Week One: Reading Reflection

- In your opinion, what technology tools should we be teaching students today?
- What expectations should we have of students and what should be done to help students meet those expectations?
- Were your schools stuck in the 20th century?
- What was most compelling about the article?


I believe the most useful technology tool we could be teaching students today is the power of the Internet. It has so much information, opinions, and research. There are also important tools on the internet such as blogging, analyzing, reporting, buying, selling, socializing, and even learning which could not only be useful for the classroom, but at home and in the future as well. Using the Internet can make kids interested in doing homework by typing it into a blog or participating in classroom discussions by relating it to the web.
We should expect students to participate and socialize in groups more often while using technology. We should make it as easily as possible for them to feel comfortable, socialize, and adapt with technology. By doing this we can prepare students for the outside world where they need to cooperate and work with others. I also expect my students to be more open to me and comfortable to talk to me if they are having difficulty understanding material or other issues. They can also help me out with what they would like to see or learn in the classroom.
My school was partially stuck in the 20th century. When I entered middle school, my teachers were just beginning to use computer labs to help students with research papers. By my junior year of high school, we used a program called Power School, which was a program that created student’s schedules and organized grades. Although it was helpful for parents and students to know where they are at with their grade, a computer does make mistakes. A computer cannot acknowledge that a student has a learning disability such a hearing loss and needs loud teachers. A computer cannot tell that a student can't comprehend math in the morning and English after lunch, therefore computers are not extremely helpful in all scenarios.
What was most compelling about this article is that teachers are starting to realize ways to draw technology into their lesson plans and realizing students are changing as well as technology therefore learning methods need to be revised. It's extremely important to learn and talk to your students and not just teach them material. Technology incorporated into lesson plans will only expand possibilities to educate students.

Week One: WBQ

Is it possible to learn without engaging in some activity: that is, is it possible to simply learn by thinking about something? Can you think of an example?


It is possible to learn without engaging in some activity but not preferred by students. In my experience, people learn with different techniques whether it is through sound, sight, or by physically doing. It is possible to learn by thinking about something. However, what will always stick in students' minds are classes with some activity incorporated into the lesson. Not only are students feeling included in the lesson but they are having fun as well as comprehending material easily. During lectures, students’ minds may drift away from the lesson. Physically including them would help them less likely to drift away and keep their attention throughout the class.
Technology therefore is a useful tool to engage students. Games on computers keeps students on a more personal level and helps the teacher understand their learning abilities. Teachers are on a more personal level with students using technology. They are able to understand allowing students to feel comfortable, ask questions, and be willing to learn.
From personal experience, I remember my sophomore history class in which we were studying a time period from western civilization. The video would stop randomly and a popular comedy skit or song would play signaling to my classmates to pass objects. The person left with an object after the song stopped playing had to deduct points from their paper. The person with the most questions answered correctly, and the least points deducted won extra credit points awarded to their projects or quizzes.

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