ed205 Blog

I think my goals for professional development with regard to technology may be quite simple! The reason I say this is because I dont want to base an english classroom all around technology. I would like the students to use it for writing assignments, presentations, blogging, and maybe discussion forums. I dont want to over power the classroom with technology, because then I feel like I wouldn’t be accomplishing some goals of mine that I have always had in my mind. My main goal has always been to make learning and reading fun for high school students. I feel I can do this better with reading and explaining issues face to face rather than with the use of computers. I love having classroom discussions on books and I feel like I can ‘get in to it’ more if I were right there with students. In other words I dont want them to try to figure out who I am and what my teaching style is like through a computer.
As far as my goals for keeping technology apart of my life, I know I am going to keep blogging. I have seen plenty of sites where future teachers blog about any kind of issue they feel is important, and I also think it is fun to see what other people are talking about who are in the same situation I am. This course has really opened my eyes to technology and the different ways it can be used besides just facebook and AIM!!! I really like have the discussion forum, I think it is very nice to have in a college class! I wish there were many more like this! I think I am going to take other computer classes as well ( not only because I have to) but because this has been so beneficial to me! I think I would like to learn more about the way technology works, so I may take some classes on that as well! Like I said before, this kind of stuff was all new to me before this class, I was even scared when I had to use Excel! I would definitely like to learn more about Excel and Webquest in the future, I think those have been my two main weaknesses! I know I need to be more proficient with using a computer so I know that classes like these will definitely benefit my career!!!
As far as finding a class that I would like to teach, for me it would just be basic English! I want to be able to integrate technology in on my own time and not have to base the class around it! I definitely want students to work with computers more so that they can be comfortable with them when they go off to college.

After reviewing the website I quickly figured out that there are a lot of untrustworthy sites on the internet. I dont think anywhere on the site the actual author was listed. However it wasnt very clear because there was many authors of articles and very few quotes. I did see at the bottom of one of the pages it said “join MLK discussion forum- hosted by stormfront”…after clicking on stormfront the first thing i saw was their slogan “White Pride World Wide”. That was my only clue. The opening page of this site clearly indicated it is not something I would show my future students. I knew this when i saw the Kings so called cries “Im f–ing for God” right on the left side of the page! I knew it definitely was not appropriate for any student k-12 to read. I still think that it is hard for students to go to find more trustworthy sites, I think i have a hard time still! But if you look at the address of the site it does say .org which of course could be a tip-off that it is not exactly trustworthy! After going to google and searching for Martin Luther King I discovered the website second from the top! I was shocked actually! I always thought that the most credible sources were at the top. I honestly dont really know how this site got so high on the list. The only thing I can think of is many people have visited the site and may actually believe it is a credible source. Underneath the link it does say “a valuable source for teachers and students alike”, so maybe that has something to do with it. I really just couldnt believe what I found!

I really like and agree with using methods of constructivism in the classroom. I love the idea of students being socially interactive and learning. The use of this method I feel would work very well in my future classroom. Since I want to be an english teacher I feel that I have had much expereinece of using this method already through high school english classes and my college courses as well. I think the most important part is after reading a book or some text being able to draw conclusions and discussing the text within the classroom amongst other students. My Brit Lit professor I feel bases her classes using constructivism! Every day we have a different assigned text to read and then we come to class and discuss it and learn from socially interacting with the other students. I feel I learn a lot more from getting the other students opinions and really getting involved within the classroom. I realize that all students may not participate in the discussions and the projects involved, so I can see why people may see this as controversial. I mean it is a different way of learning besides listening the teacher lecture all hour, so I feel that it would work, but only if the teacher stays on the students and makes sure they are staying on task, and maybe by making the discussions a part of their grade. I feel that socially interacting (using constructivism) can be very useful in the classroom if the students use it approiately.

I am going to start by saying, I now LOVE online classes! (at least ED205 because it is the only one I have taken). They are so much more convienent for me. I love that the fact that I can do my assignments when they most fit my schedule within the week that is given to me. I think that is the part I like most about the class, but what I also like is how I can see what others are thinking by blogs and the group discussions. It is a good way to get students to respond, because in the classroom students tend to just kinda freeze up. I think one of the things I would change is the one on one communication with the teacher. I mean there is always email but if a class is all online its hard to find time where you can sit down and discuss things and to make sure all your questions are answered. I feel you do a lot more on your own, and that is both and good and bad thing. You can become more computer efficient and more independent, but when it comes to having questions with the lab i feel like I can’t always have them answered. I think I still would like to have a mix of classes where some of them were online and others in a classroom. I think I would miss being around others, and I think the computer would become to much of a neccessity for me! I do think an English or history class may work onlinem because those are both discussion based classes. I know that math would not work all that well. But I know now that I would definitely take another online class!

The most important software is as follows:

#1. Word processing
#2. Powerpoint
#3. Spreadsheets (excel)
#4. Graphical Organizers
#5. Photo Editing Programs

The most important application for students to learn is of course word processing. I use this at least 5 days out of every week. Students should learn how to use this in middle school, and I think that more middle school teachers should have their students turn in typed assignments to help them get their feet wet. Every student will use this program until they are out of school and most likely well after that.

The second most important program would be Powerpoint. I think that kids should learn this their first year of high school. It definitely improves their speaking skills and it makes the presentation much more ‘presentable’. I wish I would have learned to use this earlier because it is an easy tool and it really is beneficial with time and neatness.

Spreadsheets kind of go right along with Powerpoint. I did not learn how to use Excel until this class. I feel that teachers need to get this program out there more, and show students that this is a very helpful application. It can be used in almost every subject for teachers or students! This should be taught by at least 10th grade.

Graphical Organizers are very beneficial for students in their early years! They really help to understand and make material clearer to understand. This should be taught in elementary because they are very simple to use and they can really help a lot of students.

Last but not least would have to be photo editing program. This application can really help with presentations and for your own benefit too! Students should learn this in high school so they can learn how to fit pictures into their presentations and make everything look that much better!

I do believe that the tragedy of hurricane Katrina should be talked about amongst teachers and students. It is definitely a natural disaster that will be remembered for years to come, so why not talk about something that has that big of an effect on our country. As far as locating resources there is plenty of information and aide going around right now. You can go to the Red Cross and then can give you plenty of information about this disaster, and there are plenty of web sites that will help you deal with problems someone may be facing. Even most schools are posting things on their own web-sites now (Ex. Grand Valley). There are many ways people can learn from this tragedy. A huge way is knowing what to do next time this could happen, for example it may be happening again!!!! Hurricane Rita is now threatening the Gulf Coast. As of Wednesday 1.3 million people were sent out of Texas and Louisana. It is horrible to think that this may happen again, but at least they are doing more things to prevent death and homeless citizens. I believe that is one of the most important thing people could have learned from hurricane Katrina. I believe that this issue should not be ignored. I think kids should be able to talk about what they may be going through and and teachers should definitely be the ones to listen and help thier students along the way. As far as making this an age appropriate or unbiased…I really think teachers should just let the students bring up issues they feel most important. Almost everyone knows that this was a natural disaster and people from New Oreleans should be helped until things get going again down there.