bianca

picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alikaragoz/89328891/

i just read Una`s post “Sunny’s blog post A Vision of K-12 Students Today”  i found what she wrote very intresting. I think that it is true that students of today are asking to be engaged and want to be motivated with new challenging iddeas. the blog shows how the internet can engage children and help them learn effectively because children are engaged. Una makes a valid point that todays children no longer want to be fed information but would rather discover them for themselves.

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i recommend watching this video to get a feel for how easy it is to integrate technology into the classroom. this video from youtube is one that also helps us understand exactly how technology has changed oner time. it outlines how 20 years ago we only had pens and paper and the rest of society was comfortable with that. what about if we fast forward our lives to 20 years in the future, what technologies would have evolved then. will our societythen besaying well we were comfortable with only computers. no matter if we move with the times or try and ignore new technological advances, changes are still going to occur whether we like it or not. if we are going to be educators then we must prepare our students for life outside school. if start school this year then they will be graduating in the year 2021, which is a very very long time where so much can happen. so if teachers are still not bringing children up to speed with new technology from the last 20 years then just how lost are they going to be when they graduate? It would be incorrect of us to say that we are trying our best. the video simply urges us to aim to integrate technology into primary school, not to let it take over the traditional literracy methods but rather allow it to be a part of it. for example to improve students creative writing structure or essay format, students could write it on the computer and publish it on edublogs for other teachers and students to critique it. of course children need the knowledge of all the KlAs but its a matter of incorporating new teaching methods that can prepare students for this moving technological age. the children within the video do a spider project using movie maker, this is an excellent example of how to engage children using technology but also learning at the same time.

image is from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miro-foto/1804929538/

Maddux, C.D., Johnson, D.L., & Willis, J.W. (1997). Educational Computing: Learning With Tomorrow’s Technology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon

click on the link to be intrigued:

http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/cnc.html

i read this article “building on technologies promise” and was blown away on how useful and informative it was. i could not believe how interesting it was and how easy it made technology sound. one excellent benefit of computers is that “Students can work through a computer-based activity at their own pace. Rather than 25 individuals working together on one activity, technology allows independent completion of work. Those who begin to fall behind can receive an instructor’s individualized attention while others can begin to tackle more complex tasks” This in turn allows teachers to develop new classroom management strategies of challenging the highly intelligent students whist working with the struggling ones. computer software can provide opportunities for students to become independent learners and give their work a touch of their own. for example they may add personal photos or a voice over for an English narrative. students can even add color, motion pictures and comments to spruce up their work. Another incredible point made by the article is that “Students can build on their own understanding by using computers as resource tools, as work stations for individual learning, or as communication channels to share their ideas with other learners“. children can develop and discover answers to their personal queries and form interest groups by connecting with sites such as edublogs, wikki spaces and hound bite. here children can be children and find out answers to their educational questions and have fun socializing at the same time. this article is quite long but i asure you, that once you start reading you will be so intrigued and excited to start your own technological based classroom. i know i was. i really recommend reading this article as it puts a new light on using computers in the classroom.

After prac i decided to read what other bloggers were up to. i stumbled across Joannes blog about the three X. i was really inspired by the idea that echnology allows children to grow and succeed. “that they can “grow and succeed” in today’s world – eXploring, eXpressing and eXchanging”. personally i think that these two words are really what sums up what technology is about in todays society. wthout teachers embracing and expanding childrens creativity with technology the truth of the matter is that they will not be able to succeed.if i think about all the jobs that use technology it comes to the conclusion that the only job that doesnt use technology is a street sweeper. therefor what future are we providing for our students. simply a dismil one at that. introducing students to technology allows them to not turn out like some of us who are tecnophobic. it allows them to have endless oppotunities as well as discover themselves. some students may find that their talent is computing and if teachers do not introduce technology how is a student to discover this talent. there for i think that joannes blog was very insighful in providing me with an overall summery of technology- it provides students with the skills and talent to grow and succeed.

After starting prac, i have come to realise that technology in schools is very common. i am teaching a kindergarten class an was shocked to see how much they know. on thursday, my class was taken into the computer labs where the students were asked to log on and open up paint. from there students used all the tools and created a picture of their choice. it was not the fact that they could use the tools but the fact that many of them were not afraid to experiement and persist on the computers. children are so different to adults as it would seem that they are not afraid of technology but merely embracing it. they were quite happy to try new things and if they made a mistake they were not afraid. this was 5 year olds using technology and having fun. if 5 year olds are not scared, then why are teachers so afraid??? i observed my teacher during this lesson and if there were tools that she hadnt quite worked out, she would avoid using the tool or got another students to show her how to use it. i think that teachers should take on the attitude of these kindergartens and just TRY!! There is nothing wrong with making a mistake.

one thing i did notice was that after students had drawn their paintings they didnt even save their pictures but merely logged off the computer and that was the end of the lesson. So it was if the lesson didnt even happen. this disturbed me as there is so much technology available to help celebrate students work. i think it would have been an excellent idea if they published their pictures on edyblogs or wikki space, rather than simply loosing their work with no one to view and celebrate it.