Reflection #2

As I continue this course I have learned that the current way of teaching is making a huge shift with the integration of technology.  Technology can no longer be thought of as something that we have in the class to help supplement instruction.  It is our instruction.  With the world and education changing at such a fast pace, it is critical to be knowledgeable of how technology should be used to create a global learning environment and prepare students with the skills needed for their future.  I still have a lot to learn and many questions to answer pertaining to how my own classroom will be "reconstructed"  however now I have a starting point.

In this course I have learned that I need to step up and continue to learn more about how technology should and can be used in the classroom.  Learning and applying something new always takes time and dedication but if I want to teach with technology, I need to know technology.  The opportunities in this course to learn about and use blogs, wiki's, voicethread, diigo, and so on have given me the first steps needed in applying my new found skills in the classroom.  

One thing that I learned and  I would like to apply to my future teaching is global citizenship. I have always had a difficult time figuring out how to truly teach multiculturalism in my classroom.   One of the articles I read discussed teaching global citizenship through the concept friendship.  A light bulb went on in my head!  It is not so much about teaching multiculturalism as it is about participating in global citizenship.  Technology has opened the doors to seeing culture rather than reading about it.  I am very excited to introduce this concept to my students this year.  The article suggested using something you love as a starting point and so now when we discuss our favorite things to do, things to eat, and so on in kindergarten I can also use technology to show what other students around the world love.  Even if it is as simple as putting up a picture on my whiteboard of students from Africa eating rice from a bowl the opportunities to open up discussions about the smiles on their faces, why several people would be eating from one plate, how they are dressed, etc.  will take our favorite things to eat discussion to a whole new level.  

Blog Post #3

 A One on One iPad Program In Kindergarten

Retrieved from:  http://heidisongs.blogspot.com/2012/06/one-on-one-ipad-program-in-kindergarten.html

* No need for white boards or dry erase markers. The children can just use their iPads and write on the white board app!
* Every child can easily see photos and videos that you put on the iPad, and participate in discussions about them.
* No need to purchase, color, construct, laminate, set up, or tear down elaborate learning centers; just give them apps for whatever you want them to work on and let them go.
* No need to waste any paper for practice writing equations, shapes, or numbers, or letters! All of the children can write them on their iPads, and erase easily. Nobody needs an eraser!
* Imagine being able to simply take away the iPad from a child who is misbehaving or refusing to pay attention, and giving him or her a pencil and paper instead! Do you think he would try a little harder to follow directions next time?
* Imagine giving your students apps that would challenge them and let them learn and grow at their own pace, rather than trying to keep everyone on the same page on the same day?

Response:
What an awesome article. Our school district is going to pilot 1 to 1 computing this year. I am really excited about the idea but am sure that kindergarten will have to wait for a few years until the district is ready. I was excited to read that a district would spend curriculum money to help purchase the iPads. I also loved your information on organization, use, transitioning, and storage. I especially liked the app of the day. What a fantastic was to help keep the students focused on what apps they would be using for the day. I cannot wait to start 1 to 1 computing in my own classroom. Thanks for the pictures, the visual really helped in understanding your descriptions!
Cindy

Blog Post # 2 Using Technology in Kindergarten

Kindergarten life, Capturing A Unique Insect With An iPhone

View Full Post: http://kindergartenlife.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/capturing-an-unique-insect-with-an-iphone/#comment-127

This is the end of school and my students have only a day left of Kindergarten. I share the photograph of the Luna Moth on my SMART board with my students. I pose a question, “What do you notice?’ We take some private think time to think about our observations and then we turn and talk to a friend about what we notice. These are some of the comments that the children shared; “it looks furry, I think it is symmetrical because what is on the left side is the same as the right side, it has 2 sets of wings, the antennae look like small feathers like a bird, it has green, black and yellow, the body is hiding under the wings, I think it is an insect because it has 3 body parts.” Wow! Through this brief encounter with this photograph you can see how much information the children not only have from prior learning experiences, but how they are able to connect and use their prior knowledge to make observations about something they have never seen before.

My Response:
Sometimes when making up lessons I forget that a simple picture can spark such an interest and passion for learning. What a wonderful way to activate prior knowledge, create new knowledge, do research, collaborate, communicate, incorporate language arts and science, and so on. I love the fact that technology can be so easily integrated into the classroom! One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is to use science as a stepping stone into other content areas. This is a perfect example of how students can be motivated by and invested in their learning. Technology offers a whole new component to education and I am excited to read ideas like this that help me to have a better understanding of how I can use technology with my kindergarten students in a developmentally appropriate way. Thank you for sharing!
Cindy

My Response to Blog #1 (Revisited) Internet Safety

Mary Beth- I agree that as in real life "stranger danger" regarding technology is also an important issue to address with young students. So far, I have used technology in the classroom on the Smart Board to teach lessons, in literacy centers for educational games, for reading intervention, etc. As I learn more about the uses of educational technology (blogs, wikis, twitter) I would like to incorporate these into my instruction. Therefore, internet safety is critical. Thank you for the example lesson. It will be a great start in helping me teach my students to use the internet safely. You take a very simple, logical approach and I think the students will quickly catch on!

Blog Post #1 (Revisited) Internet Safety

How To Teach Internet Safety With Younger Elementary Students
View Full Blog: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/internet-safety-younger-elementary-mary-beth-hertz

Back in October, I wrote a post about Teaching Digital Citizenship in the Elementary Classroom. As it is Internet Safety Month, I want to share a sample lesson for teaching Internet Safety to students as young as kindergarten. Yes, you read correctly . . . kindergarten.
With children spending time online at younger and younger ages, it is vital that we explicitly teach young children how to protect themselves online. Most young children get the "Stranger Danger" talk at school, so they know about how to handle strangers in their neighborhood and in face-to-face situations.
There are three considerations when addressing Internet safety with these students. First, the transfer of handling strangers in "real life" to those in virtual environments is not automatic. It needs to be taught. Second, while most "Stranger Danger" programs teach that strangers are scary, mean and want to hurt or abduct children, this contradicts the way collaboration occurs between strangers online. Not all strangers are dangerous. Lastly, in "real life," students can walk or run away from a potential threat. In an online environment, the danger is inside a student's home and hard to escape without the necessary skills for handling tough situations.
This is a lesson that I have done with my kindergarten and first grade students to introduce the idea that strangers exist on the Internet and to discuss how we should interact with them.

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Reflection #1

Reflection:

Taking this course has really opened my eyes up to what is taking place in educational technology.  I knew that the use of technology was rising within the schools however I had no idea of how quickly it was being implemented.  I thought our district was keeping doing a good job at keeping pace with the growth of technology but as I have read articles and looked through wiki’s and blogs I see that there are school districts throughout the state that are far exceeding us.  I have learned that in order to understand educational technology’s role, you need to be immersed in the research that is available.  I had never used Twitter, Google Reader, and Diigo before.  I have come to see how easy it can be to keep informed.  I have also learned that it takes time, a lot of time but that it is okay not to try to view everything.

Tomorrow, I will not forget that using technology in the classroom is much more than using Smart Board lessons, educational and intervention games, and video.  Using technology in education to develop critical thinkers involves getting students involved in the process as well as the product.  I have learned that it is important to use technology outside of the classroom walls and school to create a global community.  I have learned that students are already ahead of the game when it comes to understanding the networking capabilities which technology can offer.  I need to catch up to them!

Before I go back to school in the fall, I would like to do more research on some of the sites that I found which would help direct my instruction with using technology.  Ideas are already running through my head.  I would like to start small.  I was thinking about setting up Twitter with another kindergarten class in our school so that we can compare and discuss the topics we are learning about.  I would like to set up a blog with parents so they can connect to and see what we are doing each week. I would like to use more video of the students and embed it into a website they can go to and review what we have done throughout the year.  The possibilities are endless.  I think my biggest challenge will be time management.  I would start small, maybe working on one or two projects a year and building from there so I don’t drive myself crazy. 

This course has helped me in finding resources that I can use to apply to my future knowledge and classroom instruction.  I know more than I did just two weeks ago about educational technology in general.  One thing I will reflect on as I try to develop ideas in the fall is how to coordinate technology with the current curriculum and how I can justify its value.

In response to Michelle's  (http://exploreedtech.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-post-1.html#comment-form) comments on the article Why We Need To Teach Social Networking by Jeff Utecht.  Retrieved from: http://www.thethinkingstick.com/:


These are new behaviors we need to be teaching in schools. We teach how to share, in the physical world. We teach how to cooperate, in the physical world. We teach how to stay away from danger in the physical world. But do we teach these same skills in the new digital sense? Why not?

Michelle-You bring up several interesting points in regards to our responsibilities as teachers in this new digital world. We do teach students how to share, cooperate, and stay away from danger in the physical world and we should also do it in the digital world. Of course, I believe that parents and schools should work collaboratively to create guidelines.  I also agree that social media has opened up a whole new world of communication and networking for the younger generation. It is more difficult (as a parent) to monitor everything that your child sees and hears on the internet.  There are a whole new set of rules that we need to keep in mind as our children/students use media.