week 12 PLE - Summary

I read the article “Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Education”. One of the first things that I realized is that using technology to enhance lessons is helping the students learn in an abstract way. They are learning curriculum through another activity and not explicit instruction. Abstract learning is an important developmental and cognitive skill for young children to learn. This is another reason that technology is so useful in the classroom.

Another thing I realized is that technologically enhanced lessons can be a social interactive activity. The article gave an example of how 2 or 3 chairs could be placed at a computer at a time. This would allow the students to interact with each other as they determine answers and solutions for the activity that they are working on. This is a valuable way to get the students to converse and create open communication between their peers, another very important developmental milestone in early childhood.

Going along with the previous information, I also learned that it is important for a teacher to create a classroom environment that is technology friendly and encourages more social interaction. The website mentioned that an example of this would be to place the computers in an open and big enough area for many students to congregate and work together. If smartboards are being used, there should be plenty of floor space in front of them to accommodate the entire classroom.

One important thing to note is that teachers should teach safety with the technology that they are using. This should include telling them to not sit too close to the monitor, have good posture, get up and walk around when they have been using technology for a long time, and not overcrowding an area. If all of these are taught, it will be a much more effective and rewarding technological experience.

readings notes

5 ways for young children to use technology
- make and display a graph
- explore with digital tools
- tell a story in pictures and words
- write, record, and revisit
- share and document learning

collaboration is important. make it interactive.

Week 11 PLE

I watched both videos, the Bookends of War and Inside Kapunahala.

I have always thought that using technology in assignments and activities in the classroom would be enjoyable for the children, but these videos confirmed that. When technology was used to enhance the activity, the children were much more engaged in and focused on the activity. Because they were so much more focused on the activity, there was less problems of off task behavior for the teacher to worry about. They were more engaged because using technology is not something that students are used to doing in all their schoolwork, so it captures their attention more. I think it prevents the students from becoming bored because it allows them a new, more fun way to learn the information that they are studying. This just shows how important it is as a teacher to incorporate in some way technology into our lessons. Not only will it enhance the activity and make it better and easier to learn from, but it will keep the students more engaged which in turn creates a more harmonious classroom.

Lesson Plans

Math Lesson Plan:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dv744rq_8fgztspcb

Science Lesson Plan:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dv744rq_7gbx63pgs

Language Arts Lesson Plan:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dv744rq_6gn4h82hj

Week 10 PLE

I watched all three of the videos and I thought they were very helpful examples of how to teach with technology in the classroom. We have been learning all these things this whole semester, but it was particularly helpful to see real like examples of teachers using it in their classrooms. I think most profound for me from these videos was learning that young students, even in kindergarten, are not too young to learn how to use the computers, use technology, and even learn about copyright issues. This has always been a concern for me, because I ideally would like to teach kindergarten and I always wondered how many of the activities we do in class I could actually use in my classroom. The example of the students using cameras was a great example. Kindergarteners are totally able to use cameras, and many times they love doing so. This would be a great activity to get them excited about the lesson and and will enhance the activity through using technology. I also like that they taught the students about copyright issues. The generation of students we will be teaching will be using technology so much throughout their schooling that the sooner they start to learn about these issues, the better.

Week 9 PLE

I completed both the midcourse evaluation and the informed consent pages.

I was surprised that there was not a whole lot of technology in the first grade classroom that I interviewed. I guess I have become so accustomed to the fact that if I need to access Google Earth or any other tool, I just need a laptop and will be able to do so. It is different when we are actually in the classroom. Many schools are using fewer and fewer computers, and when you have 20+ students, it gets harder to allow them all ample access to the computers. This interview made me realize how valuable computers really are. The more there are in the classroom, the better. Everything that we have been learning in this class, we have done on the computer. Without access to many computers, it will be hard to implement these skills we are learning into our own classrooms. That worries me, but I suppose there is always a way to make something work.

ECE technology inventory interview

I was able to interview Ms. Alius who teaches 1^st grade at Meadow Elementary in Lehi, Utah. She described to me the technology that she had in the classroom. Her classroom has two computers in it, which the students take turns on. There is also an overhead projector to use, her own digital camera that she uses for class projects (the school does not provide her with one), and she can get a television and DVD player when she needs one, she just has to check it out from the office. Ms. Alius also has her own personal computer to use at her desk in the classroom.

I asked Ms. Alius what technology she wished that she had in the classroom. She said that it would be very helpful if she had more computers to use. With only two in the classroom, each students has a very limited amount of time on them, which is unfortunate because they can be used for such great benefit in lessons and other areas of the curriculum. She also wishes that she had a Smart Board. This is a program that projects onto the white board and then allows people to interact with it directly on the board, kind of like a touch screen for the white board. She said that this would be every beneficial to have in the classroom.

Ms. Alius admitted that she didn't use technology to prepare for her lessons as much as she should. Because she is in the first year of teaching, her mentors help her come up with a lot of the lessons that she does and prepares. However, she did say that from time to time she will use the internet to search lesson plan ideas, especially on websites that host teachers to upload their lesson plans according to grade and topic, which she says is a great resource.

I asked Ms. Alius what her favorite technology item to use in the classroom is. Her response surprised me. She said that the computers and internet are such as great resource for her students. She says that with these tools, the teacher and students can do all the activities that we learn about in this class. Without computers, the technology options would be greatly reduced. She says that she needs those computers whether it is to have them look up pictures, practice their typing skills, or for other purposes. That is why she would love more computers in the classroom.