Module 6 Blog Reflection

Technology is having as significant an influence on education as it is on society in general. Consider the legal, social, and ethical issues arising from the implementation of current and emerging technology in schools. What three issues do you think are the most critical to teachers? Explain each issue, and justify your selection of them as the most critical issues.

One issue that is critical to our schools is acceptable use. If teachers are going to teach their students about technology, they must also teach them the proper way to use it. Students should understand there are also laws that govern the way the internet should be used. 

Another critical issues is privacy. Students must know what they should and should not provide online. They should also understand the difference between credible sources and those that are only trying to scam them. 

The last critical issues I chose is cyberbullying. The internet is a great tool to connect the world. However, this connection can also bring bullying into the students' home. Therefore, with cyberbullying the student does not have a true safe place. Instead, we need to teach our students how to properly communicate online. 

The reason I chose these three issues is because I believe they are related and important to our students not only now but in the future. 

Module 5 Blog Reflection

Students with disabilities can be supported by technology in many ways. Discuss how students with disabilities who need help with certain subjects can be supported by educational technology. Select a subject and provide a specific example of how you could support diverse learners in your classroom with technology.

Writing: 

Diverse learners may have great ideas but not know the proper words to express themselves. Word prediction software can help students who are also slow typers or have difficulty spelling. The program analyzes the first letter a student types and comes up a list of possibilities for the word the student wishes to type. This can also help students come up with ideas for their writing. This technology can already be seen on search engines and most cell phones. The program also speaks the word aloud. So, even if the student does not know how to spell the word, he or she will know how the word sounds.

Module 4 Blog Reflection

Module 4 Blog Reflection
The site is easy to navigate and very organized

In the digital world that we live in, a web site will almost be a requirement for your future classroom.  Assume that you have decided to create a classroom web site. What types of pages would you include and what would each page be used for? What information do you think would be the most important to include on your site? How will you make sure you implement elements of good design on your web site?  Include a link to a classroom webpage that catches your eye and why you might want to use it as a model for your future site.

As a teacher, contact with parents and guardians of my students will be vital to my instruction. Therefore, having a class website will help to create a link between the students' homes and school. I would make a website that is not only easy to read but also easy to navigate. On the front page I would include announcements and upcoming events. I will also include a Google calendar with all upcoming events. Google calendar can be viewed on many mobile devices and on a computer. So, the calendar can be accessed in many places. On the front page, I would also include a link to my weekly newsletter. 

The next tab would show our class schedule. The next tab would include an about me section with my contact information and the best times to contact me. The next tab would be Star Students which will honor two students every two weeks who have shown good behavior and school pride. The last tab will include a preview of the lessons that will be coming up in the next month and a link to the grade level wiki which includes handouts, powerpoints, studyguides, and anything else I would handout in class. 

Below is a link to a teacher's website that I would model my website after. The site is very clean but also has plenty of pictures and is very organized. All the links work and the navigation is easy to follow. 

http://msyorksclass.com/

Module 3 Blog Reflection

How could the digital technologies described in Chapter 6 be used or adapted to address student diversity? Be specific in your examples.

All of the technologies described in the book allow the teacher to show the students what they are learning. Electronic whiteboards can help teachers to provide an engaging lesson with video and other types of media. They can also allow for hands-on and manipulative activities. Scanners allow the teacher to take an image and manipulate it on the computer. The teacher can display the image and make it bigger or smaller depending on what her classroom needs. Ebooks and tablets also allow students to participate in discovery learning. Technology is all around us and for them to be able to use technology in the classroom further emphasizes it's importance in our society. 

Module 2 Blog Reflection

Take the learning styles inventory to find out what kind of learner you are and reflect on your results. (http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html)

My top three results were logic/math, self, and musical intelligences. Logic/math and self intelligences were tied. This makes sense to me because math has always come easily to me. Also, I find myself making logical connections when I receive new information. I can also see why I scored highly on self intelligence. I am an introvert. I thrive on having time along to recharge my batteries.  

Identify a favorite teacher in elementary or secondary school. Describe three practices or techniques that this teacher used to meet your own learning needs that were significant in helping you learn.  Do these practices/techniques correspond with your results to the learning inventory? How can you be sure you are meeting the many different learning styles you will have in your classroom one day?

My favorite teacher in elementary school was Mrs. Ligon my fourth grade teacher. I was very shy growing up and she used a lot of group and pair work. This helped me to give my opinion and not feel like I was called out in front of the entire group. 

She also used music in her instruction or just to give us a brain break. I remember helping her make up hand motions to the states and capitals song. She was always finding ways to keep us engaged. 

Another technique she used was the way she called on students. She would say things like, "If you are wearing black socks today, read the first paragraph." Any time I was called on to read or answer a question, I didn't feel called out. Instead I felt special because she noticed something about me. 

It's so important to assess your students to know where they are in their education. Why not test how they learn as well? Everyone learns in a different way. So, as a teacher, I need to be able to know how to teach them all. 

Module 1 Reflection

Imagine that you are teaching in a school. Select a grade level and subject area and describe how you would use three different types of academic software to teach a specific topic. 

For forth grade math I would use a powerpoint presentation to introduce how to multiply two two-digit numbers. Then, I would use Graphics to create models to illustrate how to solve these types of problems. Then, students could use drill and practice software to help reinforce this new concept. 

Hey, everyone! My name is Chelsea White and I'm starting this blog to go along with my Educational Technology class. I'm a senior at the University of Montevallo studying a degree in Elementary Education/Collaborative.  I'm so excited about this semester because it is my last semester of course work before my internship. I can't believe I'm almost done. I'll be using this blog to record what I learn as the semester progresses. I hope to learn more about how I can integrate more technology into my internship placement and in my future classroom. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes. 

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. 

-Seneca