Grounded Tech Integration by Judi Harris and Mark Hofer

In this article the authors write about s successful way to integrate technology into our curriculum. Even though many people feel that technology has made a big mark in our education they feel that we have a long way to go. In order for us as future teachers to integrate technology the authors insist we follow five steps. The first is to choose learning goals. Second, is to make pedagogical decisions. This will be the parameter of the learning experience you are planning for your students. Third, you must select activities to combine with the curriculum, in order to engage your students. Fourth, is selecting assessment strategies. This will be to gauge your student’s progress in achieving the targeted goals. Lastly, you have to select tools and resources. Many make the mistake and choose this before they choose the learning goals, which then become more about the technology then, the students trying to use them. I really liked how the authors have come up with a new way to incorporate technology to our student’s. I think too many times I have seen schools that have all these fancy computers, but their students don’t really care about using them unless it’s for games or an activity. I feel that we as new teachers can easily incorporate what Judi and Mark have pointed out.

 

One of my biggest concerns about going into the teaching profession was how was I going to get my students interested in the curriculum using technology. I feel a little more confident knowing that if I follow the five steps I will have more of a blueprint of how to run a successful technological classroom.  Another I plan on integrating is focusing on my student’s standard base learning needs, rather than a particular tool or resource.

Walk, Fly, or Teleport to Learning by, Maureen brown Yoder

By 2011 over 20 million will be members of (MUVEs), multiuser virtual environments. This program already exists and currently has 8.2 million children. The purpose of this program is to get teachers to engage their students. Some of the things you get out of this program are content rich explorations, learning social, practical, and life skills. It also gives you the option to go international with other schools. When I first read the title of the article I was very intrigued after reading it though I was not so sure. I felt that this program is and could be a good thing, but should be combined with actual interaction. I was very taken back with the Second Life program designed for adults. Where you create a virtual character and travel through the virtual world sites. I understand that they are trying to get adults to love technology, but I feel this falls short of it. One of the programs that I did like was called, an organization that is trying to inspire urban youth to be successful students and global and community leaders. The way they plan on going about this is by, engaging them in socially dynamic, content rich learning experience. Which also promotes global understanding to each student.

 

The program that I would use would definitely be the Global Kids. I could see me injecting that into many of my lesson plans. Anything that can engage a child and educate them at the same time I am totally for. It could be easily used in a project that has to do with different countries and how they differ from our country.

Lead Your Team to Success, by Don Hall

In this article Don Hall writes about how to lead in a classroom. The way that he goes about this is by using acrostics. An instructional strategy that will not only engage your students but also allows for facilitating instructional dialogue or prewriting tools.  The acrostic word that he used was LEAD. Which stood for Love, Excellence, Accountability, and Direction. He felt that you as a teacher really need to Love what your doing and your students in order to be affective. Hall goes on to say that you need to expect nothing but Excellence from your students and yourself. In order to become a good leader you should always give it all you have when it comes to results, behavior and attitude. Accountability is key because it teaches us to be held to higher standards and also forces us to work as a team. To become a good leader you also have to have direction of where you are going and what you are doing. Which I believe is very vital when we talk about technology and education. I really liked Hall’s acrostic, I plan on using that in my classroom to give my students the standards of what it takes to be a LEADER! I felt that his article was very effective and straight to the point of how to go about making leaders out of yourself and your students.

 

Like I previously stated, I plan on implementing the L.E.A.D. in my classroom. I believe students don’t want to be followers and if I could give them the blueprint of how to become leaders while educating them I see it as a win-win situation. Knowing how technology driven we are in this country I think my students direction on how to improve it and how to love it will come into play.

Chatting it up Online

"Students talk to a favorite author" By Pamela Livingston 

This article was very refreshing as I learned a different technique in how to engage my students in their schoolwork with technology. Mrs. Livingston, a third grade teacher, put together a live chat for her class. They were reading a book series called "Magic Treehouse," written by Mary Pope Osbourne.  In her article Mrs. Livingston goes through all the steps of how to set up a chat room, and many if not all mishap you might endure through the process. I really was intrigued in how she managed to make her students reading more personal, by allowing them to ask question to the author who wrote the book they were so fascinated with.  Mrs. Livingston talked about how to go about finding the right chat, and the process of making sure you are properly registered for the live chat.  She also goes into detail about making sure that teachers be prepared for the chat by checking beforehand that everything is in its proper place. For example, the room she was going to use was to bright, so she made sure to have that fixed before the actual chat. She also made sure that internet connection was tested so there would be no problems later. I really appreciated how she not only gave us a new way to teach our students but also how to avoid any pitfalls along the way when dealing with live chats.

I feel that the ideas Mrs. Livingston presented are very usable to any teacher including myself. I see myself applying her advice in many different ways. The way she spoke about preparation made me realize that if you are not prepared for any situation, then you are setting yourself up for failure. I definitely want to be able to allow my students to feel that they are at arm lengths to what they are studying. A good example of that would be live chats with authors and people that you are learning about.

 

This article was from Learning and Leading with Technology (L &L) NETS 4 

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