Blog 12- Current View On technology

I still think my view on technology is mixed. I am not as afraid of it as I was in the beginning. Technology is vital to any classroom and I know I will need and want to use it in my future classroom. It still and always will be a big scary to me. We all know that technology can go wrong and I know personally when it goes wrong for me I get highly frustrated. Also, I still do not want my students to get highly dependent on technology. They will use it in their everyday lives but I do not want them to rely on it or become oversaturated with it. There has to be a good balance. I want technology to enhance their learning, not overshadow it. Let technology enrich their learning not do it for them. I am glad that this course is required for my degree because I did learn how this can be done and cannot wait to see how technology will work in my future classroom.

non computer technology

I think one of the most important non computer technologies in the classroom today is the digital camera. I think it is something that can be used for a variety of reasons throughout the curriculum. It can be used to take pictures of the children at work or doing whatever they are doing in the classroom and showing that to the parents. This can be done through a website or a newsletter or as a slide show on parent-teacher night. The digital camera can also be used by the children. There are some relatively simple digital cameras out there to use that the children can pick up on rather quickly. They can use it to take pictures of flora and fauna that they can't disturb but need to have for a report. It also can be used to take pictures of an animal, bug, or flower that the children or teacher may not know the exact name of and find it in a book or research it online. To me the most interesting use for the digital camera would be in allowing students to create their own book from it. They would be in charge of the subject matter and it would become very personal for them. I can see it being a high engagement for the students because they would be in control of every aspect of the book making. I have seen my nephews who are 4 and 7 use their mother's digital camera and take pictures. Then she gets those developed for them and they make their own little books. They know how to work a digital camera better than I do. So I definitely see the digital camera as a good addition to the early childhood classroom.

Blog 10 ERIC presentations

There was a lot of information in all the ERIC presentations. I think a lot of good information was brought to our attentions. I liked the presentation about the portoflios. Portfolios have become an increasing technology used in the classroom setting. I think it is a very neat idea and a way to showcase what a student has done throughout their time in school. Even if a student just added one or two pieces of work per year, they could show their progression. When I was growing up, they didn't use portofolios in school. Actually it wasn't until late in my high school career that teachers began to save our work and put them in a folder that we received upon graduating. Having that sort of thing online would be so much easier and wouldn't get lost.

I think that I possible could be excited about using some technology in my classroom now. It doesn't have to overwhelm my classroom but just add to it. Like using digital cameras to take pictures of things that you can't bring inside. I'm still going to monitor how much time children spend on a computer because I don't want that to be the only thing they are doing with technology. This class and presentations showed that there can be a lot more.

online article

This article is about how technology is used in a Montessori elementary classroom. It starts by following an elementary student as she enters the classroom. Then it follows her and how the teachers have been using technology through the day. A work record was made using Microsoft Excel. This will tell the child what she has completed for the week and what see needs to do. The article goes on to tell how the student used the internet to do some research to make a Famous Places card and how she will use a word processor to finish it. Also, the article mentions how the computer is used as a typing tutor or used for math software in addition to Internet research and the word processor. Then it talks about how the teacher tells the students about some websites she found that deal with their study on Africa. She shoes them how to bookmark the website, which they later will have to do to the other computers The third year students are asked during their math time, to work on a website provided by the teacher. They are given an activities packet to do on the website. At the end of the day, each of the children has a job, which is on a Microsoft excel sheet. Once the article had shown the student in her day, it talks about the learning environment and how technology has come into the Montessori classroom. It talks about how integrating technology can take extra time in the beginning to learn but how as time goes by it becomes easier. It also states that it is not replacing any of the traditional Montessori activities. The article says that the children get the hands on manipulatives first and then they get to work with the technology. The teacher writing the article said that when she first used technology that it was mostly software to help with early reading skills and memorizing math skills. Then she started to use technology for production, organization, PowerPoint presentations, Excel charts, digital cameras, and others.
I thought this article was very good. It shows exactly how technology can be integrated into a classroom. It shows technology doesn’t have to overpower the classroom that it can just aid it. I loved how it showed how a student was using technology throughout the day. She felt comfortable working with it too. The only thing I could say about the article was the use of the Internet. It seemed like a lot of the activities used it. Overall though, the author who happened to be the teacher showed that technology could be used in an early childhood classroom. I think one should read this article to get a sense of how technology can be used throughout the early childhood classroom day.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4097/is_200304/ai_n9190373

Blog 8- Youtube Video

This video is about how in this day and age students have become digital learners. It brings up points about how teachers should be more accepting of using technology in their classroom since their students are willing.

Blog 7- Half Way

Hard to believe that it is already half way. My thoughts on using technology in early education are still mixed. I can see how it can be really good for my students but I still have a lot of apprehension about it. I don’t want to rely on technology too much in my future classroom. Mostly because if I feel apprehensive and unsure about using technology I do not want to pass that on to the children. However I do see the positive uses of using technology. I can see how it might help my children learn how to collaborate. I also see how it can open so many new doors for them, take them to places that they may not have thought possible. I can see myself using digital cameras, computers, the Internet, certain software, and maybe even spreadsheets in my classroom. I just have to learn and be comfortable with things before bringing it before my children.

Blog 6- Internet Use

There are a lot of advantages of using the Internet in an early elementary classroom. The Internet provides a wide array of resources that may not be available otherwise. Children can have diversity in the material that is presented to them. Instead of maybe a collection of books by one author, they can browse to see other books on the same subject by different authors. Then if it is a library book they can get it through interlibrary loan thanks to the Internet. Another pro is that children can now go on field trips to anywhere in the world. The virtual world allows for kids to discovery far away places through the Internet and digital video. Another pro for the Internet is that it plays into Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Most every intelligence can benefit from a number of Internet services. Interpersonal people can work together on projects whereas intrapersonal people can work only. There can be graphics for visual people and words for linguistic people.
There can also be a lot of disadvantages to using the Internet in the early elementary classroom. The big con is that there are a lot of untrustworthy websites out there. Filters can help but not all the time. It can expose our young children to things that they should not be seeing just yet. Another con is the social aspect. Young children are spending a lot more time on the Internet and not socializing as much. If it is an individual Internet project kids will not get the socialization that they may need. Another con that using the Internet too much in the classroom may take away from book reading.
Personally, I think the pros of using the Internet in the classroom can outweigh the cons. I think it puts a lot of information at the tips of my children’s fingers, information that they may not have access to otherwise. It can bring them so many new images, videos, and information. Also, it can bring in a world of cultural and diversity that may again not be readily available. I can take them on field trips that they may not ever be able to go on.
My favorite educational website of all time is A to Z Teacher Stuff. To me this site has it all. There are lesson plans for everything. All grade levels and subjects are present. It even has different lesson plans that deal with computer and technology. You can also look at different themes. There are printables and generators to make your own worksheets. They have an article section that talks about every subject a teacher can encounter. My favorite part of the website is the forum. It allows any user (signing up is free) to ask questions whether you are a pre-service teacher or a retired one.