Your blog this week is a free write. My goal for this week is to simply check in with you and to see how you are doing. "Please let me know how you feel you are doing in the class so far. Is there anything that you are struggling with? Is there anything you would like to learn about that we haven't learned yet? What are some things that you have learned from this class? How are you planning to put these things to use in your teaching? Is there anything I can do as a teacher to better support your learning?"

I think that I am doing pretty well in the class so far. The toughest thing for me is managing my time. I get all of the assignments done on time but I feel as though I need to work the most on creating my website, along with the lesson plan and imove. My portaportal project has been going along pretty good and I think the sources I have for my final project will really help a lot. I’m not sure if its correct, but I have been putting examples of lesson plans on the section as well as the PEI’s. I need to continue work on creating my webpage as well.

I enjoy the way the class is going so far. My favorite project so far was the garage band project. I loved way that you can create your own songs with all of the different loops. I am glad that we went over this application in class because I have it on my laptop. Prior to taking the class, the only thing I knew to do with garage band was create ring tones. After figuring out how to work the program I have actually made a few songs after the class in my free time (but I probably should have been working on other homework….) I also am looking forward to getting my imove set up into place. Other than that, I think that the class is going pretty well.

Blog Response - Watch this video and go to the corresponding article. First, give your overall impressions of this model of learning. Be observant of how the technology is used as a tool in this kindergarten classroom. What different applications or devices were utilized? What were some ways you saw the teachers using technology with their students? How did this support learning?

I think that this model of learning is very productive and beneficial when it is implemented in lower level classrooms. I feel that allowing the kids to participate in hands on activities is the best way for them to learn and initially get excited about learning. Using technology, such as smart boards, is beneficial for the younger kids because it is hands on learning. Kids at this age are more intrigued by activities in the classroom where learning is fun. However, this applies to all age levels. The more interesting the learning environment, the more focused and excited the students will be about learning.

The one device that I am somewhat familiar with is the smart board used in the classroom. I like the way that the teacher allowed the children to become involved in their own learning. The smart board is also a good way to introduce the material being taught, and at the same time, bring technology into the classroom.

The teacher in the classroom interviewed had the student realize the difference of the “b” and “d” shape by having the student drag one on top of another. At the end of the activity, the student realized the difference between the two letters.

This method of bringing in technology to get the student to physically manipulate the letters on the smart board was beneficial. This activity really hit home with the student because it was a hands on activity. By bringing in technology into the classroom it helped the students who had different learning styles. The student who couldn’t grasp the concept of the two letters being different, could after the teacher brought in technology into the classroom. This supported the learning environment of the classroom because different students in the class have different learning styles. Technology helped certain students grasp the concepts that the teacher presented to the class. In this case, technology was a successful learning tool.

creativity in schools

Blog response: For your blog this week, please watch Sir Ken Robinson's lecture on "Are schools killing creativity?". Please write a response to this video. Do you agree or disagree with Sir Robinson? In the video, he makes some pretty serious statements such as "I feel creativity should be as important as literacy in today's schools." Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Why or why not? What have your experience with creativity been in the past? How do you express yourself?

After watching Ken Robinson’s proposal about schools killing the creativity, I agree with him to a certain extent. As he stated, schools pay far more attention to the core subjects, such as math and science and tend to leave the arts out of the mix. He referred to this as a “hierarchy” within the school system, where the core subjects were at the top, followed by humanities, and the arts left behind. As schools and educators within the schools, I believe that it is our job to prepare the children for jobs of the future. The problem is that no one knows what these jobs will be, so it makes more sense to focus on all of the subjects equality, rather than concentrating more on certain subjects that may be out of date by the time that these children are ready to enter the job market.

The quote, “I feel creativity should be as important as literacy in today’s schools,” can be argued both ways. I feel that all subjects and learning styles should be on the same level when it comes to schooling our children because we really have no idea what the job market will call for by the time these children will be ready to get jobs. Because we are training our students for jobs we don’t know exist, we should focus on presenting a wide range of materials and subject matter to the student, rather than the current narrow focus of math and science. I also agree that we need to encourage creativity. As Mr. Robinson states, some children cannot sit still and learn, then need to move to be able to think. Different children learn differently and have different learning styles that we as teachers need to pay attention to and honor.

A lot of my creativity experiences in the past align up with what is being talked about in the video. Art, plays, and drama were not offered on the same level as the core classes. A lot of kids chose not to be involved in these types of creative experience because they were not required or offered on the same level. I am a very active person, so I express myself through sports and physical activity. I agree with the quote by Robinson that, “You will never come up with anything original if you are not prepared to be wrong.” Originality is something that comes from creativity, and creativity needs to be focused on and implemented in schools and in educating the future.

ch 2 response

Blog Response - P. 22 in Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer.

"Reflect on your own experiences using technology for learning. What technologies were used when you were a student and how were they used? How were technology-related skills taught to you as a student? What was emphasized? What skills and knowledge to you already possess to help you meet the challenges of effectively integrating technology into instruction. How did you learn those skills?"

The earliest memory I have about technology in the school setting is going to computer class in elementary school for a special. We went there once a week to use the lab and become familiar with the computers. Usually we would go into the lab with a task from our teacher, like typing a story that we had written, or typing poetry. From what I can remember in elementary, the tasks that we did in the computer lab were not too in depth or rigorous. I think they were more in place to get us used to dealing with technology and to get us acquainted with some of the basic program on the computers at school.

Once we got to Jr. High, it was a totally different story. My 7^th grade year was the first year that the laptops were issued by the state to students. Now, the laptops were taking over what seemed to be all the classrooms. I feel like some teachers/subjects really tried to stretch the use of the laptops and technology, when it would have been more useful to do lessons and assignments the traditional way of teaching. On the same hand, we had teachers who didn’t make use of the laptops at all in the classroom setting. In these cases, the laptops were just a hassle to carry class to class.

The stuff that was taught to us as students was pretty much done by the teachers in the classroom. I can remember some of the teachers not knowing too much about what they were trying to teach us. One teacher I had frequently gave up, and had us put the laptops away because a student would ask a question regarding the laptops that he did not know and it made him mad. From the usage in Jr. High, the laptops were primarily used for word processing and for looking up information on the Internet for projects. I can remember doing a research project in my Spanish class in 8^th grade where we looked up information and played Spanish music from the Internet.

Now that I am in college, a lot of my computer usage is limited to word processing or looking up things on the Internet. I want to be able to learn more about computers and technology in general because I know it will only benefit me if I am able to integrate technology into my classroom when I am a teacher. I feel like the more I know about technology, the better off I will be because it seems that people are starting to use it more and more not only in schools, but in society.