Technology: The New Creative Outlet

The idea that was brought to us this week in technology was about how to apply creativity to learning disciplines through technology. I see in this modern world many things that I have not even been introduced to that are creative ways to use technology. The strategies of today are completely different than what they were years ago. We can learn a lot through things like smart board, PowerPoint, clip art, Imovie, and many more. This can expand our learning to new levels if we know how to incorporate it in the right sense. I feel that in classrooms of today technology can help the creativity fly if  you use it to only help along side, not do the teaching for you. I think many students of today are visual so it is always better to demonstrate ideas on something that they can see. With technology as advanced as it is today we have a million opportunities to spice up our classrooms with creative ways to teach lessons. I think my biggest problem is learning how to be creative with technology. It all looks fun when it is done and perfect but I struggle at knowing how to be creative and not just afraid of the outcome. We need to look at technology less like a television and more like a paintbrush. I am not a artist by any means but hopefully a computer can help me to express myself even being artistically disabled.  Thus then my students can have only limitations with technology when they only limit their lack of imagination. I think that technology could enhance creativity and creation if used in the right way. 

There Is Not A One Step Solution To Inequality

When I think of online school I do not see a lot of valuable outcomes. A topic that came up in my technology class was about if teaching online classes would eliminate inequality in school districts. I think this topic is a hard thing to give a definite yes or no answer to. Maybe it would help in the way that students do not have as much interaction with each other face to face. So in a sense the stereotypes of gender, race and age would not have as much effect on their attitude toward each other. Well these idea might be true in some cases but with names, last names, and probably bio’s of each student there is still going to be some inequality taking place. Just because the children are not face to face with their peers and teachers does not mean people are still not going to judge. My point is that by changing the way we perform school we are not going to totally take away the inequality in school districts. That problem is going to be taken away with the teachers in administration doing everything in their power to make sure that things are being achieved with all students not just the ones they want to teach or think are important. The inequality data about how students are doing in racial areas is always that the ethnic students are performing consistently lower than the white counterparts. Thus the bottom half comprises primarily of the poor and ethnic minorities. These are the numbers we need to be worries about, not if we are going to use online school or the basic public school. We can only educate our teachers and help them understand the tragedy they are creating but not attempting to achieve equity for all students.

Can Technology Help Gender Equality in Schools?

A question that has been brought to our attention in technology class is "technology eliminates gender inequality in schools". Well maybe that is true in some cases but I feel those are very unique and special cases. When I think of technology I see boys all over the latest version of a gadget that they can make their newest toy. When I have ever been around technology in school or even just in life, if there is a girl and boy sitting next to me and I need help I immediately ask the boy for help first. Why is that? Well I would say because I naturally think the boy will know how to help me more effectively than the girl. So with the question does technology eliminate gender inequality in school, I have a hard time agreeing with that statement. Maybe I do not know a lot about this topic but I have a feeling that I have some insights. We as educators have hindered closing the gender gap on the capacity for both genders to use technology at the same level. Administrations should be putting policies in place that ensure equal exposure to technology for all students. All students should have equal accessibility regardless of sex, race, socioeconomic background, or disability. Administrations can also be responsible for educating the teachers in gender issues. It is important for teachers to be informed of innovations in classroom management plans and teaching strategies which are fair and equitable to all students. Boys tend to receive more praise for skills in technology while girls tend to be praised for social skills such as team work and compromising. Students should be called on equally to answer higher level questions. Where as now boys tend to be asked these questions, and they tend to offer answers more frequently to technology questions than girls ever do. For me this shows that technology is not being used properly to help inequality in genders. Maybe the technology itself is not making the inequality but the educators who are enforcing it are doing a poor job of allowing a gender gap to take place. 

ISchool an Intimidating Concept

We were introduced to a completely new concept in technology class this week. The iSchool is a concept that literally blows my mind. When shown how this could work in classroom the only thing I could think of  was how am I going to ever educate my students in this manner. If you know anything about me, technology is not my forte. I can attempt to use it and pretend I know what I am doing but really I am a like a frightened puppy who is far from home. I have no clue how to use this kind of technology effectively. So to answer the question is an ischool good way to fix a broken school system is a very tricky question. I think it could have many good advantages but when I think of the idea that every teacher needs to know the concept of ischool and teach it to their students is a little less simple. How are all teacher’s young and old going to be able to incorporate this type of teaching in every lesson. I am much younger than many teachers of today and I do not grasp this kind of technology. I worry that it will be hindering to the next generation to only use technology for everything in the classroom. What happen to simple creativity. I do not want my adorable kindergarteners minds losing their sense of childlike creativity with this kind of technology. I never thought we were creating robots in America but instead hopefully adding a new generation that is unique with individuality. Do not get me wrong I am not trying to totally hate on this idea, I think it could have a lot of potential. My idea would be to keep some things in the classroom that we have always done and get rid of others and then it can be a process not a cut and dry situation. This seems to be good middle so we do not get ahead of ourselves in our attempt to help America’s education. 

A New Way to Teach Today's Society

An interesting part of technology class this week was when we video chatted with Beth Day, a online teacher. She had some profound points on how online school can be a beneficial way to teach a variety of children. I was very surprised how many different aspects of education these teachers have accessibility to even online.  I was also amazed by the amount of help each teacher has for their students and the support group that is invested in every child. It was wonderful to see that this lady had just as much desire to invest in her student’s lives as shown in a regular classroom. I really enjoyed her creative twist on the PowerPoint as she showed me how she outlined each section she was covering. It helped me be able to see her main themes she wanted us to remember. It also was a great visual of how she does her lectures for online students.  I walked away realizing that I had been so naive about the good that online education can have for poor people, people with disabilities, and students that just have different learning styles than the average American. It was a joy to see Beth’s desire to help these students in need and be in a worthy cause. I hope in my own teaching that my greatest goal will benefit my students for a greater good. 

Can Teachers Educate The Next Generation

After reading the article Defying the Default Cultures and Creating a Culture of Possibility I had many responses to the idea that technology will improve achievement. As the article pointed out “Technology is opening new doors for students and teachers alike and transforming the world outside the school, but classrooms today are still teacher-centered, low level fact information-based, and low tech delivered to students who respond to assignments with equally low tech tools”. I have never been able to explain our education of today in such a concise way. In today’s world technology can make a world of difference of how we learn in the classroom. We ironically use technology everywhere in our world outside of class. However, for some reason education is not up to date in the reform to change education as a whole. I love how Roberson points out “that we are all on an assembly line with a conveyor belt that starts at same spot that it ends”. Technology is the only thing that will help us with the outside environment of the 21^st century.  There will be changes in the curriculum and instructions to connect to the rest of the world like never before. Hopefully technology will develop enough the skills and behaviors students need to be successful in a globalized, digitized, fast paced, ever changing real world environment like the article of the SCANS explained. Many times through this article it explains how we need to “educate the students for the world that exists now outside the school walls”. I am a firm believe that our era is not built to work with the latest technology. We are not being taught to use the digital tools that should be at our fingertips. So how this day can teachers be doing a better job to educate the students? I think it is simply stepping up as Roberson puts it, Will schools change, evolve, and become learning environments that stimulate and excite students to what can be to what is possible?” The choice is with the next generation of educators learning how to improve student achievement through technology. 

Technology Changing the Way I Teach

I really enjoyed this week and what we learned. It was really insightful to hear from a variety of people how they would use technology in a certain grade. I thought people had many good ideas from Smart Board, Prezi, different websites, and many others. I loved how creative people became with the different technology and it all seemed to flow in with their lesson plan. It seemed like everybody found a new way to use technology, which shows how many different ways you can use it in classrooms today. I felt that in my own brainstorming it was hard to find something that would be simple enough for kindergarteners to grasp. I did find some good websites on life science, which I think would be great to use in my classroom. They were mostly for me as a teacher to show to my students as an exercise at the beginning of a section. However, they were short video clips of children their own age telling about what they thought of life science with pictures. I thought it would be a wonderful way to get the children talking about the topic and excited. I can see how technology will be great in aiding my classroom and I am excited to learn more in how it will be effective. I hope in the future to find even more websites on things to teach in the kindergarten classroom.