Distance Learning

I am a huge fan of distance learning, I was involved with a program and Provo High School where I earned most of my associates degree. First of all, I liked distance learning because I only had to pay for the required text for the class and there were no tuition fees. I saved thousands of dollars doing distance learning and I would recommend it to anyone that is ready. I was in a small classroom where there were usually only two or three of us. We had microphones on every desk that you could turn on and talk to the teacher. The teacher had a microphone on their shirt and there was a camera on us and the teacher. There were students in my class from all over Utah, there were about three hundred in my math 1010 class. We submitted our assignments by faxing or on Black Board. Personally, I liked this because I learned a lot of invaluable lessons as I began to learn how to be a college student. One of the only draw backs I see to distance learning is that the student needs to be self regulated. If the student cannot budget their time wisely or find the motivation to do assignments, they will sink. In a classroom setting I see distance learning as a great networking device. The students can be connected to hundreds or thousands of other students at once. I would like to see distance learning available in the elementary level because there are students who are not able to make it to the classroom. If a student is sick or if they are very ill for a long period of time they do not need to fall behind. Often times if there was a game or match that I had to play in, I could record the class and watch it at a later time. A student could still keep up with the class and not fall behind. Students that are ill feel the need to still be on the same page as their peers and this would be a great way to stay connected, going at the speed they are able and feeling inclusion. Distance learning is also a great way for accelerated students who are board in class. If and when they find their niche that they are excited and engaged about there should be distance learning to help with the void felt in the regular education classroom. This would also help the teacher find ways to challenge the student and will be invaluable for the student as they increase their knowledge. I feel that distance learning is a great tool and should be recognized in the education system as a benefit instead of a burden. Also, if a student is thriving under distance learning, they will gain a sense of independence and communication which will help students through out their lives.

Elmo Projector

Transparencies are no more! The Elmo projector can take the image off of paper and project onto the screen. There is no need for outdated transparent paper and the result of getting the image on the screen is faster than ever before. They will pay themselves off over the years because making transparent copies for a classroom costs more money. The Elmo projector can focus in on an image for example, if you had a picture of your face, you can focus down to your eye or the texture of your skin. Something that is invaluable that in my field experience taught me, the teacher had one in her class and she could instantly show the work of a student that did what she asked on an assignment. If this where a couple of years ago, the teacher would have to take the students work to the copy machine and make a copy that wouldn't come out as good as the image from the Elmo. The use of the Elmo in a classroom will be frequent at it adjusts to light and darkness, shows color and focuses it's self automatically. An old overhead projector has to be manually focused and is bulky in size. The Elmo is sleek in size and for the Elmo EV-2000AF LCD Projector with 24 times the zoom is 1,593 dollars (information found at http://www.bizrate.com/projectors/products__keyword--elmo+projectors.html). This does cost more than the old fashion projector, however, they have a longer shelf life and save time. With time being one of the teachers worst enemy, we need the Elmo on our side. Something that I found significant in my field work is that during a book report, the students were assigned to make a mini version of the book. The students were able to show everyone their mini book on the Elmo which projected it on to the screen. It saved time and made the students feel important because their work was shown to every member in the class. I feel that even if the Elmo has to be shared among grade levels at the least, it should become a household name at schools around the world.

My Beliefs

My beliefs with technology are simple. I think that there should be technology in every classroom, being used an not collecting dust. There should be every resource exhausted to make sure that there is newest technology in the classroom for the next generation in the workforce. Something that I found in my field experience is that in the area that I was in, the teacher had a technology grant. There was a lot of technology in the classroom, however, the classroom was not organized in a way that the technology could be used effectively. If I were to have the technology that my cooperating teacher had, I would not let it collect dust and make it usable. Often times the Elmo could not be used unless you moved the pile of papers that were on it. I think that technology is a wonderful resource to have in the classroom and it is important for students to have in the classroom. With this classroom, they get used to the technology that is in the classroom, what happens when they go to the next grade and they are left with just a pencil and paper? They loose those vital skills that they have learned the year before. That is why we need to have the same technology available in every grade.
I personally believe that technology has made my life better in every aspect. There are always resources to find whatever you are in need of. I think that it is unfortunate that there are grants and virtually free money out there towards technology going to waste. We should take full advantage of that. I think that as we are an ever changing society, the use of technology in the classroom should change too. As we start to get younger generation teachers in the classroom I feel that there will be a better understanding and there will be a different control of technology. I like the idea of having an international network. Not the old fashion pen pal but the digital pal that is available all hours with just a touch of a button. I am grateful to be living in the time that I am because I feel that technology has been a great light to education and I hope that soon in the future, it will be more of a constant, and not a sporadic tool.

Lessons Learned

I learned a lot from the videos and articles that I read concerning the needs of this generation of learners. I thought that the article named Millenials was one of the most informative for me. I liked hearing the words of the students wanting a smaller devices and more digital world in education to get them ready for the real world. I liked the Motorola sponsored video with the interviews of students, when I was hearing them, I thought that I need to step up my knowledge of technology. My main concern for students in the education system now is that there needs to be a consistent use of more technology in every classroom. In order to help the students we teach, they need to have a better basis of technology when they get into the real world. I think that we need to be willing to accept that students we teach know more about technology than we do. However, we need to have the resources available for our students and watching the video with the school that used the technology to monitor heart rates of cheerleaders made that important for me. I like that the school took the technology of heart monitoring a step further by having the algebra II students to analyze the data.
Something that I think would be the best for technology in schools is the virtual lab. Not only are gas prices in factor, students who are house bound or sick can use the same resources as students who are physically at the school. Also, with the virtual lab, there can be wireless updates and the programs can be continually updated with out having to buy a new device every couple of years. This was a lesson learned because I need to be more open to technology that I can't physically see. Behind the scenes is where I feel technology will thrive as updates are made and ever changing. I think that it is important to involve students in technology and not have them be the viewers of technology. While technology is ever changing, so are the students we are going to be teaching. This should not be a factor to not use technology it should be a reason to let it thrive in our classroom.

Strengths and Weaknesses

My strengths with technology in the UNI survey where eye opening to me. I was apprentice on most of the questions when I expected to be higher. I have taken many technology classes, I was involved in distance learning in high school and got most of my associates through that service. I had to do many things online and I feel that I know all of the basic functions computers and Internet. I also like to record songs with my guitar, and I know the basics of the programs involved with that. I feel that I can look up ways to troubleshoot effectively and don't need a lot of guidance when given an assignment. On the UNI survey, I needed more experience with video conferencing, making educational websites, video recordings and databases. In regards to the video recording, I prefer a camera instead of a video camera, thus I do not have as much experience with it. If money were no object for me, I am sure I would be better and video recording. I need more experience with databases and how they work, and how to back them up. I haven't had much experience with databases either because I save most of my items online.
My goals for the classroom regarding technology are high compared to my standards. I want to write a grant to have the most technology possible with the most free dollars I can find. I would like to have a smartboard, elmo and a laptop Mac lab that I can use for any subject. When I teach technology I want the students to be involved. I do not want any of the instruction to be direct because the students will not make the technology their own. I like the idea of having a digital set of text books because they can be updated at will with out having to have a reprinted version. I think that having these items in the classroom will help me with my weakness of databases because I will have to know the programs database to update the programs. To help with my video recording weaknesses, I would like to take a videography class to record our experiments. I think that putting together educational websites will come with research like the webquest website that we watched on teacher tube. I think that I will assess the needs of my classroom in order to make webquests and digital stories according to what they are studying.

Webquests

Learning how to do a webquest is a very good teacher tool and one that I think that will become one of my most often used tools. As my group and I have been going through the process, we have come up with a lot of good ideas. Along with the Digital Stories, you can make webquests fit any subject matter you are teaching. That is a very useful tool in my eyes. If there is something that you are teaching and want a good hook to engage the students, webquests are the way to go. I personally think that I will utilize my time by making webquest. Not only are they discovery learning based, which is a good strategy because the students own the subject, they are very useful to incorporate other skills as well, like reading comprehension. Using webquests in a classroom will be very time efficient for student learning, which time is the worst enemy in the classroom. I can see myself using webquests because I can make them fit the needs of the learners in my classroom. There can be different levels of webquests and each student can learn the same information at the speed appropriate for them. This will also make it possible for accelerated students to cure the everlasting case of boredom because they will be given different tasks from the majority of the class. The same is for the diverse learners that need accommodations to the webquest. Having different variations with webquests on the same subject will be private and students will feel comfortable being more accelerated or accommodated because they won't be doing different subject matter. It will be the same, with different tasks. I really am enjoying making our webquest because we are doing a kindergarten sight word webquest and we are recording the instructions which will make it user friendly for younger grades. I am really excited to implement this tool in the classroom. I hope the school will be accommodating to my needs of technology and the students will engage in learning better with the use of webquests. I found in my field experience when we did a condensed version of a webquest that they were engaged because they made it their own. Discovering something for themselves really gives the students a sense of power and for the teacher, a mobility to use it in any subject.

Technology Interview

1. What did you learn from this interview?

I learned that the technology in the classroom has a lot to do with the grants you are able to apply for or write and the socioeconomic status of the area you are in. I was very impressed with the technology in our school and classroom. It was more than I have seen in a school before. They have two computer labs and that are well used. There is time before school and after school that students can use the lab for free time. The teacher can check out the lab for their own use and it is readily available. I really liked having that lab to my disposal. When ever we had to spend more time on a webquest it was there. One thing that I was turned off my this schools outlook towards technology is that the technology specialist said that she felt it was the responsibility to the parent to teach the students to use e-mail. Even thought it is a standard for the district, she just shows the students how to e-mail once and then she is done with that. I know that it is a basic function to technology and students already know how for the most part. It was just her attitude towards the students and technology. I feel that students are more engaged with technology when they use it, verses viewing it. She claims that she does not allow the students to e-mail because she cannot control the content of the e-mails. I thought that was a poor attitude towards embracing technology and hopefully things will change in the future.

2. How will this experience affect you as a teacher?


This experience was definitely eye opening because we were in a high income area and there was a lot of technology in our school. Not to mention just our class, the school had two computer labs. I can picture myself being in a school like this. The teacher was able to have a grant that allowed her to have a smart board, Elmo and projector. She used the technology to help the students connect with any subject and it was very fun for the students to draw on the smart board or have everyone see their work on the Elmo without having to make a transparency. I feel in love with the technology in the school I was at, however, I would have had better placement for the technology that was in the classroom we were in. The teacher was not organized and it was hard to use the technology sometimes because it was not accessible because of clutter. I also would have the smart board in a better place. The teacher did not utilize the space in the classroom because the smart board is ideal for any situation besides sticking something on it like a magnet or post it note. I did a lesson where we had the students write on post it notes and there was only a 2 foot by 2 foot area on the whiteboard to put all of the post it notes. I would have put the smart board over five feet and it would utilize the space better. I really liked that the teacher incorporated the students with technology by asking them to draw graphs on the smart board or having the students use it for presentations.

3. How did this experience change your thinking about the use of technology?


This experience was eye opening for me because it made me want the technology that was in that classroom very badly. I found that I would really like to have that type of situation in my school with having two computer labs and the technology in my classroom. The students are getting computers in a couple weeks that are just for their class. The possibilities are endless with technology because of all the freedom it brings. If your class does not have manipulative blocks for math you can find one that is online and have your students do it on a computer. I also noticed that the students were very engaged with the activities that had to do with technology. I felt like as I was teaching the students were more engaged with what they were learning because it was something that they could relate to. I also learned that when your lesson calls for technology you need to have the students fully involved because they are so far a head of you. Direct instructing students with technology is a big mistake because they will quickly disengage and will not learn as much if they are discovering and doing it on their own. I really would like to learn more about grants so I can have technology readily accessible in my classroom and I learned a lot of valuable things about it in my field experience.