Technology in the Classroom

I have always been one of the people who have sworn up and down that I will never get a MAC computer. I always found them annoying. Even after taking EDU 315 in my undergraduate years, I never thought I would consider buying a MAC. After Wednesdays class, I may have slightly changed my mind towards someday buying one. After going through the computer and learning the different functions it offers, I was blown away. I just recently bought a new laptop last semester; however, it does not have all the functions that a MAC has. I thoroughly enjoyed playing around with Photo Booth. This program is awesome and I would love to have it on my laptop.

            Young children love to take pictures because they feel special when doing it. Instead of having to have a bunch of cameras, students could just go to the computer lab and take pictures of themselves. The program also offers a recording option where they can record a video. Some students are still shy about getting up in front of a class and explaining something. The student can record themselves explaining his or her project or writing sample. This way they are still getting practice with speaking about it but it makes it a little bit more informal because they are talking to the computer screen. This can even be used as a practicing device for students to practice speaking before doing so in front of the class. This way they would have a chance to view themselves and make any changes if necessary. This is great software for the students to use in the classroom because it is easy to use and a lot of fun. Technology is becoming such a huge part of today’s educational curriculum; however, some schools do not have the proper funding for it.

            Another program we explored in class on Wednesday was Xtranormal. This is a website that allows anyone to make video clips with whatever they want in it. The characters could be anyone from robots to small furry bears. They also have a variety of different voices that you may give your characters, along with the setting. All you have to do is pick the items that you want to be in your video and then you just type up the dialogue for each character.  To create an account is free, but it may require a few bucks here or there if you want to use certain items. I believe this would be a great tool to use in the classroom because it is easy to use and it does not cost any money for them to make an account. In every grade, teachers push their students hard to create stories during their free writing time. The schools that I have spent the most time in usually have the students type their stories when they are done writing it. I think it would be a great idea for the students to actually create small video clips that represent their story. I think that this would give the students a great incentive to write stories because they will have the opportunity to turn their story into a live video clip that they can bring home to show their family. This will help students with their typing skills along with taking their story and turning it into something far away from the usual requirements during writing time.

June 2009: Arthur Benjamin’s Formula for Changing Math Education Blog Post

June 2009: Arthur Benjamin’s Formula for Changing Math Education

            Before even watching this video, I was intrigued with the subject of it because I was one of those students who enjoyed math. I never questioned my teachers about the material; I sat there and gladly learned and enjoyed math and calculus. However, even though I had no problems, it did not mean my fellow classmates did not. Most students hate math, and that is because they just don’t understand it. When entering college, my originally major was adolescent math education. I already had over 20 credits in college math from high school and I was excited to continue. Needless to say, I transferred colleges and changed my major to childhood education, which I am beyond happy with. Looking back on my education, I realized that even though I learned years of college algebra, trig, and calculus, I never really learned much about statistics and probability. Actually, I didn’t really learn anything about it.

            I have to agree with Arthur because learning about statistics and probability is important for our nation. I liked his reference of switching to analog to digital. We are in a new era and with all of today’s economy, it is important to learn the fundamental basics of statistics and probability because it gives you a chance to step out into the world ahead of the game. I feel one of the reasons most students hate math is because they do not understand why they need to know this. With the education system moving more towards a business like model, it will be easier to explain to students why they need to know statistics and probability over calculus. I feel students will feel more excited about learning it because it is something that will help them once they finish school.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/arthur_benjamin_s_formula_for_changing_math_education.html

May 2010: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the Learning Revolution! Blog Post

May 2010: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the Learning Revolution!

            In the beginning of this talk, he briefly mentions Al Gore and his talk on the climate crisis, which is largely due to global warming. Ken continues to talk about a second climate crisis; however, it does not have to do with natural resources, but human resources. He is simply stating that we are making poor use of our talents. Later on in the talk, he compares natural talents to natural resources. Both are hidden away and to find them you need to dig deep. I think that this is an awesome comparison because I find it true.  He believes that Education should surface these talents and help people find what they love best, but it does not. Most of the time Education pushes away this natural talents, or in some cases prevents people from finding them. I also really liked his idea that there are two types of people: some who love what they do and some who hate what they do. Later in the video, he goes to say that if you are doing something you love, an hour goes by fast; if you do not love what you do, an hour seems like an hour.  I agree 100% with this statement because I love to teach and to me the day goes by fast, but some people do not like their job and complain that their day goes on forever.

            The education system today needs to change their direction because it is turning everything into one big competition. Parents are fighting for land to ensure their children attend the best schools in the area. Teachers are competing within schools and between schools to get the best grades. Instead of creating competition, why not work together and focus all of their attention to the students. I know that there is this unsaid competition going on within schools and for a new teacher about to enter this field, I am nervous because I do not want to stray away from my own principles. I believe it is important to encourage students to be whatever they want to be. Growing up, our teachers told us that we could be anything we wanted to be, and I believed them. Sixteen years later, I am still doing what makes me happy, becoming a teacher. The brief story about the fireman made me sad because I think it is terrible for anyone to say that someone cannot be whatever they want to be. As a teacher, it is important for us to encourage our student’s dreams and desires and teach them how to pursue their dreams in a creative and individualistic way.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity: Blog Post

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity: June 2006

Ken makes some highly important points in this video. The main thing that I walked away with was this idea of how we are born with creativity and grow out of it as we get older. The educational school system today is moving more towards a business model of learning. Someone who is going to school today to become a teacher is ideally a future teacher of America. However, we have no idea what our future will look like. We have ideas and guesses, but there is nothing set in stone telling us what our future will entail. More and more teachers today are teaching to the test and are afraid to stray away from the set curriculum. This does not lead much room for students to be creative. As a future teacher of America, I always push my students to produce their best possible work and I always support creativity.

            In the beginning of the talk, Ken points out that children are not afraid to be wrong. I have to agree with this statement, but what has happened to us? I know I fear to be wrong all the time. This idea of the revolution of education has stepped in and threatened our creative minds. This new competition is pushing everyone’s limits and pointing fingers at the people who are making better progress than others. It starts at a young age and works its way to the top where it is affecting schools now. Schools are competing for the highest grades and tests scores, which in turn is forcing more teachers to teach to the test rather than teaching more to foster creative thinking.  Eventually this needs to stop because it is just building more competition on top of competition, which is not healthy for anyone to experience.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html