I had a few aha moments this semester. I particularly like creating the technology lesson plan. It was nice to put my ideas and beliefs as a teacher into words. I was surprised at how closely my technology philosophy mirrored my general education philosophies. Adding technology didn't really change my focus too much. I still want my classroom to be student-centered and discovery based. I want my students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. All of these things are important with or without technology. So really, my educational technology philosophy didn't change as the course progressed; this class simply reinforced it.
I've managed to stay away from wikis up until now. I thought they were just archaic versions of web sites. Boy was I wrong! Working with the wikis this semester helped me realize how I can use them to work with my web site, not replace it. I plan on trying to incorporate some peer editing using the class wiki.
I was also surprised to find out how easy it is to embed your podcasts into Blogger. I have been using Blogger for three years and just now heard of the enclosure link! It makes embedding things so much faster. I also really enjoyed using JING and plan to use it to provide extra teaching on my class website. I'm even considering using on my next maternity leave (whenever that happens).
This course has given me many ideas that I can't wait to test out on my kiddos!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Week 4 Reflection
Is it Age or IT: First Steps Towards Understanding the Net Generation surprised me with its information on the Net Generation. I was shocked to find out that the older generations are the ones who prefer online courses due to time and availability. The Net Generation actually want more socialization and face-to-face communication! What?! However, after reading the chapter, the reasons for these differences are logical and related to the way the Net Gen students have interacted with technology throughout their lives. They use it as a social tool, where the older generations use technology more for productivity (think MS Office).
I thought about the questions we were asked to answer, and here are my reactions:
· Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand? I’m so used to composing documents on the computer that I cringe if I have to write anything longer than a paragraph. In fact, my handwriting is horrible, and I’ve become so dependent on spell check that I don’t trust my own skills. This is particularly embarrassing because I’m an English teacher.
· Have you turned your “remembering” over to a technology device? Yes and no. I use Google calendar for some of my dates-mainly lesson plans. I still keep a written calendar with me for immediate dates. I still find it faster than trying to input it into my phone. I do use my cell phone to “remember” my phone numbers for me. However, I purposefully dial the most important numbers (husband, parents, siblings) on a daily basis so I won’t forget them.
· Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA? No, as a teacher that really isn’t necessary.
· Are you constantly connected? No, I often forget to charge my cell phone and let it stay dead for an entire day (this drives my mother crazy!). My home computer is always on along with my Internet. I’m weary of being too connected. When I go to the park and see parents sitting on a bench texting while their kids are playing, I see how much we miss if we are always too connected.
· How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time? I can surf the Internet and listen to the TV or music at the same time. However, if the Internet in requiring too much of my focus, I have to turn the sound off. It really depends on what I’m doing.
· Do you play video or computer games? I love the games on FaceBook: Café World, Frontierville, etc.) I was also addicted to Sims 2 for quite a while.
According to my birth year, 1979, I’m Generation X. I definitely independent, love to multi-task, and crave a balance in my work and home life. However, I feel like I also identify with the Net Generation, which I think is possible considering I only missed it my three years. I love the latest technologies and lose my mind when things are moving too slowly, not just the Internet but traffic and long lines. When reviewing my answers to the above questions, they seem to reinforce my thinking. Like the Net Generation, I am very technology centered; yet there is still something in me that remains weary about letting technology become to involved in my day-to-day activities.
As educators, we have a lot of changing to do to accommodate our students. First of all, we need to allow our students more time for discovery education. I fully understand why we don’t do this. It is a lengthy and time-consuming process. We are under so much pressure to fit in all our lessons that we often resort to the “sit and get” method of teaching. In secondary education, we need to allow our students to be more active and work with one another. Letting a class of 35 teenagers do group work is not always a comfortable thing for a teacher. However, we need to realize that “organized chaos” can be a good thing. Lastly, we need to start using technology as a tool to gather and produce information. Too many teachers are using it simply because it’s cool and fun. Our kids aren’t nearly as impressed as we are and will get bored if the lesson isn’t meaningful and relevant to their own lives. No matter which generation we belong to, teachers must become more open-minded to using technology in the classroom.
I thought about the questions we were asked to answer, and here are my reactions:
· Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand? I’m so used to composing documents on the computer that I cringe if I have to write anything longer than a paragraph. In fact, my handwriting is horrible, and I’ve become so dependent on spell check that I don’t trust my own skills. This is particularly embarrassing because I’m an English teacher.
· Have you turned your “remembering” over to a technology device? Yes and no. I use Google calendar for some of my dates-mainly lesson plans. I still keep a written calendar with me for immediate dates. I still find it faster than trying to input it into my phone. I do use my cell phone to “remember” my phone numbers for me. However, I purposefully dial the most important numbers (husband, parents, siblings) on a daily basis so I won’t forget them.
· Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA? No, as a teacher that really isn’t necessary.
· Are you constantly connected? No, I often forget to charge my cell phone and let it stay dead for an entire day (this drives my mother crazy!). My home computer is always on along with my Internet. I’m weary of being too connected. When I go to the park and see parents sitting on a bench texting while their kids are playing, I see how much we miss if we are always too connected.
· How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time? I can surf the Internet and listen to the TV or music at the same time. However, if the Internet in requiring too much of my focus, I have to turn the sound off. It really depends on what I’m doing.
· Do you play video or computer games? I love the games on FaceBook: Café World, Frontierville, etc.) I was also addicted to Sims 2 for quite a while.
According to my birth year, 1979, I’m Generation X. I definitely independent, love to multi-task, and crave a balance in my work and home life. However, I feel like I also identify with the Net Generation, which I think is possible considering I only missed it my three years. I love the latest technologies and lose my mind when things are moving too slowly, not just the Internet but traffic and long lines. When reviewing my answers to the above questions, they seem to reinforce my thinking. Like the Net Generation, I am very technology centered; yet there is still something in me that remains weary about letting technology become to involved in my day-to-day activities.
As educators, we have a lot of changing to do to accommodate our students. First of all, we need to allow our students more time for discovery education. I fully understand why we don’t do this. It is a lengthy and time-consuming process. We are under so much pressure to fit in all our lessons that we often resort to the “sit and get” method of teaching. In secondary education, we need to allow our students to be more active and work with one another. Letting a class of 35 teenagers do group work is not always a comfortable thing for a teacher. However, we need to realize that “organized chaos” can be a good thing. Lastly, we need to start using technology as a tool to gather and produce information. Too many teachers are using it simply because it’s cool and fun. Our kids aren’t nearly as impressed as we are and will get bored if the lesson isn’t meaningful and relevant to their own lives. No matter which generation we belong to, teachers must become more open-minded to using technology in the classroom.
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