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.

Digital Badge #B- Chapter 2

In reading the second chapter to our book, I found several topics I want to touch on.

  The first part that I want to talk about is the part about apps for teaching and learning. I find it to be really incredible that apps can now be used in the classroom. Teachers can use these to help the students to be more engaged on what they are learning about. It is cool that apps are not just being made for games and social media, now you can find apps for science, math, history, and a lot of other topics. Students today are lucky for the technology that they have at their fingertips, they have so many resources for finding information and it only takes seconds. Before all of this students had to look up information in books which could sometimes take a while.

  The section on teaching philosophy was interesting to read about, I have read about teaching philosophies in previous classes but it is always a topic that grabs my attention. This section just briefly described the teacher-centered and student-centered philosophies.  Teacher-centered teaching is when the teacher is the only person talking.  Teachers who use this was of teaching use student scores from tests to determine which students have learned and which have not. Student-centered teaching is where teachers are solely there to ask questions and challenge their students.  Teachers who use this way of teaching create puzzles, ask questions and engage in conversations with their students. After reading this part I got to thinking about which philosophy I would go by in my classroom and I came to the conclusion that I would go with the student-centered one, I feel students would thrive more if taught this way.

 
Another thing that caught my attention while reading were the terms "digital natives" and "Digital immigrants" I have never heard of these terms. A digital native is a person who has grown up using instant and interactive computer and wireless technologies.  The book states that an average college grad has spent some 10,000 hours playing video games and 20,000 hours watching television, this statistic astonishes me, I find that hard to believe. This definitely proves that technology is taking over in this world it makes me wonder how many hours are spent on the internet on social media.

In conclusion, this chapter was very informative. It is information that is not just going to be read and forgotten like a lot of text book information, this is stuff that will be implemented when I become a teacher.

Resources-

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Barnes, A (2015, January 24). School,theres an app for that. Created with
Bitstrips http;//www.bitstrips.com

Digital Badge #A - Chapter 1

First I want to reflect on the term "iGeneration" I never really thought of myself as a part of this generation because I was never some 8 year old with a tablet or cell phone, but with reading the definition I do technically fit into this generation. I did grow up with technology all around me and I use it in my everyday life. I feel that the term "iGeneration" is interesting, it is strange to think that technology has taken over so much that it has claimed a whole generation. Children have become so tech savvy. Parents use tablets to distract their toddlers and to keep them behaved. So with technology becoming more and more vital in everyday life it is no surprise that teachers should start becoming well equipped with information on technology.


Something that I also found interesting in this chapter was the list of "must-have" technologies for the classroom. A teacher of the year had listed the technologies he thought were must-haves that he had used in his classroom, those being; A laptop, an interactive white board, a student participation system with clickers, and iPod and a smart phone. This definitely threw me off. When I was in elementary school the best technology I had to use a computer. I did not get to see a smart board or use a iPod in class. I did not know That some of these things could be used effectively in the class room. This leads me to believe that I have a lot to learn about using technology in the classroom.

It was also interesting to read the strategies for learning new technologies. Things like expanding your technology categories and creating small technology groups are good ways to become better at knowing the different technologies in the classroom. I found it interesting when I read " The rapid pace of technological change means that learning about and using must-have technologies will be ongoing as long as you teach." This shows that technology is not going away, new technologies are always going to arise and teachers need to realize this. Getting to know technologies and having them in your classroom is what teachers now have to do.

After reading this chapter I have now realized that I need to become more informed on the different technologies that are now being used in classrooms.

Citations

1. 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.
2. "Technology in the Classroom: Digital Media." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
3. Whittaker, Zack. "Defining the 'iGeneration': Not Just a Geeky Bunch of Kids | ZDNet." ZDNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.