Meaningful Learning

As a student, and just a person in general, I will say something that has continuously been a barrier is communication. When it comes to teaching this barrier appears when a student does not understand exactly what it is the teacher is trying to teach. There are now tools to help overcome that barrier. One that I am grateful for personally is the rubric. There has been so many times when I have got an assignment and did it early, turned it in and felt confident and when I received it back I did terrible! The work I did may have looked great and been great work but it isn’t what the assignment was. I think rubrics help eliminate that whole issue. There are also tools such as Inspiration that helps improve communication. I think that Inspiration is a unique tool and what I like the most is I see it as a tool that transforms the same information in many ways. I think a lot of times information changes when you have to transport things on your own because that’s when some mistakes are made.

I’ve really enjoyed this class. Taking this class at the same time I’m taking another class has made me value a lot of things I’ve learned over the summer. One thing that I really appreciate is the fact that I’m testing, using, and personalizing the things that we learn. It makes a difference because I’m not just opening a book and taking test, I’m actually working hands on with the things we go over. At my job I’ve incorporated a lot of things we’ve done in here in my math and technology class =)! The students I work with have enjoyed the things as much as I do! I’m also excited and anxious because I know in a couple of years it’s going to be something bigger and better! But just looking at the reactions I’ve received this summer I know I will definitely use these tools in the future especially blogging. It gives you the chance to make things your own and give your opinion. When I do use these tools I hope my children enjoy this as much as I did. Thanks Ms. Lin!  

Visualizing with Technologies

I think that it is very important to use the tools that help enhance the learning process. With more designs I think that helps make things become your own. And if a teacher is able to make something his or her own that will help leave an imprint in students mind. For instance, this summer when I taught math I didn't call it math, I just made sure I related the subject to everyday events that the students could relate to. So instead of them thinking they were learning how to add and subtract negative numbers, they thought they were just dealing with money. Slowly but surely I stepped away from saying the problem ex. "You let me borrow $10 dollars I only gave you $2 how much do I owe you", to writing it on the board and that became 10-2.

With that being said I think when people use technology to teach it is similar and it will help stick in the children thought process and because they're going to be excited about not learning by lecture I think it will definitely improve the learning of students.

Designing with Technologies

Essentially, we teach things to students so that they can get a head start and become successful in whatever goal they have set for themselves. Recently, when I worked with my students I could tell some of them didn't really aim high or just didn't know what they wanted to do. I think that school is the perfect opportunity to introduce students to some of the most creative things in the world!

As I went to the Lego website I will say that I completely feel in love with the stuff provided! I can see children falling in love with it also. Next thing you know some students will want to become engineers and or gain an interest in computer programming/ gaming. Things like this just open bigger doors! 

The Musical Sketch Pad is unique as well. I think it is important to see how things actually go. When you create something and then see the finishing product it's different than just seeing the finally outcome. For instance when you go to a restaurant and you order something that is great, you are just happy its good. But if you are able to make it yourself and watch people enjoy it, it is a different feeling.

Web 2.0

Blogging and using wikis are great tools to me, but I wouldn't make them requirements in my class. Even though I wouldn't make it a requirement but I would make sure the students understood if they were to participate, it could only benefit them in the long run. With teaching a business class I would have people blog about companies, interviews or something such a job posting. If I was to teach a math class I would have students blog about how they applied the lesson to real life. 

I love the idea of social bookmarking. I know a lot of students have issues finding credible cites, so I believe this could help cut down. This could also make the students not get so jittery when they hear the research paper and it will help with citing things also. But one thing I would do if I were to use this tool in my classroom, it would be to give people extra points based on how many people used the cite they posted and if it was credited. Also, I think people who don't use the tool but do good on there own deserve something also.

I have never heard about Tapped In prior to this class. But, this is the one that interest me the most out of all of them. TeacherTalk is a wonderful tool. TeacherTalk is a discussion forum where K-12 teachers can discuss teaching techniques, trade lesson plan ideas, and support one another (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2008, p. 132). This is crucial because I believe that teachers need a support system and this would be a big support system so there would always be somebody available to talk and understand. A lot of times a new program may be implemented, so what would be better then to get advice or share advice on how things being done in the classroom. with TeacherTalk it would provide more access to communicate and I am a firm believer that communication is the key.

 

References

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassen, D., Marra, R. M.  (2008).  Meaningful Learning With Technology. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Pearson.

Copyrights, Fair Use, Cyberbullying and Nettiquete.

Copyright rules are made to help secure the writers thoughts and ideas. I believe that it is fair and very beneficial for the writer. But if I could change something I definitely would. I absolutely dislike the way the work cited is created but I understand it is something that has always been here and always will be here. I think that it's good that people can use the author's material as long as they cite and use the material in a proper manner.

Cyberbullying and Nettiquete is something that I believe that people don't really pay that much attention to but I think it is very critical because on the internet it's easy to misinterpret what the other person is saying and that can lead up to a lot things. Cyberbullying is something that is so mean that a lot of people do in the world today, even if it's on accident. Cyberbullying and or any other type of bullying can lead into a long time depression and or something worse. I believe things were stricter when I was younger using AOL so I think accounts as such should have more privacy settings.

First Post!!!

Hello everyone!

My name is Candice Bryson, and I am a senior graduating in May 2012, if everything goes right! As of right now I'm working for AmeriCorp at a Summer Program called Eagle Scholars and I'm working with the students entering the seventh grade. I'm teaching math and technology.

I went to a private school where they valued keeping us in touch with technology and that is what I'm use to. But working with some of the students in technology, I see that they lack a lot of skills used in technology from typing to making PowerPoint presentations. And with that being said I think it is safe to say that they won't be able to enjoy the fun part of technology until they learn the basics. So, my version of technology would be to make sure the students are able to communicate using technology.

Also, a lot of students don't enjoy doing the basics so I would like to learn how to do fun activities teaching the students things that they will need. I think it is also important to show real like experiences of what exactly happens when the people use the software in the real world.