What Do I Now Know About Integrating Technology

Throughout the course of this semester, I have learned about many different types of technology, mainly relating to computers, that I can integrate into my future classroom. I have learned that there are many different types of technology you can use besides just the Internet, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint, which I was always limited to in the past. I have learned that there are GPS systems, SMART Boards, databases, and programs such as Kidspiration/Inspiration. I have even learned how to use the old technologies in new ways. For example, with the Internet I know how to evaluate and website and learned that there are many resources available online for teachers. With Microsoft Word, I know how to create newsletters and how to pair it with Excel to create a spreadsheet. With PowerPoint, I learned how to create a non-linear presentation, which is a great way to create quizzes and such.
All of these new technologies help support the various types of learners. They offer a reprieve from the typical copying down lecture notes that is so common in classrooms, especially in the higher grades. I probably will not use all of these in my classroom, but at least I know they are out there so that way if I ever change my mind, I can easily use them. These technologies also provide me with better/unique ways of analyzing the student's performances. I can have the students create a non-linear PowerPoint presentation instead of giving them a test, for example. I will try to integrate as much technology as possible into my classroom.

What do I think about using visual thinking software in the classroom? What about the SMART Board? What will they do for students and for me?

I think that as a teacher, SMART Board and visual thinking software will be some of the most important and frequently used technologies in my classroom. It provides so many different opportunities for students compared to using a chalkboard or overhead. First of all, this software can be interactive, allowing the teacher to leave spaces in the presentation so students can come up and, using the pens from the SMART Board, fill in the answer and show their steps. This is a good way for teachers to make sure their students understand the concept. This is also very neat and allows for more organization. Some teachers don't have the best of handwriting, so this way, everybody can read what is written. It can also save time and allow for more teaching time during class hours. Teachers can have templates or diagrams already typed and can bring them up at the beginning of class, rather than wasting minutes drawing these on the board. Teachers can also use this to create lesson plans, so that they are better organized. Since the lesson plans will be saved to the computer, you can use the same one year after year, or easily adapt them to fit with the needs of each year's students.
For students, visual thinking software and SMART Boards offer unique possibilities. For presentations, it is often easier to work with visual thinking software than a slide program, such as Microsoft Powerpoint. It also allows for more creativity. This software works well for visual learners because they have the notes right before their eyes in a very organized form, rather than just listening to the teacher and taking down notes. It also helps students to clarify thoughts, organize and analyze information, integrate new knowledge, and think critically.

What do I think about using geospatial tools in the classroom?

I think using geospatial tools is a good idea, and I would consider using them. The concentrations for my major are math and science, and science, especially geography, can be greatly affected by using these tools. This is a different way to learn about latitude and longitude and to put it in the context of real-life situations. In terms of math, they can calculate distances and such. For example, the students can discover the latitude and longitude of their school, and if they can take the GPS units home, they can figure out the latitude and longitude of their home. A project like this can have both geography and math implications. They notice what happens to latitude and longitude lines when they move in different directions (North, South, East, and West), thus this is a good geography unit. In math, they can use this to learn how to calculate distances. One potential problem I could forsee doing this with younger students is that they would look at GPS units as a toy, especially since they're handheld. These are easier to break than a computer and also easier to misplace. As long as the students understand that these aren't toys, or if you just reserve them for the older classes, then this shouldn't be a problem.
Also, using mapping tools such as Google Earth can have various science benefits. The latest version of Google Earth allows users to look at the sky and solar system, so this would be an intersting way of learning astronomy. It's much better than just sitting there and taking notes, which is what happens in the astronomy class I am currently taking. There was also a model I found that described Neptune and it's moons. The models application of Google Earth allows you to create a model or animation of virtually anything, so I could create an animation of cell replication.

How can technology help me improve my teaching practice?

Technology can help improve my teaching practices in a variety of ways. First, it can allow me to communicate with other teachers to talk about project ideas or other common areas of interest. Discussion boards, such as Teacher Talk Forums and Teacher Focus, are set up so that teachers can discuss classroom ideas, find unique projects, and get some ideas on how to deal with that problem student. Tapped In is pretty much the same thing except it is a chatroom, so the conversations happen live.
Technology provides unique ways for students to learn, other than sitting in a classroom and listening to the teacher preach the subject. They can use the Internet for research, and then set up websites of their own to show what they learned. They can also create a newsletter using Microsoft Word. Then there are websites, such as the GLOBE program or the JASON project, that provide innovative ways for students to find and share research on a number of topics. The GLOBE program allows students to periodically collect data and submit it to a large database. They can then access their own or another student's data to conduct research projects. The JASON project, created by the National Geographic Society, focuses on one topic a school year and allows students to watch as scientists actually go out into the field.
I can also communicate with parents more effectively using technology. Listservs could allow me to email all of the parents of the students while saving time by typing only a single e-mail address. I could create a classroom website, much like the sample one I am doing in class now, that can provide parents with classroom news and other information. All of this can help improve my teaching practices.

What I have learned so far

One of the really helpful things that I have learned in this class so far is all of the opportunities that Microsoft Word has to offer. By creating the newsletter, I did things that I never even knew Word could do, or that I've seen and wondered how it was done. For example, washing out clip-art and then sticking it behind the text was something I had always wondered about. My roommate actually looked at the newsletter while I was doing that and commented on how what I was doing looked really good. Just to be able to impress my roommate like that makes taking this class worthwhile because if I can impress her, I can impress a principal as well.
Another thing I have learned is that teachers can't take a technology and base a lesson plan around it; it has to be the other way around. They have to take their lesson plan and find a piece of technology that enhances what they are trying to learn. That's easier than finding a technology and trying to revolve a lesson plan around that.

What do I now know are some good reasons for using technology in the classroom?

Based on what I have read so far, I now know that there are a lot of reasons for using technology in the classroom. First, technology helps inhance the inquiry-based learning aspect of a constructivist environment. This aspect involves a student engaging in questions, finding evidence that allows them to develop and evaluate explanations, formulation explanations from that evidence, and proving and sharing their explanations with others. Technology provides students with the opportunity to successfully find adequate research and to communicate their results.
Secondly, research has proven that students understand the concepts better when they create models dealing with real-world situations. Technology is an integral part in creating these models, as well as researching for the real-life situations.
According to the book, there are three levels of learning. There's "knowing," when the student has memorized the important information. "Knowing how to" is what a student will know how to do after they learn something. Finally, there's "understanding that," which requires students to combine what they know with what they can do. Technology can not only help the students achieve these levels, but can help the teacher assess the student's performance.
Technology can help teachers find innovative ways to cope with every student's needs. If there is a child with disabilities in the class, for example a student who has trouble seeing, the teacher can use a projection screen. If someone can't understand a concept, chances are there's an Internet website that not only explains it differently, but provides the opportunity for more practice.
To sum it all up, technology can help students meet standards, and achieve performance standards, content, and process. Technology helps students gain knowledge.