After you read Taking the Digital Plunge make a comment to this blog posting that includes:
One thing you agree with.
One concern you have about using technology in school.
The most creative use of technology you have experienced in school.
How you use technology in your personal life.
Please do this by 8:00 am Thursday January 21.
I do agree that as future teachers we do need to be aware of all the different technology and tools out there to help us become better educators for our students. It is important to understand the things that are students are using and be able to relate to them. One big concern I see with using technology in schools is that a lot of the blogging site and others websites can lead to inappropriate things for younger students. When I was in school technology was not really used much other than power point presentations or using a smart board but that was not till later in high school. In elementary school I do not remember using any kind of technology. In my personal life I use email and facebook to keep in contact with different people. I would like to think I'm up on the technology that is out there today.
ReplyDeleteI agree that younger students have more knowledge about technology than we do. This is a good thing because they are expanding their knowldege. One concern I have about technology being used in the schools is the students may not use it appropriately. They may use it to look up inappropriate pictures or many different things. I think using technology in the schools is a great idea if the children are willing to listen and to learn. One type of creative technology we used was smart boards and power point projects. In middle school my teacher used a smart board, and then none of my teachers used it again until my senior year. In elementary school I do not remember using any type of technology. I use email and MySpace to stay in touch with old friends. I also use texting to communicate to friends and family. I know about many different types of technology, but I am still willing to learn more.
ReplyDeleteI agree we as educators should be promoting and teaching new technologies and technology methods to students and ourselves. Two large concerns for me are, I am not the best technology user, sometimes I just don't get it. And the other is who to relate it to my students and find a reason to do so. I am going to be a world history teacher, which doesn't leave a lot of room for technological creativity. The only creative technology use in my school career is making PowerPoint slideshows and online classes and work for Fairmont State. As far as the use of technology in my personal life... I use my car, my iPod and my phone. I don't have the internet and my computer crashed during last semester’s finals, so not much surfing the web or checking MySpace and Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that as teachers we do need to be advocates for technology. However, internet access can be a gateway for explicit material. Another concern I have is that fact that sometimes technology fails as we saw today in class when everyone tried to get a gmail account. Growing up in my schools I was able to use technology in many different forms. In our high school we had smart boards in every classroom. In middle school we had a communications class that was in charge of the audio/visual room for the morning announcements in which I was involved in. This to me was the most creative form because you could do so much stuff to certain images. Finally in Elementary school we had computer class on certain days. As for now, I generally use social networks, ipods, emailing, and many others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with teachers should expose children to technology to keep them up to date with the greowing world. I feel that blogs and social networks are a great way for students to learn how to express themselfs,and stand up for something they believe in. The major concern i have with that is the teachers not being able to control the students. If the students are allowed to access socail networjking websites i feel that the should create a seperate school one from the personal one they have. The most creative technology i have used in school is smart thinking. It is a website to send an english paper into, and real teachers will help you proofread and reword essays.Some means of technology i use is an ipod, emailing,and social networking websites.
ReplyDeleteI agree that teachers should show their students how to effectively and safely use technology. One concern I have with using technology in the classroom is the possibility of allowing personal information to be exposed on the Internet. The most creative use of technology I experienced in school was an animated presentation produced by a college in Pennsylvania. In my personal life I use technologies such as E-mail, Facebook, the Internet, and Windows programs Word and Powerpoint.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'm not all that convinced that we as teachers can harness these new technological resources and use them productively in the classroom. In the time it would take to develop a class and a system that works around say twitter, teens and preteens would already have had a head start. My concern is that any class built around a trendy technological resource would just result in wasted time and effort. I guess what I'm saying is is that I'm a purest. Nothing beats good old fashioned book reading, note taking, and circle discussions. This class is my first experience with using new age technologies like facebook, g-mail, and blogger, so maybe by the end of the semester I'll be a believer. My personal use of technology is really quite limited. I have facebook but I rarely ever do anything on it. It's mostly just a way for me to goof off for five or ten minutes or stay in touch with my friends. In some ways I'm a bit of an old geezer in that I personally dislike all these new technologies in that I believe their taking away from real personal interconections. But like I said this class will be my first experience with using technology in the classroom so I just might be changing my mind by the end of the semester.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is that students today have become accustomed to using technology in their everyday lives. This is obviously indicated by the statistics in the article. Today’s students are going to learn better if technology is utilized. The opportunity to get students interested in learning should not be ignored. Teachers who are unfamiliar with the technology can learn from their students who will probably know more about it. This is a great way to get students involved in the education process. There are some worries about students looking up inappropriate content on the internet, but with proper supervision, this should not be a problem. I also liked the idea of online discussions. I think this would give the students who aren’t very outgoing and don’t like to speak out in class a chance to share their thoughts with their classmates.
ReplyDeleteI agree that children need to be exposed to technology. Most things today are based around technology and knowing how to use things for school projects or for personal entertainment is good for children. The thing I am concerned about is that teachers won't be able to monitor students closely. The students would be using personal things instead of school things. The most creative technology that I have experienced is using the smart board. In two of the math classes I have had at Fairmont State uses it. I have made power points for projects for school. I use social networking sites, my Ipod, e-mail, and texting and talking on my cell phone.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the technology available to is an excellent resource to engage students and teachers in learning experiences and opportunities that they would not necessarily be subject to and for that I am excited. Having students learn about various cultures from people in the culture is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that it is important to remember technology is just that, a resource and not a primary form of connection and education. Technology should not replace personal face to face connections and interaction.
Last semester, I did my first clinical experience in a third grade class at Nutter Fort. While I was there, all the teachers were just receiving the projectors, laptops and smart boards in the class. Prior to that, each grade had to share. Therefore, the teacher really did not use the technology available. It has been ten years since I have been in school, prior to the technology being available. Aside from the typical computer lab, technology was very limited.
In my personal life, I really only go online to check e-mail and I listen to my I-Pod. I do have a cell phone for emergencies but I don’t know how to text.
I agree 100 percent that teachers need to use technology in classrooms. Students will be able to develop skills in many different ways. By using programs such as Twitter, Facebook, blogger, etc. students will be able to communicate with other students around their school, state, country, or even around the world. These students will be able to make posts about many of their beliefs and debate about their beliefs with others. One concern I have about technology in school is that students will more than likely start to ignore class projects or assignments and go off task to do something else on the computer such as playing games online. The most creative use of technology in my past classes has to be the way teachers used projectors to project their notes, by powerpoint, onto a projection screen. I think that is so neat and very convenient. I, in my own life, use technology for everything. Any information that I want to find out, I find on the internet by searching Google or other search engines. I also use technology to communicate with all of my friends by using AIM, facebook, and myspace. I also enjoy using my phone and ipod, just as others in this class have stated as well.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I do agree with is that the internet helps students in education. It provides a way of research and communication to all students. Once concern I feel that technology negatively effects schools is if students are distracted by sites such as facebook or myspace. Although there are many creative projects that can be used through schools. I feel like online class discussions are effective. I also feel like the research offered through the internet to students can be amazing. I personally use technology a lot. I have three online classes, so the internet is very effective for me through school.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree that children need to be taught and prepared about technology as well as ‘the world’ to survive and thrive in today’s word, and I myself do tend to use a good bit of technology in my personal life, a cell phone, ipod, laptop, jump drive, and so on, I don’t however like how careless people are becoming with it. When I was younger blogging was something one did to blow off steam or let friends, ACTUAL friends (not 200 random people that know you from a friend, of a friend, of a classmate that you had in the fifth grade) know how you were doing. Today however people are so absurdly careless with personal information on blogging sites (*cough* facebook) it makes me wonder if most will survive to see thirty. I’ve seen not only kids but also adults throwing out more personal information on the net than even their relatives are likely to know about them and a few it’s even cost jobs. Is that really what kids need to learn? Shouldn’t it perhaps be a bigger concern to people that while children may be very intellectually bright and more than capable of handling technology in the classroom, such as the internet, or better yet lessons on how to better use it, that they do not however, just yet, have those ‘world smarts’ that are needed to go along with it? I don’t argue that certain pieces of technology in a class can be very useful, but I think it needs to be looked at situation by situation, taking into account the age of the kids involved, the size of the class, and what exactly the benefits and risks of whatever is being used or taught has, just like anything else.
ReplyDeleteI believe that technology runs the world today. I agree that technology is a crucial part of life for the generations to come. Almost all jobs now and for more jobs to come require and depend on their employees’ ability to use technology. It is everywhere. One thing I am concerned with is the futures reliability of technology. I still believe that it is important to know how the computer can crunch a math problem in seconds that takes a human an hour to complete. You never know what the future can hold. The most creative technology I have used is the Safe Assign website. You send your paper in to a computer database and it runs a check through tons of files to catch plagiarizers. Technology is very important in my life. I use it every day to make calls, send texts, check my money accounts, to type this paper.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bill Ferriter that technology needs to be taught within the school systems and not restricted. I also agree with his perspective on students and their connections to technology. Students are able to explore technology on their own, but if someone was teaching them to use those networks to conquer meaningful and educational growth, technology would be respected more in the classroom. One concern I have with using technology in the classroom is making sure the students are doing what they are suppose to be doing; I want technology to be influenced in the classroom, but I am afraid students will not respect the opportunity or possibly take it for granite. The most creative use of technology I have experienced in school was using a SMART Board. Although our teacher was still learning how to use it, our class learned also. We used the board multiple times throughout the year, but in my opinion, we truly never advanced with it. We understood the basics. I use technology everyday; I am not the greatest with technology, but without it my life would be so much harder. I use my cell phone, my lap top, digital camera, and so much MORE! Technology is life and humans of all ages should be eager to learn more and more about these wonderful inventions…The 21st century is here and growing vastly; everyone should be prepared!
ReplyDeleteI agree that students nowadays are father advance in their technology skills at a much younger age than ever before. My eight year old cousins have learned and used these skills since the beginning of their schooling; I don’t recall learning even simple computer skills till middle school. I agree that technology should be used in the classroom but, a concern I have about using all this technology in school is that we might lose the personal and hands on experiences from school. If everything goes more or less digital, students will lose real life experiences. The most creative use of technology I’ve experienced in school is from the online classes I’ve taken here at FSU. In my personal life I use technology fairly often. Some things I use are the internet, facebook , cell phones, texting, mp3 player, ect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bill Ferriter on many issues in this article. Technology is definetly a powerful tool in schools today. The internet lets students search for information just by a press of a button. Students can find almost anything on the World Wide Web. Technology is constantly used in classrooms today as guides, study tools, learning experiences, and even a fun way to understand different concepts. However, technology has many down falls. It can be an unreliable source in the sense that it may not connect properly if at all, it may be slow, and also it can create problems like viruses that mess with the whole computer itself. My favorite use of technology is the smart board. It is a great tool for learning. I use technology every single day. I have a facebook that I constantly check, a cellphone that is never away from my side, and i use the internet for almost everything.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the first step to becoming an effecting teacher in the information age is to be an effective learner. A good example of this, and the best example I have seen of a teacher using technology, was the project my mother set up with her first grade class. She contacted a first grade teacher living in Alaska, and each of her students was paired with a pen pal. The children learned about a part of the world that they otherwise would not have had access to.
ReplyDeleteI am, of course, concerned about students having unrestricted access to the internet. More than just preventing them from viewing inappropriate material, students don’t always understand where information online comes from, and must learn to use technology effectively.
Technology in infused into every part of my day. My iPod’s alarm wakes me up in the morning. Amid my morning routine, I check both my email accounts and Facebook. I use the computer for research and entertainment (I watch Hulu.com more than the TV). I keep my “to do” list and quick notes on my iPod’s notepad app, and I keep track of assignments and grades on Blackboard.
I agree as well with becoming an effective learner to become an effective teacher. I think that this aspect of teaching is very important. If we don't understand how to learn, how can we understand how others learn? As teachers, we are responsible for communicating to our students through the best and most up to date means of communication tools. Technology is essential in our society, so in order for students to function properly, we should use this technology in the classroom and teach student about it. One things that concerns me about technology in the classroom is that students will become too dependent on it. There should be an even balance between general classroom instruction, and the use of technology. Technology can also embrace many different learning styles. As a music teacher, I am very excited to get to use technology in the classroom. There are so many resources out there that can help students become better musicians. As a musician I use technology all of the time. I use it through recording software primarily, but I also utilize many types of notation software.
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools need to use technology because this world has advanced so much in tech that babies are learning how read and learn things through game systems and toys. Just about every school now has computers and programs to teach students about certain subjects. One concern I would have is not being able to fit enough tech in my Muisc lesson plans because being a music teacher you have such limited time and limited programs to do when you have just 30 minutes a week with some classes and or 9 weeks with the students! When I was in school the most technology we used was computers so there was not much creativity involved since I've been at fairmont state the most creative technology I have used is called Finale which you can use a Piano and the programs write the music down for you while you're playing! I personally use technology everyday, I use a computer everyday, I pay my bills online, alot of my Major requires music programs to be used... just about everything in my life requires some type of technology..
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ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea of exploring the world in the classroom through technology. I think that students will be more educated on what is going on in the world around them and also learning different cultures.
ReplyDeleteWhat concerns me most about the advancement of technology and using it in school is that almost anything can done with the touch of a button. There is less activity and more sitting in front of a screen. I think that technology should be used in the classroom but I also think that it should be used just for a certain amount of time and not the whole class.
In my middle school biology class we took a tour of the human body with an old fashion smart board. I thought it was neat because you could point, click, then go where you wanted and explore it.
Technology has made writing papers so much easier! Researching and finding answers. I use it for school work and for keeping in touch with almost all of my family members while I’m away at school. It keeps me connected with them.