Ebar3pg's Blog

Ending Blog for Technology in Education

ebar3pg — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:17:53 +0000

Technology has grown to be a very reliable use in classrooms for teaching lessons. As an educator, I see myself using technology just about every day, depending on the lesson that I am teaching. Throughout the class, Technology in Education, I’ve become more aware of many new ways to incorporate technology in lessons. Just to list a few that I learned about are: Podcast, Dreamweaver, Linear PowerPoint, Video, Google Docs, Scavenger Hunt, Web quest, Blogs, Smart Boards, etc. Since there are so many options in using technology, it will be a nice change in pace from day to day incorporating one or more of the options that I just listed. Also, I think by using technology, students will be more interested and eager to learn. Technology is rapidly growing, so it is very important that I, myself, keep up with the new and improved forms of technology and know how to use it inside and out. I’m looking forward to teaching after knowing so much more about technology.
Before this class, I thought I knew a lot about technology and the basics of teaching. As I look back, I’ve come to the realization that I’ve learned a lot of strategies when dealing with students, how to incorporate technology into the classroom, and how to use the many new technologies. I feel that this class was very beneficial and will definitely help me in the long run for when I become a teacher. I really enjoyed learning how to create a podcast, web quest, and website the most. Also, I think having students write in a blog, rather than in a journal, is a very good idea because it gives them time to gather thoughts first, and it will be more organized and clear to read. Overall, I enjoyed this class and am very happy with all that I’ve learned, as well as, I’ve become more excited and anxious to get in the classroom so I can use all that i now know!

Here is a LINK to view and relate to some articles about technology.

Copyright Issues In The Classroom

ebar3pg — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:24:35 +0000

I never really sat down and thought about the “fair use” law, but when I look back to when I was in middle school and high school, I clearly remember that my teachers broke the laws. Simply, just by using a full length of a movie or copying more than one chapter out of a book and handing it out to us. The instance of using or reproducing someone’s creative work without their permission is violating copyright laws. Copyright laws protect “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression.” Obviously, if it is noted and made clear where the information is coming from, then that is okay. But, someone so little such as, not stating where the information was found and giving credit to the source, may result in a fine or other charge of infringement.
When I am a teacher, I will have to be certain of not violating any “fine use” laws. When I want to show something of importance from a movie, I’ll be sure to focus on the most important 15 minute section of it. When I need to use a book and refer to it often, I will either have it on the shelf for kids to use (if the budget allows it) or I will suggest the students to make the purchase. There are certainly ways around getting in trouble with the “fine use” laws, but it will require some thought and planning. Through some research, I’ve found out that images can be of original works. A digital image can be an original visual image, a revised image, a published and known image, or a copy of a published known image. Rights to use images will vary, all depending not only on the identities, but of the people who hold the rights of the image. Also through research, I found that with music and for academic purposes other than performance, an unlimited number of copies of that music can be made. I am aware that many teachers do not abide by the “fair use” law, but when I am teaching, I will do my best to not break the rules, only because, if by chance I was being watched or the students would report me, I’d be at high risk of losing my job or paying lots of money. Here is a video which is done by Disney characters, that will help explain and make it more clear about the copyright laws. Enjoy!

When I Am A Student Teacher…

ebar3pg — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:50:23 +0000

Going through four years of college and learning the techniques of teaching will be a challenge to put it all together when it is time to be a student teacher. There is so many little things that need to be known and performed as a teacher. I feel as though the practice and preparation in these four years at Susquehanna University will prepare me well enough to be a good student teacher and continue to grow even better as a full time teacher. When I begin to officially student teach, I have no doubt that I will have a case of nervousness, but I think within the first two weeks I will feel comfortable enough with the students and the lessons that I will be teaching. The main thing that I will have to do is set the rules and guidelines for the classroom and discuss about what it is that I expect from the students. Also, I will make the students feel comfortable with me that they can ask any questions if they do not understand anything. I will have the classroom set up differently for the first seven week and for the last seven weeks, just for an experiment for myself so I know what may or may not work better. I will include some group work amongst students, only because I now realize how important communication is and I feel that the younger students start to communicate, the easier and better it will be for them as they grow older. I don’t want to be a ‘boring’ teacher, but I do realize that some lessons are going to be more exciting than others. I plan on bringing a lot of energy into my classroom so the kids see it and hopefully it will rub off on them and give them the eagerness to learn. I will become very familiar and get to know each and every one of my students because I feel that it is very important to know how a students personality is. When I am teaching, I will include technology most likely everyday, depending on the lesson, even if its just something brief. Everybody learns differently, so I feel that if the students at the Elementary level have a visual through technology or the lesson is taught through technology, then maybe they will understand it better. Also, I will probably incorporate a lot of work throughout the class so very little homework, if any, would be assigned. All in all, I am a strong believer that changing up from day to day to keep the exploring minds of young students is important. Learning at such a young level cannot become boring so quickly. And, as a student in college now, I realize that it will be nobody else’s job but mine to keep the students wanting to learn and excited to learn!

Keeping Up With Technology

ebar3pg — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:13:53 +0000

Being that technology is constantly growing, it will be very important for me to keep up with the most recent and most basic technology. I am constantly using the internet and searching about information in search engines. Also, I often go on NYTimes.com and see what is new in the technology world, just so I’m not behind! When I am a teacher, I will most likely use technology for a lot of my lessons or for just a way to change things up from day to day. It will be my job as an individual to attend a class or classes that will keep me up to par with technology. I will also need to research, read articles, and spend time learning about technology and how to use/incorporate it into my classroom. After i graduate from Susquehanna, I will at least have a good background of technology and how to use it, but I will have to get better with how to use it and become more familiar with it. A website that may be beneficial would be learning.com, because it guides you in the right direction with things and encourages the use of technology. Other resources that can be used would be power-points, tutorials, articles, workshops, and conferences/videos. Also, lectures would be another beneficial resource to use while teaching. Another website that I strongly suggest for mainly Elementary/Early Childhood level would be http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm because it is very informative and helpful for that level of teaching. And, the last website that I would refer to would be http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed99/Martin.htm because it gives you ideas and situations in which you can use technology.

In-Class Blog

ebar3pg — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:35:10 +0000

After watching the youtube video presented in class, it made me think of a way that I can present my ideas and lessons when I am a teacher. The video was very informative, factual, attention grabbing, and well presented. It presented a lot of short and quick facts that about the countries: United State, China, and India, comparing and contrasting many of the technological differences and similarities. Technology and internet use is global and each country is learning at a different rate, some going much faster or some going much slower. I feel that after watching this video, that technology is constantly changing and will continue doing so each and every year. It is very important for teachers to keep up, although to me, it seems to be growing rapidly, almost way too fast. Once I understand one thing about technology, another piece of technolgy is out and being used. Technology is a great way to present material and to be clear and precise with getting information across to others. It is very important to realize and know how to use the many forms of technology. The way this video was presented is something that I would really like to learn how to do so I can become reliable on doing something just as well. Honestly, I am a little frightened with how technology is and how much we use and rely on it. It is a wonderful thing and can be used by all people, all over the world. Just learning it to the finest point and keeping up with the constant updates and changes in technology is a tough task. When I become a teacher, I will do my best to keep up with the technology, because the students that I will be teaching will know more than me if I don’t.

Watch this video – it will change the way you think about technology!!!

Blog 2

ebar3pg — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:17:00 +0000

Erika Barron

http://el4419.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/my-relationship-to-technology-is-stab/

My Relationship to Technology

I understand technology and how it is rapidly changing and upgrading. I use a computer every day very frequently, often exploring and figuring some new stuff out, too. There are many changes that could possibly get in my way while

teaching; such as, I could not be supplied with some of the technological necessities depending on what school district I am teaching in and the students may not know much about technology ( or may know more ) and how to use it other than email, chatting, or search engines. This would not be an excuse for me, however, from the beginning, I would need to teach, explain, and demonstrate the necessary things that I’d be expecting the students to know through technology. Also, I am going to be an Elementary School teacher, so technology will not be as strict in my classroom compared to others that are teaching at a higher grade level. I am aware that I have to keep the kids focused and constantly doing different things so they do not get antsy or bored, so technology will be used but spread throughout the day. The students need to start at the very beginning when first learning how to use technology. By the time they reach Middle School, then I would expect them to know much more. Although it is rapidly changing, the basics of technology is what will get you up to par when the time comes and you are comfortable enough to move on to the bigger and better learning experiences of technology. Many challenges will be thrown at me, but I don’t think it will be anything too demanding that I can’t over come. I just need to plan and practice my lessons and determine when it would be right to use technology or have my students use technology.

Blog 1

ebar3pg — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:57:23 +0000

Erika Barron

Link: http://harakabaraka.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/teaching-and-technology/

Teaching and Technology

My views of technology in the classroom have changed a great amount since our first class. I was unaware of the National Educational Technology Standards for Students and Teachers, which consists of creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, etc. I also was uninformed of the 21^st Century skills, which I learned includes digital-age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity. I learned how to incorporate a more detailed and in-depth power point including these skills, along with the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I gained knowledge of how to create a web page by using Dreamweaver, too. Through reading the blog, Teaching and Technology by Mark, some of my views about technology in the classroom have changed. I came to the realization that in this day in age, teachers or professors can best get through to their students by “speaking their language.” Because students are interested most in technology, a teacher or professor can use that to his or her advantage when presenting the material. For example, by using YouTube, Facebook, Wikispaces, etc., the teacher or professor can incorporate the popular websites which are used quite possibly every day by the students.

Some things I learned about through the blog by Mark, is that a good professor will incorporate moderate technology into their lesson to keep students interested and wanting to learn. Although I plan on teaching at the Elementary School level, the technology use in my classroom will not be key in teaching my lessons, but will be used when an opportunity arises.

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Erika Barron

Link: http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2008/10/can_a_computer_lecture_better.php

Can a computer lecture better than a human? By: Scott McLeod

Can most of the answers these days given in classrooms by a teacher be found online just by typing a few words into a search engine? According to Scott McLeod, the answer is most likely a “yes”. His 5^th grade daughter was unsure of what a radian was for one the questions on her math homework, so she simply went on Google and typed in what the question was asking for, and in result, the answer was easily found.

Scott McLeod brought an interesting thought and question to my attention; can a computer lecture better than a human? He claims that the question is not reliable because behind every online learning activity, website, or any information, a human is still involved. It all comes down to learning and knowing what websites and names can be trusted or relied upon. I believe that learning from a computer with animation provided on websites can be less frustrating. If I did not understand it the first time, I could replay it over and over again and analyze what it is trying to show me. If I would be learning from a human, they would not take the time up in class to keep showing and explaining how to do a certain thing. Humans, however, can sit down one on one and fully explain it and provide more examples until it is fully understood. From my own experience, I don’t feel like one is better than the other. I enjoy watching and understanding animation through websites, but at the same time, when I just don’t get it, sometimes I want to hear it in the words of my teacher. So, I’d call it a tie between which would lecture better, because both have their pros and cons.

Through this blog, it brought to my attention if a computer or a human would lecture better. I think it all depends on how you learn best. Some things for me come easier than others, but I know that incorporating both animation and human teaching would be a great pair. Since I plan on teaching at the Elementary School level, I may use the strategy of both animation and human teaching, depending on the grade and subject, also, depending on what the lesson is trying to teach will determine how I will present it to the students.

Hello world!

ebar3pg — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:00:31 +0000

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