The future of technology in general is extremely exciting, and especially exciting when thinking about the future of classroom technologies. Things like virtual reality, augmented reality, IWB's, and even biometrics will potentially be large portions of our future classrooms. Thinking about the progress that has been made in the past few decades when it comes to classroom technology, as well as Moore's Law (CPU capacity doubling every year), it is clear that we will be using technology in the near future that we haven't even imagined is possible. This is why I love using and learning about technology and its endless possiblities.
I like to imagine my future classroom full of technological resources like tablets, AR goggles, and IWB's. I also like to imagine that I have found a way to incorporate technology into almost every aspect of the curriculum, giving students the chance to learn other subject areas through the use of technology. I am eager to see what types of technologies are available when I become a teacher, and I am also excited to share my technological enthusiasm and knowledge with my future students.
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Honestly, when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom, the possibilities are almost endless. Think about all of the Web 2.0 tools that we learned about earlier in the semester. Podcasting, wikis, surveys, powerpoints, video editing, etc. are all tools that can be used in the classroom with a fairly basic background knowledge from the teacher. Without using tools like this, teachers can integrate technology into lessons by showing videos throughout the lesson, allowing students to use computers for research, and even having students create a digital product to show their learning from the lesson or unit. Apps, games, and e-books are all widely available for topics that align with standards and objectives of most lessons. And if you're feeling confident, you can explore more advanced technologies like augmented or virtual reality, and programming with your students. At this point, if you have access to some resources and materials in the classroom, what is holding you back?
Based on this week's readings and experience, it is clear that there are tons of ways to incorporate ICT into our science lessons in the classroom! Sometimes, it might be as simple as using a video or images online to help students understand a topic. Other times, using ICT can mean creating an interactive worksheet to on to your smartboard, using spreadsheets or word processing for data logging, or even using augmented reality to allow students to be a part of a digital journey. One of the greatest things about the increase in use of technology in the classroom is that its opportunities are almost endless. If you can access the awesome programs like the augmented reality program from the reading, or the BeeSim program, students will be able to interact with technology directly, and experience scientific discovery like never before.
I really enjoyed this week's focus on mathematics and the common core standards because this is the subject area that I am the most familiar with. There are a ton of different ways that we can use technology to support the mathematics standards and mathematics learning. First, there are multiple websites with "virtual manipulatives" that teachers and students can use to explore and learn about many different topics like place value, operations, and fractions. mlvm.usa.edu is the one I am most familiar with, but I know there are others. Similarly, interactive white boards can be used with virtual manipulatives to give the teacher a chance to represent problems in front of the class. For example, when I worked in a 2nd grade class, we were learning about bundling and making tens. The problem used lines to represent the ones, and once there was ten, they bundled and we moved it to the tens place on the place value chart. Last, there are many apps and programs that can be used to help students' understandings of certain topics. I am currently creating a project about the app "Candy Factory" created by Virginia Tech, which helps students learn about fraction concepts.
After studying the NYS ELA Common Core Standards, I saw a lot of ideas that were also addressed in the weekly readings. Basically, it seemed like there were a number of standards that could be directly addressed by using high-quality e-texts and digital technology. For example, the reading standards for grade 1 included being able to ask and answer questions about details in the story, using various text features like glossary and vocabulary, and using illustrations to describe key ideas. All of these reading standards can be addressed using the technology which was described in the readings, as long as it is chosen thoughtfully. The writing standards on the other hand might be harder to introduce using digital technology. I think that it would be possible to use digital texts for a writing activity as a reference, for example comparing and contrasting two characters in an e-text, but writing in a journal. I think that speaking and listening standards could be addressed through shared reading activities, partner/group discussions about e-texts, as well as posing and answering questions about e-texts.
Group 6's presentation about Wiki's was very helpful to me because I was fairly unfamiliar with this tool. The only tool similar to Wiki's that I have used is Google Docs. I think that Wiki's can be a great class resource that involves collaboration, even when the children aren't actually together. One of my ideas for using a Wiki in the classroom is creating some sort of research project, where students have to present to the class on the wiki. This would give the students a chance to use the interactive website to present their knowledge learned on the topic. Another benefit to doing similar projects/activities using wiki's is the fact that these will be available to students in and outside of class, as well as over time. While this might not be as applicable to younger students, another idea I had for using wiki's in the classroom is having it available as a message board or question wall. For example, if a student was struggling on a topic, they could post about it on the class wiki, and either the teacher or another student could answer their question or help them with their problem.
Group 7 did a great job explaining not only how to make a survey using Google Forms, but also how they can be used in our classrooms. While creating my survey which can be found below, I realized how easy they were to make! I have filled out a google form survey once a week for a long time (timesheet for work), but never made my own. They are very user friendly, and can be a great tool for teachers with minimal time to spare. I think that these surveys can be used for a lot of different things in our classrooms, like Group 7 showed us on their presentation. For example, in my survey that I created, it was a getting to know you activity for the beginning of the year. I asked their favorite subjects, how they liked to learn, and what their favorite extra-curricular activity is. This would be a very simple and fun activity for the beginning of the school year.
My Survey
Video editing such as Animoto is a great tool to have for the future as a classroom teacher. When I discussed it with my group, we thought of a lot of specific ideas that we thought would be great to try out. For example, creating portfolios for students to give to their families. This would be a great way to show off pictures of students in class, work they have done, and examples of them socializing with other students. I think that families would love to have something like this, even if it was short. Other things that this could be used for is presentations, projects for students to create, and even assessment. While a bit time consuming, I think that tools like Animoto are pretty straight forward and easy to use. I really like that it has the option to spread out your pictures evenly throughout the video. Overall, video editing is a great tool to have!
Since last week I haven't had much interaction with new technology for this class. The only thing that I can say that I used was Adobe Digital Editions, to read the chapter about games and learning. I can say that after viewing the powerpoint from group 2 about social bookmarking, I learned about a new tool that I can use in (and out of) the classroom! I think that social bookmarking sites like Delicious would be a great tool to use for students. It would be very easy for teachers to create groups of helpful bookmarks for students to use for research projects, homework help, or extensions to topics. Using this website or a similar could actually be a research project on its own. I was thinking that each student, or a group of students, could choose a topic in which they wanted to learn more about. They could do research on the internet and find a number of websites that they felt were helpful in learning more about their topic. Then, when posted on the class website or group, everyone in the class could access the bookmarks that each student organized based on their topic. I think something like this would be really cool to use as a class activity / research project. I know that students would love something like this because it would allow them to explore new technology, the internet, and a topic that they are interested in.
To be honest, I came into this class excited because I like working with and learning technology. I feel like I am pretty advanced, especially going into the teaching profession. I've always liked working with computers and mobile phones, and recently I even purchased "Raspberry Pi" desktop computer to try to learn how to program. From the Web 2.0 presentations so far, there is still a whole lot about technology that I need to learn going into teaching. Starting with group 1's presentation, there was already some things I didn't know how to do on PowerPoint, which I have been working with for years! This presentation was extremely helpful, because Diana and I used it to complete our presentation about podcasting. Without group 1's presentation, this assignment would have been much more difficult for us.
After viewing group 1's presentation I thought about how I could use this tool in the future when I have my own classroom. When I responded for my follow up assignment, I said that I would use narration in PowerPoint to give students access to class material outside of school. I think that this can be a great way to help your students with understanding. If they are given presentations with narration from their teacher to access at home or after school, they can revisit topics that they need extra help with. Another way I can use this tool in the future is for when I am occupied with something else and need outside instruction. For example, I am out sick, or I am administering a test to a group of students in the back of the classroom. The rest of the students can view the presentation with narration, almost as if I am speaking in front of the class. This is not ideal, but might be worth it when the going gets tough. |