EDT548 Class 13

I read this week's article titled:

Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom

This article was also very long, but it was interesting as well. It starts out by saying that educational technology has infiltrated many areas of our lives, and it is hard to imagine that anyone would suggest that any current industry should be required to use less technology. Being digitally connected is becoming more vital and now that people use the internet regularly, those who don't have access to the internet are being left behind.

"successful improvement of technology, science, and mathematics education is of high importance to our future." President Bush met with 100 high-tech executives to discuss our technological future. They pointed out that improving our science and mathematics education should be positioned next to national security. Wow! that's incredible. I can also tell you that as a seventh grade math teacher I am scared for our future because there are so many students who are just so far behind that they haven't even mastered the basic concepts. (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)

The article said that teaching is beoming more difficult, and always changing to include increasing and sometimes contradictory expectations. As a first year teacher, my job is much harder than I thought it would be. I am debating if I will be teaching next year, or not. The article also included some excellent resources for using technology to support teaching math and science, I will keep it as a resource for future use.

EDT548 class 11

I read the article titled:

Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement

This article was very long, and contained a lot of information. It was broken down into many different sections with bold subtitles. It stated that schools have invested 66 billion dollars on technology during the last decade. As a result the majority of schools have internet access today. Due to NCLB, we must now prove that integrating technology will aid us in reaching accountability demands.

After reviewing over three hundred research studies determining the effect of technology on student achievement in math and reading, Sivin-Kachala and Bialo(2000) found that technology rich environments not only increased achievement in all subject areas, but it also increased students' self esteem and improved their attitude toward learning. There were many other research studies listed in the article that had similar findings.

Using technology is now available to help special needs students, students with disabilities and English language learners, these students also enjoy using technology. The article suggested that students may benefit from making structural changes in the school day because short periods are not condusive to exploring and synthesizing information when doing research and long-term projects. Also, as teachers we should identify the purpose of using technology to enhance our educational goals.

EDT 548 class 9

I read the article titled:

Does it Compute? The Relationship Between Educational Technology and Student Achievement in Mathematics

This article suggests that students' math achievement is increased by having teachers trained in technology who provide them with access to the latest computer technology. This is an advantage that may help them utilize higher order thinking to learn advanced concepts.

It also explains that students become prepared to enter the workforce after learning to use certain software applications, especially spreadsheets, word processing, and computer aided drawing. I agree these students would have a big advantage over non-computer savy applicants.

Technology can be a powerful tool of engagement. In my experience, kinisthetic learners who can get easily bored, find technology fascinating and tend to stay on task longer. The article also explains that the internet can be a valuable tool for locating resources to help integrate technology into mathematics lessons. I agree!

EDT 548 class 7 readings

Sarah's reading response blog for EDT548:

I read the two articles:Mapping a Path for the 3D Web and Lead, Don't Lecture, and at first I was confused about what they meant by 3D Web environments. I think they were talking about things like the site we went to for geocaching to see the maps, and online gaming. My son is always playing runescape and he said I should get another computer so we could play games at the same time. It is hard to imagine how technology will be different in the next ten years. In the article they were trying to predict what the 3D Web would look like in 2016. My grandmother wrote a book called "From Mules to Microwaves and More" about the technological advances she had seen in her lifetime. It is hard to imagine what kind of inventions will be created in the future. The second article I read was called "Lead, Don't Lecture" and provided several examples of how to be a 'coach', guiding instruction instead of lecturing. The article suggested using hands on experiments to help students remember concepts, and not to rely to heavily on strictly reading through the assigned chapter(s). Also, don't be negative with your students, help them correct their mistakes, encourage them, and give one-on-one instruction whenever possible.

EDT 548 Class 5 readings

I just spent an hour typing my response and when I hit publish post and went to view it , it wasn't there. From now on I will make a copy before I publish so I wont have that problem again! I read the articles for week five: Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education and
Helping Your Child Reach Mathematics, Science and Technology Standards. These articles were interesting to me because I am currently teaching technology and math in seventh grade. The first article was from New Jersey and suggested ways for parents to encourage their childrens interests in science, math and technology. Some suggestions were to point out the ways science, math and technology can be used everyday, solve math problems together out loud so your child can hear your reasoning, and support your child's interest in collecting natural objects such as rocks, leaves and shells. There was a really cool experiment using hot and cold water and food coloring to recreate the ocean's current. I found myself very curious about what would happen, and I think seventh grade students would enjoy that experiment. I was also happy to see they listed the ten strands of math and examples of each. One quote I found interesting was "Over 60% of all jobs will require skills in computer and network use; any child who does not learn the essential uses of computers...will find it harder to get a good job." The second article was all about standards. I am realizing that there are a lot of standards to teach in math. My district is moving to standards based report cards, I saw a sample and nearly half of the report card was math standards. There were more math sections than any other subject! I don't think I am ready for that yet. Another fact I found interesting was that almost 90% of teachers in the United States are white and many times their students populations are very diverse. I am in that situation myself.

Sarah's reading response blog for EDT548 Class 3

Sarah's reading response blog for EDT548

1. Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning
Constructivism states that people build their own knowledge through experience. The teacher is a facilitator and will encourage students to reflect on their experiences in order to gain understanding.Constructivism is focused on students rather than the teacher. Constructivism is "whole to part" in contrast to traditional teaching which is "part to whole". Students are not empty, they have prior knowledge for you to build upon. Collaboration is an important part of a constructivist classroom. I liked the quote "As long as there were people asking each other questions, we have had constructivist classrooms. Constructivism, the study of learning, is about how we all make sense of our world, and that really hasn't changed." -Jacqueline Grennan Brooks
I also enjoyed the notion that constructivism's concept has roots reaching back to Socrates (his questioning helped his followers to identify flaws in their thinking) There are many critics who don't agree with the constructivism theory, they say that there is not enough evidence that it works and that teachers are not held accountable for student learning. Some of the benefits of constructivism learning are: Students are involved, and actually enjoy learning, it focuses on understanding instead of memorization, provides students with ownership, promotes social skills and provides an opportunity to explore their curiosity.

2. What is a WebQuest?
I really appreciated reading this article because I will be creating my own WebQuest and I learned some interesting facts. A WebQuest is similar to other lessons, but includes technology. There are long term (1-4 weeks) and short term (1-3 days) WebQuests. In addition, WebQuests promote cooperation, critical thinking and builds social skills. Students must use alternative thinking to analyze information, which could promote open-minded thought. This is a great concept for my seventh graders, because it could teach them to be more accepting of people from other cultures. Students reflect on their answers to help them build knowledge. I was glad that the parts of the WebQuest were listed:Introduction, The Task, The Process, Resources, Evaluation, Conclusion, Reflection, Extension and Notes to the Teacher. This article will be very helpful when I begin my WebQuest.

Sarah's reading response blog for EDT548

Sarah's reading response blog for EDT548

Wow! I'm not at all sure if this is where I'm supposed to be writing my response. I am hoping that it is, and Dr. Christie will be able to access it. I saw my test blog I created in class, but didn't know how to make the next blog. Anyway, I read the "Daily Math Puzzle" entry from our weekly readings. It was very cool, and had different puzzles I could use with my class. Somehow though, I clicked on something and found myself at abcteach.com and that was the coolest site! There was a middle school/Jr. high section with so many great ideas! I am in technopolis, and I must have printed at least twenty pages that I will be able to use in my class! One thing I found was a poetry study on "The Cremation of Sam McGee" (which is my dad's favorite poem), another thing was making predictions about a book from the first line. One line was "It's a pleasure to burn." (Fahrenheit 451) How cool! There were also graphic organizers, and much more. I am so glad I found this website because I found a lot of resources to help me teach Language Arts. I am a math teacher, and LA is difficult for me. I went to the teacher store earlier today and spent over $100 buying books to help me, but there are also cool things out there online and they are free! I think every teacher should check out abcteach.com!

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