"Lessons Learned"

While reading the articles and watching videos I was struck by the overwhelming amount of information and technology we have at our fingertips. I hardly remember a time we didn't have a computer at our home. I do however remember having to use an actual encyclopedia to work on assignments we had for class. Students in this day and age rarely have that experience. They know that they can find the answer to just about any question they have in seconds. I loved the article about the New WWW whenever, whatever and wherever. It really painted an accurate picture of students these days. We really have unlimited access to anything and everything, even in the most remote places. If one wants to get away from technology it will be more difficult then not.

I loved watching the videos and reading about how teachers are currently integrating technology into their classrooms. The possibilities are endless. Although funding is tight for many schools across the country there are free resources online that can be used just as effectively as the tools that cost hundreds of dollars. It was obvious to me as I was doing this research that students are very connected to the world through technology. If we do not utilize this as teachers we are missing out on huge opportunities. Field trips are expensive, and because of that they are often cut from the budget. This does not mean though that the students can't experience the outside world. Just look at GoogleEarth. You can pull up a satellite picture of anywhere in the world anytime. The possibilities of technology are endless.

It is imperative that we as teachers are able to speak the language of the students. We need to understand how they use technology and what they use it for. We need to utilize the time they spend on the web and show them how to learn using it. We need to take into account social media. We need to teach them the difference between personal and professional writing.  In my opinion our students deserve to have teachers who understand technology and enjoy it like they do. They should be able to use technology to learn and to show what they know, because it will help them in their future. After reading these articles and watching the movies I understand on a deeper level just how important it is for us as future teachers to realize that technology isn't going to go away. We can either fight it and lose or join forces with it and in turn benefit the lives of our students.

"My Beliefs"

 I believe that technology integration is imperative. Teachers that refuse to use it in their classroom will quickly become obsolete. The UIN survey stresses the importance of not only designing authentic learning activities, but also spending the time to reflect and make educational decisions regarding technology. If we do not practice that ability now we will not have the time to when we actually hit the classroom. Our students deserve to have teachers who are proficient in the NETS*T Standards, and if they are not yet that should be one of their focuses during their training. Technology is not going to become easier to understand if it is ignored. You have to experiences it first hand before you teach it. All future teachers should have a spirit of discovery when it comes to technology, because that spirit will benefit their students when they enter the classroom.

Our students are growing up in this world, and when they are our age it will be even worse. By that time we will probably be used to having constant information all day everyday. In my mind this is not a healthy thing. Attention spans are becoming shorter, kids are used to being entertained all day, and since schools do not have funding they are lagging behind. Students are becoming bored quickly and losing their interest in learning. If we want to be able to effectively combat this technology needs to be used constantly. Students need to have opportunities to explore and use their skills in ways that are not mind numbing and useless. We as teachers need to show them how to use these technologies to learn, and we need to make them excited about that ability. There are so many resources available to us as teachers we just need to take advantage of them. If we want to reach our students we need to use technology. It is a huge part of their world.

One of my favorite points from the article is that many children believe that having the latest technology will make them happy, but we as adults know that it will not. We as their teachers owe it to them to help them understand this. By the time we are actually in the classroom they may have already developed this mindset. We need to give them opportunities to see that serving and engaging in personally meaningful actions are where true happiness are.  We cannot let the cycle of constant entertainment destroy their natural curiosity and ability to learn. We are on the front lines and if we do not accept the responsibility who will? Our students deserve the best and the best for them is to use the technology they love to teach them the information they need to know.

"Strengths & Weaknesses"

I love technology, and in my opinion that is one of my greatest strengths when it comes to technology integration. The new tools that are coming out on the market excite me and ever since I decided to become a teacher I have been thinking about ways to integrate the new technology into the classroom. I have experience using both a Mac and PC, and understand the basics of how each computer works. I have used many audio and visual applications/programs, and have many ideas about how those programs can be integrated. I have a willingness to explore and try new programs, and I know that will benefit my future students. I believe that my excitement about technology will be a connection point between my students at I.

After taking the UNI survey and looking over the NETS*T standards I discovered that because I have not actually designed learning experiences for students I am at the apprentice level for most of the sections. I have had a lot of experience using all types of technology, but I have not actually be able to design many lessons for students. This is one area that I would consider a weakness. I understand technology, but being able to use it, and being able to teach with it are two very different things. One of my goals is to strengthen my practical knowledge about how I can effectively use technology in the classroom. A source of information that can help me to strengthen this area is the podcast series Technology 4 Teachers. This is a podcast series containing audio, video and a blog with information about technology and teaching and practical ways those two connect. It is created by a teacher who knows first had what it is like. Another source of information I found is a website (http://www1.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum/tech/proj_plan.html) that contains a step by step guide to creating a technology rich unit.

Another one of my weaknesses is the fact I know very little about the adaptive assistive devices for students with special needs. I have not had the chance to see these devices in action, and I know very little about what is available. I know that every year while I am a teacher there will be students with special needs so one of my goals is to become more familiar with the technologies that are available to help. One resource that is available to help me learn more about this area is http://www.closingthegap.com/ This site is all about the assistive devices and they even have periodic webinars and conferences. There is also a podcast series that goes by the same name, Closing the Gap, that is another resource. There are many sites and places online available to visit like http://www.tamcec.org/, where I can go to learn more about these assistive technologies.

Reflection Week #13 - Digital Story Service Learning Reflection

Our field work experience was completed at Windsor Elementary. The school is a Title 1 school in a medium to low socioeconomic area and 61% of their students are on free or reduced lunch. There are about 585 students who attend school there ranging from kindergarten to 6th grade. We were put in a fourth grade classroom with Mrs. Tiffani Ericksen. There are 28 students in her class - 15 female, 13 male. 43% of the students are Hispanic English Language Learners and the remaining 57% are Caucasian.

Our relationship with Mrs. Ericksen, our cooperating teacher, was a great one. She said multiple times that she wanted this to be a good experience for us, and she really made it fun. She was very flexible with our crazy schedules, and allowed us to really feel comfortable in the class before we began teaching. She was very open and honest with us, and gave us many resources like websites and books. We learned a lot from her, and know she will be a resource that we can go to in the future.

Mrs. Ericksen’s reaction to our lesson and the technology we used was very positive. After we finished the lesson she made a point to come up to us and let us know her thoughts. She had a couple of suggestions for improvement, but most of those were in regards to classroom management. She really liked how we integrated technology, and said over and over how lucky she felt to have an ELMO in her classroom.

The Digital story piece of our lesson was very well received by the students and our teacher. It was a great introduction to our unit on Native Americans. Mrs. Ericksen also seemed to really like the time we took to show her how we created our digital story. She was a very tech-savy teacher so it didn’t take much time for us to show her how to create it. She had a Mac which has the program we used, iMovie, which made the training session something that was more beneficial to her. She had never used the program before, and our training opened up a new technology tool for her.

I don’t know that Mrs. Ericksen will ever use the skills that we taught her to create a Digital Story. She has been teaching for quite a few years and seems to know what she likes to use. She doesn’t seem like a teacher who will want to spend time outside of contract hours creating something that will only take up a few minutes in class. The time we spent creating our Digital Story was beneficial for us as future teachers. It provided us a way to introduce our unit using technology, and it really got the students engaged. It taught us great technology skills that we can pass onto our students, and is something we will have as a resource. I just don’t feel that it was extremely practical though because the two minutes it took up in class was only a fraction of the time it took to create it. It would be more useful if it was to be used over multiple years.

Overall the service learning experience was a good one. We enjoyed creating the Digital Story, and learned a lot about the technology in the process. The video got the students engaged in our unit, and opened up new teaching possibilities for us and our cooperating teacher. It may not have been extremely practical because of the amount of work it took to create a good video, but I can definitely see the purpose behind the project. I can see myself using this type of technology integration as both an in class video or as an assignment for the students to create. It is a fun way to learn that connects what the students see outside of the classroom to what they are learning in the classroom.

Reflection Week #12 - Field Work 3

Our field work is now complete. It was an amazing experience that provided so many learning opportunities and fun memories. I will never forget the lessons I was able to learn, and will take the resources I have found and continue using them in the future.

This week we were able to teach our cooperating teacher how to create a digital story. She wasn't very keen on actually creating one herself, but I believe she was thankful for our willingness to show her how. As teachers we have to be creative in the approaches we take to learning, and we need to cater to all learning styles and all students individually. Technology is often one of the common ties that all students connect to. Digital stories are one way we can integrate technology, and we were able to give that resource to our cooperating teacher. I know that if she ever wants to create one in the future she will know how, and will also know that she can contact us if she has more questions about how to create them. We were able to develop a great relationship with our teacher, and I know we will be resources for each other in the future.

I had never really had the opportunity to spend a large amount of time in a classroom before, and it was a blast. I loved getting the chance to get to know the students individually, and spend time teaching them. It was great being able to apply what we had been learning all semester at UVU in a real classroom setting. Theory is important to know, but until you have the chance to apply it in a real life situation the learning is not complete. I believe we were able to solidify what we have been learning by using it over the past three weeks. I will take this experience with me into the future and will use it as a foundation for the semesters to come.

Reflection Week #11 - Field Work 2

This week has really been a fun week in our field work. We have gotten the chance to see quite a bit of technology used in the classroom and it has been fun to see the students reactions. We also got the chance to show our digital story and use technology with the students which was a great experience.

One particular lesson that we had the chance to observe was a lesson our cooperating teacher did on arrays in multiplication. She integrated technology by using her ELMO to do a couple examples and have the students write definitions and then she used a website to illustrate what she was talking about. The students seem to pay attention more when she is using technology to teach, and it was fun to watch their excitement as she used the website. It is obvious that the need for technology in the classroom is huge! Technology is such a important part in their lives and when it is used in the classroom it really seems to make them more excited to learn.

This week we started our unit. To introduce our topic we showed the class our digital story. They were very excited to be watching a movie, but were bummed that it wasn't longer. After it was over one of the students,  not used to watching that type of thing in class, said, "well that was weird." It was funny to see their reaction to the video, but overall I think it really go them excited to learn about Utah's Native Americans. We also used the ELMO for our lesson which worked really well! I hope that in the future I will have access to technology because it really enhances the students' experience and helps them to learn. Being in the classroom has really shown me the importance of using various types of instruction so, as teachers, we can reach all of our students.

Reflection Week #10 - Field Work 1

This week my partner and I started our field experience. We are working at Winsor Elementary school in Orem in Mrs. Ericksen's 4th grade class. It is so fun to be able to be in the classroom practicing what we have been learning these past months. It is so exciting to be working with the kids and helping them to learn. We are now in the real world!

The classroom we are in doesn't have a ton of technology, but it has more than most of the classrooms I have been too. There are 4 mac laptops for student use, but as far as I have seen the teacher does not utilize those. One piece of technology that is amazing that Mrs. Ericksen has already used multiple times is an Elmo. It is a camera that projects what is put underneath it. It is seriously one of the coolest pieces of technology I have seen, and the students love it. Our teacher used it to grade a math worksheet with the students and she was able to show them exactly what their pages should have looked like. You could tell that the students really liked it as well. It is something that drew their attention to her. My partner and I are hoping to be able to utilize it during our unit.

When talking to our instructor she stated that she has only had the Elmo for about a year, and that they were really lucky to receive it. I know that funding is always tight in elementary schools, and I hope that when I become a teacher I will have some access to technology. It is such a huge thing in the lives of all students today that it is really important to use!