Blog Post #G

Technology is making it, in many ways, easier to educate our students. In Chapter 10 Promoting Success for All Students through Technology, it talked about how many different ways you can use technology to reach a limitless amount of students. Whether your students don't speak English very well, or you have a Deaf student in your classroom, technology today has given us an opportunity as educators to reach students whom we have not been able to reach in the past.

Through technology we can reach a more diverse group of students, and because of this we can inspire them to become life long learners. A huge issue in classrooms today is trying to make the curriculum relevant. "This issue is very important to diverse students, many of whom struggle in school when they do not find immediate connections between academic content and their own experiences (Maloy)." As educators we must make our curriculum relevant. We can use technology to do this for us. "Technology allows students to access newspapers from around the world, take virtual field trips to international locations, translate materials from one language to another, and communicate with teachers, students, and schools in other places.

Another great tool we have now is Google Translate. Throughout Elementary school I remember having friends come into my classroom who didn't know how to speak any English. I think back to those days and try to imagine if Google Translate existed back then we could've communicated so much better with one another. Now I know that if I ever have a student come into my class who doesn't speak any English I'll still be able to semi communicate with them through Google Translate, or any other translation tools.

Below I've included a Bitstrip I made about teaching to learning styles. I was inspired to make this after I read a passage in Chapter 10. "Teaching to include the learning styles of different students is the key to successful differentiated instruction. A differentiated math unit on probability, for example, might open with a choice of two experiences: student-written and -acted skits to introduce concepts, or a series of games that focus on probability using dice, spinners, or multiple choice. (Maloy)" 

Also I apologize for the larger than life Bitstrip, I was having trouble embedding and switching the codes. 



(Edward)

Although we can do so much now with educating we need to still realize we have limitations.
 I fear that we might start getting the idea that we can do anything as teachers, don't get me wrong, we can do so many great things! But again we must know our limitations. I already know it will be something I will have to keep in check, because if I try to cater to each students specific needs and learning styles I'll overwhelm myself. 

References

Edward, A (2015, October 18). How Do You Learn? Created with Bitstrips http://www.bitstrips.com/r/WDP0Z

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #F- Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Communicating and Collaborating with Social Media offered a unique perspective on using social media within the classroom. Growing up with Social Media as a norm, we were highly discouraged in school to befriend our teachers, whether it was through Facebook, or twitter, or whatever Social Website we saw fit. Within this chapter I felt that it was encouraged to have students, teachers, and parents stay connected through social media.

Although I see how this could be beneficial it's still difficult for me to accept. I think this is because I'm using the term "Social Media" rather than educational networking. Through education networking teachers can still use education and be professional about it, while in my mind I'm thinking about teachers communicating through Facebook, which is a very casual way of communicating.
Granted I was part of many Facebook groups which teachers facilitated and kept up with, that was very beneficial during high school.

I did not agree with teachers and students texting. There are very few circumstances in which I feel educators and students would need to communicate through text. I know in high school I would text one of my teachers, but I was part of the leadership team in their class and needed to be in contact with them when it came to our theatre club. I believe that communicating through educational sites like the suggested blogs, wikis, or edmodo accounts make more sense to me because I see the drawn boundary line between casual and professional relations.

The challenging part about this chapter will be to draw the line between professionalism and casual communications. Finding which social outlook will benefit my classrooms the best in the future.

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Resources: 

Edward, A. (2015, October 9). To be social or not to be socialThat is the question.  - Tackk. Retrieved October 9, 2015.

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Blog Post #E- Chapter 7

I grew up playing video games. My grandfather owned a video game arcade so I have memories of playing Pac Man, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Bros at four years old. My parents got me educational CD's for the computer, and I remember going on cartoon network to play a Powerpuff Girl video game. As I got older I upgraded from the original Nintendo to a Nintendo 64, and then to a Game Cube, I had a gameboy and loved playing video games. Not all my video games were just for fun though, I remember having a number of education video games, that I loved. I enjoyed learning and these games helped me in certain areas.

After reading Chapter 7: Exploring Problem Solving with Software, Apps, and Games, I am reminded of how as a future educator I want to strive for my students to become higher functioning learners. It was encouraging to read about a young girl who learned multiplication through a video game software geared towards math. This chapter encouraged me to search for and really think how many different ways I can incorporate fun and educational apps and programs into my future classrooms.

A great point was made, "Will the child program the computer, or will the computer program the child?" This again goes back to the point of making my students higher functioning learners. I don't want my students just to recite things back to me, I want them to grasp concepts and understand what they're learning and about their environments that they are surrounded by. I want my students to think for themselves.

There was also a part that caught my attention in the chapter and it was talking about the virtual world simulation games, and how there's no distinct winner or looser. They specifically talked about a game called "Second Life" which sounded familiar to me.
(The Office)
When I realized I recognized it from The Office I had to put it in my blog. At the time I thought that "Second Life" was a made up game, I had no idea it was a real entity. Although it's funny by watching it on The Office, it also reminds me that there are plenty of mindless games that my students can waste their time on. I know I personally have done just that. I also know that information sticks with students when they're having fun, and what better way to reach them then through apps and video games, which they are already so immersed in.

(Edward) 

The challenge that I took away, is that not every parent in on board for their children to spend so much time on the computer. Which I respect, but I know that it will be a struggle especially if I assign  specific homework that incorporates computer use. I realized that I have to do research on this topic as well, so I can put the parents minds at ease, and so that I have a foundation and knowledge to back up my teaching style and preference.  

RESOURCES

Edward, A. (2015, October 9). Video Games – Poster by alexisedward94. Retrieved October 9, 2015.

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
    
The Office : Second Life is the same. (2007, October 31). Retrieved October 9, 2015.