Role of Technology in My Classroom

    The role of technology in the classroom can be a very powerful tool. It can play music that helps sooth and develop a classroom environment, allow access to resources from around the world, help communicate to others, and can create interactive and personal lessons. These tools can be used to help develop the students into strong individuals who can later on use the technologies they learned from early on to develop and strengthen our world.

    As a future elementary educator I believe technology in the classroom is not just a tool but a necessity. I think that as these students are growing up in the digital era, that the classroom itself must reflect these technologies. I believe computers are a must for students, to not only gain hand-eye coordination but so that they can get a glimpse at technology that they will be using later in their education. Also, an Ipod containing books, music, and educational applications will be used by the students to heighten their technology experience. Also I believe that a Smartboard, would be an amazing technology source in the classroom as well. A Smartboard is an interactive white board that uses a projector screen to display its information. This is a great technology resource because on it interactive, touch screen games can be played (word play, Elkonian boxes, etc.) but also movies and interactive study programs. All of these technologies also allow me to model proper digital responsibility. This can be done by showing the students how to use technology safely and accurately through classroom activities and setting up guidelines that are easy to follow and posted within the classroom.  With just these few technological resources a student will be able to learn by visual, auditory and kinesthetic cues.  But in the end, how will these resources shape our students in the future if they are such great tools?

    With the guidelines/netiquette, covered and posted, technology in the classroom will allow students to start from the basics. Being that most students will not know how to use a computer in early elementary, the basic skills will be developed in class and will allow students to grow in their knowledge. With the education of netiquette being covered so early, children will know not to bully, post negative pictures/posts or pass personal information to strangers, thus making our students responsible digital citizens with responsibility and great leadership abilities. Technology is a great resource in the classroom and can have amazing effects on a child’s learning, development and in the end great personal growth through new tools and resources.

Teacher's Vision & Future Goals

Teacher's Vision

   The feeling of comfort overwhelms you as you walk into the bright, warm classroom. Pictures of people from around the world are posted on the adjacent wall circling a big world map. The colors invite you to explore the room and all the manipulatives that are set out on the table, along with the bins that line the far wall.  You have just walked into my multi-cultural first grade classroom.

   Centers, centers and more centers. I think that centers secure students independence yet still allow for a structured atmosphere.  There is a math center with an Abacus, colorful beads for counting, dice and a lightbrite that all enhance mathematical counting principles. Next to the math center is beautifully draped, vibrant cloth from around the world, which is to invite all who want to experience the multi-cultural reading center. Animal printed pillows, bean bags and comfortable blankets all lay within the open tent structure. More centers, like the writing workshop, mad science center, and history mystery, are positioned throughout the classroom. 

   The students work is hung on the walls, off of their desks and from the ceiling on a clothespin and laundry line. The teacher is there to assist and encourage the students to explore and has a flexible schedule of when things are done, but strict enough that all the criteria will be covered according to how the person of the day wants it set up. Parents are always welcome to assist in class. Whether they are grading papers, assisting students or cutting out projects, the parental role will always be included in classroom activities.

Future Goals 

   As the finish line is fast approaching for my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary education, I must start setting goals for my future. My main goal is to simply get a job at a school. Rural or inner-city, I would love to teach at either as long as it is low-income. It must a be low-income school because I received government aid called the “TEACH” grant, in which you must teach in a low-income school for the amount of years you used the aid. I will achieve this by continually volunteering in schools that have a need for a teacher with a literacy endorsement, which I will have with my Bachelors. This is a necessary endorsement, especially in a low-income school, because a lot of low-income students don’t have enough support at home.

   After a few years of teaching I would like to start accomplishing my master’s in education. By taking classes each summer, to not only fulfill my upkeep on my teaching credentials but to also expand my learning and teaching philosophies.  I would like to get to my doctorate degree, but I am not going to set myself up for failure and ridiculous expectations. I would like to eventually get married (I personally need to find a man for that first) and then have some children (also need a man for that). Depending on that and my energy level I will keep that objective as a not a priority.

   Another main objective of mine is to get some traveling in. I am a huge advocate for exploring other places to become a better, well-rounded multi-cultural educator. By simply putting away some of my paycheck into a travel fund, I am hoping that I will be able to travel to China, Japan, India and Norway. With these travels I will be able to furnish my class with personal experiences and fun decorations.  These are just a few of my future goals and objectives that I would like to accomplish before I kick the bucket, which may be very soon being that I am going to be an elementary school teacher.

Reflections of Assistive Technologies

   With access to more extensive technology available, students with disabilities are finally able to have a voice in the classroom. New devices are being implemented in our schools and universities which are allowing students to succeed at rates like never before. Students with disabilities are now reaching for the stars and are accomplish things like playing an instrument, completing college or simply communicating with people with the assistance of technology.

   Lucas is a high school student who has a debilitating disease that causes all his limbs to lose muscle control and freeze up. He had the dream of playing an instrument in the band, the euphonium horn, which needs the fingers to push the buttons over the valves. Though he was unable to push any of the buttons, Lucas persevered and simply waited for that one note that he could play to come around. After some great ingenuity and some time, a device that used a joystick to control the instruments valves was produced. The joystick enabled Lucas to play his instrument with ease and not just one note, either.

   Technology has also assisted a young woman named Suzanna who was born with Cerebral Palsy. She was unable to function in school or do her homework because she couldn’t control her feet and had minimal use of her hands. The school refused to get her a desk that adjusted heights and a laptop to help her complete her homework, but after some coercing the laptop was provided. Suzanna, now at the University of Washington, uses voice-activated software on her laptop to help her complete her homework and a joystick controlled wheelchair to get around campus. These technologies will help Suzanna complete her degree in Communications and fulfill her dream of becoming a news anchor.

Autism has been setting young children back for decades. However, now with technology, these children are being assisted and the doors of communication are being thrown open.  Lucas, a six year old with autism, has struggled to communicate for years and usually is found throwing tantrums because of the frustrational  level at which he finds himself. His preschool teacher was aware that these drawbacks were because of the lack of communication between both him and the world around him. She started recognizing that he was drawn to cause-an-effect toys and had a natural curiosity of books.  This gave her an idea to introduce the Ablenet-SuperTalker, which gave Josh buttons to push to communicate what activities he wanted to participate in. She, seeing his draw to books, also introduced the AblenetBookworm.  This bookworm, allows the teacher to enter any book Josh is interested in, and it reads to him. This was helping with his pre-literacy skills and even led to developed eye contact because he was becoming confident in his reading and verbal skills. These simple tools have changed Josh’s life and the lives of his family, who are now able to communicate with him.

   From its original form, technology has simply made leaps and bounds in discovering new ways to make life easier. For these student,s it has not just made their lives easier, it has actually made their lives possible.  It has given these students the ability to do whatever they put their minds to and has opened new avenues that would not normally be available.

I am going to survive what??? Sounds about right.

Casting a vision for my classroom had a lot more to it than I originally thought. I thought it was going to be writing a few rules, thinking about how I would like to arrange the desks and also by making sure I actually have my Bachelors in Elementary education. This was before I read the amazing book “Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse or Your first Year of Teaching” by Chris Haskell; which enlightened me to the idea that there is a whole lot more that I need to think about before just running full force into my classroom without an action plan (also known as an escape plan). First, I need to create a vision for my classroom which includes what I think the environment should feel like, look like and even smell like. This vision must be influenced by the students and correlate with my school as well. Next, I have to post it all over the place! I must make my vision be known to my students and their parent’s not only through school letters, but hung in my classroom so my students and I are constantly reminded of the purpose of our education. These are just a few ideas that need to be addressed, but what is a better start than how a teacher visualizes their teaching approaches and the sense of creativity they want to inspire in their students?

Pumpkin Spreadsheet

Excel documents don't only have to be used for money and for the organization of people's information, rather, they can be used even in a second grade classroom. I was reading about a second grade teacher in which she implemented an excel spreadsheet to compare and analyze pumpkins in her classroom. She had the students predict the weight of the pumpkins, weigh the pumpkin, predict the number of seeds, then gut the pumpkin and actually count the number of pumpkins seeds all of which were placed in the spreadsheet showing the relationships between the numbers. She had each student do a different part of the activity, whether it was weighing or counting the seeds, and each was in charge of inputting that data within the section of the spreadsheet.

I would definitely use this in my classroom either to do the same project or perhaps to show how many leaves fell during a week of school, how many kids eat hot lunch in a week etc. I think at first to make it easier for the students I would do a few excel spreadsheets on the board, then on the computer with them, and slowly allow the students to do their own excel, using data that they choose. It is really easy to change this lesson plan for different age groups and I would highly recommend this to any teacher to use in their class.

Smartboard in Education

The Smartboard is one of the best teaching tools available and there is so much more you can actually do with it. The Smartboard is and interactive, white board like device that allows you to project movies, articles, websites and provides hands-on learning experience.

As a future elementary school teacher, I will use the Smartboard in daily activities from writing and math problems, to watching movies and displaying a PowerPoint presentation that you can write on directly using the provided digital markers/keyboard. One, thing that I have recently seen the Smartboard being used for, is as a breakfast activity in an elementary classroom. In the Boise school district it is now a priority to have the students eat breakfast in the classroom, which honestly takes time from the learning experience. So, Mrs. Poste, at Horizon Elementary school, implements learning activities that the students can interact with while eating. For one activity she would have a little reading bear up on the screen in which he would interact with the students and talk about weather, colors etc. Also, this bear would read sentences to the students and would highlight the words to provide visual and auditory stimulants, which enhanced the students intake of information.

I will hopefully have the opportunity to use a smartboard in my future classroom, and if it is not available I am definitely going to write a grant to see if I could have one given to my class! 

Ch. 4 of "Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Or Your first Year of Teaching"

Students these days have been raised with laptops, cell phones, ipads and high-speed internet. It wasn't that long ago (I am 24) where cell phones were HUGE and a laptop was something you would see occasionally in a Tom Hanks movie. But now, if you don't have one or all of those devices, you are considered an outcast or at least not technologically savvy. Though I am not that much older than the incoming generation, my future students are learning way faster and are WAY more advanced than I am, even currently. Seriously though, I sometimes have to call my Freshmen brother and ask him for the best websites to find music, hot topics and how to upload a picture from my ipod to my computer. I, as a teacher, need to change how I teach, because how my students learn has changed. The classes I remember the most are the ones where I was able to make collages and talk with friends about what they got out of the lecture (whether we liked it or not mostly, but what we thought was interesting). I devoured the time where we could discuss, in a safe environment, current events and political views. Nowadays, we can easily find both sides of a controversy with a simple click of a button on our computers or text CHACHA. I need to implement their passions that is why we need to make blogging, Facebooking and playing video games a part of everyday education, to keep students engaged and interested. And honestly so they can keep us up to par on the new technology, the newest high school cliques (A hipster is a clique now, what is a hipster? Really?) and who is dating who. The times have changed, so teachers must as well!

Justine Griffith’s Netiquette

For grades K-3

1. Don’t Hurt Anyone on the Inside or Outside: This means keep your hands to yourself and to your own computer workstation. Please don’t say mean things to those around you or type anything mean online...you WILL get in trouble!
2. Stay Close: Please stay on the websites that are provided for you by your teacher or that are saved on the desktop
3. Do NOT give out your information: Don’t give out your address, send a photo, your name or a family member’s name, school information, what town you live in, or your age, I mean NOTHING. Even if it is your friend who you are Instant Messaging, you will see them right after class so please wait until then.
4. Help others: Help others when they ASK for it
5. Take your time: I don’t want to see really sloppy work, so please take your time.
6. Teacher Time: If someone is hurting you on the inside or outside, FIRST tell them respectfully to stop if they keep hurting you then tell me or another teacher.
7. Cite your Work: Make sure you give credit to the person whom you are borrowing the information from (they worked really hard on it).

Jigsaw Classroom Activity

Jigsaw Classroom Activity looks awesome and I can't wait to implement one of these within my elementary classroom. For those who do not know what the Jigsaw Classroom Activity is please check out http://www.jigsaw.org/overview.htm. Although you need access to computers, I think regardless of how many computers you have available in the classroom, the students will be able to look up resources according to a time limit set by a timer. Each student will have access to the computer and with the accountability of their peers,  time and efficiency will be respected. Because the students will be divided up into groups, each looking up different aspects, if one student found a great website with multiple resources s/he could share it with the group and later on share it with the other students with the same subject content.

Advantages:

• Each student does their own work and learns about different resources available (school websites, academic searches, etc.)
• Students learn the content knowledge from not only their work but from their peers who have similar material and other aspects around the topic
• Students learn what teamwork/accountability really looks like
• Comprehension of what they are reading

Disadvantages:

• Some students may be quicker than others or may have at home access (in this case peer tutoring will be used to help other students who have the same topic)
• If one student really doesn't pull his/her weight it causes the group to suffer
• May not have resources that accurate

Overall I think this would be a great assignment for all age groups (even if you don't use computers, simply textbooks) it will help children learn the importance of teamwork, fluency and comprehension, and to have fun as a group and get to know people you wouldn't normally play with on the playground!

Classroom of the future?

More than 20 years ago a video was produced called Classroom of the Future. On this video there were a number of technological advancements that had not really been produced but could be foreseen in the near future. This technology was going to revolutionize the education system and provide a safer and more adept way of handling the classroom environment. Although not all things shown in this video have been used in the classroom, there were a number of elements that have been.

The futuristic setting is in a classroom filled with, what I call gaming chairs, (you know the ones that rock back and forth and are really low to the ground, sort of L-shaped) and the teacher not teaching in front of a chalk board but an interactive "smart board". Here the instructor displays maps and a PowerPoint slide describing what is expected of the students in the assignment due the next day. She assigns groups of two in which she introduces to us a student who had recently broken his leg and was at home healing. He was on a live feed interacting with the classroom (which could happen but I am not sure that is legal) and showing his skills of research which could be done from his bed. He uses voice recognition software which then takes him to film archives, the schools online database, and a way to electronically send his work (now email) to his course partner.

I still agree with the video that there is no need for desks anymore. Now with Ipads the children have all the tools they need for a successful education, regardless of the actual age of the student. I see schools giving students an ipad for the school year in which they can leave at school or checkout to bring home to do homework. Future technology will only tell how advanced we can go!