Technologies+Reflection

=NEATO Lab=

I thought this activity lab was very beneficial. It was a great way to really familiarize me with the new technologies out there that could be used for an educational purpose and get to know some of my classmates while working in small groups. It was particularly fun playing with the smart pen. That is a technology I would encourage my students to purchase for themselves if they had a learning disability or wanted some extra help in a subject. I do not believe it is imperative to have a class set of them though and would not push to get them. Having an emphasis in reading with my elementary education degree, I loved the leap frog reading tools and games. Reading tools and games like that can really get students interested into reading because it makes it fun. It's also very interactive which would keep children's attention. This is something that would be great to have in a classroom. It is a tool that students could play with on their free time. iPads are great for the classroom. I believe they are the future in technology and I would love to incorporate them in my classroom with the proper funding. iPads open up so many windows and tools that students can use for every subject. Below you will see an image of the smart pen we used.

=Podcasting=

I was fascinated to see how easy podcasting is. It could be used to make lessons for your students to watch prior to coming to class or for extra practice. That would benefit students who are struggling to grasp the material or need to have lessons taught to them multiple times before fully grasping the concept. This could also be used to help other teachers in their educational careers. We were able to review many teacher made podcasts and I love the idea of teachers helping out teachers. We need to be learning and growing just as much as our students and this is a great tool for fellow teachers to do so. I believe I would be interested in using this tool if my students needs the extra help and if I had enough time to make a really nice, well thought out podcast. I am still not fully comfortable with podcasting, but the more I work with it the more I feel my comfort level will grow. I am unsure if this is something I will want to pursue learning more about.

=SMART notebook/board=

I have been exposed to smart notebooks and boards since high school, but this is my first experience to really get to work with them and how they work. The program is so impressive with all the tools it offers. This technology is something I would for sure want to be able to incorporate in my classroom. It can help students in so many ways. It can make the lectures more interactive and more like discussions that really involve the students. It's also great to play educational games that involve the entire class. This makes learning fun for the students and can get them moving. I'm been in many classrooms that use the smart board and students love to learn and interact with it. Smart boards and notebooks should be incorporated in every classroom. At this point I still feel like there is so much I can learn about smart notebooks and boards and how to really maximize the use of them in the classroom. I will for sure strive to learn more about this since I really do believe it will soon be in many classrooms. Below is a PDF file to my smart notebook project with my partner.

=iMovie=

iMovie also took me by surprise. I never knew editing and making a movie could be so easy. It is very time consuming, but it is so much fun and could really be incorporated into the classroom well. Movies interest everybody, especially children, so I would definitely like to use this in my classroom somehow. We were able to watch many student made videos which is a great way for students to show the knowledge they have learned or after a lesson on story writing or the writing process to really make their stories and writing come to life. A teacher could also film her and her class as she is teaching a lesson and later upload it onto her website so her students can go back and rewatch it if they need extra help. After working with iMovie I feel like there are definitely more tricks and tips I could learn, but am fairly comfortable with using it. This is something I would like to learn more about. Below you will see a short film that a few of my classmates and I created using iMovie. media type="youtube" key="_yY_2qLBR48" height="315" width="560"

=Inspiration/Kidspiration=

I enjoyed working with Inspiration and Kidspiration a lot more than I previously anticipated. I can definitely see it being used in class to help with concept mapping and many other subjects. There are so many great templates that can be used for a variety of subjects. I think it is something I would like to use with my elementary students if I could learn more about how other teachers use it and the benefits. These programs are something I would be interested in learning a lot more about because I feel like we only skimmed the surface of what it all can do and be used for. Even after completing the project I still do not feel that I know a lot about these programs and need to continue to learn about them and how they work.

=Wikispaces=

I have always struggled with how to make my own webpage and wikispaces has really showed me how easy it is. This is for sure something I will use in my classroom. It is a great way to communicate with parents and students. Teachers can use this to have a calendar of the year so students and parents can see what upcoming events are coming up. This is also a great place where teachers can post things like their podcasts, movies, and other educational tools like youtube videos, links to other websites, and examples to homework. This can help students and parents stay up to date on whats going on and good resources that they can use and learn from. I am pretty comfortable with using wikispaces and all the tools it has to offer. I will want to stay up to date on this so I can incorporate it in my classroom.