Professor Coleman did a very good job at meeting all of the learning outcomes/objectives that were put out in the beginning of the semester. In every assignment we were supposed to do, there was always a learning outcome attached to it. I really appreciated the fact that Professor Coleman laid out what assignments we were going to do and what we were going to be learning from doing each assignment. It really helped us prepare ourselves for what we were going to be learning and doing in each assignment. I definitely feel that every one who is going into the teaching profession should take this course because it gives future teachers a lot of fun ideas to bring to their students and helps them interact within the classrooms. I really enjoyed taking this course and will definitely recommend it to any of my friends who are looking to be teachers.

                                                    Canva created by: Skyler Cassin
 Maloy, R. (2011). Expressing Creativity with Multimedia Technologies. In Transforming learning with new technologies (Second ed., pp. 216-241). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Blog Post L

Concept 1 The first concept that I found to be extremely important was stages of technology integration. I think all of these steps are important because some teachers regrettably try to use technology in their classrooms and they do not know how to use the technology properly. A powerpoint is a tool that most teachers use and they are basically self explanatory as to how to use them. Think about a teacher that does not really know how to use technology attempting to create a kahoot for their students, it may not turn out the right way because they do not know how to create it properly. I definitely think that all teachers should take a course or even just a day to sit down and learn how to actually do different lessons and activities using technology that could be useful in their everyday teachings. Concept 2 The next topic that I found to be important is the use of one-to-one laptop computing. The use of one-to-one programing helps to reduce the technology inequality. This is very useful because students will not feel left out and they will be able to do all of the same work as the other students in their class even if they do not possess the device full time. Concept 3 The last concept that I found to be interesting was bring your own technology programs. I think this is very important for students that have their own devices to help them find out extra information on a topic while they are in class to get a better understanding of what is going on. This is also helpful to students if they are going over a certain topic or maybe even if they are asked to do some research on something while they are in class.

Blog Post K

Blog Post #J

Blog Post #I

http://storybird.com/books/chapter-6-blog-post-i-2/

Blog Post #H

Concept 1- PowerPoints, digital projector and a document camera are all helpful tools in trying to incorporate technology into the classroom. A PowerPoint is a multimedia presentation that can include pictures, videos and bullet point notes for students to watch and learn from. A digital projector shows images from a computer to a large screen or other external viewing surface making it easier for students to see and write on a whiteboard if that is what it is projected on. A document camera does basically the same thing as a digital projector except a document camera is a lens that has a piece of paper, or what have you, under it that the teachers could write on, making it easier for students to see and the teachers could personalize the answers they were writing according to what their students’ answers were. Concept 2- Using images to generate class discussions is a great tool because students respond actively to visual images that portray academic content. I have found that in class lectures I remember information being taught if I have a picture to connect the information to. I will definitely be using this skill when I become a teacher because I personally am a visual learner and I know that it has always helped me, even if I wasn’t a visual learner I think this is still an important thing for students. Most times students get bored just sitting there listening to lectures, if they have pictures to look at, it could help them by not letting them get overly distracted and possibly even keeping them out of trouble. Concept 3- The last point that I found interesting was titled: Strategies for Using Videos with Students. I found this interesting because it tells you that you should pause and rewind videos often so students can grasp any information they may have missed the first time watching it. When you pause it, it gives you an opportunity to elaborate on something said in the video and/or add your own comments that you want your students to know. This is extremely important because you are able to answer your students questions when you pause it, go over points that you want them to know and, you can give them hints as to what they should be taking notes on for future quizzes or tests.

Wordle created by Skyler Cassin Maloy, R. (2011). Expressing creativity with multimedia technologies. In Transforming learning with new technologies (Second ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Blog Post F

Digial Blog Post E

Digital Blog Post D

Kahoot
www.kahoot.it.com

Blog Post C

Blog Post B

Concept number one is found in the paragraph titled: Critics of Technology in Schools. Teachers believe that because technology has taken such a long period of time to make its way into the classroom setting that once it is fully there, it will not do any good. I don’t agree with that statement. I know that I was the only student that was weary about technology uses in the classroom but since I started taking this class and reading about all the good it can do, my mind is changed. I think that teachers, new and old, will be surprised at how well their students improve once technology is actively used in classrooms. Children these days have all grown up in a technologically advanced world and they understand it better than most grown adults do. Technology is something that is never going to go away and it will improve the way students do their homework, projects, and even tests. The second concept I found important was entitled: Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. This chapter says that people who have grown up using technology in various ways are considered to be digital natives and people, like older teachers, are considered digital immigrants because they are not as advanced in the technology world as digital natives are. The paragraph tells the story of two undergraduates who were able to set up a tablet computer that they then delivered to a classroom. When they brought it in they told the teacher that it was ready for use and when the teacher asked where the instructions were they replied by telling the teacher that they left them behind. They said that they didn’t think anyone read the directions anymore and people would just turn on the machine and go through trials and errors until they figured out how to use it. In the paragraph titled: Lack of Access I found it interesting that in some classrooms they have interactive white boards and flat screen televisions and yet the school is claiming there is not enough money for them to warrant buying more computers for their students. If there are more computers in one classroom than another, that teacher will most likely be integrating technology into more of their lessons more often than teachers who only have a handful of computers in their classroom. Some teachers that do not have enough computers in their classroom will refrain from adding technology into their lessons for the purpose of students not being capable of practicing what they are being taught.

Blog Post A

Chapter 1

In chapter 1 there are a lot of good pointers and suggestions for teachers who are interested in using technology in their classrooms to help their students learn. An example is the use of tablets, smartphones and laptops. By using these tools in their classrooms teachers can upload homework, classwork and quizzes online for students to do and take. This is helpful because in today's society technology is something that is never going to go away, students are only going to get more advanced in it and it will be easier for them to understand what is going on and it could even improve their scores.

 

Point 1:

In this chapter it is stated "teens and tweens averaged 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media (computers, video games, music players) in a typical day in 2010." That study by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation was done almost 6 years ago, if they were that advanced 6 years ago can you imagine how advanced they are today? Studies show that, in 2010, students were spending almost every minute outside of school using some type of technology. Thinking as a teacher I see this as an opportunity for students to get their appropriate learning and study time in their day as well as learning in a way they are accustomed to.

 

Point 2:

I really like the idea of having a technology-based teaching tool for the simple fact that you can have some students working independently and you can have some working one on one with the teacher. I think this would be a very helpful tool to have in a classroom because if you have a diverse classroom, which almost all of them are today, you can have the more independent students working on their own and you can have the students who might need a little more help working right with the teacher. While all of the students are still working on the same class work, some are getting the extra help they need and the other students can excel in their classwork on their own.  

 

Point 3:

I also really like the idea of having a technology-based learning environment because I know there are times when teachers feel stressed out because they don't feel like there is enough time in a day to get all of their work done and get everything in their lesson plan taught. If that is the case and they forgot to mention something in class all they would need to do is post a note or even an assignment on a class website and the students would be able to see them and be able to get them done. Students are also able to turn in their assignments online through that same website so right when they are done they can just submit it and not have to worry about printing it and bringing the papers back to school the next day.