Downfall of iclickers

Although I chose to explore iclickers a few weeks ago and discuss some strengths and weaknesses, I had some first hand experience today with one of the disadvantages that come with iclickers.

I let one of my friends borrow my iclicker for his class because I no longer needed my iclicker. Once he got my iclicker from me, he registered it under his name so he would receive the points and credit for his class.

After using his iclicker for almost the entire semester, his teacher emailed him telling him that his participation grade is 0% because he has not completed any of the iclicker questions! Of course, he was confused and upset, and needed to fix this.

It turns out that when he registered online, the code he typed in was wrong (because it was hard to see on the iclicker) and, therefore, the points were being given to someone else. Iclickers are a very cool technology tool to use, but have quite a few disadvantages that can really frustrate people and negatively effect someone's grade.

This Technical Semester...

I learned so much about different forms of technology and how important they are to teaching and learning! Before this class, I was afraid of technology. I always viewed technology as a scary thing that always frustrated me. I tended to have the mind set that I was going to be one of those teachers that only used the white boards and tangible books. But now, I am planning lessons and activities that involve various forms of technology!

Throughout this semester, I really enjoyed using blogs. It was interesting to share our thoughts on a public site and also view and comment on our class mates' blogs. I think blogs are a great tool to use in the classroom because it is an informal way to reflect on what you learned or what your feelings are about something. I want to learn even more about SMARTboards because they seem very interesting and fun. From my experience with SMARTboards, I have found that students get very excited while using them. I think SMARTboards are great to have in classrooms because they promote interaction and visuals! As a teacher, I want to use wikis in my classrooms for various projects. I have found that wikis are a great way to organize assignments, manage students' work, and assess their progress over time. I have already found myself using Google Docs and slideshare in other classes, which tells me that those are very helpful tools to continue to use.

Although technology can be difficult to use and frustrating at times, it is extremely exciting and ESSENTIAL in our future lives. I cannot wait to incorporate my new knowledge of technology into my future teaching!

Stressful Projects now --> Future Resources later

As a junior in the Special Education program, my classes and field placement is becoming much more intense and extensive. That being said, I have a lot of projects, papers, and lesson plans that are all very time consuming. I have been very stressed trying to fit all these projects in and making sure I am putting my best effort into each course. Although these projects are stressful, I am excited for them to be completed and to be an excellent resource to have as a future educator! My literacy reference project, for example, will provide me with a lot of useful assessments and information that I can directly use as a teacher of literacy. It is also extremely beneficial that I am getting practice with creating and altering lesson plans because that is a tool I will have to use a LOT as teacher.

Interactive Childrens Books

I have seen a lot of "leapfrog" and "tag" reading programs advertised on TV lately... but are they really more beneficial than reading tangible books we know and love? I think it is really neat that you can put a pen over a book and it will read it aloud to you! This can be extremely helpful and exciting for young children who struggle with word identification or decoding. The TAG program states "children will learn to read, and love reading!" I can definitely see how children can learn more and be more engaged with a book that is interactive and exciting. Many children learn better when they can hear what is being read, nut just look at it. However, interactive books can also become a problem if students become dependent on the pen in order to figure out what a word says. I think these programs are more beneficial and less harmful if used by younger children who are learning to read. I'd like to learn more about interactive books and see how they have been beneficial (or not) in children's literacy development.

 

Wikis Galore

Throughout the past semester, my "Teaching with Technology" course has been using a classroom website and a wiki to upload our projects. I have never used a wiki before this class, and it has been a real treat getting used to them! Wikis differ from websites and blogs in the sense that anyone can edit them! Although blogs allow other users to post comments, wikis allow you to control who can edit, view, write, etc, to your wiki! Websites can only be edited by the creator. I have really enjoyed creating and updating my own personal weebly website and posting my ideas and thoughts on my blog, but I have found wikis to be extremely helpful... especially as a future teacher!

Wikis allow teachers to organize their students' work and allow students to view each other's work and edit the page when needed. In our course, we upload a link each week to show our teacher and our class mates the technology we have been exploring. I want to use a wiki as a teacher in order for my students to view the work of others and self-evaluate their learning processes! I could use different wikis for different assignments, such as a wiki on the writing process, a wiki for a research paper, a wiki on photo shop and video editing. There are many possibilities when it comes to wikis!

Here is my newly created Wiki! With this particular wiki, my students would be doing a research paper on an animal of their choice. They would be required to upload their brainstorming ideas, a few resources used in their paper, their rough draft, a review of a class mate's paper, and their final draft. Using the wiki will allow students to see their progress of their paper and see what other students are doing if they need an example or feel lost. As a teacher, I can access my student's drafts all from my computer. I can also keep track and assess their progress, and take note if any students are dragging behind or need extra help.

GeniusBoards!

Although I wrote a brief blog post on SmartBoards earlier this semester, I decided to write a more in-depth post because I had first hand experience with SmartBoards today! Since I cannot attend the SmartBoard session for my CEP 416 course, I chose to explore SmartBoards on my own. At my Special Education field placement, the students were using the classroom SmartBoard to sing along with YouTube videos about counting and the alphabet. All of the kids were very engaged and excited about watching videos through the SmartBoard. I have also seen these students use the SmartBoard to create their November calender and do math problems. I also found out today that SmartBoards are touch screen, which is fun to use and promotes student interaction and engagement.

SmartBoards tend to range from $1,200 to $5,000 (while some are less and some are more expensive). In my opinion, these prices are not bad considering all of the benefits that come with SmartBoards! SmartBoards can be used as a tv! I saw the students at one of my field placements watching "How to Train Your Dragon" on a SmartBoard. SmartBoards can also hook up to computers and portray the computer images on a really big screen! Teachers can pull up a Microsoft Word document and students can write on it using the SmartBoard markers. Since SmartBoards can connect to computers, they are able to connct to the internet. Therefore, educational technology such as Google Earth, Google Docs, Wikis, Blogs, etc, can all be accessed and seen on the big, touch screen of the SmartBoard.

SmartBoards are beneficial to both teachers and students. They provide teachers with informal ways to assess their students and get their students actively involved with certain lessons, and provide students with a fun, visual way to learn! SmartBoards allow teachers to record their lessons and post the material again at a later time. I would love to use a SmartBoard in my classroom someday if I have the means of getting one. There are alternatives to using the SmartBoard, such as white boards and projectors, but SmartBoards have more unique and engaging qualities to them... they are SMARTer!

Students using a SmartBoard to perform activities through Microsoft Word

Cell Phones... Educational?

Coming from a high school where "cell phones = suspension", I have always thought that teachers and staff frowned upon using cell phones in school, even during passing time. Cell phones let students text, take pictures, and play games, which are all opportunities to cheat or be distracted in class. But after a little bit of research, I found out the cell phones can actually be a great tool for both teachers and students in an educationall setting. In a New York Times article titled Industry Makes Pitch That Smartphones Belong in Classroom, Shawn Gross explains the importance of cell phones because "this is a device kids have, it's a device they are familiar with and want to take advantage of" (Richtel & Stone, 2009). As our world is become more tech-savvy, students are becoming extremely knowledgable and used to cell phones and are generally able to use them quickly and efficiently.

Cell phones are cheaper and smaller than laptops, making them more simple to access and use. Students who have used cell phones (specifically smart phones) as a learning tool have used their phones to perform a variety of tasks, from recording themselves solving problems to filming educational videos and sharing them with classmates. Below is an image of students at Southwest High School in Jacksonville, N.C. that are using cell phones to help with their algebra studies.

As a future teacher, I want to someday look into using cell phones as an educational tool. However, there are some things I have to keep in mind if I do so... using cell phones will probably not improve writing skills, distractions may overpower learning, and that it takes a lot of patience to use and maintain this form of technology.