Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Motivational Learning

The video Blogging Buddies is really what teaching is all about. This video is a great demonstration of scaffolding and how teaching and leaning from others can really help motivated and improve a child' s learning. A college class has become blogging buddies with a first grade class. The classes blog each other and the college students give advise and answer questions.




The most significant takeaway would be how the blogging buddies can be of help to a students confidence in reading and writing. Both classes use the blog as a way to connect to the other classroom students and they can ask questions and assist the others in any way possible. Not only can the college students help the 1st graders but the 1st grades can help the college students complete their study on Language Development and Literacy. The blogs give the younger students a way to connect to older mentors and even create great relationships that could inspire all.

After watching this video, I can only wish I had this type of technology when I was in elementary school. I can only wonder how great it would have been to have someone else besides the teacher helping me and teaching me new things. When I was in school, we had an activity that served the same purpose as the blogging buddies; the only difference is that we mailed our letters to our mentors! Not exactly quick!

As I have mentioned before in my blogs, scaffolding is used greatly in this video. I cannot stress enough how scaffolding is great for learning. Learning through apprenticeships and mentors is the way to go. Children learn best through learning from others and personal experiences. These blogging buddies relationships also give the younger students motivation to succeed in their writing; for the mentor will read it and the younger students want to do good for the mentor to praise them. Reading is also improved in that the younger students are eager to read comments from their mentor and see what they had to say about their work!

Futuristic Classroom

The video A Peek for a Week – Inside a Kiwi Junior Classroom is an amazing view of how a class uses technology in an everyday routine. The teacher gives us run-through of how she uses blogging and technology to help enhance her lessons and connect with other classrooms around the world trading ideas and information. Rachel Boyd, the teacher, uses technology allot in her classroom. She uses blogging for helping not only herself connect with others, but also the children to blog ideas and connect with other classrooms outside their district or even country!

This video has given me the inspiration I needed. I was a little apprehensive to how much I would use technology in my classroom. I didn't understand how it could be that important to include time to use and understand the technological world. Now after seeing how this teacher used many programs and ideas in her day, it makes me all the more excited to get started with my teaching career. After a few weeks of blogging, I have gotten the hang of it and believe that this could be a great thing to use in my classroom. Of course, there will be newer technology and newer programs when I start teaching, but I must keep up!

This video amazes me on how much technology is really used in the classroom today. When I was in school (elementary-high school) I never used technology in the classroom; aside from the once a week computer class and the overhead projector. Its amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time. But it also makes me wonder how far will we go? Will we get so far that paper books are not needed anymore; and will we loose use of paper and pencil?

In the district I plan on teaching in, has a smart board in every classroom. During my first field experience there I noticed how much they used the smart board during the day and how much time they spent away from paper and pencils. Over half of the day was spent on the board/computer during morning message, research etc... The rest of the day was spent with teacher/student interaction time. I love how technology is growing in popularity and usage in schools, but I feel that when I become a teacher I might feel the need to put less focus on technology and applications to use, and instead put the focus more on the work!

Classroom technology and social economic issues

In the video Digital Youth Portrait: Nafiza, Nafiza is a students that loves technology. She is seen somewhat as a mentor to her classmates. She, along with the rest of her classmates are instructed to make a one minute video that gives a situation dealing with a social economic issue that we have today! These students are learning world affairs through digital media. This video gives us the insight on how technology can be used in multiple ways, way beyond the average program. It can help connect and teach our children about the world around them and educated them on certain economic issues we face today!





My most significant "takeaway" from this video is how much students can learn about technology and only be in high school. It amazing how much students have learned over the few years that they are exposed to new programs and applications. Not only are students learning new things in the classroom, but they bring new information and ideas that they teach the teachers or instructors. Technology is moving so fast that we all (students and teachers) are teaching each other new things. Students today are given more opportunities and immerse themselves into games and new programs that we as teachers are not introduced to until it is not "in" anymore and is considered "old technology."
This video is a reminder to me on how technology has changed so much since my schooling days. I remember the first time I used a computer in the classroom was during my 3rd grade year. We had computer lab one day a week and we would play games. Carmen in San Diego was the one game I remember playing the most and thinking that was the best game ever! Now we have games that make Carmen look like nothing! Looking at how these students use technology to understand the world is amazing. The students make this learning experience fun by making one minute videos about a specific economic issue.
As a future teacher, I truly believe that students learn best through personal experience and through scaffolding. Students should help each other by teaching and working together to get the solutions. The students can exchange new ideas with each other and don't need the teacher as their only source of information. The students in this video are seen gathered together multiple times discussing issues or problems they are having with their video and ask each other for help. Some students learn new material and some reinforce previous knowledge.

T4T classmate comments and student blog comments

These are the links to the comments that I posted on a few of my classmates reflections. I commented today and I am still waiting for them to accept the comments.
Comment #1
Comment #2

These are the comments that I posted on k-12 Mrs. Cassidy's classroom blog page. One comment is on a video on the main page, the other is a comment are oa students specific blog post.
Comment #1
Comment #2

All these comments are still waiting for approval!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Hi, I am Lauren Ottinger. This is not my first class of the week and not my last. I have classes only four days a weed and have an easy semester ahead of me! I am a Junior at UCO, with a early childhood ed. major. I plan on becoming a 1st grade teacher in the Deet Creek district in two years, and look forward to starting my careet. I look forward to learning more about computers and catching up with technology.

Cameron

Learn about Cameron's life in this in-depth interview!





1. The most significant "takeaway" from this video is how children can enjoy and thrive in the technological world. There are so many programs apps that we as teachers can use to help enhance our lessons and help the students become engaged in the lessons. Another meaning that I learned from this video would be that technology is moving at such a fast rate that we, not just teachers, but everone in general need to learn how to use today's technology in an everyday life. As teachers we must keep a breast with new technology because children today base their interests and activities around technology and may even be more or equally educated on certain apps or programs than us!.
2. Today's children enjoy activities and games that are technologically based. When I was a child (young student), technology was not a major part of my life. I did not have the luxery of computer games or game boys. I was not exposed to technology as much as the today's child. By having the apps and programs we have todays, I could have used in my schooling to better enhance my academic experiences.
3. This video, is an example why it is great for schools and faculty to expose students to technology and new information as often as possible. It also implies that students learn different rates and work better with different lessons or programs. Like in the video, it show how students would even us scaffolding as a form of teaching the students to work with technology.