Reflection on Technology in the Classroom

Since we began this class in January I have learned a lot about technology and ways it can be used in the classroom. One thing that really stands out in my mind that I will use is the classroom website. Having a website is a wonderful communication tool between teachers, students, and parents. I will definitely use the website I created and continue to update it once I get a class of my own. Portaportal is also a great tool. I love that you are able to find good educational websites and save them for your future use and also let others have access to them as well.


I believe that living in the digital generation gives us a great advantage in learning. Now it seems that the answers to our questions are literally only a click away. I think that technology is a more effective way of learning as opposed to the traditional way. In my opinion students are more interested in what you are teaching if technology is incorporated. For example, an online video can easily be used to get your lesson across, or maybe an interactive game that ties into the lesson. The world we live in is so advanced that kids of the digital generation would get bored with traditional learning. I personally don't know why we wouldn't use technology to teach. In my opinion, using technology is a much more effective way to help students understand and apply what they know and an easier way to research what they don't know.
-Jessica

Importance of Creativity

Relating to the importance of creativity, I watched "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" by Sir Ken Robinson (Do Schools Kill Creativity?).  Sir Ken Robinson says, "All kids have tremendous talents..." I couldn't agree with this statement more! It is so important that as teachers we see the light, the creativity, and the talent in each and every child that we teach. As a teacher a child looks up to you, and it is not a question of "if" you will affect a child's life, but "how" will you affect their life. In Sir Ken Robinson's expert opinion creativity in education is just as important as literacy and it just be treated with the same status.

I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Sir Ken Robinson makes lots of fantastic points. He is trying to make people understand that children do not have to be perfect to be talented.  In this video, he gives examples of children using their creativity. He says, "Kids will take a chance; and if they don't know, they'll have a go." I thought this was a cute quote because it's so true. Kids are innocent, and if they don't understand or know the answer to something then they will try anyways because (unlike adults) they are not scared to be wrong. That's the awesome thing about kids! They are so full of life and have wonderful imaginations. Often times teachers, parents, and others try to paint the picture of a perfect student (so to speak) when sometimes we should take a step back and let the child do some painting of their own. As I said before the video is called "Do Schools Kill Creativity?". I believe this title is appropriate for the topic. Schools are so focused on test scores and grades that they forget the other side of learning completely! When kids are young they are not scared of being wrong, and if you aren't scared of it then you will be able to give rise to creative ideas. However, once students turn into adults they lose the capacity to accept being wrong. In other words people are terrified of being wrong. "All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up" stated Sir Ken Robinson.

Big Thinking

As a future teacher my job is to promote curiosity in the classroom. The classroom that students have today is very different from the one I grew up in. Students seem to get bored more easily due to the fast paced lifestyle that makes up our world today. When I grew up students didn't have all the technology in the classroom that is accessible in today's classroom. In my class, the only technology was one computer, and only the teacher used it. We were taught in a lecture type setting and then given homework. the classroom environment has changed rapidly in the past ten years.


There is a part in the brain that literally decides what captures our attention. In order to get our students attention we need to integrate technology into the curriculum (like showing a video clip related to the lesson) and use "attention getters", such as walking backwards before teaching negative numbers. This way, students become curious from the beginning because they wonder why they are walking backwards. How do we get students to focus on the lesson? To get students to pay attention use color! For example, have a few different colors of markers and if something is "important" use a green marker, "very important" use blue, "extremely important" use red. Students could have these colors too to highlight important facts on their paper. It's an interesting way to keep students focused, and they are engaged, involved, and participating. Teachers have to be more creative with lessons in order to compete with the interesting world that surrounds our students. Time has changed the classroom and with this change has come a plethora of opportunity. 


Big Thinkers by: Judy Willis
http://www.edutopia.org/big-thinkers-judy-willis-neuroscience-learning-short-video