My journey this semester with
Intro to Technology for Educators was interesting; I really enjoyed learning
more about technology and especially learning how to create blog’s, wiki’s,
webpages, citing resources, and many more. I always knew my way around
technology since its self-explained, therefore learning how to create certain
web items was different, since I had only ever created a Facebook, twitter, and Instagram, in which I would just create it and use it. I realized how important
it was to give attribution and cite sources used in my work and will continue
to do so. I know I have more to learn and therefore I will continue to practice
what I have learned.
I enjoyed reading the text book and learning the correct terminology to all the technology based items, the way they’re used, and the benefits in a classroom/education. The discussions were something that I have learned differently in my other classes, I usually have to give my opinion over a certain topic chosen and then reply to two classmates, whether I agree or disagree and why. I really enjoyed working on all the assignments assigned, for I have practiced and learned to do much more than I thought I could and I am also aware that I have more to learn!
I would definitely recommend this class to others, It’s a class that seems challenging, yet enjoyable and most of all knowledge is gained that will help prepare me/us for the future, whether it’s for the classroom, homework, personal and or business use. I like the way you made the class interesting with having us work with different things, such as the textbook, websites, wikis, delicious, games, etc. instead of getting our information of the textbook only; and teaching us how to navigate outside of Google when looking up information and/or doing research.
Resouces: Crouch, K. (2013, July 8). ASB Online - Learning with Web 2 Tools. Retrieved April 30, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFyy3yUREXU Flickr. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2015, from https://www.m.flickr.com/
(n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2015, from https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1274/5184519081_0fc282a948.jpg
YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://www.youtube.com/
First, Bring Your Own Technology
Programs (BYOT/BYOD) is the program where students are invited to bring
any technology device they have at home so they can use at school for their daily
learning experiences. In some cases students may purchase or rent inexpensive
laptop from a local reseller, when schools cannot afford laptops for each
student. This is something that is becoming popular in most schools and
actually encouraging students to take their device to school. I don’t really
agree with this program, as it was mentioned in the book of how some students
will have newer devices than others. And as a parent I feel like it puts
pressure on my daughters in taking their own device to school because some of their
classmates do so.
Second, Digital Pens and Digital Notepads
are devices that can be used to record any written information onto a computer.
A Digital
Pen is a writing device that records words that someone has written or
spoken and they can be accessed on a computer which converts content into typed
text (Pogue, 2008). DigitalNotepads are the devices that allow
users to write and draw and then convert the images to digital text. Digital
pens are used in technology to make on-the-spot observations or assessments and
consolidate them onto a permanent file for later use; and students can engage
during the writing process and express their first draft of ideas. These digital
items sound interesting and would like to try them in the future when I become
a teacher. I can visualize how this would be something that would promote
students engagement during their learning time.
Third, Developing a Technology-Learning
Mindset, teachers are constantly willing to investigate how digital
technology can be used to transform teaching and learning in schools. This form
requires both creativity and critical thinking; exploring variety of technology
tools for their education. Both teachers and students benefit from this, since
there is always more to learn, grow, and lead altogether. Using variety of
tools helps change the learning styles and make it more fun and interesting.
Learning should always have new ways to present materials and avoid falling
into a basic classroom with old routines and same techniques.
In conclusion, I have found that
the tree concepts are important and necessary when it comes to education, especially
as the future unravels more and more around technology. Using these technology
tools will help make learning materials more presentable, which will catch the
interest of the students. As a personal experience I enjoy being creative and
colorful.
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.
First, Web Quests are
online inquiries by students which are designed and guided by teachers. Web quests
follow an electronic map or touring online from one web resource to the next. They
are designed to teach students about a certain topic and the information is
digital; therefore teachers pre-select and assess the sites that the students
will visit. I chose this concept since I have just finished creating one; Aside
from the technical difficulties I experienced, I must say that I really enjoyed
it and will be creating more in the future as a teacher. They will help
teachers when teaching a lesson and easy to use, students already enjoy using
technology, why not implement them into their daily learning?
Second, Online Learning and
Virtual Schools are among the most discussed and hotly debated aspects
of the digital revolution in education today. Online Learning or Distance
Learning- refers to the delivery of educational experiences through computers
and other technologies. Virtual Schools- when educational
organizations teach students mainly through online learning; these students
never enter a brick-and-mortar school building, in which they take all their classed
and exams in computers. In my personal opinion this is something that benefits
most of the college students, since college is where we come to start our
career journey and we can work around our work schedule and daily routines and
vice versa. But how beneficial is it for students to k-12 do schooling on line
or virtually? I mean yes it sounds great, as parents we don’t have to worry
about difficulties or issues that face to face learning may bring, but what
about having our children at home all day? Or depriving them from a social
life? That is why I think that it’s important to have Blended/Hybrid Learning,
which it consists of both face to face and online learning.
Third, Student-to- Expert
Communication websites, are websites designed to assist and/or provide
resources for students in need; e-tutoring focuses on helping the students,
such as if they need extra help in learning a certain math formula and or
problem solving the equation. Telementoring usually provides
opportunities in learning about careers in different fields. I find this to be
great for the older students, such as the high school and college students,
since there is times in where we forget how to work out a certain equations and
how convenient is it that we just have to message our instructor right when we
need the assistance.
In conclusion, I would
find these three concepts, especially now that technology can be used during
teaching, and most schools are enhancing “BYOD.”
Resources
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. What is K12 Online Learning? Online Schools For Students Everywhere. (2007, November 20). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jU1WujyADk
First, Digital Teaching Portfolios, are
used for teachers to store basically anything that they have gained that has
enhanced and/or been useful for teachers in their career; such as- any activities,
observations from field experiences, volunteer hours etc in a digital format. This
portfolio is designed to help save all these materials, which will become
useful when beginning a teacher career.
Second, Democratic Schools and Classroom, allows students
and teachers to engage and work together. This allows students to make
decisions about important learning educational aspects. Although, students make
some decisions, teachers are the ones in charge.
Third, Involving Students in Learning through
Feedback, which is somewhat similar to the Democratic Schools and
Classroom, yet this, allows students to have more feedback on what they are
learning and how things are being taught by the teachers. Before any lesson is taught
students talk about the importance of feedback, the form figure 11.5 is what is
used and turned in after the lesson.
In conclusion, these three concepts would be useful to me by
using a digital portfolio to store all the materials, activities and resources I’ve
created or used for myself as a teacher and the Democratic Schools and
Involving students in feedback would be something I would definitely implement
in my classroom, since I know how important it is to involve students in their education
and discussions. Providing feedback will help me understand and improve myself
as a teacher with students and vice versa.
Resources;
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. Teachers e-portfolio.wmv. (2010, May 27). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W2Vpn1iaNo
First, Teaching Goals, Methods, and Procedures (How
to teach), talks about what each term means and how it’s used in
educating students. Goals-are
the reasons why lessons are being taught, Methods- are the instructional strategies teachers
use to teach academic material to students; whether it’s a small or large
group, discussions, lectures, role-plays, etc., Procedures- are the scheduling and grouping of
students by teachers during a lesson and the decision of how much time to spend
on the activities; teachers combine these three concepts for daily learning. I chose
this concept because although I know that importance in teaching lessons, I have
learned the exact terminology of each and know how they are meant to be
combined to teach students
Second, Learning Assessments (knowing what students
have learned), is tracking the educational development of the students,
and how learning assessments occur before, during, and after teaching lessons,
which then enable teachers to evaluate their students’ knowledge, understanding
and performance. I chose this concept, since I agree that students should be
assessed and evaluated to see where they are educationally, and how they have
progressed, for what is the purpose of teaching lessons and not keeping track
of their developmental progress.
Third, Web Resources and Apps for Student Assessments
are technology tools that can be used to create ways and provide
resources that help teachers when assessing students. Using these tools will
help teachers set up guidelines and rules of what is expected, how it will be
graded and where to find them online or an app.
In conclusion, chose the three concepts since I find them to
be very important when preparing a lesson plan and/or assessing a student;
whereas it’s very important to make sure the lesson has a positive outcome
regardless of what and how the three concepts are implemented. I have learned the
correct terminology of things I do on a daily basis as a teacher and most of
all learned of different resources available to help become a better teacher to
my students.
Resources:
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.,
First, PowerPoint and the Next Generation Presentation
Tools, explains how it’s a multimedia software package that is used in
most of today’s computers and widely used in schools. PowerPoint presentations
are where projects are written on paper can be passed on to the computer and
enhanced with images and audio that relate to the item being discussed in form
of a slide show. I chose this concept since I grew up learning from them when I
was in middle and high school, and at that time they were interesting to me,
since I would always wonder how they were passed on to a computer screen and
then to the projector. I personally have used PowerPoint presentations in some
of my classes in the past, and I must say that I really enjoy it since I can
add audio, which basically helps explain itself.
Second, Alphabet Books, are books mainly
used by kindergarten to second graders, when used to practice spelling
patterns, letter sounds, vocabulary words, and reading skill. Students can
create them by using photos, and or hand drawn images. These Alphabet Books can
be used over and over and students can use objects from around the room. The reason
I chose this concept is because I can relate to similar books, I have
experienced the joy my students (VPK) have while looking at something they have
created and learned the material they have illustrated or seeing their picture in
a book.
Third, Technology Transformation Lesson Plan, is
where a lesson plan can be created through technology and or implement
activities found on line. The example given in the books shows a lesson plan
that explains the areas of focus. I chose this concept since I think that it’s important
to have a DAP (Development Appropriate Practice) and age-appropriate lessons. A
very well planned lesson plan will focus on the areas desired to teach, the
objectives/goals and the materials being used. Of course it’s important to be prepared
with all the materials needed to teach the curriculum. I have used technology
to plan activities for my children, for example when learning a certain letter I
have so many ideas, yet I want to make them beneficial and simple when
completing them. For example in the images below the letter “S” is cut out by
my assistant, since I want my children to be able to recognize and identify
letter “S” and the other activity is the sun, which my children cut out their own
shapes out and glued them the way they wanted. This helped them learn cutting
skills and creating their sun they way they wanted to.
Photo Credit to: Iris Acosta 3/11/2015
In conclusion, I chose all these three concepts, since I have
known for PowerPoint to be a very popular source when presenting projects and
or notes, Alphabet books are very helpful when teaching young children how to
read and or spell, up to the second grade and frequently implement similar activities
with my students, as well as word flash cards, and Technology Transformation Lesson
Plan, which helps transform a regular lesson plan onto a computer and easier to
print out. And as I mentioned before, I think the way a lesson planned is set
up is the way a class will help the students stay in routine and or be out of
control.
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.
First, Electronic Communication between Teachers
and Students talks about the different types of ways there is, such as-
Email/text messaging, Teacher or classroom websites, Blogs, online discussions,
and wiki’s. Teachers and students can use these communication technologies to
share ideas and information for educational purposes and different audiences. I
chose this concept since it’s necessary to have an effective way to communicate
with one another, as a student and/or teacher.
Second, Engaging Students is important to their
learning and to your teaching success. When students and teachers engage during
a learning discussions and involve hands-on activities, the learning will have
greater results, oppose to having discussions followed with worksheets and
tests, in which students lose interest in. Web-based materials and activities
put students in the position of “doing” (which I call hands-on) activities and
projects such as math, science, history or language. This concept was chosen
since it really does matter how well students engage and participate in class
tasks and/or discussion, since the mind gets very well expanded and knowledge is
gained.
Third, Establish Clear rules for online conduct,
talks about the importance of maintaining respectful discussions online, just
as it would be in “face to face” classes. It’s important for teachers to inform
students of what and how it’s expected to carry on discussions online. Even though,
online learning means we sit behind a screen, that doesn’t make it ok to offend
either a teacher or a fellow classmate. With online discussions, teachers must
find ways to engage students and come up with ideas; online discussions also
make it clear for students to dominate the conversation. I chose this concept
since it does help students engage in class discussions, for example I am one
to not engage much more then I have to, in a “face to face” discussions, oppose
to a one online where I may participate more.
In conclusion, I chose all these concepts because to me they
come hand in hand to help students learn whether it’s through an electronic
device, classroom, and/or a textbook. It also helps out when students have a
question and/or help with an assignment and they can reach their teacher at the
click of a keypad, rather than having to schedule an appointment and drive to
the classroom and/or office for assistance and by the time of arrival the question
would more than likely forgotten. Adding to communication between students,
this also helps engage students and teachers in discussions about the learning
topic. When using technology between students and teachers it’s important to
maintain clear rules that are mutual between both the students and teachers,
that will make learning more easier and fun.
Resources:
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.
Pelvin, R. (2013, January 14). Student Engagement And
Motivation Tips - HOW to engage your students. Retrieved February 26, 2015,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWRSRtdkrag
First, I chose Multicultural
Education in 21st Century Schools; which is used by
multicultural educators to organize teaching and learning. This helps achieve
multiple outcomes at the same time, while providing information about
individuals and groups who are different from them while offering diverse
students opportunities to locate them and their histories and other cultures
within the school curriculum. I found this topic interesting since, we are in a
diverse country and what better way to learn from different cultural through education.
Second, Assistive
Technology to reach Diverse learners, which would be using technology to
help teachers to differentiate instruction and purse a unique design, which enables individuals
with disabilities. I chose this topic since it offers various ways to help
teach a diverse learner through technology, depending on the assistive technology
necessary for each individuals need. What better way than to teach a by using a
tool that students love most, since technology is a tool we enjoy using the
most. For some reason, it gains interest and engages students of all ages in
learning.
Third, is Process Approaches to Writing, I chose this since it has been the center of writing and very important as well. Writing has stages that should be followed in proper writing, such as- pre-writing/brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. I think these are very important and yet not always followed properly by students of all ages, I myself am guilty of not doing so. So, I find it important to always review the process to writing.
In conclusion, all these three concepts were interesting because I was able to view past technology; it wasn’t just about what technology can be used, but with how and for whom. Although I found all three to be important I would say that the third concept would be the one I would practice more, since I don’t follow those stages.
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
First, kid pix is an educational program that began
as a paint program and evolved into multimedia art studio more than twenty years
ago. Kid pix can be used by teachers with the curriculum to accomplish creative
learning, which is like pretty much what students in elementary do on paper,
can be uniquely done with kid pix. I like the idea of teachers and students
using kid pix, not only is it educational, but sound like having fun when
creating or completing tasks, and learning at the same time. I myself, enjoy
creating posters or any kind of project and most of all when it involves
learning.
photo credit to https://www.flickr.com/photos/vbecker/5557563002/sizes/m/
Second, strategies for using games with students, is something teachers have to think about how and what games to use or implement into their curriculum. Therefore, teachers promote “time on task” games, yet, only chose one or two games that develop in a specific skill. I guess the question I would ask is whether or not this strategy would be beneficial to both, the student and/or the teacher or just one or the other? Would it have in impact in the way the teacher teachers? Or the student learns?
Third, is ITS (Intelligent Tutoring System) which is
powerful new software program that promotes inquiry learning through the computer
responses to student’s action. Since, the computer is recording any questions
asked by students and make predictions about what is and isn’t known by the
users. This allows children to practice, which will help them become better as
academic learners and test-takers. This is a very great and interesting
technique, who would have thought about having computer based tutors? I know I wouldn’t!
most of all I like the fact that students can see their learning progress in
real time. In which, in my opinion is beneficial to both the student and the
teacher.
In conclusion, I really
enjoyed reading this chapter, since not only does it talk about different ways
of using technology in the curriculum, but it explained what and how to be used.
I found all three concepts to be interesting, although I like the third one
best, I found it more interesting on how students can be tutored by or through
a computer and how it shows the progress of any information provided and/or
administered.
photo credit to toondoo/irisacosta
Resources:
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.
ITS-Interview. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://www.youtube.com/
First, Teachers and students have a constant need for
accurate, interesting, and relevant educational information. Information
enables teachers to develop lively curricula, update academic knowledge, and
answer student questions. Students use information to write papers and essays,
prepare for exams, develop personal talents, and propel their quest for
knowledge. Information is the currency of learning in schools. Information can
be found throughout libraries, reading books and magazines, taking classes, and
attending conferences and presentations; and now the internet is the has become
one of the biggest sources when searching for information and the number one
source for adults when searching for information on restaurants, local
business, housing, schools, and jobs. By 2010, the Internet had “surpassed
newspapers and radio in popularity as a news platform on a typical day and now
ranks just behind TV” ( Purcell, Rainie, Mitchell, Rosenstiel, & Olmstead,
2010, p. 2). Teachers use the internet to teach important educational information
and students learn academically. Now days
all the schools and classrooms have access to internet based resources, and unfortunately
the low-income areas do not have the same high-speed broad-brand services. (US
Dept of Commerce, 2012).
Second, making sure we know how to search is very important,
the last thing we need is to look for information through the wrong websites. For example; if I am searching on how to make
play dough for a preschool class, the internet can give search results from
making it with flour, salt and water to flour, boiling water, food coloring,
oil etc etc. and obviously I will use what’s easier and safer for preschool
children. It’s important to make sure we teach our students to follow strategies
and learning how to search and find information correctly.
Third, knowing how to evaluate the online information and making
sure it’s the correct information we are searching for since, the search engine
doesn’t know who is behind it, such as a child or an adult. Evaluating the
information can go hand in hand with knowing how to use the search engine,
therefore, we’re not in doubt when using the websites and much less, use the
correct information in which we will be using for either teaching students
and/or completing an assignment.
In conclusion, it is very important to not only know how to
search and how to evaluate a website, but to use the internet for literacy as
well, therefore it will help by learning how type, search and read the
information researched. Internet use has gained popularity, since it is much
more convenient, especially to those who have the resources to do so.
<a href='http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/8442433'><img src='http://static.toondoo.com/public/i/a/c/iacosta0708//toons/cool-cartoon-8442433.png' border='0' alt='blog d' title='Click to View Full Size Image' ></a><br><div style='font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; width: 100%;'>By <a href='http://www.toondoo.com/user/iacosta0708'>iacosta0708</a> | <a href='http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/8442433'>View this Toon at ToonDoo</a> | <a href='http://www.toondoo.com/'>Create your own Toon</a></div>
Resource(s)
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.
Learning About Earth Day: Developing Internet. (2011, November 25). Retrieved February 3, 2015, from http://learning about earth day/
First, A parent and a teacher, meeting for a midyear conference at school, were discussing the learning the child was doing in class when the conversation turned to a question from the parent: “Why are you emphasizing so much technology in your teaching?” This parent was puzzled about the role of computers, videos, digital cameras, and calculators in the classroom curriculum. “We try to limit his use of computers and television at home. We want him to be able to figure things out for himself, not become reliant on machines.” Pausing momentarily, the parent continued: “what can you teach with technology that you cannot teach just as well without it?” The teacher explained that while not every experience with computers represents the best learning possible, youngsters gravitate to technology- based activities that offer a sense of independence, exploration, curiosity, and dynamic learning. But, after making these statements, she doubted her explanation seemed clear or convincing. The parent saw no reason to reconsider her belief that less technology, not more, was best for her child.
Recalling the conversation later, the teacher shared how unprepared she felt to answer the parent’s question. An early adopter of technology ( she had bought a computer for her classroom with her own money long before the school district put multiple machines in every room), the teacher assumed that having students use technology was unquestionably where education was headed in the future. So, she found resources and created activities that engaged students’ learning individually, in pairs, and in groups with focus, enjoyment, and opportunities to teach each other.
I can see where the parents may have asked the teacher if technology was needed to teach children, since the first thing that comes to mind is “do they expect for us to purchase a computer or do they think we have access to one?” or how they think technology will have children be so reliant on technology for problem solving any issue that requires figuring things out. Since, I have thought the same things when I received the BYOD paper from my daughters’ school and it is more convenient to search any issue immediately. In regards the teacher, she wasn’t expecting for the parents to ask questions regarding technology and education. The teacher could’ve been prepared by creating a plan that would introduce how she implements technology in her classroom and most important of all how the children benefit from it.
Second, Online learning environments, including educational games and interactive simulations, develop students’ talents as problem solvers and critical thinkers. Game- like environments create “virtual worlds for learning,” stated James Paul Gee and colleagues from the Games and Professional Practice Simulations (GAPPS) research group at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (Gee & Hayes, 2010).
There are three primary characteristics of solving problems in online learning game environments. First, students use computers to do what they cannot easily do on paper. Second, students encounter types of problems that occur in the real world or problems of personal interest to them. Third, students integrate knowledge of technology how to use computers and game- playing machines) with academic content (how to understand the science, math, history, or language arts material that is embedded in the structure of the game). The ease and speed of technology enables students to access resources, do experimental trials, and develop working hypotheses, all while thinking like problem solvers.
One engaging example is Spinners, a math game for elementary school students from the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM), a website at Utah State University. Spinners is designed to teach students about probability, chance, and random choices. NLVM has many math games for all grade levels in number operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis. Spinners begins as a circle divided equally into five sections labeled red, green, orange, yellow, or purple, with a spinning needle in the middle ( see Figure 3.2 on the next page). A game player pushes “spin,” the computer spins the needle, and the result is recorded automatically on a bar graph. Students can spin again and again to see which colors are landed on most and least often. The number of spins can be set from 1 to 999 on a single try. Students can also change the label, color, and/ or size of the spinner sections, thus weighting the possible outcomes in favor of one or more sections. Labels might be the names of friends or television characters or even questions being posed by classmates in a poll. The Spinners’ game environment is simple yet engrossing, teaching math concepts by exploring what is possible within the laws of probability.
Online learning environments are great, not only because each student learns at his/her own space, but they are learning through a game that is helping him/her advance in the area needed.When children/people use technology to complete a task or homework, it becomes enjoyable and fun. It’s always fun to mess around am electronic device…why? I don’t know exactly why!
Third, Creativity is a much- prized quality in society— especially in business, entertainment, the arts, and popular culture— but is not nearly so in schools. Some youngsters are labeled highly creative ( or talented and gifted), but many are not. While all students may have innovative ideas to contribute, some are not asked for their ideas or opinions. Everyone seems to struggle to identify what creativity is and is not, and then how to incorporate it into learning. Multiple intelligences researcher Howard Gardner located creativity in the actions of historically significant people such as Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, T. S. Eliot, Martha Graham, and Mahatma Gandhi, who “ solve problems, create products, or raise issues in a domain in a way that is initially novel but is eventu-ally accepted in one or more cultural settings” ( 1994, p. 116). Social psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ( 1996) contends that for an idea or contribution to be truly creative, it must pass the test of time and the judgment of many evaluators. The teenage Mozart was uniquely talented, but the society- altering impact of his compositions evolved over time as musical conventions changed profoundly from his influence. In this view, those who are acknowledged to be “creative” are those whose accomplishments enrich life and change the course of history.
By contrast, children and adolescents display their creativity in personal ways within family, school, and after- school environments ( Kafai, Pepper, & Chapman, 2009). Some draw, paint, or sculpt; build with blocks or clay; or explore outdoor landscapes or interior mindscapes. Others express themselves on bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, or basketball courts. Still others play musical instruments, act in plays, or write stories and poetry. To be creative, children do not need to design, compose, or develop something no one has done before; they may need only to say or do things they have not thought or done before in quite the same way or style. The creative act can be what is new to the individual, not new to the world. For students in schools, computers transform the process of expressing one’s ideas creatively using writing.
I think that creativity should be implemented whether it’s through paper or technology based, therefore students should be allowed to express their creativity in any way they want as long as it’s not offensive to anything or anyone. I myself, like being creative, especially on paper, with coloring and/or painting. As I mentioned before in the other blog, I observed how a group of kindergarten children were allowed to be creative when they were creating their own rocket ship through a worksheet emailed from the technology teacher.
In conclusion, as a parent I would like to always be informed about what happens in my daughter’s classroom, whether it’s a learning experience and/or a new item introduced. Parent and teacher communication is the key to a child’s success together they can work with what’s best in education. As far, as online games, what a great way for students to learn, than with games, of course as long as they are educational and not violence enhanced. Using technology will allow students to engage in classroom activities, by simply wanting to explore the device; that brings in hands on creative activities as well, who doesn’t learn or enjoy trying things out for themselves? “I do” or else I feel that I won’t understand. Therefore, creativity becomes a part of hands on tasks.
Resource(s)
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.
First, Teaching is a career that matters to everyone— students, families, employers, and society as a whole. Filled with powerful complexities, endless questions, and wonderful rewards, it requires constant learning. As a teacher, you are expected to:
·Convey essential academic material to students in ways they will understand, remember, and use. Doing so produces a growing sense of personal and professional accomplishment.
· Teach and reach all students, each of whom has unique individual needs and interests, in large- and small- group settings. Doing so builds your identity as a creative educator who can create success from challenges.
·Balance students’ outside- of- school influences (social class, family income, race, gender, language, and individual exceptionalities) with inside- the- classroom dynamics (academic content, teaching methods, assessment practices, interpersonal dynamics, classroom management activities, and daily routines) to maintain and sustain academic learning. Doing so establishes a vision of success for positive change in the lives of students, families, and communities.
Because of years of experience as students, beginning educators often teach as they were taught. They utilize whole-group instruction with desks arranged in rows, while students mostly listen, take notes, complete worksheets, and receive grades reflecting test scores— all time- established educational routines.These practices often fail to engage at least half of the students who experience more active learning environments in other parts of their lives. Suggesting that you can create more lively and inspiring teaching situations is much easier than making this a day- to- day reality in a classroom with students of many backgrounds who possess different levels of interest in the curriculum and divergent learning styles.Technology changes teaching and learning in enriching and productive ways by:
Differentiating instruction to offer students diverse learning experiences
Motivating disengaged individuals
Creating group and cooperative learning situations
Allowing access to academic information from multiple sources
Letting students visit places and observe processes that cannot be seen without electronic systems. This list of creative possibilities is constantly expanding, making technology an essential tool for either a beginning teacher or an experienced educator.
I also think that it’s very important to want to be a teacher in order to make teaching career matter, which will make it more enjoyable and less stressful. Yes, I know it’s impossible to not stress out, but at least when I get stressed out I remind myself that I chose the teaching career because I love to teach and that helps me realize the positive side of my career. In regards of teachers teaching the way they learned years ago, should be trained to teach as education and technology evolve. I have worked with teachers that got their degree twenty to thirty years ago and they teach the same way. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have credibility in what and how they teach but they should be opened to learning new ways to enhance education in classrooms, especially with all the technology available on this present day. I wonder if it has anything to do with learning new things that obviously these teachers didn’t learn years ago when they graduated? Or is it that they just are so used to what they learned and don’t want to learn or implement any new techniques?
Second, almost everyone has heard Apple’s now iconic marketing phrase, There’s an app for that!” App is short for application, meaning a software program that runs on a smartphone or tablet computer. Initially associated with iPhones and iPads, apps are now available for all smartphone and tablet brands. There are hundreds of thousands of apps out there, and the number is increasing steadily as people demand more and more ways to use mobile devices for entertainment, information, and learning. There were 25 billion app downloads for the iPad between April 2010 and March 2012; downloads in Google’s Android market reached 10 billion in December 2011 ( Quitney & Rainie, 2012a).
Apps are also educational technologies that offer exciting ways to engage students and inform teachers. Apps fit well with classroom or field- based learning activities in which teachers and students can be readily connected to online information sources (EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2010 May). When questions arise in class or in outside- of- school conversation, answers are available by accessing an app for that topic. There are apps for just about every academic subject, including:
Science: The Elements and 3D Sun provide visually engaging, highly interactive explorations of science topics. Molecules, a free app, gives three- dimensional views of molecules that can also zoom in and out and be moved across the screen using two- finger pinch and swipe gestures. Frog Dissection lets students interactively explore anatomy.
English/ Language Arts: Poetry, an app from the Poetry Foundation, lets a user hit a spin button to access poems English/ Language Arts: Poetry, an app from the Poetry Foundation, lets a user hit a spin button to access poems.
English/ Language Arts: Poetry, an app from the Poetry Foundation, lets a user hit a spin button to access poems written about multiple topics from happiness and joy to sadness and grief. Story Patch and Rory’s Story Cubes invite storytelling by students
History/ Social Studies: Early Jamestown is a multimedia early American history textbook. Back in Time presents a timeline of the history of the Earth with amazing graphics and interesting information. The FDR Years has thousands of photographs from the collection of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Math: Math board offers interactive explorations of the hundreds board. Tanzen features engaging mathematical puzzles for students to solve. Quick Graph provides ways to visually display information from polls, surveys, and experiments.
General Information: How Stuff Works has information about thousands of everyday life topics. Choose a topic, read an article, take a quiz, watch a video, and follow web links to learn more.
There is a lot of more information on what and how apps work, but I have to say that it’s amazing how technology arises and how apple created these apps to make technology more convenient when having to look up something online, not only is it easier to just open up the app, oppose to looking up the website needed and logging in at all times, but having apps that help teachers teach and engage students, that’s wonderful!“how safe are these apps?"
Third, historically teachers and schools have used technology sparingly, rather than as an essential component of teaching. In 2002, a federal government study concluded that education was the “least technology- intensive” part of the U. S. economic system (U. S. Department of Commerce, 2002). In 2011, a former head of the Gates Foundation concurred: “Education remains one of the few sectors that information and communication technologies have not transformed” (quoted in Bailey, Henry, McBride, & Puckett, 2011, p. 6).
Technology use in school by teachers varies greatly (see Figure 2.6). Most teachers use computers for email, word processing, recordkeeping, and data management functions. Project Tomorrow (2012b) found that teachers are also using technology for other professional tasks, such as webinars (28%), multimedia presentations (54%), online learning communities ( 38%), uploading videos and photos ( 65%), reading blogs and wikis ( 34%), updating social networks ( 45%), and posting on Twitter ( 8%).
However, a much smaller number of teachers regularly use technology in classroom teaching. According to a national study by Walden University, only one teacher in five frequently uses technology in class to support student learning. “Frequent users” were defined as teachers who spent more than 31% of class time using technology. Some 60% of teachers were “sporadic” or “infrequent” users, spending 20% or less of total class time supporting student learning with technology ( Grunwald Associates LLC, 2010, p. 6).
You will find similar patterns of technology use by teachers in the schools where you are working. Many teachers may see computers as valuable additions to their teaching, but they do not regularly collect and interpret data using handheld devices, create webpages or wikis displaying individual or group student writing, ask students to analyze resources found on the Internet, or otherwise build technology into lessons. There will be teachers who hardly ever use computer technologies while teaching, and there will be others who connect computers to learning on a daily basis.
At first I felt like technology was taking over young children and they wouldn’t know how to use a pencil, read from a textbook, decorate folders, etc, etc, and felt that teachers should use technology to teach in middle and high school, of course it’s important to for children to learn about technology, but not make it a priority in education. On second thought yesterday I had to go and observe a classroom as part of my homework for another class, I chose a kindergarten classroom at Parkside Elementary, the teacher was alone with 16 children, she was able to have them engaged and they gladly participated with structure and routine, and to my surprise, she used a projector most of the time I was there, they discussed math equations and she would look up videos on youtube that related to what she was teaching. She did the same thing with phonics and literacy. I was amazed with how engaged the children were; I would have to say that was my first experience of watching a teacher teach elementary students through technology, aside from a preschool room where children have computer time during free choice. Of course it would all have to be for what’s best for our children in education.
In conclusion, I think that technology is playing a major role in education, whether it’s from the teachers end or the students. It’s well known that technology makes learning enjoyable and interesting. I would say that observing that teacher that was teaching with you tube trough the projector, and when going to the technology class, the teacher emailed them a worksheet that they had a to design a rocket ship out of shapes and they learned it by one simple example that was taught to them.
Resources:
Textbook - 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.
First off, today’s iGeneration is formed by a part of
eight-to-eighteen year olds; these are youngsters that have grown up using
computers, the internet and other digital media as constant features of their daily lives (project tomorrow,
2012a). According to the book youngsters born since 1990, this generation have
never known a world without cell phones, text messages, and other interactive
technologies (Posnick-Goodwin, 2010). I was surprised to see that the book
states that youngsters born in 1990, since I was six years at that time and
really don’t recall electronic devices being popular at that time. Now, more
like 1996-1999 I’d say the beepers/pagers were trending. Figure 1.1 shows a table chart reflecting the
ages and multimedia the youngsters that are popular since 201o, genders were
not specified.
Second, devices such as- Tablets, smart phones, and lap tops
are technology tools that can be used for learning. When you enter teaching you
will find it quickly that every part of the job is tied to computers and the information
they help you access, manage, and share with students. This suggests rethinking
the kinds of technology tools you are using to communicate and manage
information.
·Tablets (also called tablet computers) are
small, very powerful machines that use touch- screen controls and provide
Internet access through a mobile network from companies like Verizon, AT&
T, or T- Mobile. The best- known tablet is Apple’s iPad, but competitors abound
from companies such as Samsung, Motorola, T- Mobile, and BlackBerry. Through
their design, iPads and other tablets promote interactive learning as students
work together “remixing media and content, collaborating with peers at a
distance, sharing and communicating findings clearly and efficiently” ( Berson,
Berson, & Manfra, 2012, p. 89). Tablets and smartphones run apps (short for
applications) that can be used for thousands of instructional purposes.
·Smartphones are mobile telephones that perform a
range of information communication functions, including Internet access, voice
communication, text messaging, and video viewing. These devices have evolved
into handheld computers. One student we know is so proficient at using her
smart-phone keypad that she submits papers for college classes using her phone.
Apple’s iPhone has propelled the development of smartphone technology, and now
there are numerous competing models from other companies. Although not yet
total substitutes for computers, smart-phones offer teachers on- the- go
options such as rapid note-taking, quick texting and email communicating, and
easy information searching. Like tablets, smartphones run many apps for
educational learning.
·Laptops (also called laptop computers, mini
computers, or notebooks) weigh between two and eight pounds. Although their
lightness is a significant bonus, the computing power of these machines makes
them vitally useful for teachers. High-quality laptops offer substantial
battery life, an easy- to- read screen display in all kinds of light,
sufficient memory to run multiple applications, and enough processing speed to
handle downloading information and processing files. They have enough storage
to be filing cabinets and virtual libraries.
