At this point I feel pretty confident in my ability to enter a classroom and use technology in a lesson. This class has allowed me to see how much preparation goes into creating these plans to make it smooth and easy to accept by the students. Also, I feel as if the new generation of students will already have a feel for modern technology so it will be easy to introduce new pieces to them. I will be keeping my notes and even the lessons from this class so I can put what I’ve learned in this course ton use in my classroom. I might even need to use the lesson plans I have made here as templates for any future plans I have to make. I’m also planning on staying in touch with my professor since she has been extremely helpful throughout this course and may be able to provide me with advice from the future. In my opinion technology not only helps teaching and learning, but it is necessary to use if you want your students to get the most out of your course and make it fun and exciting for them. Without using new, fun, modern tools the students will become bored with the day to day teaching with will then cause them to become unmotivated. I plan on keeping up with the changes in technology as I move through my teaching career by following the latest tech blogs and twitter feeds so that I am always aware of current information. With the way information is readily available now a days it is unlikely that I will be uninformed of any new updates in the tech world.
My views on how technology should be used in the classroom haven’t really changed from what they originally were. I have however been able to see new ways to integrate gadgets and devices into the classroom to make it easier for the students to get used to which will in turn make teaching easier for me.
I have found out that I learn the best through physical activities and visual representations rather than being fed information and trying to retain it all. I plan on using the way I learn and projecting that onto my students so the classroom runs smoothly.
For me the most difficult part of lesson planning for technology was actually transferring my thoughts into words. Since this kind of stuff comes naturally to me I found it hard to write down how I would teach it in the classroom. I feel as if it would be frustrating for teachers to have to introduce something that is easy to use for them that the students might have trouble with.
The most challenging aspect of lesson planning for me was realizing that the students are starting from scratch so I have to take slow when I introduce new topics to them. Since I will have on open classroom this should make it easier for the students to let me know when I am moving too fast and when I need to focus in more on individual students.
In modern day society advances in technology have made the the kids of today very high paced and easily bored individuals. While this may present a challenge for teachers to keep up in order to keep the attention of their students it is our duty to maintain the standard that has been set by predecessors and the kids themselves. Technology should play a major role in a students education since it is already a part of their day to day lives and will definitely be incorporated in the workplace in the future. It also creates a fun learning environment for them to be engaged in. It is important that the students are able to connect with the information that they are learning so that it can be retained and not discarded.
My personal theory that I have come up with is that people learn through activity and experience rather than having information thrown at them with the hopes of retaining it. Through activities the students can get hands on experience with the information being taught to them and allows to see concrete outcomes from their work. This allows the students to emotionally connect to the lessons and also creates a fun environment for the young children. With this being said I will set up my classroom so that it is aesthetically pleasing and try to respect each students interests when I set up the room. The way I teach will be include a lot of give and take; for example I will have a reputation for calling on students to answer questions and even come up to the front of the room to show their peers certain points to keep them engaged and on their toes.
I plan on using small gadgets and devices that each student can have personally but I don’t like the idea of my students having their own computers at the middle school level because then it would then just serve as a distraction. I would also only let them use the technology during specific teaching points so they would not be able to play games or message each other, etc.
By the end of this course I plan on being able to learn how to effectively run a classroom efficiently and be able to effectively integrate modern technology into the class. I hope to increase my knowledge on how to create lesson plans and use presentation software to make my classroom fun and exciting.
http://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/default.aspx 1) How many vegetables should a 9 year old eat a day? 2) How many times must you try a new fruit or vegetable before you accept it? 3) List 3 ways that regular activity helps kids and teens. http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/index.html?s_cid=tw_ob191 1) Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in_______________________________________. 2) Healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk________________________.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26818386
1) What does the article say about potatoes? 2) How many portions of fruit and vegetables does France recommend? 3) What is the minimum amount of fruit and and veggies an adult should consume daily?
Ms. Cassidy's Classroom Blog http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org I chose this blog because I liked the way Ms. Cassidy runs her classroom. In her posts you can see that she is not imposing her will on her students but instead she is setting up an environment for the kids to learn in on their own while giving them needed guidance.
Cathy Jo Nelson's Professional Thoughts http://blog.cathyjonelson.com This blog is more helpful to me in the sense that it gives opinions on how to handle certain situation in the classroom that may not be practical. It also allows me to see another persons thoughts on what makes a "good lesson" and how maximize the lesson so that the kids can get the most out of it.
Reality 101 http://cecblog.typepad.com/cec/ I chose this blog because it is a collection of posts and articles from many sources regarding how to handle teaching special education. I have had experience with this in high school so it interests me a great deal.