DIGITAL BLOG POST #I

Chapter 4, which was titled “Designing and Developing Curriculum with Technology” was an informative and interesting chapter.

The first thing I want to talk about is test assessments. Two types of test assessments are Norm-referenced tests and Criterion-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests compare a student’s performance to other students of the same grade or age. Criterion-referenced tests compare a student’s performance to specific objectives or standards, not to other students. Many of the tests given in school are mostly norm-referenced tests. There are also standards based assessments or standard referenced testing which is a recent variation of standardized testing. These tests start with national, state, or district curriculum frameworks that specify what students are expected to know and be able to do at each grade level. With these tests there is a lot of controversy, a lot of people see problems with this kind of testing. For me and my experience with tests like fcat I can understand. I feel like there is a lot of pressure for students to do well on these tests because if you do badly then you get put in a class that goes at a certain pace, even if you’re actually smart enough to not take the class. Which to me is not a good idea because some students are just bad test takers, they get nervous and mess up. I feel like something like that should not solely  just be based on a test.

The second thing I want to touch on is web resources and apps for lesson planning. The book says that the internet provides vast electronic resources for supporting lesson developments. The book even gives websites and apps for lesson planning some of those being: websites- Annenberg learner (www.learner.org) or PBS Teachers (www.pbs.org/teachers)  Apps- My Lesson Plan, Today in History, and Math Ref Free. Like I have said before, I think the resources that teachers have today are geat and so helpful. To become a teacher in a time where there is so much technology and websites that teachers can utilize is great. For new teachers it can be challenging to put together lessons and its helpful for them to have so many resources that they can use.

The third thing I would like to discuss is using electronic grading software. Many teachers today use electronic grading software as a virtual recordkeeping system. Electronic grading software is a computer program enabling teachers to quickly calculate and record student grades on a computer. There are both pros and cons to using this, pros are that it can efficiently calculate and store multiple forms of student performance data and give students immediate access to their grades. Cons can be not all school activities, particularly at the elementary level, translate into a numerical score equaling a grade of A, B, C, D. Personally I feel the pros outweigh the con. I think that electronic grading software is yet another thing that can make things a lot easier for teachers. Things like this are great for teachers.

Created By Ashlynn Barnes on flipquiz.me

Work Cited

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. lead to bad things.

DIGITAL BLOG POST #H

Chapter nine in our book titled, “Expressing Creativity  with Multimedia Technologies” was an interesting and informative chapter.

The first topic I would like to discuss from chapter nine would be PowerPoint and next-generation presentation tools. PowerPoint is a multimedia presentation software, which is a standard feature on many of today’s computers. PowerPoint is used a lot in schools. Both teachers and students use PowerPoint regularly for presentation matters.  I myself have used PowerPoint countless number of times in a school setting. Students in school now should be masters at using it by the time they are in high school just for the fact that with mostly any presentation they will be using it. Another well-known presentation tool is Prezi, I have seen a few people use it but mostly I only see PowerPoint. I think that power point is a really useful tool for students, it makes presenting material easier and there is so much you can add to you presentation like pictures, video clips and music.

The second thing I would like to talk about is streaming video resources for teachers. The books says that streaming video is an important instructional resource at every grade level. With that being said it gives you different places you can find useful videos. Different video resources for teachers would be: PBS Learning Media, YouTube for schools, TeacherTube, and snag learning. All of these places allow teachers to find videos that are grade/age appropriate for their students. I think it is nice to have options so teachers do not have to sit and search for an hour through YouTube. But it is also cool that if they want to use YouTube there is a section for school related videos.

The third thing I would like to touch on podcasts as a learning technology. For those of you who do not know, a Podcast is a term that comes from the words iPod and broadcast. A Podcast is an audio recording distributed online and accessed on computers or portable media players using free software such as iTunes. The book says that by using Podcasts teachers and students can access a wealth of audio and video educational resources and listen to them whenever they chose. I personally think that it would be a beneficial thing to use Podcasts as a learning technology, they are easy to access and they can help students gain some knowledge from anywhere. Teachers can even record their own podcasts that students can listen to so they can review and remember what they learned in class.

Created by Ashlynn Barnes on Piktochart.com

All in all I found chapter 9 to be very informative and even a little eye opening on a few topics.

Work Cited

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. lead to bad things.

DIGITAL BLOG POST #G

Chapter 10 titled “promoting success for all students through technology” contains a lot of relevant and interesting information.

This first thing I want to talk about in this chapter is Interactive white boards. The text book has a whole section on interactive white boards and rightly so, because these things have transformed what you can do in the classroom. I myself refer to them as smart boards. I started seeing these in about middle school and they are just the coolest things. Interactive smart boards are touchscreen boards that are mounted on the wall and connected to the internet. These white boards create engaging instructional opportunities for the entire class. I just find these whiteboards to be really helpful for teachers. You can use them to show students certain things on the web and you can show them a PowerPoint and even write little side notes on them. Teachers can use these things in so many different ways. They also just make things easier for the teacher.

The second thing I would like to discuss is online translation services. These are things like google translate. Google Translate offers a two way translation between more than 50 languages. Google Translate is good for when a student speaks more than one language and English isn't their native one. Students can write out their notes and assignments in class and then go home and translate their work so they can understand it better. I think Google Translate is a really good resource for both students and teachers. Teachers never know where their students are coming from and what languages they are going to speak so this translation service could be helpful in those types of situations.

                                                                        Photo courtesy of  jess3.com

The third thing I would like to touch on is hand held calculators.  As a lot of people know, a calculator is a handheld device that performs mathematical operations and computations. In school settings you can find mostly three different types of calculators: The basic calculator, the scientific calculator, and the graphing calculator. The basic is more geared towards elementary, the scientific for middle and the graphing for high school. Calculators enable students to visualize mathematical operations.  Calculators are useful devices inside and outside of the school setting.  For school students use them to help them to complete both schoolwork and homework. I find calculators to be useful and sometimes necessary to be implemented in the classroom.

Photo retrieved from www.schoolmart.com   

 Photo retrieved from www.calculatoredge.com                                                                                  photo retrieved from debate.org

  

Work Cited

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

" Kindergarten Interactive White Board Use." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.

DIGITAL BLOG POST #F

Chapter 8 was an interesting and informing chapter. It was titled “Communicating and Collaborating with social media.

This first thing I would like to talk about from this chapter is Electronic communication between teachers and students. There are many ways for teachers and students to communicate with each other, those ways being: Email, text messaging, teacher websites, blogs, or online discussions. I find it really cool that there are so many way that you can be able to contact a teacher these days. Before students could only really be able to contact a teacher through phone or talk to the teacher at school. I find it nice to be able to have so many different modes of communication.

The second thing I would like to touch on is social networking for educators. Educators can use social networking for things such as: Teacher-to-teacher discussions about curriculum and instruction, book groups and literature, linking educational policy and reform organizations, exchanging educational research information, and group editing of projects and writing. I find it to be very interesting how teachers can use technology today and it is awesome all the things they can do now. I think some people would not really think to put social networking and educators in the same sentence.

The third thing I would like to talk about is teaching beyond the school day. With electronic communication teachers can now reach students after the school day is over, which is nice because sometimes there just is not enough time to teach everything a teacher wants to teach in a day. When I was younger this was never a thing, but now teachers have a classroom website or a teaching blog where they can post notes, inquiry questions, homework assignments, and writing ideas. It is such a great thing that teachers have the ability to do things like this. Being able to teach beyond the school day is beneficial for both students and teachers.

Created by Ashlynn Barnes on linoit.com

link to it on the website: http://linoit.com/users/abarnes6/canvases/chapter%208

Work Cited

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. lead to bad things.

DIGITAL BLOG POST #E

Chapter 7 was a very interesting and informative chapter to read.

The first thing I want to talk about is digital games for learning, these are computer and web-based games that have been designed with educational rather than entertainment goals in mind. I think that it is a great idea to use educational digital games in the classroom. I feel as though it will make the student to pay attention because it is a game and all at the same time the student is learning. It makes leaning for student a little more enjoyable. These games let students become active in their learning, it’s not just them sitting at a desk and having the teacher tell them information, this is more hands on.

The second thing I would like to touch on is standard software applications. These are applications such as Microsoft word or Microsoft excel that students and teachers use all the time. These are also applications that students and teachers become reliant on for certain things. Like right now, I am using Microsoft word for a bunch of things I am writing for other classes. I even type out my blog entry on Word before I transfer it over to my blog. I think that it is beneficial to have applications such as these around because they help with spelling and grammar errors and they help to make a paper look neat rather than having it look hand written and sloppy. These applications also can be used to organize information. Students and teachers can use powerpoint to make presentations.

The last thing I would like to discuss is the types of software. There are two types of software, system software and application software. System software is responsible for the overall functioning and control of a computer. Application software preforms specific functions in specialized ways to produce a variety of services including word processing, databases, and spreadsheets. I found it interesting to read about the two types of software because we utilize them when we are using computers.

I feel all in all, this chapter had a lot of good relevant information to take in.

Key words for chapter 7

Created by Ashlynn Barnes on wordle.com

Work Cited

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. lead to bad things.

DIGITAL BLOG POST #D

 Chapter 5 is full of useful and interesting information.

The first topic I would like to talk about is e-books and e-readers. E-books or electronic books are books that can be read digitally or on a computer or device known as an e-reader. Some popular e-readers used today are I-pads, the Kindle, the Sony Reader, and the Nook. The books says that the use of e-readers is rapidly moving from homes to schools. I find that to be really cool.  I feel as though e-readers should replace all text books. Text books are so big and heavy and many classes require you to carry them back and forth. If text books were replaced by e-readers it would make so much sense. It would be easier for students and would save trees.

The second thing I would like to touch on is ensuring a safe online experience for students. The book talks about ways you can make sure students don’t wander onto bad sites.  Teachers can use a bookmark thing that only allows students to view certain sites or teachers can download software that allows students to go on pre-approved sites. I think this is something that is very important. The internet has so many sites that students should not have access to so it is good that there are ways to prevent students from going on to them.

The third thing I want to talk about is cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is willful and repeated harm through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic equipment. Cyber bulling has become a very large issue in recent years in both society and school. Bullying has always been around, but now with technology people can do it anonymously and say extremely hurtful things and a lot of the time not be held accountable. I feel that students all need to know the negative consequences of cyberbullying and it should be taught to never do it. I know most schools have zero tolerance for it which is good, students should know that cyberbullying is a nasty thing that lead to bad things.

By: Ashlynn Barnes via www.canva.com

Work cited

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. lead to bad things.

Digital Badge #C- Chapter 3

Chapter three discusses many points and concepts that are interesting.

The first thing I want to touch on is the page on High Tech high. It talked about schools where the educational philosophy blends new technologies with innovative approaches. It talks about how technology is integrated seamlessly in ways that support the goals of the school. I was very interested when reading about this. I think that it is only a matter of time before more and more schools take this approach. I feel that technology is becoming so important and vital to teaching and learning.  To use technology like this just shows how beneficial it is to implement it.









The second thing that I want to discuss one of the instructional methods to engage students.  I want to further talk about Inquiry Learning. Inquiry learning engages students in projects that ask them to do authentic and active work by investigating relevant questions in a subject field. I choose to talk about this method because I think that it is an effective method. I feel as though students become more engaged in something if they are doing something hands on. They tend to take more in when they are to look up information and present things rather than sitting being told information. When having to just sit and listen to a teacher  tell you specific information the words most likely go in one ear and out the other.  Other instructional methods are one-on-one  tutoring, learning groups, and metacongnitive thinking.

The last thing that I want to talk about is section about creativity. The book says that information technologies provide students and teachers with powerful ways to express their creativity.  I agree. I think that technology really helps to convey peoples creativity.  People can express themselves through technology, it has become an outlet that many people take advantage of.  Technology not only makes it easier to complete school projects and assignments, but it also helps to make it easy to convey creativity on those projects.





Works Cited



Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.





"Introduction To High Tech High" YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.