final technology reflection

I think technology integration is more important now than I did in the beginning of the semester for the sole purpose of being able to see how much creativity and interest technology can foster. I do, however, still think that the integration of technology into classrooms will always be flawed as long as there are some schools systems who can afford certain technologies that other school systems cannot. That is the one thing I would like to be able to change about technology integration. I think I will design my classroom a lot like this one was designed, where we do projects using multiple different forms of technology; that way, hopefully every student will find at least one project that they really enjoy and put their heart into.

Megan Singleton

IWB reflection

From the reading materials, I learned that the smart boards help children learn by appealing to all of the learning styles: visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. Because of this, I think smart boards are a great way for teachers and presenters. I already had a smart board in my dream classroom because I had one in my 8th grade science class and I saw just how beneficial they are. The use of it definitely held my attention and participation better than a lecture would have.

Smart boards can help foster communication and collaboration between teachers and students. Instead of the teacher just talking to the students, the students are getting up and working with the teacher. Each student can experience their own little bit of one-on-one time with the teacher as well as work with others when groups are called up to the board to work on a problem. The defects of smart board, from my own personal experience, seem to be that they don't always work the way you expect them to. I think smart boards are worth installing in classrooms, but I do think there should be a way for poorer areas to get them because it is unfair that the wealthy communities have them but the struggling communities don't.

Megan Singleton

copyright reflection

From reading this article, I have learned that there are options other than the one where all rights are reserved. I knew that some creators will share their work freely with no rights reserved, but that does not benefit all creators. It is nice to know that Creative Commons created a way for both creators and  users to compromise without going through the hassle of citing the insignificant. I also learned about Plagiarism.org, which can REALLY come in handy when it comes down to debating the specifics of what should and shouldn't be cited. 

I saw the importance of the subject of copyrights before making a stop animation video, when writing papers and such, but it was especially evident in making the video. There wouldn't have been a video to make at all if not for the website that explained the steps of the formation of a star, which was the subject of the video. Not citing that website would be equivalent to claiming that we knew the subject information on our own, when we actually learned it from a website. That website demands recognition. And that is how I will teach my future students. I will give them the websites that will help them in making decisions about when and how to cite, and I will explain that unless their information came from their own knowledge, they must state from where it came.

Megan Singleton

horizon report reflection

Mobile devices and apps are discriminatory against people that don’t have smart phones or even mobile devices at all. I don’t see how apps could promote academic discipline when having the ability to use mobile devices in the classroom would just tempt students to be off-task. Tablets would be better because of a lack of texting capabilities. Maybe someday textbooks will be accessible on school-provided tablets for students, certainly solving many of the younger generations’ tendencies to develop back problems. I definitely think game-based learning is incredibly beneficial to students’ willingness to learn and practice what they have learned. I personally remember using many online games to learn about the solar system when I was younger. And as a student that always struggled with math, using online games to practice what I was learning in class probably would have proved equally, if not more, beneficial. Being able to work in groups also allows students to get something more out of what was said by the teacher when the students also hear their classmate’s perspectives. In biology, many times when I do not understand something, someone in my group is able to explain it differently than the teacher did, and it begins to make more sense. I feel like students engaging in personal learning activities wouldn’t get as much out of learning that way, because most will pick the easiest way out and try just get by, by doing the bare minimum, if they are allowed to teach themselves. Most won’t push themselves in the way a teacher would push them. Augmented reality sounds like the way that I learn best. If I am interpreting it correctly, augmented reality is making the connection between what is being taught and how it relates to the real world. This is not only beneficial to understanding, but to remembering, information. This is definitely the most intriguing technological option to me because I think the whole point of everything we learn in the classroom goes back to how we will one day apply it in our careers. So I definitely think augmented realities is the form of technology I would most like to implement in a classroom. Natural user interfaces are very beneficial to students with disabilities, to make learning easier for them and for their teachers.

Giving the child to learn wherever and whenever they want may not necessarily be helpful. What about the children that have questions? Who are they going to ask their questions to if they’re just watching an informational video? What about children with behavioral problems? Who is going to encourage them to focus and learn if they’re just watching an informational video? Parents may not always be around or qualified to serve as a secondary teacher to the online teacher. I agree that it is important for a teacher to prepare students for the real world since the Internet doesn’t. BYOD programs are unfair to students that don’t have either mobile devices or smart phone mobile devices. I do think it is important, however, to teach students of their available network connections other than they petty texting and social networking most are currently used to, and that students with technology skills have the potential to be more successful than those who do not. I also agree that active learning where students can make connections to life outside of the classroom is highly effective.

I know first-hand how challenging it can be to have so many technological options in front of you, but not knowing how to use them or not knowing teachers or mentors or even peers that do. YouTube tutorials and the like are always something to think about when trying to overcome this challenge, but I think it would be very beneficial to have more than just that. Maybe in schools that agree that technology is important, there should be mandatory instructional courses that teachers are required to take where someone tells them about and teaches them how to use all of their options. These instructional courses should also happen annually to not only refresh teachers, but to explore new options. I agree that teachers must do more than lecture and test in order for their students to get the most out of their class, and flipped classrooms just may be the way to go about doing so, if daily access to the Internet is possible for all students. I agree that personalized learning is important, but how to go about implementing it is a very tricky subject. I think school systems changing the way they have and continue to do thinks is a given in order to adapt, and that finding a way to connect classroom information to real life practices should be one of the changes. It is always important to understand, though, that it is the quality of technological options that is so important, not the quantity.

- megan singleton 

communication reflection

In the video and article, many online tools can be used to better teachers’ communication with parents. There are both advantages and disadvantages to them all. Blackboard is an online account for students’ daily activities. On Blackboard, parents can see those activities, see upcoming assignments, and see all of their child’s grades on the parent portal of the website. Blackboard and other secure social network learning sites are useful for this one-stop access to past activities, future activities, and grades. Online calendars are similarly helpful to parents because they can see their child’s upcoming assignments and find links to the assignments all on one website that they can check whenever the please instead of having to keep up with a newsletter for a month or two months. A class blog or a class website would also be useful to find links to upcoming assignments on, and a class blog would additionally have an open discussion board that would be easier than having to deal with chain emails. A class Facebook page would be another option to have an open discussion board on, but there are still parents out there that don’t desire to use social media, so the Facebook page would be at a disadvantage in that case. It also would encourage the students to have Facebook as well, and many parents have rules for their child about when he or she can or can’t have a Facebook. So Facebook would only be an option if 100% of the parents see it as an option. Similarly, all of these online options could only be used if 100% of the families involved have Internet access.

If 100% of the families in my classroom have Internet access, I would use Blackboard or another secure social network learning site so that my students could use it, inside and outside the classroom, to work on assignments, and so parents could keep tabs of those assignments and their grades. I would also use a class website because I could combine a few of these online options into one website. I would use it as an online newsletter, informing families of all the upcoming activities in the classroom. But I could also have a link to Google calendars on my classroom website, as well as a link to a discussion board so that if I happen to ask for a parents’ input on an announcement, parents could easily click a link to answer and to see other parents’ answers. I could also post pictures and videos, instead of having to also use Shutterfly, and provide links to assignments and materials that would help students complete their assignments. 

- Megan Singleton

digital natives reflection

If I had to choose one of the two, a digital native or a digital immigrant, I would consider myself to be a digital native. I can't remember a time when I wanted to know the answer to something and I couldn't just Google it to find my answer. I've rarely used sources other than the internet to write research papers. In fact, I don't "write" research papers. I type them. I've had a smart phone for years, and even before that I still had a mobile device. I use multiple social networking sites and I am constantly downloading new music. I use my laptop multiple times a day, and email is the easiest way to get in touch with anyone that you don't plan on just calling up. I remember feeling like I lived in a different century than everyone else when our house was the only one I could remember without caller ID on our house phone. I don't know how I learned to use Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, photo editors, etc., I just know how. If I was a digital immigrant, I would not be so used to such things and unable to recall a time before computers and smart phones.

Living in this so-called "digital generation" means that by the time I am an adult, potentially with children and students, the vast technological options will have been growing and will continue to grow substantially. And while I consider myself to be a digital immigrant, I also believe that growing up in an era where you are used to certain amenities doesn't mean you necessarily understand all your options and how to use them. There are many things I still don't understand about my phone and computer. I just used Microsoft Excel for the first time last semester (with my dad's, who would be considered a digital immigrant, help) and I still have to take my iPhone and MacBook in to the Apple store if I am having any kinds of problems because I can't always figure them out for myself. Likewise, there are many methods of teaching using technology that I have either never heard of or still don't know how to use. Consequently, if I want to succeed as an instructor in this generation, I still have a lot of learning and catching up to do, despite the fact that I would be considered a digital immigrant.

Luckily, I feel as if the problems with the divide between immigrant and native are few. Although my grandmother never has and never will even consider getting a computer because she doesn't find any of the hype to be necessary, and she still calls her cell phone (that she never uses) her "car phone", she does all of these things by choice. As I mentioned earlier, my dad understands software and computer programs that I am just now starting to use, and my dad is from the digital immigrant era. As are some of the men from the Apple store that have known far more about my devices than I probably ever will. It's a matter of choice. In my opinion, if you want to adapt to the growing field of technological devices,  you will. If you don't, you won't. And that goes for any age group or social divide you might be labeled in.

- Megan Singleton

meaningful learning journal

Right off the bat, just from reading the first paragraph of this chapter, I already liked where it was going. I like that this book is not just about understanding how to use technology, but why that technology is important. I don't think I've ever read anything more than a how-to on technology, and maybe that's why I've never understood the need for it. I agree that schools are all about testing and standardized testing, when that might not necessarily be the most beneficial way to teach children.

Upon reading this article, I now understand why technology is useful in a classroom, even if just to engage children in more intentional learning activities. I believe that the constructive skill is very important for comprehension because of the reflection it involves. Being able to think things through and process what you are learning can go a long way when it comes to remembering and understanding material. As an educator, I believe the collaboration skill is a very important one to integrate into the classroom. There are often lessons in class I only understand when they are explained to me by a peer, so I would of course want my students to have the same opportunity.

- Megan Singleton