Teaching+With+Technology


 * Week 1**

The readings for Week 1 weren't always the easiest to understand, but they were fairly interesting. I was reminded by the readings of a lot of the material I was exposed to while I was in the education program at the University of Iowa. One of the first things that came to mind as I was thinking back on what I learned back in school is the difference in philosophies between here and back home. I think the main reason behind the philosophical differences is the TAKS test and how it shapes what we do in the classroom here in Texas. I don't mean to sound as though I am saying too many negative things about the state of Texas, but I do feel that the presence of the TAKS test and what it takes to prepare for it makes it very to incorporate a lot of learner centered free flowing classroom practices.

I have to admit I really got nothing out of the videos about implanting chips in people, the whole idea about humans splitting into two different species was laughable and a little bit offensive. I will admit that I like the thought of incorporating technology and humanity for aiding in medicine and recovery from injury (not in the video, just my thoughts).

I did enjoy the other videos, the videos along with the readings did give me the chance to reflect on how I teach. There are some small things that I have been thinking about changing in my room to get back to a more student centered classroom, I implemented one of these small activities today.

The readings and videos for Week 2 gave me a lot to think about, much like last weeks. I found that while doing my discussion postings, the thoughts kind of crystalized more in my head to where I knew exactly what I wanted to say. The focus of this week's readings (to me) was not about the positives of technology, about how to sell it's use to others.
 * Week 2**

I'm not sure if it's coincidence or not, but a lot of what I've been doing at school lately (committee work, etc.) has been selling other teachers on buying into making changes at our school to improve behavior. What the readings this week combined with some of the discussion postings I've read have told me is that we have to sell teachers on using technology. This strikes a chord with me as I think about the different positions that I will be pursuing for next year, either administrative or as a presenter at workshops.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the addage about peeling back the layers of an onion, that's kind of what this week has been like for me. As I watched the videos and did the readings, I continued to gain an idea of what the group project should look like, the types of activities came into focus and I had a much better idea of what we were supposed to do.
 * Week 3**

As I have mentioned in past weeks, my thought process has also turned to future jobs, and what I can do with my degree when I am finished. As I was going through the weeks readings and videos, I tried to imagine myself presenting this information to a group of teachers. What really donned on me, was how much more I would have to know about everything, I would really have to become an expert in this or any other subject area before I could start training others how to do it.

I want to mention what I talked about in my discussion posting, although I will try to stay more on the positive/constructive side of things. As I said earlier, I was envious of many of the things I saw in the videos, not because I didn't think my students could do those things, but because I don't think that my district will ever provide those options. Now to be fair it must be stated that a large part of the reason behind this is funding and the importance placed on the TAKS test.
 * Week 4**

What I've been thinking about, is how do I (or anyone for that matter) affect things. One thing that I have to consider is that my teaching career is (hopefully) coming to an end as I will be looking to move up in the world come next year. How can I as say a professional development presenter do more than present this information to a bunch of disinterested teachers who may just be needing workshop hours? This question is why I focused on what kind of staff development do staff members need to be successful, I came to a one word answer: encouragement.

I feel that I should start this posting by giving a lot of credit to my group for being amazing, throughout the entire process, there has never been a hint of discord, laziness, or dissatisfaction. Everyone has been amazingly supportive and enthusiastic.
 * Week 5**

I really liked the video this week about computer games and teaching, a lot of what it said really rang true, especially the part about not spending so much time trying to read the instructions, but diving in and figuring the game out. The other part that I really like is that it talked about how the kids fail and still try again, you don't always see that in a 'normal' educational activity.

While the readings were good, nothing really knocked my socks off, one thing I didn't like about the Pitler book is that it focuses a lot more on 'old school' technology activities in this chapter and not Web 2.0 activites.