The use of technology in the classroom is very important in the 21st Century. Teachers must use it because kids from all walks of life are digital natives. Whether kids have access to technology, such as computers, cell phones, internet, mp3 players and others outside the classroom, it doesn't matter inside. These tools of education can be very helpful in educating young people and engage them every day in class.
Not using technology inside the classroom would be a disservice to the students because it would show the teacher is unwilling to relate to students and not realize a great opportunity to reach every single one of them. Technology is no longer viewed as the black sheep in the room but a great part of an educator's arsenal. Teachers can help students find places to access computers or rent equipment in the area if they have little to no access to it.
One thing I dislike is the idea of using technology as a means of social justice. Teachers must have the perspective of I will do my best to educate each and every student in my classroom in any way I can. They must not look at it as an opportunity to rectify social or past ills.
In my classroom I will allow students who have little to no access to the technology we use in the classroom at home extra time to work on assignments. Also, I will find libraries and businesses for students to access after school. I will work with all of my students to make sure they can use everything they will need to know how to use in the real world because it is part of my job to prepare them.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Blue Cohort Presentations Rule!
I enjoyed the presentations in class today. They were entertaining and informational. Everyone used a bunch of pictures which were relevant to their topic and didn't distract from the presentations, but added to them. It was obvious that everybody put time and effort into them and did a good job in front of the class. Many of the presentations employed humor very well. I particularly liked the Office Space spoof in David's presentation and Zach talking about lasers.
A few people read from notes or papers a decent amount during their presentations, which made them less engaging as those who didn't. It is hard to be in front of people sometimes and having notes can be very helpful. This is something I am working on, like others in our class. It is our goal to be comfortable in front of people and kids.
I would like to improve my presentation by talking about the pictures in my power point and incorporating smart art somewhere. Also, I would like to do a longer presentation because I felt I had to be very simplistic in how I presented my topic because of the time constraints.
I like to use power point for presentations because it is engaging for the audience and easy to take notes off of it. I plan on using it as a teacher but not all of the time.
A few people read from notes or papers a decent amount during their presentations, which made them less engaging as those who didn't. It is hard to be in front of people sometimes and having notes can be very helpful. This is something I am working on, like others in our class. It is our goal to be comfortable in front of people and kids.
I would like to improve my presentation by talking about the pictures in my power point and incorporating smart art somewhere. Also, I would like to do a longer presentation because I felt I had to be very simplistic in how I presented my topic because of the time constraints.
I like to use power point for presentations because it is engaging for the audience and easy to take notes off of it. I plan on using it as a teacher but not all of the time.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
OMG, really?
Chat speak or text speak is the modern day language for young people. They use it in emails, speaking with friends and sometimes in homework or essays. Kids can use whatever language they want when interacting with friends and peers but I would not allow them to use chat speak in my classroom. The classroom is a place for kids to be themselves but speaking and writing in proper English are necessities. They have to know how to do these to be successful in college and in the working world.
When I was in high school we had just started using instant messenger and texting wasn't popular yet. We didn't have the problem of using text speak in the classroom and knew how to form clear, coherent sentences. One worry I have that Linda Howard shares in the article is, " Students may very well become so familiar and comfortable with chatspeak that it will be difficult to switch gears...". Students become accustomed to using chat speak through many mediums every day that it becomes common place in their vernacular and seeps into their writing. As teachers, we must talk to our students about this and tell them that while in the classroom, this language or speak is not acceptable.
This brings up a question, how can teachers and educators talk to their students about chat speak? Also, do kids try to incorporate it in the classroom because they are trying to get away with it or is it because they have a hard time switching gears?
When I was in high school we had just started using instant messenger and texting wasn't popular yet. We didn't have the problem of using text speak in the classroom and knew how to form clear, coherent sentences. One worry I have that Linda Howard shares in the article is, " Students may very well become so familiar and comfortable with chatspeak that it will be difficult to switch gears...". Students become accustomed to using chat speak through many mediums every day that it becomes common place in their vernacular and seeps into their writing. As teachers, we must talk to our students about this and tell them that while in the classroom, this language or speak is not acceptable.
This brings up a question, how can teachers and educators talk to their students about chat speak? Also, do kids try to incorporate it in the classroom because they are trying to get away with it or is it because they have a hard time switching gears?
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Cyberbullying: Problem for Schools
Cyberbullying is the 21st century form of harassment which is unfortunately prevalent in schools across the country. Cyberbullying can best be defined as the intended infliction of emotional harm through intimidation, harassment or threats through technology. Kids will use email, cell phones, instant messenger, facebook and others.
I have never experienced cyberbullying and thankfully do not know of anyone who has. It is really unfortunate to hear stories of the extent which cyberbullying can go. Kids killing themselves because of the nastiness and emotional harm that comes from it is truly horrible. I remember when I was a kid and kids could be mean and very hurtful. Sometimes they don't think about the consequences of their actions and bad things happen.
It is difficult for schools to deal with cyberbullying because it is usually perpetrated off-campus and at the homes of the students. Schools don't have the legal ability to go after students for actions outside of school as shown through numerous losses in lawsuits. Students have free speech rights and it is hard for schools to discipline students when it pertains to speech. Schools shouldn't go after students for off-campus issues, but should educate students at school about the issue of cyberbullying. Teachers and parents should work together to deal with any issue that comes up. Teachers can tell if kids are victims of cyberbullying if they have a sudden change in demeanor or have emotional outbursts about it.
As a teacher I will educate my kids students in the classroom about cyberbullying and go through examples of what constitutes cyberbullying. I will tell them the legal consequences of it and tell them to talk to me and their parents if they believe they are victims of it. It would be great if every school had a school-wide assembly about cyberbullying which would be the best solution. It is important to let students know it will not be tolerated and there are consequences for it.
I have never experienced cyberbullying and thankfully do not know of anyone who has. It is really unfortunate to hear stories of the extent which cyberbullying can go. Kids killing themselves because of the nastiness and emotional harm that comes from it is truly horrible. I remember when I was a kid and kids could be mean and very hurtful. Sometimes they don't think about the consequences of their actions and bad things happen.
It is difficult for schools to deal with cyberbullying because it is usually perpetrated off-campus and at the homes of the students. Schools don't have the legal ability to go after students for actions outside of school as shown through numerous losses in lawsuits. Students have free speech rights and it is hard for schools to discipline students when it pertains to speech. Schools shouldn't go after students for off-campus issues, but should educate students at school about the issue of cyberbullying. Teachers and parents should work together to deal with any issue that comes up. Teachers can tell if kids are victims of cyberbullying if they have a sudden change in demeanor or have emotional outbursts about it.
As a teacher I will educate my kids students in the classroom about cyberbullying and go through examples of what constitutes cyberbullying. I will tell them the legal consequences of it and tell them to talk to me and their parents if they believe they are victims of it. It would be great if every school had a school-wide assembly about cyberbullying which would be the best solution. It is important to let students know it will not be tolerated and there are consequences for it.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Googled Myself
Googling yourself can be an eye opening thing, fortunately for me there wasn't much there when I did. I googled myself by typing in my name Matt Ellertson and put it in quotations:http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=%22matt+ellertson%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=%22matt+ellertson%22&gs_rfai=&fp=331a175575780bd9
All I found were links to my facebook page, myspace page, lists I made on amazon.com, an Oregon Duck website I look at and old school information from Willamette University. Also, I used pipl.com here: http://pipl.com/search/?FirstName=matt&LastName=ellertson&City=Vancouver&State=WA&Country=US&CategoryID=2&Interface=2
and came away with links to the same websites, in addition to my voter record and my verification as a licensed notary public. None of these are anything bad or information I wouldn't want employers or my future students to know about me.
Teachers should be held to a higher standard and think about the actions and words they use because they have influence on kids and those around them. If a teacher has a website or blog, it is important to have appropriate material and avoid bad language because students, parents, and peers will have access to it. Teachers need to protect themselves and avoid anything that can be incriminating or bring their job into question.
It is amazing to me that teachers can be fired or denied their teaching license for things that seem so punitive such as a picture showing them with an alcoholic beverage, as described in "Have you Googled Your Teacher Lately". The severity of the situation is dependent on an administrator or superintendents own personal feelings towards the the act or "inappropriate activity". There isn't a clear-cut law or rule in place for teachers to follow. Teachers are adults and should be viewed as such.
As a person working towards becoming a teacher I try to conduct myself in a professional manner and not put myself in any situation which may put my career in jeopardy. I enjoy my life as an adult but avoid broadcasting it to the world.
All I found were links to my facebook page, myspace page, lists I made on amazon.com, an Oregon Duck website I look at and old school information from Willamette University. Also, I used pipl.com here: http://pipl.com/search/?FirstName=matt&LastName=ellertson&City=Vancouver&State=WA&Country=US&CategoryID=2&Interface=2
and came away with links to the same websites, in addition to my voter record and my verification as a licensed notary public. None of these are anything bad or information I wouldn't want employers or my future students to know about me.
Teachers should be held to a higher standard and think about the actions and words they use because they have influence on kids and those around them. If a teacher has a website or blog, it is important to have appropriate material and avoid bad language because students, parents, and peers will have access to it. Teachers need to protect themselves and avoid anything that can be incriminating or bring their job into question.
It is amazing to me that teachers can be fired or denied their teaching license for things that seem so punitive such as a picture showing them with an alcoholic beverage, as described in "Have you Googled Your Teacher Lately". The severity of the situation is dependent on an administrator or superintendents own personal feelings towards the the act or "inappropriate activity". There isn't a clear-cut law or rule in place for teachers to follow. Teachers are adults and should be viewed as such.
As a person working towards becoming a teacher I try to conduct myself in a professional manner and not put myself in any situation which may put my career in jeopardy. I enjoy my life as an adult but avoid broadcasting it to the world.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Matt the Digital Native
I am a digital native. I text, play video games, watch TV, and download music just about every day. I have probably spent "over 10,000 hours playing video games...or "20,000 hours watching TV"(Prensky, Do They Really Think Differently? Pg.1) by the time I graduated college. Also, I use the internet every day to view newspaper articles, do research, view fun web sites, and stay current on the latest technology.
My experience with technology as a student in high school was fairly limited to VHS videos, power point presentations, DVD players, CD players and over head projectors. The internet was almost never used in the classroom, except for when our class would go to the computer lab to do research on a topic. Cell phones were just becoming a necessity for kids and we would never use them in class because they would have been taken by our teachers.
College was fairly similar to high school, especially the use of over head projectors, watching videos using DVD players and VHS players and power point presentations in classrooms and lecture halls. But, it was the first time I used the internet to submit class assignments, view grades, email professors and check updated class information. Also, we had full classes online and tests or quizzes as well. This was very cool to me and enabled me to stay current and have no excuses for not knowing what was going on. Using the most current technology helped me focus and be a better student because I was very comfortable in front of a computer. Also, I would get anxiety before tests in class and this allowed me to avoid that with nearly one class a trimester.
The use of technology in the classroom to teach students who are all digital natives is a great idea because my job as a teacher is to engage my students and reach them anyway I can. Using computers, the internet, cell phones, blogs etc. seems very feasibly for me as a future teacher in the 21st Century. Video games seem like a great idea and as Prensky puts it, they are " an idiom with which most of them are totally familiar."(Prensky. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Pg.4) I love video games and finding ones which are fun and can serve an educational purpose would be great. I will be a social studies teacher, so I hope there are current games available which I can incorporate with topics I will teach. Using the internet and cellphones to conduct research is a great way to use the tools kids know and avoids kids from wanting to "power down"(Prensky. Engage Me or Enrage Me. Pg. 64) as one kid put it.
It will be fun for me to use my creativity and technology to have a classroom conducive to learning for the teenager of the 21st Century.
My experience with technology as a student in high school was fairly limited to VHS videos, power point presentations, DVD players, CD players and over head projectors. The internet was almost never used in the classroom, except for when our class would go to the computer lab to do research on a topic. Cell phones were just becoming a necessity for kids and we would never use them in class because they would have been taken by our teachers.
College was fairly similar to high school, especially the use of over head projectors, watching videos using DVD players and VHS players and power point presentations in classrooms and lecture halls. But, it was the first time I used the internet to submit class assignments, view grades, email professors and check updated class information. Also, we had full classes online and tests or quizzes as well. This was very cool to me and enabled me to stay current and have no excuses for not knowing what was going on. Using the most current technology helped me focus and be a better student because I was very comfortable in front of a computer. Also, I would get anxiety before tests in class and this allowed me to avoid that with nearly one class a trimester.
The use of technology in the classroom to teach students who are all digital natives is a great idea because my job as a teacher is to engage my students and reach them anyway I can. Using computers, the internet, cell phones, blogs etc. seems very feasibly for me as a future teacher in the 21st Century. Video games seem like a great idea and as Prensky puts it, they are " an idiom with which most of them are totally familiar."(Prensky. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Pg.4) I love video games and finding ones which are fun and can serve an educational purpose would be great. I will be a social studies teacher, so I hope there are current games available which I can incorporate with topics I will teach. Using the internet and cellphones to conduct research is a great way to use the tools kids know and avoids kids from wanting to "power down"(Prensky. Engage Me or Enrage Me. Pg. 64) as one kid put it.
It will be fun for me to use my creativity and technology to have a classroom conducive to learning for the teenager of the 21st Century.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)