Lessons Learned

After reading the articles and watching the movies, I learned that technology is growing exponentially these days. Within the last few years, we have gotten to the point where we can use whatever, whenever, and wherever (WWW). Technology has improved leaps and bounds over the years which is both beneficial and worrisome.

Most of the world uses technology on a daily basis whether it be the internet, cell phone, or other hand held devices. We now have the ability to access any type of information at any given point throughout the day. This can be great for both school and business purposes. Many teenagers use the internet to do research for papers or complete online assignments. The concern with this WWW technology is that it also creates distractions. One example of a distraction is Social Networking. Because many teens have access to the internet through phones, they can access social networks such as Facebook or MySpace during class. They can also chat online. In the "Teens Disconnect" article, it states that most teens use abbreviations when they have online conversations and the majority of them believe that this does not influence their formal handwriting. However, research shows that sometimes the words or abbreviations used in these online conversations tend to slip in with their formal writing. It is important for today's parents and teachers to help young people use technology wisely and not let it consume their lives.

Strengths and Weaknesses

After reading the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), I have learned that my strengths include: a basic understanding of technology, finding age appropriate uses for technology in the classroom, and using technology to collaborate with peers. Although this website has been beneficial in pointing out my strengths, it also shows areas that need improvement. The UNI surveys showed me that I have A LOT to learn about technology. For most of my answers, I marked that I was at the "Novice" level, which means I have a basic understanding of technology usage. According to UNI, I am good at communicating electronically (example: e-mail or chat), finding useful web resources for research, and I can use informational and reference sources such as CD-Roms. The area that stuck out to me most that I would like to improve in is Audio/Visual usage. I would like to gain a better understanding of how to use Windows Moviemaker so that I can make short, educational, videoclips for my students. I would also like to become more familiar with the 2007 version of Microsoft Powerpoint.

After reviewing the NETS and taking both UNI surveys, I would say that I have an okay knowledge of technology. On a scale from 1-10, 1 being no knowledge of basic technology and 10 being complete mastery of complex technology, I would mark myself as a 5. To me this means I either know how to use basic technology or I could figure out how to use the basic functions of simple to moderate technologies with minimal problems.

For my first year of teaching I have two goals: Develop a basic understanding of Windows Moviemaker and become very familiar with Microsoft Office Powerpoint 2007. The following tutorials will help me develop a better understanding of both of these programs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DOmXMAuIE (Microsoft Office Powerpoint 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DHFKVzG8Zw&feature=related (Windows Moviemaker)

The reason I chose these two programs is because they are widely used in schools. I would like to use them every now and then in my own classroom, but I definitely need to improve my limited skills with these programs.

Journal #13

Last Monday we met with our groups again to continue working on our Webquest. Originally my group chose to focus on how immigrants affected the post-Civil War economy. However, we met again today to complete our Webquest and realized that we were not accomplishing much with that standard so we chose to focus on Ancient Egypt instead.

It was kind of hard to change our Webquest so close to the deadline, but we did not have much of a choice. We came a long way today. Hopefully we can finish the project tomorrow!

Just like I said in my last post, when I have my own class, I will not create my own webquest. I will use other people's webquests to help my students further their education. Teachers do not have time to create webquests!

Journal #12

During class last Monday I was able to check my grade with Dr. Waters and work with my group on our webquest assignment. After talking with Dr. Waters, I was relieved to learn that I currently have an "A" in the class.

As far as the group project goes, it is coming slowly but surely. We're still trying to find websites we would like to use for the webquest. We did that the previous week, but we would like to find better websites to match our standard and objective.

After working on this project, I have come to realize that instead of creating a webquest for my own students, I would like to use one of the following options:

1) Provide students with a short list of websites to go to for information

2) Find a webquest that someone else has already created

The reason I would choose one of those options over creating my own webquest is that it takes too much time that I won't have when I am a teacher. It would be so much easier just to tell students which websites to visit or direct them to another teacher's webquest.

Journal #11

Last week was our first week back in class from field. We got into groups to start our Web Quest project. My group chose to gear our webquest towards 5th graders. Our content area is Social Studies and we are focusing on standard 4, objective 4. Standard 4 states, "Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth." Objective 4 says students should be able to: "Understand the impact of major economic forces at work in the post-Civil War." As a group, we came up with the following questions to focus our webquest on:

1) Why did new immigrants affect the economy of post-Civil War U.S.?Why did new immigrants affect the economy of post-Civil War U.S.?

2) How did new immigrants affect the economy of post-Civil War U.S.?

3) Why did People immigrate to U.S.?

4) How did People immigrate to U.S.?

5) How did immigrants find work and food?

I think webquests are good because it allows students to have a "hands-on" learning experience. I also realize it takes a lot of time to put a webquest together. When I have my own classroom, I would love to allow my students to use a webquest if resources are available. After my own field experience and listening to other members of my cohort share their stories, I learned that it is not always easy for students to have access to technology. However, I will do my best to make sure my own class will have experience with webquests because in my opinion, this is an excellent way for students to learn new concepts. During my field experience, I noticed that students are easily engaged when they have the opportunity to do their own research. Webquests allow students to learn about anything they are interested in by going to various websites. In my field experience, the students I worked with absolutely LOVED using the internet for research. It is very important to make sure students only go to the designated websites.

Technology Interview Reflection

1. What did you learn from the interview?

I learned that the Technology Specialist is a very busy man. In fact, when my cooperating teacher emailed him to see if we could schedule an interview with him, he requested that Rebecka and I contact the other student teacher's who had already interviewed him and learn about the school's available technology that way. Thankfully, the other student teachers were very cooperative and emailed their interview to us. Unfortunately, they have a different technology instructor and she required different questions. However, we did our best to make do with what was given to us. We did not want to cause any complications for the technology specialist.

2. How will this experience affect you as a teacher?

When I am a teacher, I will do my best to become more familiar with the various technologies provided by the school. The school I was at had portable computer labs. Teachers were allowed to check out mac laptops for their students to work on. There were almost enough macs for each student to have their own. The only problem with using the laptops was, neither Rebecka nor myself were too familiar with macs. Prior to teaching one of our lessons, we had to ask one of the students to show us how to open up the word processor. We also had a problem with setting up the computers to print to the classroom printer. We were not able to figure that out so we had to send the students' work to the teacher workroom printer.

3. How did this experience change your views about the use of technology?

This experience has showed me that technology can be useful and challenging at the same time. The students loved watching video clips, looking at pictures on the overhead projector, doing webquests, and typing their assignments on the laptops. The students learned a lot from the pictures the numerous pictures that were shown on the overhead. They also were fascinated by the air raid video clip from, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". We ran into a few challenges because sometimes technology didn't work the way we wanted it to. For example, one day we wanted to show them a video clip of a reader's theatre, but for some reason we couldn't get the video clip to play. We also had a little bit of trouble with figuring out how to use the macs, but we were able to overcome those challenges with some guidance.

I also learned that lessons involving technology generally take longer than direct instruction lessons. It takes a lot of time to get the students prepared with the necessary materials, such as computers. Giving the instructions and showing the class exactly what is expected of them is also time-consuming and can test your patience. Students can get really excited when they get to use technology which is good, but sometimes they tend to get off track because they are so excited and it can be very difficult to keep all of your students on track.

Overall, my technology experience was not too horrible. I liked that the students were excited to use technology for educational purposes. In my opinion, technology does not need to be used all the time. It is important to find a balance between when technology should and should not be used in the classroom.

Journal #10 Fieldwork Week 3

This week was so much fun! We got to finish teaching our World War II Unit. Last week we taught the students about various factors that contributed to WWII such as economics, tyranny, and invasion. We also taught them about the different technologies that were used in WWII.

For one of our assignments, the students were divided into groups and given a picture that showed a type of technology used during the war. As part of the activity, the groups discussed what the technology was, and how it was used. They also had to put their thoughts down on paper. The class really enjoyed this assignment. This experience has taught me that most students love hands-on learning. In my own classroom, I will do my best to provide my students with as many hands-on learning activities as possible to ensure my students are having fun while learning new, challenging concepts.

Here are some examples of the students' work:

On the last day of field, the class threw a surprise party for Rebecka and I. Many of the students gave "speeches" to tell us how much they enjoyed having us as their student teachers. Looking back on this entire field experience, I learned that the MOST important part of being a teacher is showing your students that you love them. During field, I tried really hard to get to know each student. I wanted each of them to know that I cared for them. When I have my own class, I will make it a point to show each student that they are important to me. I strongly believe that by showing them I care, they will have the desire to learn and become successful in their schooling, just as the students in my field experience have done. The saying is very true that "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Here are some of the cards the students made for us: