Tech Article - Podcasts

I wanted to do my 2 technology articles on the tutorial that I talked about in my Professional Development Profile so in this blog I will share what I have learned about podcast. I knew absolutely nothing about podcasts before this assignment and I have learned a ton. There are so many different ways to use podcasts and you don’t even need an iPod, which is probably why I haven’t looked into them before because I don’t have an iPod. I have learned that there are different podcasts that you can subscribe and listen to, but something that I really liked was having the students create their own podcasts. There was a ton of resources out there for creating podcasts and all you really need is a microphone. This reminds me a lot of making the digital stories in our class. Because we knew that we would be showing them to our classes we did extra good work instead of treating it as we would any other assignment. The same thing will happen for our students. They may have listened to other classes or students podcasts and they know that others are going to listed to their podcast so they will do much better work to create a quality podcast that others will enjoy listening to. You can use podcasting in any subject, there are so many podcasts out there that are interesting and full of quality information. I think that using podcasts in my future classes will shake things up and make learning a little bit more enjoyable for my students.

Tech Article - Smartboards

I’ve heard a lot of educators talking about SmartBoards and it is something that I was really interested in, but didn’t really know that much about. In my high school, all of the computer classes had SmartBoards, but the teacher I had just used it to control the computer on the board. This really did help in our learning because we were able to see exactly what the teacher wanted, but I thought that there had to be something more that these SmartBoards did, so I watched a few tutorials. I learned about the options offered within the Smart software, some of them were really cool. There was a spotlight and screenshade. These made it possible to how students focus only one part of the screen; there was also a pointer and a magnifier that would be useful for so many different things. What I liked most thought was the ink aware. It makes it so that anything you write on the screen can actually be saved into the document. I thought that this was really cool and could help with review because the students could see the document or Powerpoint and the extra notes they had written on it. I also watched a little blip about creating assessments on the SmartBoard. This was so cool. There is a program where you can design tests and then the students’ scores are recorded in the class list. There are so many lessons and great teaching opportunities that are made possible if you have a SmartBoard. I how that in my classroom I will be able to have a SmartBoard and if not you can bet that I will apply for grants because I think that they can help the students to be more engaged if they are used correctly.

Strengths & Weaknesses

What are my strengths and weaknesses? I found the survey a little hard to do because it was geared more towards teachers and how they have implemented, evaluated, and reflected on technologies that they use. So when I took the survey I thought about what I have been able to create in my classes and what I have used in the teaching experiences we have already had. I also tried to put myself into the shoes of a teacher and reflect on what I might do if I had my own class. One thing that I identified as a major strength was my ability to use various technologies. I am a digital native, I can’t remember a day in the last 5 years of my life that I haven’t used the Internet; technology is a constant influence in my life. This is a strength because within the NETS I know the technology and how it works and how I would implement it in my classroom. I understand the process of using technology for assessment, evaluation, reflection, increase in productivity, etc… I also know that if I ever need to know more on any type of technology or need help with an activity, there is a place to find that information and there are networks and places to collaborate where I can continue to learn and to grow.

2 tutorials that I might want to participate in would include: Learning how to use a SmartBoard. In my high school we had SmartBoards in all of our computer classes, but the teachers didn’t use them to their full capabilities, I would like to learn more about them and be able to have one in my classroom when I start teacher. There are also so many tutorials and videos out there it would be so quick and easy to learn more about SmartBoards. I would also like to learn more about podcasts. I don’t have and iPod, so I feel a little behind on that type of technology, but I know there are so many things you can access through podcasts. I would like to learn how to use podcast because then I could expand and use the podcast to learn more about other technologies that I could use. (I found a really great website that I think I will use. It’s called Who’s Using Podcasting in Education and How? http://www.podcastforteachers.org/Who%27sUsingPodcastingInEducationAndHow.htm)

So some of the goals that I want to set are to become an expert in the fields explained in the UNI survey. I know a lot of that information, but as a teacher I need to remember to use it and reflect and evaluate the effectiveness of what’s working and what I could do better on. My goals are also addressed through the tutorials that I want to do. I want to learn how to use a SmartBoard and learn how to use podcasting as a tool to facilitate my own learning and the learning of my future students.

Lessons Learned

I learned so much from all of the articles and videos and so much from our discussions and assignments this semester. When I looked at the stack of articles that I had printed out I thought that it was going to take forever and be so boring, but I really enjoyed the articles. They were very informative and very interesting. I like the Visions 2020 article because of the input of children and the technologies that they thought that we would have in 2020. I think that a lot of the ideas that the students came up with will become a reality because it is those students who are going to be going into the working field and creating these new technologies that will be used for education.

I also really liked that the articles were showing a lot of the realities that we will have to deal with as teachers. Integrating technology into our classrooms is something that we will have to do and throughout the semester I have learned so many ways to integrate technology and I have learned about a lot of resources that I can use.

My Beliefs

In the Shift Happens video there was a really interesting quote that I think that teachers should always try to remember. "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." There are obviously some problems in our education system, but we can't solve them the same way that we have in the past. As teachers we need to educate our students in technology and with technology because we are the people who are going to solve the problems in our society. The students that we are teaching are going to be the people who are going to solve these problems. Students need to be educated with technology. The Millennials article that we read was very informative because the students want to learn with technology and they know what they need to be able to learn most effectively. I think that most students really do enjoy learning, they are just bored or aren't able to learn in the way that they want to. If we use technology our students will be more engaged and will want to learn, and those are the types of students that will be more successful in their lives and be a benefit to society.

To be able to be a teacher who uses technology I know that I will have to continually reflect on how the technology is working in my class, that is where the NETS come in. I can always refer to the standards to keep in mind what I need to be doing with my class. I also think that the UNI surveys are very useful because they get you thinking about better ways to use the technologies that we have access to. The UNI survey also got me thinking about how important reflection really is, and about the importance of the technology decisions that we will make.

Weekly Reflection

This week we were able to work on our webquests during class with our groups. It has been really nice to do this project in a group because everybody is able to come up with ideas and there are people watching everything you're doing to make sure that we are keeping with the objectives or noticing that maybe we should adjust something a little bit. Working in groups can be really great and for this project it is because i have a really good group and everybody is following through. I guess it also makes it really nice for the teacher during finals week to only have to correct 5 webquests instead of 33, that seems like it would be a little overwhelming :).

So when we were working in powerpoint i got a little frustrated because at home i use a mac and at school they have PC's so i kept getting confused and was having struggles finding things because the programs are just a little bit different. Other than that i have really liked creating the webquest and its definitely one that i'll want to use when i teach becuase it is such a fun and engaging activity.

This next week i'll have to work a little more on the webquest and of course finish up on my Proffesional Development Profile, i'm trying not to procrastinate to the very, very end, so we'll see how that goes this week.

Weekly Reflection - Technology Interview

* I had written this blog, but i didn't finish it so i just saved it instead of posting, so here is my technology interview blog.

Doing the technology interview was so enlightening to me. The teacher we were with wasn't really into technology and he didn't know the resources that his school had. When we talked with the media center specialist we found out that the school didn't really have very much access to technology. This made me so sad because i really want to integrate technology and some schools just don't have access. I know that i can apply for grants, but the decision of where i want to work will definitely be affected by the technology that i have access to.