Designing lessons and developing curriculum with technology, CH4

Technology can be considered a great tool when it comes to the world of teaching. It can help you find an answer to a question in an instant, and it can help a student become engaged in learning. Technology can help a teacher who is struggling to come up with a lesson plan for a certain subject. There are many websites with templates for already made lesson plans. Technology can also enhance an educator's lesson plan by maybe adding a video clip pertaining to what is going on in class that day. Technology can also assist teacher in better assessing students by having students prepare papers or presentation with the computer applications that are available out there like Word, Google Docs, and PowerPoint. Assessing students isn't just limited to tests and quizzes anymore, technology has broaden that scope.

At first I couldn't get into this chapter, but once I started reading about Educational standards and standardize testing I found it pretty interesting. I think that as students in Florida we can all relate to how sometimes learning isn't fun anymore. All we here all day is "you need to know this for FCAT" or "this is going to be on the "FCAT". I completely agree that it should be the teachers driving the curriculum not the standardize test. I believe there is a whole week or two in March devoted to testing. Students take their FCAT (Math, English, Writing, and Science) and then if I am not mistaken they take the NRT's. How can you really assess a students just based off one form? Some students just don't take tests well. I am one of those. My hands start shaking whenever it comes to test time and I get jittery. I believe that student assessments should be comprised of a combination of both tests and performance. Just because a child doesn't do well on a test doesn't mean that he/she doesn't comprehend the curriculum;why not have them come up with a presentation to summarize what they have learned.

I also found surprising that there were websites with already made lesson plans for teachers to utilize. I'm not sure why since you can just about find anything on the internet, but  I just thought that you had to come up with your own. It's really helpful to have such tools available especially if you are a new teacher. 

K-12 Technology: Benefits and Drawbacks

"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle."- Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

I believe that the writer of the is article brought up some very good points when it comes to our technology driven society. Many young children today have some type of "computer" like device within their reach, whether it be an actual computer, tablet, or smartphone, that they can access at any given moment. How many times have you seen a child of two or younger in a stroller with mom's phone or tablet just staring at a screen? In my line of work as an assistant manager in a children's clothing store, I see it all the time. It is a sad reality that having a screen in front of our faces is apart of the American way of living and growing up. What will happen when technology finally does "consume" us (for lack of a better word), and children entering Kindergarten, who let's say are learning their numbers, instead of actually trying to "learn" say "well why do I have to do it this way when the computer can just show me my numbers instead of trying to memorize them"? Trust me I am not one to say that technology shouldn't be integrated in the classroom. Our society calls for it; if we didn't we would be living in times that once were and don't fit the ways that children are learning and developing. But at the same time, too much of one thing can also be harmful. As educators and even a parents or future parents, we have to learn to find balance between technology and the "old" effective methods of learning. A child will still need someone to go over and explain a certain problem or question that he or she may not understand; technological devices can only do so much. Everything in life is about balance, it's up to us to find it.

Link to article: K-12 Technology: Benefits and Disadvantages.

Schools that Practice Learning Literacy

After reading David Warlick's blog post, I must say that I couldn't agree more with his views. In today's world, where any piece of information that you may ever want is just a click of a mouse away, it is imperative that as future and current teachers we are able to adapt to the new learning styles around us and are able to use those styles to gain more knowledge about subjects we thought we already knew. New information about the world around us is constantly coming to the surface, whether it be some scholar in Russia who made a new discovery or just a plain Jane who has more to contribute to a topic that has been discussed already. As future educators and even as contributors to society, we cannot afford to take what has been previously deemed as truth and say that it is set in stone. On the contrary,question what you know, seek different perspectives, and come to your own conclusion; and by doing so become a master learner. I also believe that the best learning environments are the ones in which the teacher is constantly expanding their mind, then that way the teacher can pass on what they learned to their students, and their students can go out and do the same. I can really relate to the part where Warlick talks about his grandfather and father and what their definition of an atom was during their time. When I was younger, I was told that Pluto was a planet and that's the way it was up until I reached eighth grade, if I'm not mistaken, then low and behold we were now being told that Pluto was no longer considered a planet because it was too small. I also really enjoyed his saying at the end " Teachers model learning, students learn to teach themselves,schools educate the community", now if you think about it that's the way it should be. Information and technology is ever changing and we should always be changing with it.

Sample Post

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, this is my first post :)