My Experience In EME 2040

EME 2040 was one of my most challenging classes this semester. I knew when I was required to take the course that it would be a bit difficult because I'm not really a "technology" professional however, after taking this course I found plenty of programs and techniques I will definitely be using when I become an educator.

I learned how to build a lesson plan, from scratch, with help from my classmates. I evaluated and critiqued websites, books and programs. Every week, I wrote in my blog about different technology tools that I used. Writing in the blog was fun but a bit challenging. When it came to writing about the content that I had read in "Transforming Learning with New Technologies", it was easy. The book offered so much information. I  loved how each chapter started off with a new teacher using different components of technology and incorporating it within the classroom. The difficult part was making wiki images to display on my blog. I played around with websites like ToonDoo, PowToon and Clip-Art to get images for my blog. This opened me up to so many different ways to engage my students. Funny cartoon images are neat and will be used within my classroom. I also learned how to assist students with special needs by using technology. I also created a teacher portfolio that can assist with parents and students on me and my method of teaching.

All the tools I have gathered within this course is not only going to make my tech skills become more polished but help me in my career field as an educator. I'm going to have to make lesson plans, power point presentations and interact with parents and what better way to do it than with technology. 
EME 2040 has helped me go head to head with one of my biggest challenges and learn new, useful things in the process.

RESOURCES:

"New Teacher Survival Guide: Planning." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 discusses "Integrating Technology and Creating Change As Teacher Leaders."
The chapter starts off brilliantly by mentioning 2 teachers who teach under different financial circumstances. It goes on to compare the teachers and shows how the technology resources available to each helps with their teaching. This is what technology integration is all about. The way that teachers connect technology into all aspects of their instructional and professional work.

Educational change is also an interesting topic in Chapter 12. It refers to the innovations by teachers that create new patters of teaching and learning in school. Educational change does not just occur by adding a computer to the course.2 things must be present: a teacher mindset and multiple pathways. As a future educator, I can definitely see myself striving for educational change. I noticed that a lot of the material teachers use is recycled and taught the same exact way. I would try to push myself to new limits and be innovative in teaching the course. I believe that in doing this, my students will be more interested in the material and it would be fun to switch it up and integrate fresh ideas within the course.

Inclusion and infusion in technology are big ones as well. Inclusion is using technology to transfer information to the student while infusion is an ongoing process within a child's education. Both methods are pretty good, but I think infusion would be what I would use. This feature allows students to regularly use computers for research and since students are going to need to know this in the future, it works.

RESOURCES:

"Blended Learning: Transforming Classrooms with Technology." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

 

"Journal of Educational Change - Incl. Option to Publish Open Access." Springer.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. 

 

 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.

 

"Student Login." Bitstrips for Schools: Login. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

 

 

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 discusses "Fostering Online Learning w/ Educational Websites & Apps." The chapter starts off with a student teacher discovering the internet. I found this particular section very useful because it gave information on how the internet can be a key to your success as a teacher. There are plenty of web based programs that assist with teaching students.

Information management is another important subject in Chapter 6. Information  management is used to describe how organizations and systems keep track of data for making decisions and setting policies. With teaching, it used to provide digital resources to help a student's learning. Information management is important because with teaching, you need to be able to share information with the student and vice-versa. Digital resources are an easier way to keep information up to date. Some textbooks were printed years ago and the information can end up being inaccurate. It's a lot easier to use digital resources because you can easily change the information to make it correct.

Bookmarking and Cloud computing for teachers was another important section. Bookmarking helps you better locate a website that you use often. It electronically marks different pages and saves them with just one simple command. Cloud computing is slowly taking book marking's place. Now, we have something called "the cloud", which is stored on the web for the teacher to access his/her material, anywhere.

RESOURCES:
 Bitstrips for Schools. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

"Internet Guide : How to Bookmark a Web Page." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. 

 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.

 "QM 2014 Conference: Challenges of Digital Accessibility." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

"What Is Cloud Computing?" PCMAG. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. 

 

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 discusses engaging students in performance assessment and reflective learning. The chapter starts off with a new teacher insisting on having the students do portfolios instead of unit tests. I believe this is a good idea. It allows the students to use technology and become ore hands on than a traditional, multiple choice test every few weeks. Portfolio assessments are an alternative that I might actually consider using in my class room.

Chapter 11 also discusses the role of assessment in teaching and learning. It provided me with insight on how and what teachers and students are critiqued on. Before you officially become a teacher, you will be evaluated and judged on the way you deliver the material and your overall classroom performance. Student assessment is when the teacher evaluates the student. Gather information on where they stand academically in your classroom. Student self-assessment is a way for students to critique themselves. If the student can identify and correct their own errors, it makes the teacher's job a bit simpler. I feel like this really comes in handy for the student and the teacher. It helps both of them to be consistent and more focused on the task at hand.

Reflection is another effective way of assessment. By keeping a portfolio, the student can reflect on things they have done in the past and be able to identify mistakes and growth to where they are academically now. It's always effective with teachers as well. They too can see the growth of themselves as educators and how they have changed professionally. A portfolio helps you become a master educator and helps you identify teaching practices and your own strengths and weaknesses.
RESOURCES:
 "2:2 - Why Use Portfolio Assessment?" Portfolio Asessment. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015. 
  "Assessment of Teaching and Learning: Classroom Observation." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2015. 
 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.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 discusses designing lessons and developing curriculum with technology. The Chapter(like all others) begins by discussing a new teacher's process in developing lesson plans. Christina's journey went from having little background knowledge to using technology to not only develop lesson plans, but from teaching classes and assessing student performance. This section was critical to me because it gave information from a beginning teacher's perspective. It helped me realize that developing a lesson plan doesn't mean plan out every little interaction between students. The best teachers are the ones who leave room for questions and discussions amongst students.

Chapter also gives us insight on exactly what to teach. As teachers, we are given a framework by local curriculum & state and national standards. However, those items don't tell us what to explore daily. Technology plays a huge part in assisting teachers in answering this question. Digital content, internet search engines and electronic databases are some of the items that assist a teacher with what to teach their students.

There are multiple ways to use technology within your lesson plans. As a beginning teacher, the thought of constant lesson plans are a bit scary however, there a re plenty of resources offered to make the task very simple. Websites such as PBS Teachers and Annenberg Learner are just a few resources that provide already designed templates for the beginning educator.

RESOURCES:
 Dressel, Paul L. "The Planning of Instruction." Improving College and University Teaching 14.2 (1966): 69-76. Http://www.sagepub.com. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
  
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.

"Tag Archives: Teach the Learners Not the Plan." Chiasuanchong. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Chapter 8- Communicating and Collaborating w/ Social Media

One of the key points in chapter 8 was "Electronic communication between teachers and students." The chapter broke down several different forms of communication that the teacher and students participate in. Email, teachers or classroom websites, blogs, online discussions and wikis. All of these resources makes communication between student and teacher very simple. Imagine not being clear on an assignment that was due the following day. Nowadays, sending a simple email asking the teacher to give more details is the thing to do. It's quick and effective. This method features electronic exchanges from teacher and student.

Two types of communication mentioned in Chapter 8, were Synchronous and Asynchronous communication.

Synchronous happens to follow a real time schedule. Examples: Cell phone conversations and text messaging. Asynchronous communication has a time delay within the communication. These examples include emails, blogs and online discussions. As a teacher, both forms of communication are given to the student.

There are plenty of ways to integrate electronic communication into your teaching. The books suggests:
.Teaching beyond the school day
.Engaging students
.Sharing information with famailies
.Building learning communities
.Energizing student writing
Integrating these techniques inside and outside of your classroom allows students to have other ways to connect with the teacher. It gives them the opportunity to be discreet and ask educational questions that they are probably too shy to ask in front of their peers. This helps the teacher and student to build a better connection and helps the teacher find better ways to teach the student.
RESOURCES:
"Login | Piktochart." Login | Piktochart. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015

 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.

 "Synchronous vs Asynchronous Communication." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

"Why Use Electronic Communications?" Why Use Electronic Communications? N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 starts off briefly discussing a online math program called 4MALITY (4-Coach Mathematics Active Learning Intelligent Tutoring sYstem). 4 math coaches assist children in word problems and online games concerning math. I have never been a huge fan of math so this program really grabs my attention. 4MALITY is a way to get elementary school students to be excited about math. Not only does it provide coach help and fun games, it also allows the child to become even more familiar with technology. With online games and apps teachers can better engage students.

Problem solving and inquiry learning with technology was another topic I enjoyed. This type of learning uses real life situations and issues to fully engage the student. For example: In English classes, if a student were to write about a specific person or profession, they would have to similarly do the job of whoever that person is. This type of learning eliminates many assignments and gets the students to engage more and motivates the student to learn. I feel problem solving and inquiry learning is a great idea. Plenty of times, students complain about the work and sometimes ask questions like "Why are we doing this?" & "How will this be helpful in the future?" Placing the student in a real world situation where they would have to count their money, write a letter or do other real life things education prepares you for, is a great idea. It shows the students exactly how these tasks come in handy once adults.

Digital games for learning(serious games), are also a great way of engaging the student. Teachers all around the world use them to convey academic material. Serious games are another form of technology to grab the student's attention and helps them focus more on the material. Educational games are active, challenging and demanding of focus and concentration to solve problems in innovative ways, whereas schools is most often passive and uninspiring as students take in information and repeat back onto tests. Serious games makes it more fun and research shows it has been known to improve students attitudes.
RESOURCES:
 "Best Educational Games." Educational Games. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

 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.