It was oddly surprising to me to hear on of our professors say "you wont be able to teach the entire core". I guess that was something that I should have realized before, but it had never occurred to me. Chapter five solidified and clarified the statement made by my professor. There is no way to teach the entire core, but it is essential to teach what the students need to know. Looking at the core and understanding the amount of standardized testing that my students will be subjected to makes me a little stressed. I sometimes fear that I will be so focused on filling my students with all this information that others tell me they need to know that I will loose sight of their learning. I will become some one who "teaches" a concept, not someone who helps my student "learn" a concept. I am empowered to realize that as a teacher I have the power (whithin reason) to teach what I feel my students need to know in a way that is meaningful to them. Shoving my students full of information will benefit them nothing and will waste their time.
I really enjoyed reading the second chapter and reviewing some of the basic principles of differentiation. I love hearing about teachers who make this style of teaching apart of their method and make it work! I especially liked reading about the teacher who incorporated a community building sharing activity into a science lesson. Building a community in your classroom is so fundamental, but it can become overlooked. I think it would be a great idea to incorporate that community building across the curriculum. As teachers we need to realize that we are not just teaching a bunch of kids all at the same level, but that we are teaching a group of individuals who are all on different levels. We need to accommodate and create the best learning environment for all students. This is what differentiation is all about. That does not mean allowing not insisting on progression. It was good to remember that differentiation not only means getting to know your students needs, but that it is also requiring students to push themselves to new levels.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sept. 24
This section of reading has opened my eyes even wider to what my attitude needs to be in order to have a differentiated classroom. In the last chapters it seems that the focus has been to really understand what the student is thinking and feeling. In these chapters I really enjoyed how it focused on what the teacher should be thinking and feeling in order to best provide the needs of the students. As teachers our attitudes and encouragement effects students greatly. It is important that we realize how essential it is for us to be aware of the many points that are mentioned in the first chapter. Validating students and encouraging them in the ways listed needs to become a habitual part of our instruction.
I also really liked more specifically in the second chapter how in depth the study of how the environment affects the student. We have studied the effects of environment a lot, but it is always good to review them. It was also beneficial for me to read about how many teachers are making their classroom environments the most beneficial for their students.
I also really liked more specifically in the second chapter how in depth the study of how the environment affects the student. We have studied the effects of environment a lot, but it is always good to review them. It was also beneficial for me to read about how many teachers are making their classroom environments the most beneficial for their students.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sept. 17th
* I originally posted this last night, but I wanted to add a couple things. Please let me know if you would rather I didn't do this so that you can get an adequate understanding if the posting assignment was done on time. Sorry, I really didn't think about it when I opened the window, but realized there was no turning back because the update time would have already changed on this post.
I believe inventories and pre-assessments to be a key part of understanding what your students know and how they feel. Because there are so many different types of assessments I believe that every teacher can find on that will fit their personal style and purpose of teaching.
I really liked the idea of having pictures included in the inventories instead of having a rating scale. I feel that children at any age would benefit from having a scale that includes pictures instead of only numbers because pictures are easier to understand. I feel it's easier to understand and interpret numbered rating scales for people of all ages. We can relate better to pictures.
I also found it useful to have a set characteristics and have the students sort them into whether they are like them or not. I fell this would help students really evaluate themselves on the level decided by the teacher. This may also help students learn as much about themselves as the teacher does because they may not have thought about these traits before.
Many of the specific subject pre-assessments were focused of investigation, which I believe to be very important. When you ask students to define or explain a topic to the best of their knowledge it provides a pure understanding of what they know and how they understand it. This gives teachers an understanding of the students knowledge as well as the student's learning profile. A couple of these types of pre-assessments also had a section where the student could draw the concept. This is an important part of the assessments because it allows the students an additional means of expression giving the teacher clearer data.
I would love to conduct some type of inventory like this with my student teaching class. Because I haven't been in the classroom with them these last few months it will be important for me to know and understand them as individuals so I can focus my instruction. I would like to do an inventory that would have a section where they can tell me what they want me to know about them. I feel this will help us catch up a little for the time I have not been with my students in their classroom. I feel that allowing them to express themselves openly will also make them feel more comfortable when I ask them more specific questions about their learning.
It is crucial that we understand our students so we know how to teach them. I believe that assessments and inventories play only a very small part in gathering this information. The most important thing that we can do to accomplish this goal of knowing our students is to observe and get to know them. We must establish an environment where students can be themselves and receive the instruction they need to succeed.
I believe inventories and pre-assessments to be a key part of understanding what your students know and how they feel. Because there are so many different types of assessments I believe that every teacher can find on that will fit their personal style and purpose of teaching.
I really liked the idea of having pictures included in the inventories instead of having a rating scale. I feel that children at any age would benefit from having a scale that includes pictures instead of only numbers because pictures are easier to understand. I feel it's easier to understand and interpret numbered rating scales for people of all ages. We can relate better to pictures.
I also found it useful to have a set characteristics and have the students sort them into whether they are like them or not. I fell this would help students really evaluate themselves on the level decided by the teacher. This may also help students learn as much about themselves as the teacher does because they may not have thought about these traits before.
Many of the specific subject pre-assessments were focused of investigation, which I believe to be very important. When you ask students to define or explain a topic to the best of their knowledge it provides a pure understanding of what they know and how they understand it. This gives teachers an understanding of the students knowledge as well as the student's learning profile. A couple of these types of pre-assessments also had a section where the student could draw the concept. This is an important part of the assessments because it allows the students an additional means of expression giving the teacher clearer data.
I would love to conduct some type of inventory like this with my student teaching class. Because I haven't been in the classroom with them these last few months it will be important for me to know and understand them as individuals so I can focus my instruction. I would like to do an inventory that would have a section where they can tell me what they want me to know about them. I feel this will help us catch up a little for the time I have not been with my students in their classroom. I feel that allowing them to express themselves openly will also make them feel more comfortable when I ask them more specific questions about their learning.
It is crucial that we understand our students so we know how to teach them. I believe that assessments and inventories play only a very small part in gathering this information. The most important thing that we can do to accomplish this goal of knowing our students is to observe and get to know them. We must establish an environment where students can be themselves and receive the instruction they need to succeed.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sept. 9 Reading
I miss read the sylabus and didn't realize that I needed to post about yesterdays reading. I know understand that every reading needs to be posted about, so it wont happen again. I also realize that I will probably recieve no points for this post, but because I really enjoyed the reading I would like to reflect on it anyway.
What stood out to me the most in these two chapters was how the students perspective was so plainly explained. I feel that so many times I get overwhelmed with what is expected of me and what I am feeling that I don't take the time to think about what the students are feeling. I had a real "ah ha" moment when it said that to the studnets the teacher is asking them to "come play. come learn what I have designated as important" and that we expect the students so comply willingly with out any hesitation. I love how when we differetiate we try to understand students and learn from them. Just like in the little prince metaphore we are there working together to learn. It was interesting to me that the fox kind of teaches the prince how to tame him. The fox is not just some dumb animal with no understanding of its world. It is the fox's idea to be tamed and he defines how he needs to be tamed. This is the same with our studnets. They may come in with an attitude that is completely complyiant or they may not. We as teacjers need to work with them to ensure that everyone knows why certian things are being taught and that teachers are learning from the students how they can be best "tamed".
I also really liked the table on page 16 that explains the seperate aspects of the cog metephore through simple statements. I feel that to really understand and practive differentiation a teacher should look at this model offten through out the year. I belivce that reviewing this(and similar models that are found later in the book)offten, differentiation can become integrated into how I teach each student.
What stood out to me the most in these two chapters was how the students perspective was so plainly explained. I feel that so many times I get overwhelmed with what is expected of me and what I am feeling that I don't take the time to think about what the students are feeling. I had a real "ah ha" moment when it said that to the studnets the teacher is asking them to "come play. come learn what I have designated as important" and that we expect the students so comply willingly with out any hesitation. I love how when we differetiate we try to understand students and learn from them. Just like in the little prince metaphore we are there working together to learn. It was interesting to me that the fox kind of teaches the prince how to tame him. The fox is not just some dumb animal with no understanding of its world. It is the fox's idea to be tamed and he defines how he needs to be tamed. This is the same with our studnets. They may come in with an attitude that is completely complyiant or they may not. We as teacjers need to work with them to ensure that everyone knows why certian things are being taught and that teachers are learning from the students how they can be best "tamed".
I also really liked the table on page 16 that explains the seperate aspects of the cog metephore through simple statements. I feel that to really understand and practive differentiation a teacher should look at this model offten through out the year. I belivce that reviewing this(and similar models that are found later in the book)offten, differentiation can become integrated into how I teach each student.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Differentiation: Morning meeting readings
When reading the morning meeting information packet several things appealed to me. Since first learning about morning meetings I have always had a desire to use them in my future classroom and these reading reaffirmed that desire. I especially enjoyed reading the student responses about morning meetings. It was inspiring to read about students who are so excited about a certain aspect of school. It was apparent in their responses how much value they saw in morning meetings. the students were empowered. This student empowerment is something that is very important to me. I can see how having a morning meeting fostered this student empowerment. The students in this article were able to express themselves and their views in a safe and friendly environment. They had an opportunity to find and express themselves. I want this atmosphere and growth in my future classroom that is fueled by a good morning meeting routine.
I also found the article found in the packet about eliminating back-biting and other problems to foster a good classroom community very appealing. I think what appealed to me most about this article was the teacher centered approach that was taken to address this issue. The attitude of the classroom really starts with the attitude of the teacher. We as teachers need to constantly evaluate ourselves to make sure we are the type of person we expect our students to be. I also am a big fan of lists. I can definitely see myself creating a list of negative behaviors in my classroom that I can help change. By creating a list I feel I will be able to focus on what is important and be more aware of students who are not participating in that behavior.
I also found the article found in the packet about eliminating back-biting and other problems to foster a good classroom community very appealing. I think what appealed to me most about this article was the teacher centered approach that was taken to address this issue. The attitude of the classroom really starts with the attitude of the teacher. We as teachers need to constantly evaluate ourselves to make sure we are the type of person we expect our students to be. I also am a big fan of lists. I can definitely see myself creating a list of negative behaviors in my classroom that I can help change. By creating a list I feel I will be able to focus on what is important and be more aware of students who are not participating in that behavior.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tech Rich Lesson Relection
April Keyes and JoAnne Cole
Tech rich lesson plan reflection
The article that we chose to write this review on was a journal article researching the changing beliefs of two elementary school teachers who engaged their students in project-based learning in a technology-rich environment. Researchers visited the classroom daily collecting many different types of data: videotape, notes, surveys, interviews, ect, to get as much information as they could. Three core beliefs were evident in the data collected: (a) Strategic knowledge of how to find and organize information is important; (b) construction of projects leads to constructing and organizing knowledge; and (c) knowledge of student learning is evident from group.
A quote from the journal sums up in clear words the main ideas of the article, “While technology can be valuable in supporting students and teachers in projects requiring higher level thinking it is not the kind of technology that matters most, but rather how it is used.” We were able to use technology in one of our lesson plans and agree with this statement. In part of the lesson we had a PowerPoint presentation and the students watched while Mrs. Cole talked. In the other part of the lesson plan, the students were able to use the computers and independently do the assignment that was given to them. We noticed that when the students were engaged in the learning themselves they were more excited and willing to learn, but during the PowerPoint they weren’t as attentive.
The article goes on to report that teachers who are using more technology in the classrooms are lecturing less and coaching more; and, rather than expecting students to learn all the same information, they expect individual differences. Not one person in this world is exactly alike, so how can we expect our students to do the exact same things or learn in the same ways? We can’t expect that and this is one of the reasons why technology is getting to be so important in education. We as college students are being told that technology is going to be more prevalent in education by the time we are teachers and students will be spending more time using technology than ever before. Why is technology becoming such an important resource to use as teachers today? The article answers this question by talking about three key reasons why technology in the classrooms is so important. 1. People learn from new experiences based on prior knowledge and beliefs, 2. New knowledge is always situated in a context; and 3. Learning is socially mediated and acquired within learning communities.
This article supports the technology we used in the classroom because we got to see the difference a lesson can be by using technology, and what it is like without it. We decided that there a many pros and cons to using technology in the classroom. Some of the cons are: we are completely dependent upon technology so if the power goes out or some other unexpected event, we are out of luck with our lesson plan. Another con would be that students aren’t learning the social skills acquired by doing group work. Some pros are: Students learn independently, students can be on different levels of learning, higher level thinking is brought out, and there are not as many behavior problems because the students are enjoying what they are learning.
We believe that our lesson plan strated proper use of technology in the classroom because we were able to engage the students in the lesson and they enjoyed it at the same time. We believe that this is the key to any great teacher, being able to teach in a way that the students want to learn. We also know that from this experience we still have a lot to learn and will continue to practice and enhance our technological skills so that when we are teachers we will be able to use technology and get our students to enjoy learning.
For our technology rich lesson we integrated a couple different forms of technology in order to get the students attention and inspire them to engage with the material presented. As the students came into the computer lab their screens were locked so that all of their focus could be on the introduction and first part of our lesson. This caused a little confusion because they really didn’t like their screens to be locked, many of them expressed their complaints. Once everyone was settled down, we explained what we were going to be talking about that day and briefly introduced the assignment they would be completing later. Mrs. Cole then explained and presented pictures that she had taken while on a trip to Washington DC in the national archives. The student s really enjoyed not only seeing actual pictures of the documents we had been talking about and where they were written but also seeing Mrs. Cole in some of the pictures.
During the presentation each student wrote down one question they had about the three documents that we had been discussing (The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, or The Bill of Rights). After the presentation we explained, each student would be received five index cards to record the data they would be collecting from the actual national archives site. The students had to put specific information on each card; card one and card two were used for answering the assigned questions, card three was used to record the answers to the question they came up with on their own, and on cards four and five they recorded fun facts that they had found while exploring the site.
This lesson was by far the most stressful one that we taught because the programs we were using were incompatible. The PowerPoint that we had made was working fine when we were in the UVU computer lab, but would not load on the Mac computers at the elementary school. We ended up remaking the entire show an hour before we were supposed to present it. We could still not get it to load correctly until about five minutes before the students came into the lab. Because of this confusion the last slide containing the assignment directions was no longer in the power point show. Leaving us trying to explain and give all the direction orally. This was very confusing for the students and there were a lot of questions about what was supposed to be on each card. Once we had the questions on a temporary slide and had reviewed the instructions many times they were able to complete the assignment with no problems.
Another thing that went wrong in our lesson plan was the need to take out a short video clip that wouldn’t load. We took it out right before the students came into the computer lab and gave our students more time to search the archives website instead which actually worked out great because they enjoyed doing the research. The students are very accustomed to coming into the computer lab to play games so when they came in and saw their computers locked, they were very disappointed. They seemed annoyed at first that we were giving them an assignment and that they actually had to do more than just play games.
Overall we would count this lesson as a triumph, because the students were able to engage with the information we presented and be excited about their learning. Many students were excited to share the fun facts they found with us and we learned a lot this way as well. They were able to work in an environment that they could control and that they were comfortable with but they still understood and comprehended what we wanted them to do and understand by the end of the lesson.
As teachers our lesson fits with the NETS standard stating that technology should facilitate student learning and creativity. The student’s were able to expand their learning by exploring and interacting with a place that most of the students had never been. This lesson also furthered the student’s development through the NETS standard three for students stating “Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.” Through the use of the internet the students were able to explore the national archives and collect data. By looking at pictures and reading information about what we had been learning about the students had an individual opportunity to gain a personal appreciation for the information we had been presenting. They were able to have this opportunity through the use of the technology used in our lesson.
Through presenting this lesson we have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the vital role that technology plays in the classroom. The students were so excited to have the opportunity to use the computers; it was almost like they didn’t realize that they were learning new material. They were also more motivated to finish the assignment because they were able to find the information in a place that is fun and exciting for them, the internet. Through the use of a PowerPoint presentation and the computers, the student’s were excited to learn because it was presented in a way that was out of the ordinary. Before presenting this lesson we believed the information about student responses to technology but it was exciting to see it actually happen in our own class. We also learned how much more effort it takes to create a technology rich lesson compared to a regular lecture lesson. Tech rich lessons seem to take more time to prepare but also reap much greater student results. Our understanding of how important technology is in the classroom has greatly increased and we hope to integrate it in any way possible in our future classrooms.
Source:
LUNDEBERG, M. A. (1997).We Think They're Learning: Beliefs, Practices, and Reflections of Two Teachers Using Project-Based Learning. Journal of Computing in Childhood Education. 8, 59-81.
Lesson Plan: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg4n69sd_24cptsrzfz
Tech rich lesson plan reflection
The article that we chose to write this review on was a journal article researching the changing beliefs of two elementary school teachers who engaged their students in project-based learning in a technology-rich environment. Researchers visited the classroom daily collecting many different types of data: videotape, notes, surveys, interviews, ect, to get as much information as they could. Three core beliefs were evident in the data collected: (a) Strategic knowledge of how to find and organize information is important; (b) construction of projects leads to constructing and organizing knowledge; and (c) knowledge of student learning is evident from group.
A quote from the journal sums up in clear words the main ideas of the article, “While technology can be valuable in supporting students and teachers in projects requiring higher level thinking it is not the kind of technology that matters most, but rather how it is used.” We were able to use technology in one of our lesson plans and agree with this statement. In part of the lesson we had a PowerPoint presentation and the students watched while Mrs. Cole talked. In the other part of the lesson plan, the students were able to use the computers and independently do the assignment that was given to them. We noticed that when the students were engaged in the learning themselves they were more excited and willing to learn, but during the PowerPoint they weren’t as attentive.
The article goes on to report that teachers who are using more technology in the classrooms are lecturing less and coaching more; and, rather than expecting students to learn all the same information, they expect individual differences. Not one person in this world is exactly alike, so how can we expect our students to do the exact same things or learn in the same ways? We can’t expect that and this is one of the reasons why technology is getting to be so important in education. We as college students are being told that technology is going to be more prevalent in education by the time we are teachers and students will be spending more time using technology than ever before. Why is technology becoming such an important resource to use as teachers today? The article answers this question by talking about three key reasons why technology in the classrooms is so important. 1. People learn from new experiences based on prior knowledge and beliefs, 2. New knowledge is always situated in a context; and 3. Learning is socially mediated and acquired within learning communities.
This article supports the technology we used in the classroom because we got to see the difference a lesson can be by using technology, and what it is like without it. We decided that there a many pros and cons to using technology in the classroom. Some of the cons are: we are completely dependent upon technology so if the power goes out or some other unexpected event, we are out of luck with our lesson plan. Another con would be that students aren’t learning the social skills acquired by doing group work. Some pros are: Students learn independently, students can be on different levels of learning, higher level thinking is brought out, and there are not as many behavior problems because the students are enjoying what they are learning.
We believe that our lesson plan strated proper use of technology in the classroom because we were able to engage the students in the lesson and they enjoyed it at the same time. We believe that this is the key to any great teacher, being able to teach in a way that the students want to learn. We also know that from this experience we still have a lot to learn and will continue to practice and enhance our technological skills so that when we are teachers we will be able to use technology and get our students to enjoy learning.
For our technology rich lesson we integrated a couple different forms of technology in order to get the students attention and inspire them to engage with the material presented. As the students came into the computer lab their screens were locked so that all of their focus could be on the introduction and first part of our lesson. This caused a little confusion because they really didn’t like their screens to be locked, many of them expressed their complaints. Once everyone was settled down, we explained what we were going to be talking about that day and briefly introduced the assignment they would be completing later. Mrs. Cole then explained and presented pictures that she had taken while on a trip to Washington DC in the national archives. The student s really enjoyed not only seeing actual pictures of the documents we had been talking about and where they were written but also seeing Mrs. Cole in some of the pictures.
During the presentation each student wrote down one question they had about the three documents that we had been discussing (The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, or The Bill of Rights). After the presentation we explained, each student would be received five index cards to record the data they would be collecting from the actual national archives site. The students had to put specific information on each card; card one and card two were used for answering the assigned questions, card three was used to record the answers to the question they came up with on their own, and on cards four and five they recorded fun facts that they had found while exploring the site.
This lesson was by far the most stressful one that we taught because the programs we were using were incompatible. The PowerPoint that we had made was working fine when we were in the UVU computer lab, but would not load on the Mac computers at the elementary school. We ended up remaking the entire show an hour before we were supposed to present it. We could still not get it to load correctly until about five minutes before the students came into the lab. Because of this confusion the last slide containing the assignment directions was no longer in the power point show. Leaving us trying to explain and give all the direction orally. This was very confusing for the students and there were a lot of questions about what was supposed to be on each card. Once we had the questions on a temporary slide and had reviewed the instructions many times they were able to complete the assignment with no problems.
Another thing that went wrong in our lesson plan was the need to take out a short video clip that wouldn’t load. We took it out right before the students came into the computer lab and gave our students more time to search the archives website instead which actually worked out great because they enjoyed doing the research. The students are very accustomed to coming into the computer lab to play games so when they came in and saw their computers locked, they were very disappointed. They seemed annoyed at first that we were giving them an assignment and that they actually had to do more than just play games.
Overall we would count this lesson as a triumph, because the students were able to engage with the information we presented and be excited about their learning. Many students were excited to share the fun facts they found with us and we learned a lot this way as well. They were able to work in an environment that they could control and that they were comfortable with but they still understood and comprehended what we wanted them to do and understand by the end of the lesson.
As teachers our lesson fits with the NETS standard stating that technology should facilitate student learning and creativity. The student’s were able to expand their learning by exploring and interacting with a place that most of the students had never been. This lesson also furthered the student’s development through the NETS standard three for students stating “Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.” Through the use of the internet the students were able to explore the national archives and collect data. By looking at pictures and reading information about what we had been learning about the students had an individual opportunity to gain a personal appreciation for the information we had been presenting. They were able to have this opportunity through the use of the technology used in our lesson.
Through presenting this lesson we have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the vital role that technology plays in the classroom. The students were so excited to have the opportunity to use the computers; it was almost like they didn’t realize that they were learning new material. They were also more motivated to finish the assignment because they were able to find the information in a place that is fun and exciting for them, the internet. Through the use of a PowerPoint presentation and the computers, the student’s were excited to learn because it was presented in a way that was out of the ordinary. Before presenting this lesson we believed the information about student responses to technology but it was exciting to see it actually happen in our own class. We also learned how much more effort it takes to create a technology rich lesson compared to a regular lecture lesson. Tech rich lessons seem to take more time to prepare but also reap much greater student results. Our understanding of how important technology is in the classroom has greatly increased and we hope to integrate it in any way possible in our future classrooms.
Source:
LUNDEBERG, M. A. (1997).We Think They're Learning: Beliefs, Practices, and Reflections of Two Teachers Using Project-Based Learning. Journal of Computing in Childhood Education. 8, 59-81.
Lesson Plan: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg4n69sd_24cptsrzfz
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tech interview reflection
What did you learn form this interview?
From this experience I have learned that the teachers are do not intuitively think of technology as part of their planning. My coordinator teacher is tied to a very tight schedule and it seems never has time to use technology as apart of her lessons. Talking to her she was is aware of the things that are available for her to use, but it seems that she is so busy she often doesn’t think to use. She told us about the times that she has used technology in the past and she is aware of how well the students respond. Through my observations of her I completely understand. Integrating technology takes an extra effort and extra time. It is much easier to do the same things everyday and at times it seems more efficient. I also learned how little the teacher assigned to the computer class knows about the technology available in the school. She knew a lot about her classroom lab and was very willing to accommodate us in her room. It is apparent that if there are other resources available in the school other than those we discussed in our interviews it seems not many people know about them.
How will this experience affect you as a teacher?
In class learning about how technology can be used and having its importance pressed on me I feel that I will try to use it in my future teaching career as much as possible. Through interviewing these individuals and observing their teaching I have realized how much extra effort a teacher must have to make to integrate technology into their curriculum. It seems so much easier and at times more efficient to lecture with simple in class assignments. But what is most desirable for teachers is to engage students in a way that they can best retain the information. I believe that, at times, the use of technology is the best way to do this.
How did this experience change your thinking about the use of technology?
Conducting these interviews has changed my thinking about the use of technology because the application of technology seems so simple when we are studying it in the classroom. The actual application is at times much harder. The teachers I spoke with had never thought to use a web quest because they cannot find an already existing one that fits and they have no time to make their own. I know understand how difficult it is for teachers, especially ones that have been teaching for a while, to think in terms of how they can integrate technology.
Tech interview: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg4n69sd_21gwm4fwdb
From this experience I have learned that the teachers are do not intuitively think of technology as part of their planning. My coordinator teacher is tied to a very tight schedule and it seems never has time to use technology as apart of her lessons. Talking to her she was is aware of the things that are available for her to use, but it seems that she is so busy she often doesn’t think to use. She told us about the times that she has used technology in the past and she is aware of how well the students respond. Through my observations of her I completely understand. Integrating technology takes an extra effort and extra time. It is much easier to do the same things everyday and at times it seems more efficient. I also learned how little the teacher assigned to the computer class knows about the technology available in the school. She knew a lot about her classroom lab and was very willing to accommodate us in her room. It is apparent that if there are other resources available in the school other than those we discussed in our interviews it seems not many people know about them.
How will this experience affect you as a teacher?
In class learning about how technology can be used and having its importance pressed on me I feel that I will try to use it in my future teaching career as much as possible. Through interviewing these individuals and observing their teaching I have realized how much extra effort a teacher must have to make to integrate technology into their curriculum. It seems so much easier and at times more efficient to lecture with simple in class assignments. But what is most desirable for teachers is to engage students in a way that they can best retain the information. I believe that, at times, the use of technology is the best way to do this.
How did this experience change your thinking about the use of technology?
Conducting these interviews has changed my thinking about the use of technology because the application of technology seems so simple when we are studying it in the classroom. The actual application is at times much harder. The teachers I spoke with had never thought to use a web quest because they cannot find an already existing one that fits and they have no time to make their own. I know understand how difficult it is for teachers, especially ones that have been teaching for a while, to think in terms of how they can integrate technology.
Tech interview: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg4n69sd_21gwm4fwdb
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