Pre-Lecture Podcast for Feburary 23rd

Content Exploration

This was introducing the idea of how to use technology in content exploration. There are more complex and less complex content exploration tools. The first example they gave was about reference tools. They allow students to get information about a topic but it does not allow interaction. This is like a reference book or Wikipedia.
The next example is called Drill-and-Practice tools. These are used for practice on topics and feedback. Essentially this is a flash-card. The more Hi-tech games are found on the internet and involve quizzes that give the correct answers after the student answers. The allow for interaction but the students have no control over the path of learning.
The last one talked about in the pre-lecture podcast was a tutorial. It was said that a tutorial can include both reference tools and Drill-and-Practice tools but does not really allow for questions that are not in the area of concentration for the day.

Lecture for Feburary 16th

Teacher Professional Class

He started the lecture by giving an example of a typical work day for a middle school teacher. He was demonstrating that teachers do not have much time for the extra activities they have to do other then teaching students. The class gave their idea of the five most time consuming things they thought teachers had to do and planning was the one discussed first. He showed a website called Curriki which will help teachers plan lessons or even find a lesson plan on the internet. Technology can make the planning of a lesson a lot easier. The next topic was grading. Again he gave a website that is a technological tool that can be used to make rubrics. There are not many draw backs to this technology because it saves time and energy and it allows the teachers to edit the rubric to fit the assignment.

Pre-Lecture Podcast Feb. 9th

They posed the question during the podcast asking if we were convinced that technology is important in the classroom and I think it is very important to incorporate it into a classroom setting. It is needed to help students really learn and understand the material.

The schools that use technology would be very exciting to teach at and not at all scary. They help kids solve problems on their own and it gets them started with technology at an early age. This will allow them to learn more because it is what they are use to seeing. I like that the schools are allowing students to use the internet as an important resource because there are some very good factual information on the web. By making them look earlier, they will be able to pick out the good information from the bad easier. Making videos and power points so young will also help them understand technology and the changing way of the world more than just doing things with a pencil and paper.

During this pre-lecture podcast they showed different technologies that can be used by teachers. The easy test maker website will surely save a lot of time when making tests. The database website with the lesson plans and activities will ensure that the students will be interesting in the things that are planned because teachers can see how other classes responded to them.

Lecture Feb. 2

There was a segment of the lecture where the instructor asked everyone to take five minutes to respond to one of the statements from the video. The part that stuck out to me was when someone said students have a more stimulating environment outside of school then in the classroom. I completely agree with this. The way kids get their information is different then it use to be. They use email and texting an other technologies to learn. Most people go to the internet first to find information about a paper topic or project. It is not the same system and it should be updated to meet the needs of todays youth.
The other part of the lecture was on NETS- Teacher Standards. These will take a long time to achieve and should be kept track of. To help keep track we can use our E-Portfolio and write the standards, what it is, what the personal goal is, and how you can achieve it.