Take Away Message

I was very impressed with the quality of work the students did in their America Dream/American Nightmare videos. This is such a unique way to teach a english lesson, and lessons like this are very inspirational. I think the sucesss of this lesson had everything to do with the video the teacher made. When I watched her video I was very inspired to I can only imagine what her students were feeling. The videos made this lesson become a real, tangleable thing, instead of something the students learn one year and forget. If teachers did a trailer video for every lesson they taught, every lesson would be very sucessful.

Chapter 2/3 Reflection

    The first page of chapter two, states the chapters learning goal which is "to explore how teachers and students can use computer technologies to transform education in schools" If we analyze this statement closely it clearly states that its on both the teacher and student. In the past education has always been revolved around the teacher, but from my readings from chapter 2 and 3 it is clear that the use of technology opens opportunities for education to have more focus on the student.Of the five ways technology transforms classrooms, the one that I thought to be the most interesting was on the Information literacy and Internet Literacy. The example the reading provided was about how researchers made a false website about an animal called the pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. The students in this research had such a lack of knowledge about information and internet literacy that they actually believed the false information they read.It is very important that schools start teaching students how to understand information presented online.         

       Chapter 3 focused on developing lessons with technology. Like mentioned in the chapter veteran teachers have developed the skill to come up with lessons effortlessly but for younger teachers it seems very beneficial to use the computer and internet sources to help enhance lessons. There are now so many lesson templates and other website links that are online and easy access to teachers.






Focus Question.
1. From the readings, we know that computer technology is well suited to support the student-centered teaching approach. Do you think its possible for technology to support a teacher centered classroom environment?

2. Will online lesson help, interfere with a teachers creativity?

WebQuest Project

WebQuest Idea for 5th Grade

       After reading "The Diary of Ann Frank" each student will pick a event that happened in the book and write their own diary entry from their own prospective. Each student will pick a different event, they will post their diary entry on a class blog. The end product will be recreation of Ann's diary as a blog.

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. 
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1b Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3a Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Class Reflection-2/10

     Todays class was a eye-opener for me because I was very skeptical about the use of technology in the classroom. The reason I was so skeptical because I have never seen any teacher use technology in such a appropriate way. The video we saw  today of the teacher who uses instagram and twitter in her classroom was very interesting. I love using these apps for my personal use but I now see these tools that can be used in a classroom. Nowadays it is so hard to get students really engaged in any activity so using these applications will be very benifical for that. Also the diagrams and charts that were shown today about the number of smart phones and the correlation to ones salery really shocked me. After reading chapter one, my biggest question was if it was possible to include technology in low income schools but after seeing those charts and the other information we learned in class today, I now feel that it is very possible to achieve that.

Chapter 1 Reaction

“Becoming a e-teacher”

    I found chapter 1 to be very inspirational, for both new teachers and more experienced teachers. Being born in the generation of computers and technology I personally think the use of modern technology is very important in the classroom, but for many older teachers they may not have the same values when it comes to technology. Technology is always changing but I think it is never too late to learn about how to incorporate it into classrooms. Many schools and classrooms now have computers and internet access but like the chapter stated teachers are not using them to its full capacity. I think the reason is because many teachers do not have the right information or tools on how to appropriately incorporate technology. Making the classroom as interactive as possible will not only make the class more fun but will get the students engaged more in school and start showing more motivation. I agree with the main theme of the chapter that technology in the classroom all depends on the teachers view and understanding of technology.

  Two Questions

1.       How can teachers who work in low-income schools realistically incorporate technology if their school district does not have access to modern computers and tools for all students?

2.       Using technology in the classrooms sounds like a good idea but how much technology is too much?  It there a limit to how much the teachers should rely on using technology?