Technology in the 8th Grade

I am not a fan of middle school, but I had to observe it anyways so I decided to embrace it. Algebra is my favorite subject so I decided to spend time in an 8th grade algebra class. I was shocked to see that this teacher used more technology than any other teachers at all levels I had observed. I was mainly shocked because this was a math class, which in my opinion is the hardest to incorporate technology. She presented her notes through PowerPoint and she used a white board as the backdrop. She had example questions on a slide and she let the students work them out. Then, when most students had finished she worked the problem out on the white board. She also told me there were a few other forms of technology she also used. One, I am familiar with but do now know the name, is used in FGCU classes. This technology was the camera device that blows up a paper on the screen, with the two lights to enhance the picture. (If anyone knows the specific name please inform me!) The device that she showed me look much more high tech than what is used in my school. I was very impressed with the technology in this middle school and how some teachers are taking advantage of it.

Ask Three Before Me

How The Red "MayDay Cup" Helps Students Learn Technology By Kimberly A. Saucier

I found this interesting article on a magazine website called Technology and Learning. The article is by a teacher who teaches high school students and uses computers in her classroom. She has taught the students a rule to ask three other students first if they have a question. Saucier claims that this teaches the students leadership, communication, and self-confidence. She uses red plastic cups to execute this rule. What do the students do with the cups you ask? While working on the computers, if a student has a question he or she puts the red cup on top of the computer monitor. When Saucier sees more than 3 cups she stops teaching and asks the students to help others with questions. If three people come to a problem that they can not solve, she takes time to go over that topic.

I think this idea is great. First I just love putting up the red cups if a student has a question. Also, it is great when students are willing to help their peers and that shows that at least some of them are grasping the content. I have had one of my teachers use the rule ask three before you ask me. It is a great way to get acquainted with your classmates. I am very interested in using Saucier's ideas in my classroom but, will kindergarten students understand? Will the students be able to help their fellow classmates? I guess the only way to find out is to experiment in a classroom. I would like feedback if anyone has opinions or ideas on how this will work in a kindergarten class. All in all, I think this article gave me even more ideas for my classroom. Saucier's has positive comments on how this rule has worked in her classroom. "When students are given more responsibility, they always meet or exceed my expectations. Isn't that why we became teachers in the first place? " I urge others to read this article, it gives a good idea for the classroom and encourages you as a teacher.

http://techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196604337

Identifying the Key Skills of Technology for the Classroom

A Step Towards the Creation of Educational Technology Standards: Identifying Key Skills

This article, like many others I have read, emphasises the importance of technology in the classroom. The reason for this is mainly because of how much technology is used in the workplace. The statistics in this article really proves how true these statements are. "'Generation D' (digital) learners will meet a workplace where using technology is as necessary as knowing how to read and write. The virtual office is challenging today's workplace by accounting for nearly 8% of the U.S. jobs. By 2007, 20% of the US workforce is expected to just roll out of bed to commute to work via online in a virtual office located in their home (Newsweek)." I could not have said it better myself, and these statistics are shocking. Every parent, teacher, student, and administrator should know this. There are five categories for the major skills students need to know: Hardware, Internet Applications, Programming, Software, and Networking. This article goes on to describe each of these categories and the components of each.

I have selected this article as important because I want others to know about the facts and statistics revealed in this article. It is important for all educators, especially those in training, to realize how important technology is in the classroom. Many teachers will have to adapt to this digital world, and those of us still in school can form our own ways that include technology. This article does not specifically address either of my inquiry questions but it does support them by stressing the need for technology in the classroom. With every article I read I become more passionate about what I will be doing in the future and want to utilize every tool possible in my classroom.

Originally Posted At: http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/tech_standards1/

Having Kindergarteners Use PowerPoint

After creating my own eBook in PowerPoint and Dr. Baylen showing 1st graders books in class I started thinking if this could be done in kindergarten. I was inspired by the books showed in class from the children Dr. Baylen had been working with. The stories and pictures they came up with were adorable. Then, having them record their voices for the story just topped it off. I loved the outcome of this project and I really want to use it in my kindergarten class. Would it be possible for such young children to complete an extensive project like this?

I began to brain storm about the steps I would take to execute this project. I would first have the children draw and color their own pictures. This would be used as the artwork in the PowerPoint. Then, the students could come up with a story to go with that picture. This would be a great time to get the parents involved. The parents could help them write the story for homework. The parents would fix spelling and grammar mistakes and praise the child's creative ideas. I strongly believe that parent involvement in their child's education can make a huge difference. To continue, I would then have the students practice typing and begin to type their story. I would review their story and split it up in slides and scan their pictures. In class, I would show them the features of PowerPoint and help them pick a background and slide transitions. The next step would be recording their voices.

This project would have to spread out over at least half of the year and require an assistant to help the students on the computers. I think this would be successful but I hope I am not overestimating the students ability to use the computer at such a young age. I would defiantly do this project the second half of the year and work my way up to it slowly. The end result would make the children and parents so proud. I will have to put much more planning and thought into the project before I can introduce it to my classroom. I am very excited and hope it is successful. If anyone has ideas on how to make it easier for the younger children, I will gladly accept them.

Does Technology have an Impcat on Student Achievement?

THE IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY ON STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN READING AND MATHEMATICS by Betty Middelton and Richard Murray

This article discusses the importance of incorporating technology into education so students can make a smooth transition from school to the business world. Many business owners and managers think that technology is an important tool for educators to use. It is important that students learn the technologies so they are prepared for jobs in the future but, these technologies are so costly that many schools can not afford them. This study was done to find if students achievement on standardized tests was higher if technology was Incorporated into their classroom. I think this study is important because the uses of technology in the classroom should prepare the students for the future but also provide them with a better education.

The initial focus was on the teachers and they were ranked for how much they used technology and their precept ion of it in the classroom. "Through their responses to this instrument, teachers were categorized as teachers who utilize a high level of technology in their classroom or teachers who use little or no technology in their classroom. " The fourth grade students did not show a difference in their math or reading scores and their teachers reported using little technology in their classroom. On the other hand, the fifth graders showed a difference in both and their teachers had used more technology in the classroom. "These findings support the research of Johnson & Johnson (1996), who determined that successful implementation of technology depends on the classroom teacher."

Technology alone can not make a difference in a students education, that is what I learned from this article. It is up to the teacher to successfully use that technology to improve students skills in math, reading, and other aspects of education. Although the teacher has impact of the success of technology in the classroom, it has been proven that it benefits the students. This answers some of my questions about this subject but, leaves me with many more. As a teacher how do I successfully incorporate technology into my classroom to benefit my students? What did the teachers in this study do that allowed their students to preform better on standardized tests? These are answers that I will seek before I become a teacher in order to influence my students education as best I can.

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/hww/shared/shared_main.jhtml?_requestid=1558

eBook Experience

For an assignment in class I had to borrow a child and read a eBook to her. An eBook is a book that is on the computer and has pictures, some that move, words like a normal book, and someone who reads the book. It pretty much does what a teacher would do when reading a book to the class. The readers have fun voices and are enthusiastic. Then I had to reflect on the experience and compare it to reading a traditional book to a child. I also thought about how these books would work in a classroom, specifically kindergarten since that is where I want to teach.

I thought that an eBook would be great for a kindergarten classroom. They seemed fun and some could relate to specific lessons that I would be teaching. Others had morals behind the story that are always good for children to learn. I was very excited to read the eBook to a child because I thought it would be successful. Against my expectations, I realized that an eBook may not be suitable for a young class. The child I read it too thought it was a movie. She was so fascinated by the pictures that she did not pay attention to the words or the story. She said, "lets turn off the lights and have a snack like we are at the movies." This was a big shock and challenge for me. How could I allow my students to enjoy the experience but still be providing them with a meaningful educational experience at the same time?

As I began to write my reflection my feelings about eBooks changed once again. I realized that if I was creative enough I could tie these books into my lessons and the children would still learn something. I was concerned that my students would think they were like movies and not learn anything. As the teacher it is my job to provide fun but educational experiences to the students. They can have fun reading these books but I can do projects as an extension of the book to make sure they learned something. Also, I realized that the eBook is just for support to emphasize a lesson. I learned that I have to be really creative to tie in technology into my classroom, but I can do that. I am very excited to graduate and use eBooks and other technologies in my classroom.

Also, I am curious to see how others eBook experience went. Was it anything like mine or completely different?

Did she cross the line?

When I went to observe in high school, I observed a freshman geography class. Before I even entered the classroom I was shocked by the teachers attitude toward the students. She was holding the door for the students as they walked in. One student asked if he needed is book and she said something along the like of "Are you really asking me that? I will chop you're head off." Throughout the rest of the class she referred to students as being dumb or retarded. She even told me that there was a retard corner in her classroom where all the stupid students sit. I was shocked about how she treated the students. I realize that she was just joking with them, but I still think that she crossed the line. Many of the students thought it was funny and joined in with her jokes. It was not that funny to me. What do you think? Did she cross the line?

Transforming Schools to High Tech Schoolrooms

The article called Toward a New Model of High-Tech Schoolrooms by Royal Van Horn discusses how it is more successful to transform a classroom rather than a school in terms of technology. Van Horn says that he has worked with 5 schools to help them become high-tech and only one of those was successful. The three things that made the one school successful were a hand-picked faculty, an enthusiastic leader, and a teacher evaluation system that made technology use a priority. Van Horn discusses that it is hard to include computers into a kindergarten class because they are on a routine schedule and computer time is not part of that schedule. In most cases, the only time the students are allowed on the computers is while they are waiting to go to lunch or to go home. He says that if you were to remodel your home, you would do it one room at a time; that is how a school should be transformed to a high-tech school, one room at a time. There are four approaches described in this article to transform a classroom. The first suggestions are specialized geography/Earth science labs at the secondary level. The second idea includes a planetarium, a 360-degree immersion theater, and a high-definition television production lab. These types of technologies will put an emphasis on oral language, which is usually overlooked in schools. In the next model, every student at a grade level or in a particular school is given a laptop computer. "A fourth approach to using technology in a school district might be to concentrate the technology in an all-out effort to narrow the achievement gap."

I think this article is useful for all teachers, teachers in training, and administrators. We are in a time where technology is present in everyday life. More and more educators are realizing this and trying to incorporate technology into their classroom. If this is to be done in a successful way, Van Horn suggests to do it one classroom at a time. If you try to transform the whole school at once, it will most likely fail. This article partly addresses my inquiry question: How can technology be incorporated into a kindergarten classroom? I know the tendencies of kindergarten teacher to only use computers before lunch or dismissal. I will try to use the computers and other technologies more often and incorporate it into the daily schedule.

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.9

What do children listen to?

I am curious what parents let young children listen to on the radio. What kind of music do you think is appropriate for children ages 2-6 to listen to? I have recently encountered children that are only 2-4 years old singing popular pop songs. One of my 2 year old dancers was singing the song Fergilicious, the lines I could make out were "I make to boys go loco, I'm Fergilicious." She said she loves the song and she wants to listen to it more! I was shocked! Also, one of my 5 year old dancers was singing Justin Timberlake's "I'm Bringing Sexy Back." Is it just me, or are these children to young to be listening to these songs?

Teaching Children Dance

If you have a passion for children, there is a book you should read. This book is called Teaching Children Dance, Second Edition, by Theresa and Stephen Cone. Just in case you think that this book may not benefit you because you have no dance training, you do not have to have any experience dancing to teach it to children. This book is great if you already teach dance to children or if you want to start. Some questions this book answers are: What is children's dance? Why should it be taught? How does one design and assess a dance program? There are many benefits that children gain from dance. "Dance becomes the means through which children develop, express, and communicate their life experiences. As a result, they gain an aesthetic awareness about how the body and its movements are connected to meaning and intention." The Cones are very passionate about how much children can gain from dance, and you can feel that while reading this book. Since I am currently teaching dance to children, I now have a new passion for what I do. I feel like I am making such a difference in my students lives. Children need both functional and expressive types of movement to develop their full potential. The children learn how to use their body as an instrument for expression and communication. Some of the benefits that the book discusses are: develop the knowledge and skills to use dance for self-expression and communication of ideas, understanding, and feeling; increase their creative, imaginative, cognitive and perceptive abilities; acquire skills in learning to cooperate with, respect, and move with others in a social context; and develop motor skills, coordination, balance, strength, and flexibility and increase fitness knowledge and abilities. The Cones also suggest that after dancing students should be able to discuss what they did and their movements to help them benefit more. There are so many more benefits children gain from dance and the book describes them. Also, the last few chapters lay out a program for specific grade levels. If you are passionate about children and want them to achieve their full potential, you should consider including dance in your classroom curriculum and read the book Teaching Children Dance for additional ideas and support.

Me and my dancers!

Introduction

Hello, my name is Brittany Bores and I am a student at Florida Gulf Coast University. I am majoring in Early Childhood Education and hope to teach Kindergarten. I am currently in an Intro to Technology in Education course and learning many great ways and techniques to teach young children using technology. We are in the 21st century and technology is taking over! (which is a great thing) I think it is important to introduce our students to technology at a young age. Check in to see some of my ideas and projects from class to teach young children. Also, feel free to give your own ideas. In addition, I will post some of my educational experiences and stories from working with children. I will refer you to some good reading dealing with children, such as books, articles, or websites.