Learning from Experience

If I could re-design a lesson and add multimedia, it would definitely be my presentation on Maya Angelou. In this project, I was to read her poetry (analyze and relate), write a biography, and present my work to the class. All I had were pictures and my facts. They couldn't hear her powerful words; the pain, struggle, the triumph in her voice. Instead they had to settle for pictures and a printout of her poem. It was my job to spark enough curiosity in them to do their own research on her. I felt like my presentation was compelling but not enough to get everyone thinking (only some). I think if my class heard and saw Dr. Maya Angelou read one of her poems, they would have appreciated it more and felt what the poem was conveying.

My PowerPoint of pictures would have kept them on the same focus point while I spoke and video clips of her speaking would have made them feel as passionate as I feel when I hear her name. Overall, multimedia would have greatly enhanced my presentation.

Even if they don't feel like they connect with Maya Angelou, I just wanted them to recognize the history she is talking about or realize that art can be a form of outlet for them whether it be writing, singing, dancing, or playing (or whatever creative medium they decide to express themselves through).

Assessment on Using Technology: Teachers would give a rubric of what they want students to include, then let them be creative. There are so many different tools to use and I think if teachers allow students to choose, it would keep presentations interesting; you and your students won't know what people will come up with next.

Essential Conditions for Technology Integration

This article definitely encompassed the ten essential conditions and probably even more. They used the available resources and made sure everyone was able to participate. As I read through the article, I started to think about students without an internet connection or students with disabilities. As I continued on, they gave explanations of how they handled that situation, such as putting information onto an audio CD and making other adaptations to meet the students’ needs.

I believe the teachers were very well trained and knowledgeable in their area of content and technology to initiate such a task within their classroom. They also had many resources like special education teachers, professors, and authors who joined their discussions. Their community support grew to bigger proportions. One story in particular mentioned a man from Spain commenting on her work. It is very important to hear all sides so you get a different insight on topics. I also feel like it bridged the gap between America and international students (the one where we are so behind and we’re not as smart as the rest of the world).

After I read through the article, I went back once more with the table and check off every example I saw. These projects were a great asset. Students learned a lot and benefited greatly from the incorporation of technology in the curriculum and the administrators did an excellent job incorporating all ten of the essential conditions for technology integration.

I love how technology is making things easier but I’m afraid it’s moving to the isolation period where people don’t interact face to face. You cannot express emotion or explain how you really feel through text. Things get out of hand because of the way people read/interpret the message; they don’t know the writer’s tone.

Web 2.0

After using the different tools available online, I really found it beneficial for future use in the classroom. The sites gave me so much more options to teach my students. One of my favorite tools was probably the WebQuest. Although it was time consuming to create, I think students would have a lot of fun with it and enjoy this much more than listening to their teacher lecture. In addition to completing the WebQuest, I now understand the reason for Wikispaces and photo sharing sites. It was hard trying to find kid-friendly sites and sites that contained all the information I wanted them to learn. By a teacher making her own sites, she can control what her students learn.

Technology is a great tool to use because of its adaptability to the different types of learning styles. It is also great to use because its less time consuming (and we know teachers need all the class time they can get AND younger students don't have a long attention span) and it will keep students interested and on their toes. They will be excited to come to class, wondering what they will get to play with or discover today.

Chapter 1&2 Review

In the first chapter of our text, Ivan and Barron discuss how technology influences student learning. I agree with technology integration, since it is increasingly becoming a major part of students’ lives. In addition to that, technology is a faster way to convey and obtain information. We can find the information we need online and project it in the classroom, so everyone could see. Even if we cannot find it online, we can find the location of the information (library, a person, etc).

The next idea discussed is Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. This theory is a lot of fun to learn about and teachers should know about the different learning styles before creating a lesson plan. From these Multiple Intelligences, it gives you a variety of ways to convey the same information. One of the multiple intelligences discussed is cooperative learning. This learning style would work for some situations but not all. I do not like to work in groups because I like to go my own pace and I feel like everyone’s ideas are not always included so I would make my students work in groups after they’ve had some time alone to get their thoughts together. If after they group up and the student still wants to work alone, I would allow it, since it is probably his/her way of learning.

In Chapter 2, we were introduced to DDE-model which stands for decide, design, develop, and evaluate. This model helps teachers plan effective lesson plans. I think this is a great resource for teachers to use because it ensures that we’ve incorporated everything necessary for a lesson.