Teaching+With+Technology

**//__WEEK ONE: __//**
Incoporating technology into teaching seems to be a daunting task.

As an educator I think many factors come into play as to wether an educator uses technonology with which to teach and/or assess. The teacher's level of comfort, software knowledge, hardware knowledge, and a go-to person for support (for successes and failures). My district has a level of technology like none I have ever seen in my career (10 short years and 3 districts). They do a fabulous job of offering training session after training session to ease worries about technology use and integration. The teachers are quick to enroll and attend such sessions. Herein lies the breakdown...implementation in the actual classroom. I, like many other teachers, leave a training session pumped and excited about using what I learned in the classroom. Teachers that leave uninspired, in my mind, probably don't belong in the classroom to begin with. Those types of teachers look at a technology training as just-one-more-thing-I-have-to-do and quickly brush what they learned under the rug (but use the exchange hours...interesting). I think there needs to be a check-and-balances program put into place to make sure the teachers are learning the technologies AND using them in the classroom. I think there should be a level of support for teachers, per campus. The technology support person wouldn't do-it-for-them by any means, but be available, present, and visible for teachers to use as a resource, and as a guide. Forgive me if I am rambling, this is a topic that I feel very strongly about.

One point I must touch on this week is the concept of Constructivism. I still feel, as I was taught in college, that kids learn best in a learner-centered environment. This may not be the quietest way to run a classroom, but it will create more meaningful learning experiences for your students. I think teacher's shy away from a learner centered classroom structure because they feel they lose some sense of control. This is quite the contrary if implemented correctly and monitored effectively. Constructivism may not be, again, the easiest way to operate and manage a classroom, but time and research ([]) have shown it works best. To me, insisting on learner-centerd instruction should be a must in each classroom. Constant monitoring and timely feedback to teachers would help ease teachers through the transition of teacher-centerd (turn to page 50 and follow along as I read about frogs) to learner-centered (turn to your elbow buddy and tell them 3 things you know about fresh water animals). I feel like I’m rambling again so I will leave you with one last comment: Be careful what you wish for in your classroom…creating a learner-centered environment for your students will increase their learning experiences and knowledge (psst…and it might even make your job more enjoyable too).

Let me hear your thoughts...click on the Discussion tab at the top of the page OR click on Edit and add your thoughts below:

//__ **WEEK TWO:** __//
Our main focus this week was how to motivate studnets through using technologies in the classroom. In my classroom the students get so excited when they are assigned to the computer station they run to get there. The get excited when goin to the computer lab. In one of my small group lesson, I need dice (we aere playing a game that let us practice our sense of inferencing) but didn't have any. I used my iPhone app instead. You would be amazed at how intune they were to the game because of the dice app. There is great debate about wether students can handle their own school-issued laptop. Naysayers think they will mistreat it or leave it at home. I say it would be the best thing to happen to them. Michael S. page said //Because students tend to prefer computer learning over traditional instruction (Clements et al., 1993; Kinzie, Sullivan, & Berdel, 1992), and because they appear to perceive technology as a tool to increase the likelihood of school success (Breakwell & Fife-Schaw), a logical conclusion can thus be made that computers and self-esteem are complementary.// ( T //echnology-Enriched Classrooms:// //Effects on Students of Low// //Socioeconomic Status).// Unfortunatly you can't get voter/texpayers to pass a bond to fund one-to-one laptops on the promise of increaded motivation.

This week had me utterly confused. We are swimming in a sea of Google Docs and URL links :-( I just hope I remembered to do all of the parts that were required to complete the week. I'm off to bed...will add more when my eyes are not so tired :-)
 * //__ WEEK THREE: __//**

This week has been the most beneficial by far. Making the product for my group was exciting. I find myself wishing I had more time to make products to use in my own classroom. I also enjoyed the reading and the videos, especially reading about the collaborative grouping styles. When I was in college, (undergrade, my Social Studeis methods class was taught stricktly in cooperative groups. It was fun to learn that way and I think it would be just as fun to use that model of teaching for my current classrtoom teaching situation. I am going to take some time this holiday season to rethink my Social Studies/ELA teaching practices and how I can incorporate more cooperative groups with the TEKS aligned to 3rd grade. Making teaching/facilitating more fun will spill over into the minds and sttitudes of my students.
 * //__WEEK FOUR:__//**

__//**WEEK FIVE:**//__  1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?   In this course I had expected to learn how to use technology to teach more effectively and integrate appropriatly. I did acheieve this outcome and with more depth than I would have thought. I did think we would get to complete more products using newer software/hardware. This outcome was attained in a way. Because of the group project component, I didn’t get to experience making all of the products I could have.    2. To the extent that you achived the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?   These outcomes are relevant to me, but on a smaller scale. I am not a Technology Specialist, I am a classroom teacher. I am in a gradelevel technology leadership position, but that is as far as my scope goes. Until my district incorporates campus Technology Specialist, not a cluster, this is where I will stay. For now I can only be a mentor to those who need it.    <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">I didn’t get to create many products using various technologies. The group project prevented (or hindered) this. I also thought we would get to learn how to better train teachers to use technology with their curriculum. This class wasn’t about learning to train teacher so I didn’t attain this outcome. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">I was successful in completing all the assignments for this course. Eventhough the requirements were a bit vague at first, my group completed the group project scenario with a very impressive Google Site. At time I felt as if I was swimming in a sea of Google Docs. Too many docs flying at me in the gMail made for very cumbersome evenings trying to figure our who said what and sho is doing what. I think that having more than one place to keep digital media for <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">I learned that I should volunteer to be leader. Not that the leader of my group didn’t do a great job. I work better when delegating and supervising and producing at the same time. I also learned that I am very fortunate to have the technologies that are available to me on a daily basis. Many districts in Texas are not so fortunate. Now, if I could just get ALL the teachers on my campus to use it, that would be great !