Interview with Teacher

(1) What tools are their favorite tech and web tools to use in the classroom?
powerpoint, imovie, Webschool

(2) What are their biggest frustrations with technology in the classroom?
not enough training, when the technology doesn't work,


(3) What is the biggest misconception about using technology in the classroom?
that it takes too much work and isn't worth it. that the old ways are good enough and the best

(4) What are the biggest hurdles that you face as an educator using technology in the classroom?
getting to know software well enough to be able to use it effectively - to a point where it actually increases my efficiency as a teacher and students' effectiveness as learners

(5) What has been your biggest success with technology integration in the classroom?
Using Webschool (moodle).

(6) Who/What has been your biggest inspiration in helping you to use technology in the classroom?
Teachers who know tech and have been able to use it effectively. The Urban School in SF has been a great model.

(7) Where do you see technology integration heading in the future?
More and more of the "stuff" of a class (at least at the high school level) will be posted on an web-based application and work will be done in "the cloud". More classtime will be spent on actual work and actual learning.

Slide.com

Responses to Blogs

http://www.livescience.com/

This blog was really interesting with different topics available to research and read about. This can be very useful for science and history and other subjects that students may be taking. It is one easy website that contains alot of information that provides tons and tons of knowledge. The videos and articles are helpful for not only students learning, but also teachers and their lessons.

http://www.postrank.com/feed/52e9653411a952dc1619737288ebfe36

This website is also very useful because it provides many different websites and resources with interesting ideas. these different blogs about different topics can be useful for students and teachers in creating their own ideas and how to apply those in the classroom. Blogs and websites like this are helpful for jump-starting different activities and thoughts from different points of views and improve the critical thinking and skills in the classroom.

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/01/19/a-reminder-to-address-and-stop-cyberbullying-re-cry-of-the-dolphins/

Blogs like this are very helpful to have available for the public and everyone to see and learn about. These issues happen everyday and need to be taught to everyone in hopes of eliminating this problem alltogether. Blogs like this are helpful to hear people's stories and learn from them and in turn educate future students about issues like this creating a circle of education in hopes of preventing problems like this all starting with a blog like this

Blogs

Blogs can be useful if they are used correctly, if they are used to write controversial ideas that can be responded to and provoke debates. They can also be useful to write ideas and communicate with people. they can be useful for expressing different ideas and being creative outlets for adults and students. Blogs can be a wonderful tool but they must be used appropriately

Story Bird

http://storybird.com/storymaker/?storefront_slug=chichiboulie&artwork_slug=orange-bird

This is my story bird that I really enjoyed making and I thought it would be very useful and exciting for students to use as a resource for their creativity.

Digital Schools

A digital school I believe can both be dangerous and helpful. They can be helpful for projects and the students ability to learn at their own pace. The reason why I believe digital school as a whole can be dangerous is it teaches students at a young age to rely on a machine for everything they will ever need to do. It decreases their interaction with students and their teachers incredibly. Computers in general can be very useful for researching alone as well as many other things, but there are resources available for these needs in most schools today such as computer labs and libraries. I understand that the way education is going these days is towards digital schools and using the computer more I just hope that schools will utilize the resources they already have before requiring every student to have a laptop which to me seems unnecessary. Developing skills on a computer are very useful and should be taught because those skills will be needed and necessary as we progress into the 21st century. I believe it is equally if not more important to continue to involve kids in verbal discussions, projects and interactions with their peers and teachers. The cost of technology can also be very expensive and somewhat out of reach for many students in different schools.

Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1537564/education

This is my wordle about future technologies in the classroom. These are all different resources that students may be using more in the future to expand their abilities to do different things.

Comics in the Classroom

Comics in a classroom can be very effective especially for smaller kids. Visual aids especially that students can relate to and make learning humorous can help students learn in a way that comes naturally to them. By using comics and other visual aids as a way of getting concepts across, students will subconsciously open their minds more to the idea of school and learning which can not only expand their knowledge but make them excited to come to school.

Facebook Safety

Facebook and other websites that are similar can be great for networking and keeping in touch with people all over the world. However, it can also be dangerous to people who may not be aware of the information they display about themselves on the internet. It is almost impossible for most college students to not have pictures with some sort of alcohol in them and I think that is expected, but it is important to keep things like that among your friends and not for everyone with a computer to see. These websites can be safe, we just need to be aware of what we say and portray about ourselves and who might be seeing it. As long as we are safe and responsible, everything will be fine.

21st Century Teachers

21st century teachers definitely need to be willing to learn and adapt to the new changes that our society is facing. New resources are available on the internet for kids and for many students, they can be very helpful. I think the most important ability for 21st century teachers is to have enough knowledge about all of the resources available for kids and incorporate as many as possible so that each student can find what works best for them. The most important thing in a classroom is balance, it is important to balance class time spent on different things and not emphasizing only one way of learning.

Teachers need to embrace technology more as we come into a more technology based future. I am just afraid that teachers will end up relying on the internet and other technologies too much that their students wont expand their knowledge. Yes, I think it is effective for visual aids and certain things, but there is so much available to us on the internet that I think is completely useless and really just a lazy way to do things that students should learn how to do. I am worried that both teachers and students will get lost in the amount of material on the internet and end up wasting alot of time on a machine rather than interacting with the world

Technology

I have never been good with technology and I have never really had any interest in learning about computers and other technologies. I never made a powerpoint in high school and my internet use in school was very limited. I think that is a good thing for me and the education I received, It helped me to rely on myself and other resources other than a computer. I am excited to learn how to use the computer more and learn different ways to incorporate it into my teaching, I just dont want to emphasize it too much.