With technology constantly growing and becoming a staple item all around the world today, it also plays a major part within the classroom. Through my completion of the class, Technology for Teaching, I have gained knowledge of the many tools that are available to teachers and gained experience with many of the tools and how to use them. I plan on utilizing technology in my classroom in order to teach successfully and efficiently.
A tool that I found very interesting in the article, "20 Educational Resources for New Teachers" was the website Really Good Stuff. First off, the name of the website was very catchy and appealing to me. Secondly, right when you go to the website it is aesthetically pleasing! But let's get down to the nitty gritty.. this website provides an immense amount of tools that new and all teachers can utilize. It has anything from classroom decorations, classroom library, and games & activities to teacher resources, teacher supplies, and furniture & equipment. This website has literally almost anything you could possibly need all in one place! I feel that this is a great site to help teachers obtain anything they may need for their classroom and to help them get their classroom set up and ready to go for the first day of school. I was shocked with how much this single website had to offer and most definitely plan on utilizing it whenever I become a teacher and to help me set up my very first classroom.
10/10 would recommend!
- Kelsey
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Tips for Teachers
The article/presentation on the website, freetech4teachers.com, provides over 100 tips for new teachers and reminders for veteran teachers. The writer asked for the best tips for new teachers and then created a Google Slides presentation with them.
The very first slide is very intimidating, especially being an upcoming teacher candidate! This slide states, "Your first year will be a throw away. Or seek help from teachers who can teach you how to teach (and do what they say). Your college classes were pointless when it comes to implementation. Oh and you know nothing about teaching. Not one bit. Come back to me in two-four years. Then you can be confident." What kind of advice is that?! I have heard of the advice of seeking out help from you coworkers and those who have more experience than you for help and advice in the classroom, but I've never heard that my college classes were basically completely pointless. That is never something a college student who is in debt for this "pointless classes" wants to hear. Although these college classes cannot possibly fully prepare you for every little thing in the classroom and are not necessarily hands on like the classroom will be, I do think they are at least a bit beneficial! Especially the classes that require observation hours that let you see what teachers do within the classroom and the college class explains what happens and how you can do the same for each subject. This was a very intimidating slide, especially for being the very first one shown! However, luckily the other slides were far less nerve-racking and were very helpful points of advice.
The very first slide is very intimidating, especially being an upcoming teacher candidate! This slide states, "Your first year will be a throw away. Or seek help from teachers who can teach you how to teach (and do what they say). Your college classes were pointless when it comes to implementation. Oh and you know nothing about teaching. Not one bit. Come back to me in two-four years. Then you can be confident." What kind of advice is that?! I have heard of the advice of seeking out help from you coworkers and those who have more experience than you for help and advice in the classroom, but I've never heard that my college classes were basically completely pointless. That is never something a college student who is in debt for this "pointless classes" wants to hear. Although these college classes cannot possibly fully prepare you for every little thing in the classroom and are not necessarily hands on like the classroom will be, I do think they are at least a bit beneficial! Especially the classes that require observation hours that let you see what teachers do within the classroom and the college class explains what happens and how you can do the same for each subject. This was a very intimidating slide, especially for being the very first one shown! However, luckily the other slides were far less nerve-racking and were very helpful points of advice.
Friday, March 2, 2018
"Wired for Success"
A quote in the very beginning of the video caught my attention: "We are either going to ride this wave into the future, or we are going to get left behind as a part of the past". Colleges use technology on a regular basis, especially if you are in online classes. Therefore, it is quite impressive that schools are using these technological features in order to encourage children to learn while also preparing them for college. This method engages the students more and also is adjustable per student's needs. This also gives the teacher an abundance of resources! However, seeing the center or power house of all of this technology within the school was quite intimidating! Keeping up with new and improving technology can be a hassle with new updates coming out regularly. Furthermore, the almost full reliance on technology can be scary due to the fact that sometimes it does not work as planned. In this case, it is necessary for teachers to have "back up" plans. A school I observed at here in Springfield is using a progressive model like this one. All classrooms have smart boards, teachers have MacBooks, and students each have their own iPads. I noticed that although this can serve as a distraction for some students (having so many things accessible at their fingertips), most students were more engaged with this interactive approach to learning. I think if used correctly, this can be very beneficial in schools.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Google Classroom: Is It Useful?
Google Classroom is a tool that many schools are utilizing today, especially because it is a great tool that happens to be FREE! Many schools, such as Carmel Catholic High School began implementing google classroom throughout their classrooms, including giving all students chrome books and their own google email account. This is very helpful because it gives all the students what they need in one place with easy access while also giving them an easy and quick way to communicate with their teacher whenever it is necessary. Giving the students their own chrome books throughout their time at the school is also outstanding because not all students have access to a computer whenever outside of school, but now they have their own that they can take wherever in order to complete their assignments and get help from their teacher or peers. Another example that was found interesting was Amherst Central Schools. They searched for a way to gain the needed collaborative style of learning that was efficient for all students and faculty. Most devices are meant for individual work. However google devices, such as chrome books allow easy access for sharing and group work or student-teacher connection. Personally, I did not utilize google classroom throughout my own experience as a student until about my senior year of high school. My school utilized all Microsoft programs beforehand. Therefore, I did not get the full experience and benefits that students today are receiving through this tool. However, as I began exploring google and learning its tools, I loved how easy it was to collaborate with others in group work! You could now all work simultaneously one a slide show for a group presentation or all together on a google doc for a lab report. It is also nifty in the way that it automatically saves as you work, especially since young students often forget to hit save and because we have all had experience with technical difficulties where the computer randomly shut off and all of our work is lost. Not anymore! Also, it is very handy how your work can be accessed by any device once logged into your account; allowing you to work from it literally anywhere! I love it and fully understand and support why schools are utilizing this tool (not only because it is free!).
Friday, February 2, 2018
Online Security
Copyright is a subject that has to be noted by those in the educational field, more specifically the copyright law Title 17. Basically, libraries are able to release copies or other reproductions under certain conditions for educational use. However, if these copies are used for other purposes and not classified as "fair use" then the person can be accused of copyright and lack of permission from the owner of publisher. To further this discussion, the University of Illinois Springfield had a speaker on this topic who is a lawyer that helps students whenever their online actions get them in trouble. The man made a great point that unfortunately most teenagers or young adults do not notice about how quickly a single picture (usually of something illegal) can quickly spread and get that person in trouble. Another comparison of this is the often use of downloading music and movies for free, especially now that it is easily accessible. Furthermore, college students are constantly notified about plagiarism. These students however do not always realize that plagiarism is a form of theft and copyrighting someone else's work. It is quite surprising how unaware people are of their actions and how they are classified as copyrighting. It also blew my mind how accessible and easy it has become to plagiarize someone's work or copyright. Growing technology makes this easy. Another scary topic of the discussion was online sexual predators and how internet makes victims more easily accessible and targeted. Its reality of the world today with the technology but is still terrifying. Internet has become a part of our daily lives and we must be aware of internet safety and be responsible for our actions whenever it comes to use of internet and media.
Friday, January 26, 2018
Teacher v. Student Age Differences
As an educator, the importance of relating to your students is always put under a great emphasis. However, this can sometimes be far easier said than done due to many reasons. The reason of focus today is the age gap found between students and their teachers. Being a newer teacher minimizes this age gap, especially depending on the grade being taught. For example, a first year teacher will not have a major age gap between their high school level students. Therefore, understanding and relating to them may come easily. On the other hand, an experienced / older teacher will have a much greater age gap with their elementary age students. Which could cause some difficulty to relate due to a different upbringing and society with the students in comparison to the teacher.
To better understand this, let's first look at the website https://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2021/ which contains The Mindset List. This list is the mindset list for the youngest current college student, more specifically students of the class of 2021. As a student of 2019 and a soon to be younger teacher, this list was more relatable to me in many cases because I grew up in the same or similar decade. However, there were a few points that still surprised me. For example, number 8 states "they have largely grown up in a floppy-less world. You never really think of past technology since technology is constantly evolving, we more think about future technology. Therefore, we currently think of usb drives and now online clouds. However, I do actually remember uses floppy discs whenever I was younger. Yet, people just a few years younger than me do not. It's crazy how quickly technology is evolving! On a more humorous note, even though these may have been relatable to me, some items were still really humorous to me. For example, number 10 states that "there have always been emojis to cheer us up. It's so true! Just a simple heart from your best friend or boyfriend could instantly put a smile on your face. Some people even go above and beyond and type out with emojis and make jokes with emojis. The iPhone even now suggests an emoji whenever you type a given word (for example if you type out taco it'll suggest the taco emoji. Another item that greatly made me chuckle was number 22: "Dora the Explorer and her pet monkey Boots helped to set them on the course of discovery. I used to love Dora! (I even had a Dora themed birthday party once.) As said earlier, I am not much older than the students this list is based on. Therefore, it was very understandable and relatable to me. Readers of an older age or generation would view the list far differently and less relatable than I did.
To further the topic, let's take a look at the youtube video "What is 21st Century Education?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax5cNlutAys). Two statistics given in the video particularly surprised me. These were "the number of people learning English in China nearly equals the US population" and "in the past 5 years the digital universe has grown by 1,000%". These outstanding numbers are just astonishing to me. It amazes me how quickly things such as language can be learned and spread. Furthermore, it is mind blowing how quickly technology is progressing and growing. These statistics definitely put it more into perspective. Tying this into education, technology now plays a major role in education. It is found everywhere in the classroom from smart boards to student assigned chrome books and iPads. Therefore, teachers have to be completely up to date with the technology so that they can teach the students how to use it in a beneficiary manner. However, I have faced experiences where the teachers seemed baffled and lost when it came to technology. Which is not very encouraging or helpful for the students. Current and future teachers need to be as up to date with technology as there students, if not more than. Teachers need to be trained so that way technology serves a beneficial purpose within the classroom rather than as a distraction.
To better understand this, let's first look at the website https://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2021/ which contains The Mindset List. This list is the mindset list for the youngest current college student, more specifically students of the class of 2021. As a student of 2019 and a soon to be younger teacher, this list was more relatable to me in many cases because I grew up in the same or similar decade. However, there were a few points that still surprised me. For example, number 8 states "they have largely grown up in a floppy-less world. You never really think of past technology since technology is constantly evolving, we more think about future technology. Therefore, we currently think of usb drives and now online clouds. However, I do actually remember uses floppy discs whenever I was younger. Yet, people just a few years younger than me do not. It's crazy how quickly technology is evolving! On a more humorous note, even though these may have been relatable to me, some items were still really humorous to me. For example, number 10 states that "there have always been emojis to cheer us up. It's so true! Just a simple heart from your best friend or boyfriend could instantly put a smile on your face. Some people even go above and beyond and type out with emojis and make jokes with emojis. The iPhone even now suggests an emoji whenever you type a given word (for example if you type out taco it'll suggest the taco emoji. Another item that greatly made me chuckle was number 22: "Dora the Explorer and her pet monkey Boots helped to set them on the course of discovery. I used to love Dora! (I even had a Dora themed birthday party once.) As said earlier, I am not much older than the students this list is based on. Therefore, it was very understandable and relatable to me. Readers of an older age or generation would view the list far differently and less relatable than I did.
To further the topic, let's take a look at the youtube video "What is 21st Century Education?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax5cNlutAys). Two statistics given in the video particularly surprised me. These were "the number of people learning English in China nearly equals the US population" and "in the past 5 years the digital universe has grown by 1,000%". These outstanding numbers are just astonishing to me. It amazes me how quickly things such as language can be learned and spread. Furthermore, it is mind blowing how quickly technology is progressing and growing. These statistics definitely put it more into perspective. Tying this into education, technology now plays a major role in education. It is found everywhere in the classroom from smart boards to student assigned chrome books and iPads. Therefore, teachers have to be completely up to date with the technology so that they can teach the students how to use it in a beneficiary manner. However, I have faced experiences where the teachers seemed baffled and lost when it came to technology. Which is not very encouraging or helpful for the students. Current and future teachers need to be as up to date with technology as there students, if not more than. Teachers need to be trained so that way technology serves a beneficial purpose within the classroom rather than as a distraction.
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