Course Reflection Alyssa Acord

“Education isn’t what you learn, it’s what you do with what you learn”

- Anonymous

CIS 221November 16, 2012

What Types of Technology does Ms. Alyssa Use?

I guess you can call me “old fashioned” because I don’t remember using computers until I was in the 2nd grade and did not have a computer at home until I was in middle school, but this doesn’t mean I did not use technology.

When I was eight years old I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, which leaves a part of my body called the pancreas unable to produce any insulin. For my body to receive insulin, I use an Insulin Pump, which is a device that looks like a small cell phone or beeper. This small technological device allows me to live a healthy life.

The second form of technology I was introduced to was, yes, a computer. It was extremely large in size compared to today’s computers and connecting to the Internet took forever! I played interactive learning games in elementary school and for academic state testing.

In middle school I did not use computers much, only to type papers, but during high school I used a computer for a lot of the things I did. Being Vice President of my

senior class, a member of the National Honor Society, an Ignition Mentor, and part of the Drama club, required a lot of information to be obtained at times and a lot of planning, which computer programs helped with such as Microsoft.

Now that I have almost transitioned into today’s technology driven world, I use my cell phone daily, the Internet on my laptop computer, my insulin pump, an IPod, and as a hobby, a Canon EOS Quick-Shot for photography.

I would love to eventually get an IPad and Kindle; they would be a great

addition to student teaching!

In my future classroom I will include interactive technology. Children who are and are not exceptional will benefit from it. There are many technological devices that can be used to benefit children with and without exceptionalities to help them reach their full potential. Technology in education can enhance learning, make lessons interactive, and create realism. I would use IPads, IPods, Kindles, computers, and forms of

assistive technology such as screen readers and modified keyboards.

Visual learning!

I like to learn subjects such as math, history, and

technology based courses visually. Visual learning in

math makes it easier to understand, makes history

come to life, and gives a clear explanation in

technology classes! Also, I interpret data the best

visually!

Learning from friends, books, and Trial and Error.

I enjoy working and learning with others, so any and all information I highly enjoy learning collaboratively. I

like to read for reading/writing classes and definitely enjoy exploring science through trial and error. Trial and error is a great way to learn in any subject as well as use in

your daily life.

Students teaching Me!

Students are diverse, each being unique. Children then

can be noted as each learning differently. These learning preferences can

challenge me as a teacher to learn from the student to

teach myself how to better help him/her/them reach

their upmost potential. Their learning preferences

will only positively affect me

in allowing myself to expand my knowledge.

Feedback, Feedback!

For me, as a learner, I benefit from a combination

of feedback on my work such as encouragement and criticism. I like this type of feedback on any situation

because it allows me to continue to strive towards my goal but also learn how

to make it better.

Technology and Curriculum Frameworks

Professional Organization National Curriculum Expectation

How this expectation will be met

National Council of Teachers of English

Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

1. Provide students with opportunities to use library through class time, projects, and independent time.

2. Create technology- based assignments founded on literature/writing incorporating technological resources.

3. Students will demonstrate competence through their abilities to perform the information

presented through project-based assessments.

National Council for the Social Studies

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of relationships among science, technology, and society.

1. Incorporate technology in lessons, projects, and assessments to engage children to enhance knowledge and provide learned relationships in the goal directed areas.

Association of Childhood Education International

Candidates understand and use appropriate technology to help students become capable technology users through communication; through access, management, analysis and problem solving with information; and through collaborative and self-directed learning.

1. Attend professional development courses to understand technology and how it can be incorporated in the classroom.

2. Use technology in education in an appropriate matter when directing towards a specific expectation in either an independent or collaborative lesson.

International Society for Technology in Education

Design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS·S.

1. Annually, acquire knowledge on the latest technology to provide authentic learning experiences through the assistance of technological devices.

2. Teach aspects of subjects to be goal directed towards contemporary tools and resources to develop knowledge. (Devices, programs,

assistive technology)

Some of My Favorite

Educational Websites!

I love this website, I think it has great information that can be presented to kids in a fun way!

BrainPOP, is another interactive website for kids that include informational videos!

PBS Teachers is great for teacher use in gatering ideas for planning, for any age!

ASSESSMENTS Assessments are important in education because as teachers we must have a way of making sure we, as teachers, are proficient as well as making sure our student’s are. There are many types of assessments now. When I was younger, in elementary school, they introduced the idea of performance assessment through portfolios. At the time we didn’t know as children we were being assessed. We simply would show off our work to our parents during conferences and loved it because to us it was show and tell! When I entered high school I was assessed through standard testing. We had to complete the class tests and quizzes as well as the district assessments and standardized testing for each grade level.

Personally, I highly enjoy the idea of performance assessment; I think it is a great and fun, creative way to display a child’s work. It will first handedly show the child’s caregiver their work, allow the child to have fun while showing them their work, as well as allow the teachers to view the child’s success,

strengths, weaknesses, and allow the teacher to view their curriculum in a way that would allow them to improve upon their lessons. The standard test assessments, I believe, do not do justice to showing a person’s competencies. Not every person learns the same, so a universal test will not allow every child the chance to show their strengths and weaknesses.

Keeping it all Organized

Organization is key! When it comes to my college courses, work documents, important information, and future lessons, everything

will be organized. Papers: All of my documents that are paper

resources are organzied in binders or

accordion folders and labeled properly. Some are even sub organzied with subject dividers.Online: Online information and resources are

organzied in folders within my computer. Each Folder is organized by a main topic with

sub-folders within.

Video Games in Education

When you think of video games, you probably think of the most common:

Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, PacMan, etc. But there are educational games

that would be beneficial in a classroom!

MathBuster, Numbers Uncovered, and Zoombinis Journey are exmaples of

games related to math.

Incorporating these games would be a fun, interactive way to learn math!

While promoting video games, it is important to watch what other games children will turn too, such as Call of

Duty and Grand Theft Auto. These can promote violence in children,

something parents, guardians, and teachers should want to avoid!

Remember, Children repeat the behaviors they are exposed to!

Using PowerPoint I am a fan of PowerPoint! I think a

PowerPoint can enhance a lesson in

any subject and is also great for teacher presentations.

PowerPoint has increased teacher-student interactions because teachers are now able to present information in

a way that can be lectured as a conversation between the class and

teacher.

As you are presenting a PowerPoint you can ask questions, take breaks,

show videos, incorporate note taking, display pictures, graphs, or charts, and

bullet important information.

Taking a step up from an original PowerPoint lesson would be to have the students follow along with you in

the PowerPoint on their computer; note taking and pausing having certain

slides to fill in the blanks or answer questions, watch videos independently

or in a group, interpret charts/graphs and reflect on the information.

Tools for School

Electronic Spellers and Calculators

Electronic Spellers can help many students in reading and writing as well as understand vocabulary. Specifically, special needs children can benefit from

these handheld devices. It can help them to hear the words, how to write them, and how they could use them.

E

There would be no question to the meaning of a word when this device

can be taken on the go. Also, in a school setting, writing will become more

detailed and structured as the child writes because they will be aided in helping to develop their ideas. With

this simple device writing becomes less frustrating and more creative.

Calculators: some teachers like them and others do not. I think that children should first learn arithmetic without a

calculator so the basics will become

automatic. If there were a reason though, such as a learning disability, where using a calculator would be beneficial to him/her and help that

student be more successful then, yes, one should be used. This should

depend on the difficulty of math and at what grade level.

I, personally, was taught math on a calculator and have not found it to be beneficial. Learning simple math took

much longer than what was needed because the basics were not taught to

me in a way that required an explanation to learn the steps of “why” or “how” you solved an equation. I also, never experienced a math curriculum that would be considered functional,

which I believe to be beneficial.

Looking Back: Final Reflection

Looking back at my technology autobiography, I noticed that my use of technology has changed.

Through this class I have learned how to use many programs that I had never worked with

prior! I learned how to use Movie Maker, Kidspiration, Inspiration, OneNote, and Excel. I

sharpened my skills in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and also learned how to Blog and was introduced to many educational websites

that will be extremely beneficial in the future. As I completed projects, read articles, participated

in the discussion boards, completed textbook reading, and worked with new software; I was constantly thinking of how I could incorporate technology into my classroom. I have so many great ideas for lessons now: I am going to start to create them for the future! This technology

course has allowed me to expand my knowledge of technology in education and taught me

objectives that will help me to become a better educator and technology user. Before taking this

class I questioned myself, asking: “Why do I need this class? I know how to use a computer” After completing this class I thought to myself:

“I now see why I needed to take this class. It was beneficial. I learned about resources and

software I never knew about. I have learned things I will carry with me throughout my life

and teaching career, which is what education is all about”