Journal 4

Focus question: How can teachers integrate technology into their work as educators?

With technologies rapid advancements in materials and sources teachers have many options on how to implement it into their classroom curriculum. As we have all scene before teachers can go over instructions and guidelines to a project, assignment, or essay using PowerPoint which we are all familiar with. There are now new techniques teachers can use in the classroom to get information across to students. Teachers can use videos implemented in their PowerPoint to grab student’s attention with screen media. This can properly display the step-by-step process on how it is to be done. When students are outside of the classroom they can be assigned homework in which is done over the internet or perhaps in an APP on your phone or ipad. There are so many websites that help assess students and what they have learned. For example the APP I have used in the classroom, socrative, in which a teacher can put together a little quiz and as the students finish answering she receives answers and can assess each child individually. Activities can be done outside the classroom as in presentation work or online text books . In school my favorite assignments were those that I could get on the computer and use my imagination to illustrate what I was learning. Making your own presentations on the computer or in some available APPs would help get kids interested in doing work outside the classroom/homework. Technology is what this day and age loves so we must fulfill their needs and get them excited to learn, even if that means we are technology crazed.

Tech tool: Online Technology Integration Resources

The internet has come such a long way with resources and information. We used to be limited with information now there are so many online databases you can research just about any topic and get the most informative feedback. Eutopia, National Educational Technology Standards, NCTE Inbox and NCTE Inbox Blog are all helpful online resources. Eutopia is by far my favorite data base to search when I am researching a specific topic. They have a wide variety of articles you can choose from on whatever your subject matter is. The website is very simple and easy to use, you don’t get lost on how to work the system like other search engines. NETS-T has two different resources; digital edge learning exchange and rubric forms. The digital edge learning exchange is a bunch of video case studies of prior teachers whom have integrated technology into the classroom. The rubrics posted are there for teacher to use to easily assess how effectively they have implemented it into their own teaching.  

 

Photo Credit to Auburn University's digital citizenship on SDSU Library

Summary:

This chapter to me is all about how to properly integrate technology into your own teaching programs and classroom. Technology is a great thing but must be used correctly in order to benefit from it. There are many ways teachers can use technology to excite kids and start progressing in a positive thought about school and learning. There are APPs being created every day to help simplify teachers work in assessing students in what they know as well as actually teaching material. PowerPoint. eBooks, databases, and APPs create a wide variety of ways to implement technology in and outside the classroom. Kids love using technology so we should let them. Assign homework assignments online, math, readings, writing, or science. It not only gets the kid involved and hands on in the work but it is easier in the long wrong to be graded/assessed by teachers. The internet is not at all an inconvenience it creates ease for teachers, parents, and students. Teachers will work with their different techniques and fin what works for them and how they can use technology to properly teach students so that they are effectively learning new material and stay excited about new findings.