Blog post #12 Current View of Technology in the Classroom

I think that after this class my view of how technology can be incorporated into the classroom has changed, and I have seen the different uses it can have in the classroom as well. I still think that the technology that is coming out today, is not really practical for schools right now. I mean that technology is rapidly changing, but schools still don't have the funding to incorporate what could really help the school districts in advancing the learning of our next generation. However, I have learned that technology is not all bad and can pose much help for a variety of students. I definitely think that my views of technology have changed for the better if not a lot at least slightly.

Blog #11 Non-Computer Tech use in Classroom

"No-tech solutions are strategies such as teaching a person to use his or her own body in a different manner to minimize impact of an impairment." I feel that an important tool that is no-tech would probably be the over-head projector. Honestly, it is the easiest way to display information to students, and you can have students interact with it. There is so much you can utilize with it and it is so much more cost efficient, especially for schools who are low on funding. I feel that this is something that schools will never really get rid of anytime soon, and that can always have a way to help students learn.

Blog #10 ERIC presentations!

After listening to majority of the ERIC presentations it really helped me to relate to using technology in the classroom a little more. I always had this feeling that how can we be teaching technology in an elementary setting when the technology they do have, if they have any, is outdated? I found some of the presentations helped to show that when it comes to technology it does not necessarily have to be the best of the best that is on the market, but what you do with what you have. I found it interesting that there are so many websites out there that one of the groups discussed and showed on the teacher who had started a blog for her class and then how the class took it over. I thought it was neat, becasue they were able to have a learning environment that allowed for so many different aspects of learning to be put into one project. Also, even though their resources for technology were limited it was the teacher thinking outside the box that came up with the way to make it happen, and change the way of learning for those students. After the ERIC presentations I had more information than I did from before and I found them to be helpful. I am not sure as to whether or not some of the material covered will ever be utilized in my classroom, but I at least see what can happen with some hard work and creative thinking when trying to incorporate technology into the classroom! :o) Good Presentations!

Blog # 9 Online article

Basically the article I found called, "Effective use of technology with young children" describes the past fears of incorporating technology or even yet assistive technology with young children, as well as the new positive with it to. The article discusses how assistive technology has changed over the years, as they said, "In the past several years, however, changes have occurred which have made computer technology more accessible to early childhood educators, therapists, parents, and children. Equipment is now more affordable, a wide range of developmentally appropriate software is available, and a variety of response modes have been developed which allow almost any child to access a computer (Burkhart, 1980; Charlebois-Marois, 1985; Goossens & Crain, 1987)." This means that in the classroom especially teachers will be able to be more knowledgeable of what is available and the materials that are available to the children will be much more developmentally appropriate and effective without the problems of cost and availability. The article also desribes the benefits of using assistive technology and the skills that it helps to develop in young children as well. It covers so much concerning that of motor skills, visual and perceptual skills, cognitive and language skills, and even social and emotional skills. I found the article to be very interesting, because I think it is very helpful to show future teacher or even current teachers and parents that assistive technology can be used at a young age and that there is nothing to fear when a child is using it. I also liked the fact that is gives so many helpful points and actually tells you what areas technology actually helps a child in. Besides that it gives you tips on how to choose developmentally appropriate toys and how to apply to them to your child and basically how to start introducing technology to a child. I think this article is very helpful, because it gives you some ideas and pointers when working with children who are young and are in need of assistive technology, and I feel that that is an important issue in elementary schools today. I liked the article and think it would be good for others to read as well.

http://www.parentpals.com/gossamer/pages/Detailed/912.html

Blog # 8 (Video Post) For Educators

Are your students learning? How is your teaching?? Things for old, new, or current teachers to think about! :o)

Blog #7 How things are going??

I think that things have been going ok so far. I feel really overwelmed with the amount of projects we have in this class, but I think some of the information that we have learned will be somewhat beneficial in an elementary school setting depending on the school district in which I am teaching. I think that just having basic knowledge of the computer and internet are great assets to have in our culture because it is so predominant. I think though that when I do have a classroom of my own that computer usage in the classroom would be very limited, just because I am a firm believer that you do not necessarily need technology in your classroom to be able to engage the children and adapt lesson plans for different learning styles. However, much of what I have learned has been interesting and if anything will help myself when it comes to teaching in the future. Basically the most important lesson I have learned so far is to just let the children explore and practice using technology when they can, and let them see what works and what doesn't while assisting them on the way. But anyway good so far :o)

Blog #6 Internet use in elementary classroom

I think there are many pros and cons to using internet in an elementary school classroom. A few pros I can think of are that the internet is so broad and has such a variety of information that you could always find information, pictures, videos, songs, or anything else to relate it to a topic you are teaching to better relate the topic to the children as well as give them different ways of absorbing the material you are teaching. It would be good to have when you are working on multiple subjects as well, because there are so many good educational sites for children, and for that of young children that assist them with the basics of numbers and letters, but of also things such as math and science to.
However, I think that the cons that would come into play concerning the use of internet in an elementary school setting would be things such as make sure the sites are appropriate for the children, that there is no chance of them finding inappropriate material while looking up things for a topic, and I think the biggest one would be the fact that there are still quite a lot of school districts that can not afford to have computer or the internet becasue of funding. I think that the lack of funding for the school or the assumption that all students know how to use technology could be a problem as some students may not have computers at home or may not be familiar with how to use the internet. I feel that it would be a good asset to have in a the classroom, but that it would not be necessay to use in a classroom. I know that technology is a huge part of our culture, but I feel that there are other ways to teach material to the children while they are in the classroom, instead of doing the easy way of letting them find information online. Besides that I feel that school districts already have trouble with funding and I don't really see elementary schools using computers as often as older grades.
However, I think that my favorite educational website to date that I have liked would be the one that is called the new Britanica Learning zone for elementary school children (http://school.eb.com/learningzone). I like how animated it is and is a great learning tool for children for any subject! It really has a great variety for the children and is a great interactive website that is greatly educational for the children.