The Value in Teaching with Technology

Technology is fun - and useful, too!

Taking a course on teaching with technology was a bit daunting. My technological skills were basic when we started this course - to say the very least! But over the course of the semester, I've learned to create mind maps, podcasts, digital stories, and pdfs - just to name a very few of the skills I've picked up and can now take to the classroom to use in the future.

I've said this again and again over the course of the semester, but it's vitally important that teachers know enough technology to make classes both interesting and relevant to students. We can't be the ones left behind as our students move about confidently in the world of technology. That's why courses like Teaching with Technology are so important. I was shocked to learn, however, that not many colleges offer a course like this one to their students. And I know several teachers who use almost no technology in their classrooms.

I have made it my goal to share some of what we've learned in class with other teachers I know. In fact, I have already encouraged one to use blogs (my ICP topic) in his classroom, and I have sent him links to several of the free blogging services.

Reflecting on Learning

Well, it's finally over! (No offense, Dr. Smirnova, but this class was tough!) At the beginning of the semester, I had doubts that I would make it through with my sanity intact. In the end, though, taking this class was very worth it. Given the skills I've learned -- and the information I've acquired -- I have no doubt I'll now be able to offer my future students a richer learning experience.

Working on the ICP was the culmination of everything. It allowed us to take the skills we learned over the semester and actually apply them to a lesson plan. In the end, I would have liked a little more time to present because I felt rushed and left things out of my presentation, but overall, I was happy with it. I felt I included a lot of interesting information about blogs and how they can be used. My presentation would have benefited from a few more links to good education blogs. In a real classroom, I would also have time to actually have the students do the exercise in creating a blog in groups. (Below is the link to my presentation if you'd like to check it out.)

All in all, this class was very worthwhile. It provided more concrete, real information than almost any other class I've taken in graduate school.

Teaching with Technology ICP Presentation - take two!

For some reason my link didn't work, so here it is again:

ICP Final Presentation - Teaching with Technology

Teaching with Technology ICP Presentation

The following is a link to my final presentation. I had an interesting time creating this PPT (and slideboom presentation). I'm not very technologically able (although I'm much better after taking Teaching with Technology). I hope you enjoy it!

The Death of Creativity

I went back and watched Sir Ken Robinson's video on schools killing creativity again because I thought it was a very important topic. Many of today's schools do seem to be killing creativity in kids. Robinson makes the point that creativity is just as important as literacy, and I don't think I'd argue with this at all.

Our schools kill creativity by telling kids that they must learn in specific ways, and by making students learn by rote memorization (in some places), and by forcing teachers to teach to tests in order for students to pass those tests in order for schools to continue getting funding. It seems to me that this goes against everything we as future teachers are learning about how to most effectively teacher children. And yet we continue on in the same vein - doing things the same way - and getting results that seem to be getting worse and worse.

Robinson is correct in another point he makes. He says we have to be prepared to be wrong in order to learn. That's another idea I believe we foster constantly in our children. Parents refuse to ever tell children they are wrong - and teachers make those same children afraid to be incorrect - it all adds up to the fact that we are producing children who will never take any chances. And if these children grow up refusing to take chances out of fear, then our entire society suffers for it.

Below is a link to an interview with Ken Robinson on the same topic.

I'm smarter than I thought!

I just finished creating a newsletter and a blog for A7 and HA7, and I have to admit I did better than I thought I would. It was actually kind of fun to create a newsletter and a blog for a fake class.

I imagine that knowing how to do these things will come in very handy when I begin teaching in a high school or a middle school. Newsletters and blogs are great ways to keep parents involved in what their children are learning in school. Creating both a newsletter and a blog would be valuable because even though it's hard for many of us to believe, there are still some people out there who don't spend a lot of time on computers and who are therefore not comfortable hopping on the Internet and visiting a class blog. Having both a newsletter and a blog means appealing to a wider variety of parents. And letting parents know what their kids are doing in school is important because it allows parents more opportunity to take part in their children's lives.

YouTube for learning!

Hooray for YouTube! Using YouTube in the classroom!

I loved the link to the article on how to save YouTube videos so they can be used in the classroom. I have to admit, anytime I'm looking for video to jazz up a presentation YouTube is my first stop. It's such a wonderful resource for anyone who's presenting - not just teachers.

Along the same lines, I found a Web site that lists the '100 best YouTube videos for teachers,' which categorizes YouTube videos that could possibly be helpful for educators. The videos are broken down into categories like 'Humor,' 'Technology,' 'Classroom Management,' and others. Being able to look at all of these different videos in categories is very helpful for finding fun stuff to use in our classrooms.