Module 4: Chapter 6 - Digital Technologies in the Classroom

      Digital technology has the ability to expand lesson plans and the sources of information that your students have access to. Chapter six gave examples of many innovative technologies for the classroom use, such as electric graphic tables, pen input devices, etc. After reading the chapter, I was amazed by how much technology devices are made to be used in the classroom.
      When I was elementary school, I remember doing reading activities on the computer. We used headphones and speakers to follow along with the activities. Then, we used a mouse to move around the screen but now many schools have advanced to the touch screens. I think touch screens are a great device to have in the classroom, because it assists student with special needs as well as students who are pre-readers (such as Preschool and Kindergarten).  The most advanced piece of technology that I have witnessed in a classroom was a Smart Board in my AP U.S History class. It was similar to the description of a electronic whiteboard in the text, but instead of being displayed on white board, the Smart board displayed information like an overhead projector. I remember many teachers coming into the classroom and asking if they could use the Smart Board in their classroom, because my teacher was the only person in the school with one. The problem was that the device was expensive and the school could not supply many teachers with one for their classroom. That was two years ago, and I feel like sometime in the future, the schools will plan to buy more technology devices for their classrooms with school funding.
       This chapter was significant to us as future educators, because schools do plan to continue to use different and new forms of technology in the classroom. We must be aware of the different types of technology and how to work them, in order to make our classrooms a place of better learning.

Digital Technologies in the Classroom

Digital technology in the classroom has come a long way since I attended school. Today's children are exposed to so many different types of new technologies that can help enrich their learning. There once was a time, that when a classroom got a computer, it was a big deal. That is not so anymore. A computer is a standard piece of equipment for just about every classroom you enter. My four year old daughter's preschool even has a simple computer for them to work on! This chapter helped me to see that there are a wide variety of digital tools that can be used to enhance learning. I was amazed to read about the electronic white boards and graphic tablets that are available for classrooms. I didn't even know that these devices existed until I did the reading for this week.
My own personal use of digital tools has pretty limited. Aside from using the computer for various tasks, I really only have used a digital camera to take pictures of science experiments, which were then used as visual aids in a Powerpoint presentation. I felt that this provided a great way to present my work to other members of the class. Other than that, I have not really used any of the other tools that were listed in the chapter.

Digital Technologies chp 6

I knew there were many different digital tools to use in the classroom, but after reading chapter six I learned about new tools. I never thought about having students use graphic tablets or touch screens in class. These tools weren't available when I was in school so it is amazing to see how different things have changed in just a few years. I have experience with some digital tools but most of the time I was learning with them. I have use wireless internet, powerpoints, data projections, and digital cameras in the classroom. I have had many teachers use these tools to help get their point across to the students. These tools help with my learning because with technology I am interested in it and it helps me stay focused. I haven't really did much for teaching with any tools. I have used an overhead projector and powerpoint to do a few presentations. Besides that most of these tools will be new to me as a teacher. I am excited to get to figure out new ways to make my classroom interesting by using these tools.

Chapter six

Chapter six

In this chapter I learned that technology can be very helpful for our future students. I never really thought about technology until now. I have had many experiences with different types of technology. Learning with technology at my school wasn’t that popular at that time.

               The job I’m at now has been great for learning some of the different technology’s out there. I have worked with special needs kids for four years and they have used some of the technology talked about in this chapter. For instance, the graphic tablet was used in a computer class that my high school student took. She was able to write with this technology and be able to enjoy writing. Her writing skills were somewhat poor and it was a new way to help fix it.  The touch screen has been used in a junior high class for special needs child. She has used this for the ability to go anywhere by a touch of her figure on her own. She does not have the capability to use the mouse, so she uses the touch screen.

                              The only technology that used in school was the computer. The computer was the best way to do research for my classes. I didn’t have an i-pad, touch screen, and all the other new technology. To be honest what we have now for class rooms would have been so beneficial for me. I’m more of hands on learner; these types of technology would have been great for me in school.

               I have learned a lot about the different types of technologies. I hope to be able to use many of them in my future class room. Kids need these in the class room; it will help them learn in more fun environment. I’m glad to be taking this class to help me learn more about technology. For the longest time I thought I knew a lot about technology I’ve been mistaken by my belief.   

  

monica lewis

Chapter four: special needs and technology

I have worked with special needs kids for four years. This chapter was absolutely great learning experience for me. I have had some of the hands on with some of the technology for special needs kids. The technology that I read in this chapter will help me tremendously in my future class room.

My four years of experience with special needs is very frustrating at times and very rewarding. I have worked with autistic kids. Some that I have worked with fit right in don’t have a problem with the other kids. The one I work with this year has sever autism. His behavior contains screaming, not working by throwing his job work, and he will take off running out of the school. He keeps our job interesting. I have to say the little girl that I also work with in the elementary is a shaken baby syndrome. She is one of the lucky ones; her disabilities are her motor skills and a little slow on comprehending what’s going on in the class room. She has to wear braces on her legs to help her walk. I have one other student that I work with in the morning when I’m at the elementary. He is an outgoing living life like there’s no tomorrow. His disability is his legs don’t have enough muscles to keep him up on his own; he is in a standing wheel chair to help strengthen his legs. He also has a feeding tube. Let me tell you that does not stop him. He gets in and out of his wheel chair into a regular chair. He opens doors on his own and many participate in everyday things at school.   

One of the technologies that I read about I have worked with many times. The student cannot use the mouse like a regular person. So she uses her index figure to touch were she wants to go on the monitor. Another technology that I have used is called a “Go Talk”. This helps the student and the teacher to know what the student needs. There are about eighteen buttons with pictures that show them what they need then they push it. After they push it it’s a recording of the teachers voices letting us know if they need to use the bathroom or want something to drink etc. Trust me after reading this chapter I have learned about so many other technologies that are out there to help all kinds of students with different disability’s.    

                

Response to reading (monica Lewis)

Teaching can be a complicated thing to do. It’s hard to find the best ways to instruct all the student needs. By reading this chapter I found important ideas of teaching, things that were meaningful and ideas that I can apply to my future teaching career.


What I found important is teaching styles. After reading this part of the chapter it made more since of how some classes I enjoyed and how some I did not. You found yourself in classes that were way too unorganized; some that lectured way too much etc. When you looked around and found yourself struggling, it was because that’s not how we learn best. It’s so important for us future teachers to teach the way the student feels more comfortable and not how the teacher feels. Our goal in teaching is to learn how to reach each child individually. In our last chapter we learned about the law: No Child Left Behind.

I find learning styles meaningful in my option. It’s important for the teachers to find their students comfort zone. Some students are auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Auditory students learn best by listening, visual students learn best by seeing, and kinesthetic students learn best by hands on. It is very important for the future teachers to understand how there students learn best.

As a future teacher I have thought of ways of using this information into my future teaching. Technology can be used for students that are visual learners or even hands on. If they can see it and do it by using technology, it will make it more fun and easier for them to learn. In school I found in science and even math doing the work online was easier to learn and more fun. That’s why I find this chapter of technology can go a long way for the different learning styles of students.

Teaching can be complicated thing to do. There are things that can help it not be so complicated if we can learn how to reach every child. Helping students with different learning styles can be our first step as a teacher. Another way can be the way we teach our future class and how we can be better teachers in the future by bring technology into our class rooms.