Incorporating Technology

It is very important to incorporate technology into my classroom because the younger generation is getting exposed to all kinds of technologies earlier and earlier in their lives. Because of this, most of the younger generation's learning style will be through technology, and the current generation of future teachers are still used to teaching using the "old" and "ordinary" methods. Therefore, it is crucial that I break the cycle of teaching the ordinary method by including different technologies.

There could be many benefits to me and my students. A SMARTboard will allow me to save time bynot having to erase the notes that I have written on the blackboard. Also, if I want to reference a definition or example that I used previously, I can go back a couple of Smartboard pages and easily have it displayed for the students. With a blackboard, I would have to either rewrite the definition/example or verbally reference it which might not be helpful to some students. Another kind of technology that would be useful for my classroom is a modern day projector such as an ELMO. The ELMO would allow me to not have my back toward my students while I am giving notes. Something that I learned in this class is that the internet is filled with all sorts of websites that could help learning. While looking for websites to bookmark for the social bookmarking project, I found an amazing virtual manipulatives website. Even if I do not have the opportunity to actually use it in the classroom, I can give the website to students so they can use it home. The benefits from using technology in the classroom is tremendous.

There could be some challenges as well. There could be students who strongly dislike technology and will have trouble using it in the classroom. I would have to adapt that lesson to compensate for their needs which would create more work for me. Also, if the school district for which I am working is not wealthy, then I will have a hard time incorporating technology because there will be no money to spend on technology. Another challenge is that if I have a class that is not easily controlled, then I would not be able to use technology with them because I would lose their attention. The use of technology would not benefit my students because they would more interested in the technology rather than learning.

I will take several important lessons with me. I will use Excel as a quick and easy way to take attendance and calculate grades. If the school, for which I work, will have interactive whiteboards, then I will use the software to create lessons and reviews. I will definitely use the skills that I learned in the new Microsoft Word and use it for other classes at Albright as well as in the classroom. Because of the new set-up in Microsoft Word, it is hard to find ordinary things such as borders and shading. This class was very beneficial to me.

Copyright Laws

The law that surprised me the most was the Sony Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. I cannot believe that the government decided to extend copyright terms to life of author plus 70 years. I understand the author wants to protect what they created, but I think it is ridiculous to extend to that amount of time. If a person is in good health and lives to be 100, and you add 70 years to that, then that particular item will be protected under the copyright act for 170 YEARS!!!!! That is a VERY long time, more than it should be in my opinion. I think there could be more lenient laws about copyright as long as people explicitly give credit to the original author.

Almost every teacher has violated the copyright laws whether intentional or not. Most of the time, they do not realize that they are committing a crime because they do not have knowledge of the copyright laws.
The band teachers that I have had throughout my schooling have violated this law because they make copies of music so there is enough for everyone to be able to play. A specific incident is when I was in 7th and 8th grade, my band had an abnormal large amount of flutes. The director did not have enough parts for students to even share three to a stand, so he made copies in order to prevent overcrowding to a single stand.
Another example is when professors post chapters of books online(through blackboard), so students do not have to buy the entire book. It is economical for the student, but it violates the copyright law.

I think it is the responsibility of a JOURNALISM teacher to definitely teach copyright laws. Those students should be required to have this knowledge. However, I am uncertain if an ordinary teacher should teach her students to respect copyright laws. I think that if teachers pay attention to copyright, then students will follow their example. However, if the students do not know the copyright law, then they will not that the teacher is obeying and will not learn by example. I do not think that it is the responsibility of every teacher. Perhaps, the social studies/history teachers should some how incorporate copyright law into their lessons.

Teachers should try their hardest to pay attention to copyright law, but many will want to pretend they do not know it in order to get materials for their class.

Hopefully, I will model copyright ethics when I am a teacher. I will try not to copy articles and other items without asking for permission. In all honesty, I will probably violate the copyright laws in way or another because I will have forgotten the specifics of the laws. Even though I have learned about these laws, these laws are subjective and open to interpretation. What is minimum creativity? It is a matter of opinion. If I will be distributing material to my entire class, I will try to get permission so I do not break the law.

Interactive whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are slowly becoming very popular and more and more common in classrooms. They enhance teaching and learning because you can incorporate the students in the lesson which is very important. Students need to engage in the lesson in order what they have learned. In particular, where I went to high school, interactive white boards just began appearing in classrooms after I graduated. Because of its newness, students are eager to try to use and interact with it. I think they will allow the "boring" subjects to gain some light and become fun again. Interactive whiteboards are great for activities that could involve the entire class. One goal that every teacher has is to gain the attention of the class for the entire period. I hope that the school where I will be teaching will have interactive white boards.

The technology was not hard for me to learn, but there were a couple of things that I kept forgetting. For instance, whenever I created a text box, I was constantly forgetting that I needed to switch back to the arrow tool in order to move the text box. However, interactive whiteboards and the programs used to create lessons are completely new to me. I think that if I will be using them on a daily basis, then I will not have such issues. The pros for having interactive whiteboards installed in my classrooms is that I will no longer have to keep erasing previously written notes or examples. There will less wasted time, and if I want to refer to a previous example, then I can just go back to that page instead of having to rewrite the whole example over again. One con about interactive whiteboards does not have to do with the boards themselves but the software. I think the software will advance to the point that it will everything imaginable on it. One thing in particular that I would like to see on this software is to be able to put more than one shade on a slide. I had two examples that I wanted to do one at a time, but I had only one shade. I had to cover the other example with a black box, so the students will concentrate on the first example and then the second one.

I am currently taking my first methods class, and I have not written any lesson plans yet. However, I can see many different ways in which I can incorporate interactive whiteboards that I will potentially put in my lesson plans. I am definitely excited about this new piece of technology.

Digital Video Project

Content Area: Math - Algebra 1
Instructional Video Project
Grade 8/9
Length of Video: as long as you explain the concept fully ( I am flexible with the length.)
Project: Pick one of the 5 topics below and create a video explaining it. Make sure you explain it correctly and clearly. Your fellow students will be viewing these videos as study guides.
Topics:
--Explain how to solve multi-step linear equations
--Explain how to graph a linear function on a graphing calculator (along with adjusting window and looking at table).
--Explain how to find the equation of a line given two points on the line.
--Explain how to graph an inequality of one variable (BY HAND).
--Explain how to put on an equation in slope-intercept form and how to decipher it.



Preparation: Since they will be making an instructional video, I need to make sure that the students fully understand the topic of their video. Also, I need to make sure they need to know how to use the programs required to compile the video. Even though the students probably will be more knowledgeable in technology, I will have to take them to the computer lab or bring a cart to my classroom to demonstrate how to use programs such as Movie Maker and Smartboard software if they wanted to use it.



Challenges: I would need to make sure that what the students are explaining is correct. If the other students in the class will be viewing these videos as study guides, then it is imperative that they information is accurate. Depending on how many groups there were, it would be difficult to keep track of all the videos. Perhaps, I could require the groups to hand in a script. Another challenge would be how all the groups would film their videos. I could allow the groups to use a Smartboard if I have one. However, not all the groups would be able to use it, and I would need to choose a couple of topics that particularly wouldn't require a Smartboard or blackboard. A different issue would be a matter of finding quiet places for the students to film unless I allow them to film out of class. Then, I would need to acquire enough cameras for all the groups to take home. However, I would have to be able to trust the students enough to allow them to the cameras home with them and be able to trust them to actually complete the assignment.



Materials: laptops/computers, video cameras, microphones, Movie Maker, graphing calculators, Smartboard (optional)



Timeline:
1/2 days - Going over camera-use, Movie Maker and Smartboard technology
1 day - Assigning groups, picking topic, beginning to think of how to present content
3/4 days - Writing up script, teacher approval of script
3/4 days - Filming
2/3 days - Editing
2 days - Finalizing
1 day - Presentations

TOTAL: 13-17 days



Checklist:
__ Choose Topic
__ Write up a script
__ Approve by teacher
__ Film all parts of video
__ Create and complete video
__ Approve by teacher
__ Upload video to Youtube
__ E-mail link to teacher

Software Skills

I thought it was very beneficial to learn the software skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, and Inspiration. I think that Microsoft Word and Publisher will be more useful to me than Inspiration because there is more that you can do with those for middle and high school students. However, I would occasionally use Inspiration for specific things such as order of operations or the order in which a student should consider convergence tests when solving infinite series. Because the math that is taught in high school is so concrete and step-by-step, I feel like my students would not benefit from making their own concept maps or flow charts. If I first gave them out myself, and then used them as quizzes, it would be a great tool. As far as using Publisher for newsletters, I would probably only create one for each class at the beginning of the semester because it would be difficult for me to put out a monthly newsletter for every class I teach. Perhaps I could use Publisher for other things such as calenders, flyers, and signs. The software that I will use the most is Microsoft Word. I will use tables to create quizzed that are neat. I knew how to create a table, but I did not think of using it to line up my questions on a quiz or test. Microsoft Word will allow me to type up my tests and quizzes and have to do them by hand. If I make a mistake, it will be easier to erase it in a document then have to rewrite the whole test. Especially since Microsoft 2007 has reorganized its set-up, I learned how to use more of the features. Using all the features to the fullest extent will let me stay organized.

Inspiration and Web Resources

1. Inspiration is an excellent program for making flow charts, Venn diagrams, and other similar things. I think it would be a great investment for my classroom. Some ways I would use this program:
-if I wanted the students to explain the process of how they solve problems (such as order of operations or single variable equations).
-to compare and contrast different processes that might be similar but have different results (such as differentiation and integration).
-in geometry, when we are doing simple proof with right triangles, I can show the step-step procedure of showing 2 triangles are congruent.

However, I can also use it to make my own charts explaining how to use a graphing calculator or the order in which students should consider convergence tests when trying to find out if a series converges or diverges.




2. I have just been introduced to almost all the websites and programs about which we learned, so I am not sure which ones I will be even using. However, from just a few glances, I like Thinkfinity and eMINTS. I am sure this will change in the future, but these two are my favorites for now. I love Thinkfinity because I found my technology lesson plans there. I am sure once I explore the site some more, I will completely hooked. Thinkfinity had countless interesting lesson plans and activities that related to math. The technology lesson plans had interesting ways of explaining the concepts. It never occurred to me of explaining that way. I am really interested of how the actual lesson would work out. I will most likely keep this site and the lesson plans I found and use them one day. eMINTS is quickly becoming another favorite because it has a huge list of websites for different math subjects. It gives you links to sites that explain whatever given subject for which you are looking. Also, when you choose your subject, eMINTS lists the standards the sites cover. This is great for teachers because they can keep track of what they taught and what else needs to taught, so their students are prepared.
I will mostly use these two sites the most to look for additional resources that will help me become a better teacher. Perhaps, a website on eMINTS will use an interesting analogy or explain a topic in a way that would the students understand.

Social Bookmarking

I think Social Bookmarking can have applications in any classroom because computers and the internet are becoming more and more important in students' lives. In particular, I could use social bookmarking to find online textbooks and worksheets with math problems, and my students will not have the excuse of forgetting their textbook some where because they will be able to access it online. With online capability practically any where because of cell phones, they do not necessarily have to be at home to complete assignments. I could also bookmark websites that explain step by step porcesses of solving problems, in case someone missed a day of school and needs examples.



If I am teaching 12th grade students, I can use my social bookmarking site to find and bookmark websites that have scholarships for college. In my school, 7th and 8th grade students were split up into teams. If I am teaching 7th and 8th grade students in a similar set-up, the whole team can use a social bookmarking site and divide it into the according subjects. Each teacher could find websites that will be valuable to their subject, and it would encourage the students to learn by making the websites available all in one spot (on the bookmarking site).



Social Bookmarking would defintely help me as an Albright student. We take several classes every semester and organizing all the websites I need to use would allow for easy access. Because I am an education major, it would especially help me arrange all the standards, anchors, and other information that I will need to use on a daily basis. In particular, diigo will be a great social bookmarking website because I would be able to a create list for every subject that I will be qualified to teach. Diigo will allow me to stay organized and to gain access to my list of all the websites (academic and non-academic) from any computer.