Intro to Educational Technology Fall 2013

This is my addition to my blog for my Introduction to Educational Technology. Although I feel I am fairly confident in my personal and professional use of technology in and out of the classroom I feel there is always room for new learning and growth. I currently teach 5th and 6th grade science and use some technologies daily in my classes. Our school district purchased classroom sets of Galaxy Tablets last year and added a pilot program for the 8th graders this year. Our students are able to take these tablets home for assignments when the teachers allow with parents permission. They are also using them regularly in the classroom for assignments and using apps along with the teachers.

As I begin to explore blogs for use in the classroom, I begin to see a huge opening for many opportunities for practical uses. I begin playing around with the use of them in a previous unit for another class and can see how useful they can become when trying to reach all ability levels and learning styles. At our district we are testing the idea of flipping classrooms this year and this is a great way to use a blog. Teachers can post videos for the students to watch at home or on their own time and be prepared for learning or expanding knowledge when they return the next day. We are using flipped classrooms in effort to gain valuable time needed in class that is normally wasted on taking notes and working on vocabulary for the learning units. The students are able to watch either lectures or videos on topics and take notes as they watch. By allowing the students to control how and what they feel they need to write down to remember instead of spending several class periods taking notes as a class, teachers are able to spend class time working on labs, checking for understanding, or practicing using and applying concepts. Students are also able to rewind and replay portions of the videos as necessary. By adding blogs to the requirements for completing assignments, students are also able to ask either their peers or teachers questions they have about the lessons.

Since students are already trying to find ways to spend more time on the computer, this allows them to use technology constructively. Majority of them already know how to post comments, pictures, and videos to others therefore using blogs is fairly comfortable to them. I can even see where blogs will allow students that would not normally openly participate in discussions to feel comfortable communicating their thoughts and ideas in this format. This is also a great way to allow students to collaborate with their peers over topics and subjects in class. Students are able to construct their own thinking and learning by exploring additions to blog posts by others including the teacher. I can also see how this would be an excellent way for parents to see what their child is currently studying in their classes.