Reflection

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 My experience in EME2040 was very good and helpful. I learned many things that I did not know before which I know will help me when I become a teacher. I will be using this new skills I learned in this class in my future classroom. I know the basic to use the computer but I am not so good using technology. I know how to create a PowerPoint and how to add images and videos. I never really hyperlinked anything and I never heard about using delicious to bookmark websites until I learned it in this class. Also, I don’t recall having any of my past teachers using rubric or maybe I never paid attention. I am glad I got to learn about it though. I enjoyed writing and reading the discussions. For the first I got the opportunity to create a blog. I have to say I am not so good at creativity but I did like doing the digital badges because I got to learn and use tools that I never used before. So for me most of the stuff that I learned in this class was completely new like the webquest and creating a wikipage. I have to admit that if we were not given the digital badge assignments on the chapters of the textbook I doubt I would have read it. I am glad that I did read the textbook because it is a very good reference and has interesting information regarding using technology. I did find that working on the lesson plan as a group was complicated. I would have rather done it myself. But in overall I enjoyed taking this class online this semester.

References

Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education: iPad, Tablet, Computer, Listening Centers [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulb4jl3xqs8

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Chapter 12: Integrating Technology and Creating Change as Teacher Leaders

The three concepts I will reflect on in this chapter is the following:

1) Features of a Technology-Integrated Classroom: Not so long ago I noticed the new technology features being used in school and it is rapidly changing. I still remember watching a movie in a government course I took in my first year of college related to the republic and democrat parties. The professor had brought a heavy TV with a DVD player from the media room to the class and that was in 2009. This is how I remembered watching any films in middle and high school. Just a few weeks ago I finished doing my observation hours at my local middle school and the history teacher played a YouTube video from his computer to the projector and to the interactive whiteboard. It was the same film movie I watched in that government course. There was no need to take out the old TV and DVD player. "Some observers define a technology-integrated classroom as a "smart classroom", equipped with computers or tablets connected to the internet, a digital projector, a DVD player, an interactive whiteboard, digital pens, a videoconferencing system, and other interactive tools" (Maloy, 2013).

2) Technology Integrating Issues: I think one big issue I will face when I become a teacher is having to create stuff online for my students since I am not so good at using technology and I find it time consuming. The book mentions that some teachers use technology as a reward. "Youngsters who behave well or finish assignments quickly get to use technology as a reward; students who misbehave or fail to get work done on time are denied computer use as a punishment" (Maloy, 2013). I find this interesting because I remember that my elementary and middle school teachers used this and it worked. I would always try to finish my classwork quickly so I can have the last 15 minutes to play games on the computer.

3) Interactive Digital Textbooks: From all this new technology changes in education I believe that best part of it is not having to carry those heavy textbooks around anymore. I like to use E-Books because I can access them on my phone not just the computer. I have so many textbooks at home that are taking so much space in my closet and I don't use them anymore because every year there is a new edition. I feel so bad throwing them away. There is no need to buy highlighters or to write on the textbooks. I can do that all of that on the E-Book.

Resource: 
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Badge #K

Chapter 6: Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps

The 3 concepts that I will reflect on is the following:

1) Bookmarking is one of my favorite tools that I use when I am online. I always bookmark almost every site that I find important to me that I want to go back later. While I was reading the textbook I came across Cloud computing which is replacing bookmarking.  I have an iCloud account with my Apple devices and everything stored in my iphone is stored in the other Apple devices. I imagine that Cloud computing works the same way. "Cloud computing means using the Internet, rather than a personal computer or local network, to store and retrieve files" (Maloy, 2013). 

Social Bookmarking in Plain English, for the rest of us

2)WebQuests "are online inquiries by students that are designed and guided by teachers" (Maloy, 2013), It is something I am completing new at. It is the first time I hear about this and actually working on creating one. I have never used this throughout my years I have been in school and none of my teachers has this until now.I believe it is probably because when I was in elementary not all the students had access to a computer outside of school. I hope I am able to successfully master in creating WebQuests so I can use it when I become a teacher. I find it very interesting and fun to use in students. 

Wha's A Webquest?

3) Online Learning and Virtual Schools has its benefits but I also notice the disadvantages which is that I can't really meet new people and socialize. My first time taking online classes was my second semester of college. I sometimes finding that I have more tasks than a regular class on campus but I do like its benefits which is that I don't have to drive all the way over there since I live an hour away. I also like the flexible schedule which doesn't get in the way of my job. I get out of work very late sometimes and I am mostly online after midnight and no classes are available that late on campus. The textbook does measure the biggest drawback I find in virtual classes which is isolation.  "Critics of virtual schools cite not only the lack of full-time teachers, but also the isolating nature of the online experience" (Maloy, 2013). I have never considered being an online teacher. I wonder how that must be and if it is better than teaching on campus.

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Resources

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Social Bookmarking in Plain English, for the rest of us [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBmvDpVbWc

What's A Webquest? [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6e46g_QcnY

Digital Badge J

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Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Badge #I

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 Chapter 10: Promoting Success for All Students through Technology

The 3 concepts I will reflect on this chapter are the following:

1) Roles of technology: Technology offers many benefits to all students. The textbook gives a very good example of how beneficial technology is when it comes to learning. "For a student who is struggling with math learning, accommodations might include individual tutoring, interactive math websites and apps, ans self-paced exams without the pressure to complete problems quickly"(Maloy, 2013). Students now have the opportunity to take a class online and find an online tutor. Also, teachers enroll their students in math related online program were they are assigned homework so they can do them at home at their own pace and with online help. 

2) Assistive technologies: This is great benefit for students with a disability like hearing or vision impairment. It makes it possible for  them do things that they are no able to do. It facilitates learning for them and they won't be left out from other students. "Assistive technologies make it possible for individuals with hearing, sight, mobility, or cognitive challenges to translate text and understand spoken words and data with the aid of a supportive tool"(Maloy, 2013).

What is Assistive Technology (A.T.)

3) Writing Transformations with technology: I picked this concept to reflect on since I can relate to it because I didn't enjoy writing in school due to my lack of confidence and the pressure. I will sit and stare for a long time at a blank sheet of paper trying to make up a tittle and ideas to start writing. Now when I do it on the computer and having access to the internet I can look up ideas and have no problem coming up with my own to start writing. I do enjoy making powerpoint presentations and creating comic strips. Technology makes it more interesting for writing since there are many formats available like e-book with an e-publishing app or photo stories with a program that has a combination of pictures and text.

Resources

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

What is Assistive Technology (A.T.) [Video file]. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIm2MuJUCTE

Digital Badge #F

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Digital Badge #E

Chapter 7 Exploring Problem Solving with Software, Apps, and Games

While I was reading this chapter I was having hard time thinking whether computer games as resource learning is effective at all. I have a kindergarten who owns an ipad and I recently deleted the ABC Mouse app because I didn't feel that it was helping my son at all. He was more worried about winning and going to the next level then actually paying attention and learning the words. It was quite interesting when I found out that my son's school is actually using ABC Mouse for computer lab time. Maybe it was just the educational program game that we as parents and future teachers must evaluate and consider if its effective. The three concepts that I found very useful from this chapter is Computer Games as Learning Resources, Evaluating Computer and Video Games and Strategies for using Games with Students.


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1)Computer Games as Learning Resources:
 "Computer games are computer, video, and web-based game software applications that are immensely popular among children and adolescents today" (Maloy, 3013). Since technology is taking over each following year and we see that now children starting from young age own a smart phone or tablet or any digital device this idea of computer games is starting to be added in the school system. Its nice to see that school is keeping up with their students with technology but is it really more effective as just traditional ways of teaching? When I was in high school my government teacher had this jeopardy game involving questions about presidents and law system and many other government related questions and it was very effective and fun. We did in groups of four and we actually learned while we were having fun and socializing. When it came to test most of the class passed accept those who were absent most of the time. I guess since in the future everything is going to be mostly done in computer its good that children start practicing their computer skills at a young age.



 2) Evaluating Computer and Video Games is the most important concept that I found because like I mentioned at the beginning we need to evaluate this educational games and see how effective they are because I believe that some might not be effective. The textbook gives a good way to make the evaluation by using a game continuum chart. "You can place computer and video games as well as phone and tablet apps on the chart based on their learning goals and the thinking skills they emphasize as part of the game play" (Maloy, 2013). The games are placed on top of three game type which is Entertainment, Edutainment and Educational. I believe way to evaluate a game is having the student test it and the teacher supervising it and testing the student on what she/he learned.

3) Strategies for using Games with students:
Its not easy finding an educational game which will keep the students motivated and not get bored out of it which is something likely to happen with children. The textbook give strategies that can help teachers with the use of effective games for their students. It mentions four strategies which are to minimize the use of games that teach isolated skills, scrutinize games that functions solely on points won or lost, discuss games and their content and last is to play games together. The most trouble kind of games that I find is those that function on points won or lost. I had that problem with my son. He was more worried about not losing and since he is very competitive he would get so obsessed in winning that he wasn't learning the important stuff.

The above picture is my 5 year old kindergarten with his ipad playing ABC mouse. At first he was excited but then he got bored out of it.

 Resources:

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HTS2nxpRqM

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Chapter 5

The three concepts that caught my attention in this chapter is Electronic note-taking, Teaching Students About Internet Searching and Evaluating Online Information.

Electronic note-taking is my favorite thing to do in class. I use either my phone or my ipad to take notes in class or while I am reading and I find something important I highlight it and paste it on my notes. Back in High School I had to carry around my bookbag with a notebook for each class and I hated carrying so much stuff around. I had a locker but there was time that my classes were far apart and I didn't had time to go to my locker. The textbook states that "the ability to access notes from multiple devices is very valuable for teachers who spend so much of the day moving quickly from class to class" (Maloy, 2013). So it is not just for students that this is useful it is also for the teachers.

Teaching students about internet searching is a very important concept in this chapter. Students need to learn that not everything they see online is true. They need to be careful who they share their information and how to look up information.  "Google is now one of the most visited Internet Sites worldwide". I use google and youtube to search everything" (Maloy, 2013).

Another important concept that I found very useful is Evaluating Online Information. There is so much information available online and since anything can be easily created students have to check the validation of the information they are going to use because sometimes it is misinformation, malinformation, messed-up information and useless information. I was taught in high school in computer class on the different kinds of URLs and how to recognize them. "Teaching students clear web research guidelines is essential to creating a classroom community of well-informed, thoughtful web users" (Maloy, 2013).

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 Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Badge #B

Chapter 2: Understanding Educational Technology Issues and Trends   

The three concepts that I found interesting and most important to me as a future teacher is 

1) Teaching Choices and Student Engagement

2) Barriers To Technology Use and

3) Technology Use by Teachers

 The first concept points out how technology can be used by teacher to get their students motivated to stay in school and get them engaged in the lectures to learn the material. When I observed a 1st grade class at my son's school I saw most of the kids yawning and falling asleep during class and even I was finding a hard time to keep myself awake when the teacher was lecturing. Although the teacher was using the projector to teach each assignment she was failing in keeping the kids engaged in the activities. I noticed that not much has change from when I was in 1st grade. I strongly believe that changing the traditional way of teaching to other modern ways that involves technology will be very helpful. Motivating the students to learn, providing them feedback and providing them with new or needed academic skills is very important to their success in school. Like the textbook states "To stay in school, these youngsters wanted better teachers, smaller classes, individualized assistance, a school climate fostering achievement, and a strong relationship with at least one adult in the school believing in them and seeing their potential for educational success" (Maloy, 2013). 

The second concept describes the barriers teachers and students face to technology use. The teachers' schedules is so different in elementary, middle and high school. In elementary I noticed that the same teacher teach each subject in one day while in middle school and high school students have different class periods with different teachers for each subject. I still see no difference from all these teachers because they still have limited time to teach each subject and less time to use technology in their lessons. Also another obstacle for integrating technology in the classroom is the curriculum requirements. Preparing students for the state and national education exams keeps teachers from being able to do any computer related activities. As I was mentioning the 1st grade class I observed I also noticed that the teacher forgot to take her class to the computer lab because she ran out of time. The school administrator plays the most important role of deciding whether to integrate technology in the classrooms. 

The last concept is about the technology use by teachers. The teachers are using technology more than ever. It used to be the grading book were they used to write the students' grades for each assignment and mark if they were absent and now they do it all by computer. I also notice that most teachers provide their emails and even their phone numbers so the students can text or email them. When I was in high school I had all my teachers in my contacts in my cell phone and every time I needed help with an homework I would just text them and have a reply right away. I even have most of them as friends on my facebook. Most of the lessons are now in powerpoint or displayed online so the students can access them at home. I will for sure take advantage of this technology tools when I become a teacher.

I believe that schools should take in consideration the need of computer related activities in their curriculum. They need to give some time for teachers make use of technology in their classrooms because very soon everything will be digital. It will make life more simple for both students and teachers. 

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 Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Becoming a 21st Century Teacher

While I was reading Chapter 1 it came to my mind how technology has change our lives a lot. Everything we do involves the use of technology not just at work and school also in our home. Now our children are using technology more than ever and maybe that is why teachers are now using it in school for education. The three concepts that I believe is the most important to becoming a 21st century teacher is digital childhood, technology-based learning environment, and digital identity.

Digital Childhood describes how children are growing up around technology since infancy. I can't relate that much to this concept because i grew up using pencils and paper. Technology was not used that much when i started school In fact I remember that there was still no computer lab or computers in the school library or in the classrooms and my teachers were still using chalk board. But I can relate it to my son because he is only 5 years old and he already owns an ipad and he knew how to use a computer before he started kindergarten this year. I took him to school late one time the past week because i had an early appointment with the doctor and to my surprise he walked me to the computer lab were his teacher and his classmates were. I was amazed how the school system is having children that young use computers to do math and reading. It is not like years ago that teacher use to read to students and have them read along. Now the computer does it for them. I cant trust my son with his ipad alone to do school related stuff because he knows how to download games and get on youtube. I have to be watching him closely to make sure hes not playing games. Its amazing though, how children are becoming so advance in using technology while some parents and teachers are trying to catch up.

According to the textbook, Technology-based learning environment provides "new possibilities for extending the classroom beyond the school day"(Maloy, 2013) and I completely agree because it will allow teachers to help each student individually which is something they cant really do in class with the amount of time they have to teach. I had a hard time with homework when I started school because my parents sometimes could not help me do them. The reasons they couldn't help was because my homework were mostly in english and they only knew spanish. If I didn't know how to do the homework I had to wait the next morning and hope to find my teacher in class before the bell rang to get her to help me to do it. Now teachers  have the opportunity to take advantage of technology-based learning environment to help their students with their homework outside of school and any questions or difficulties students may have they can easily get on their electronic device to email the teacher or watch any tutorial videos or posts their teachers could have online. Students will not have the problem of falling behind in class with this new technology.

Now the most important concept that I found in the textbook that leads to becoming a successful 21 st century teacher in my opinion is digital identity. This concept its about teachers' knowledge in computers and technology and the use of it in their daily lives as professionals. In the textbook it states that "a digital identity is a statement of personal commitment to innovation and change within their profession"(Maloy, 2013) .When I was in high school my teachers were just starting to use technology more in the classroom and a couple of them were having some trouble because they were still learning how to use it. I was amazed when I first used a clicker in a college course. I thought it was so cool. There was no need to raise my hand and worry about saying the wrong answer in front of everyone. I also noticed the everyone in class would take out their ipads or tablets to write their notes instead of notebooks. They were able to access the teacher's  PowerPoint in their devices and able to go back to any slide without having to interrupt the teacher to do it. Teachers are able to create very eye-catching PowerPoints and keep the students entertained while learning at the same with this new technology. They have become so good at using technology. It has changed the way teaching used to be to a better advancement for both the teachers and students.

Digital childhood, technology-based learning environment and digital identity connects to becoming a 21st century teacher. Knowing that children are growing up around technology it is very important for teachers to know how to use it not just for the classroom but for outside of it too. I hope that by the time I become a teacher I already have my digital identity built. I still have more things to learn about technology before becoming a teacher.

New technology causes concern about effect on childhood development   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpBdQQlPCJg

I want to share the above video which is about the concerns of parents of their children using this new technology. Technology has its advantages but as a parent it does give me some concerns about the use of too much technology in children.

Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.