Monday, March 2, 2015

Blog Post #7

    Technology is making a big appearance in schools all across the country. Teachers and students are enjoying being able to learn and teach through the use of technology in the classroom. Students are becoming the teachers and teachers are becoming the learners. Moreover, the students are more engaged in learning because they love using these devices. Personally, I love the idea of incorporating the use of technology into the classroom. I think it holds the student's attention more and that is something that teachers fight to do everyday they start to teach. However, I will first need to know how to really use it effectively for learning. As I prepare for graduation, I know that I need to experience a teacher that really uses a lot of technology in his/her classroom before I get out into the field. This class has been a huge help with that but, I would really like to able to experience it first-hand and see how other teachers use it in their classrooms. Being that my mother was a teacher, she still has a number of acquaintances that I can work with. Moreover, the videos provided in this assignment touched on technology in the classroom as well and helped expand my knowledge.

Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL)
    In this video Dr. Strange spoke with two librarians on the use of technology in their classrooms and school and how it was working out. I was very surprised to learn how well kindergartners were using iMovie and other apps and devices. Mrs. Bennett (one of the librarians) told listeners that the kindergartners were using iMovie so well that they had to teach the teacher how to use some of the functions! Also, she said that they were so eager to edit their movies and trailers when they saw even the tiniest bit of imperfection. They were also creating iMovie book trailers just like were a few assignments ago. Then, Mrs. Davis came in and talked about AVL. She said that the kindergarteners were also using this feature to do research on a daily basis. Now, granted it is much easier that what we as college students would have to do, but I mean COME ON they are kindergarteners doing research on the computer! Amazing.

We All Become Learners
   This video was with Dr. Strange and the two librarians again. Mainly Mrs. Bennett, spoke on the dynamics of learning and how they are changing because of technology. With technology being introduced into the classroom, the whole dynamic of learning changes. The teachers are being taught by the students on how to use certain features on the devices they are using in the classroom. Thus, everyone becomes the learner at some point and everyone becomes the teacher at some point. Keeping the students more engaged creates a better learning environment for the students and technology allows for that.

iPads in the Classroom
   Using iPads in the classroom was what this video touched on. Many public and private schools across America are beginning to use Macs and iPads for education. One teacher in the video said that it allows her students to take a virtual field trip everyday through the use of images and interesting research. The students already use so much technology outside the school setting so why not use it at school? This is the question that teachers are asking all the naysayers out there. Many teachers in the video found that their overall profecieny has risen because the iPads have done a lot of the grading work for them. It also captivates and engages the students better. Overall, through the use of the iPads the students are becoming more interested in their school work and that is amazing!

Top 10 Reasons to use Technology in Education
    In this video, it talked about the top 10 reasons why teachers and schools should use technology for learning in their classrooms. Students already use and love technology so much so why not try and incorporate it into their learning? Also, it would help students in the long run with their future jobs because they would already have the basic skills on how to navigate computers and other devices. Another great aspect of technology in the classroom is that the teacher's jobs are made easier. If tests are taken online, the computer can do the grading work for them. Therefore, allotting the teachers more time to work with the students. Also, students gets to see their grade right after the test. Moreover, it improves tests scores and students are not held back by those that may be struggling. It also can reach out to the different learning styles that the children may have. Furthermore, after watching this video all my doubt about technology use in the classroom disappeared. Technology is a great tool for the advancement of education.

Children happily learning using iPads




3 comments:

  1. Jesse,
    I have also learned how important technology is in the classroom. I am a Secondary Ed/English major, so I really didn't think technology would be a major role in my classroom. I was quite wrong! Technology is a part of everyday life. It is something every teacher needs to embrace and learn.

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  2. Hey Jesse,

    It's really interesting to see how much of a role technology plays aside from being the computer we compose and pint our papers from. I love you blog post: it answered all major questions, organized, and cute picture. Keep up the great work!

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  3. Jesse I agree with what you had to say. I have been for technology being in the classroom since I was in high school and I am glad to see how many different ways it can now be used. Good job at setting up how you wrote about each topic.

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