Also review and reflect upon the views on classroom technology use blog post that you wrote at the beginning of the course.

This course has been quite a whirlwind of all things technology.   This is not a subject I have much experience in to begin with.  I have learned a lot of new things, many of which I hope will help me in the future.  I really had no idea what to expect coming into this class.  From the beginning, I was excited we were going to learn how to use a real official blog.  I had never used one and would like to possibly keep one in the future.  I think blogging would be a lot of fun for students, as well.  It would be a much more interactive way for students to keep journals, instead of in a notebook.  It’s so much easier to type, anyway.  By having students keep blogs, they could all interact with each other about their thoughts of what’s going on in class. 

I think the most challenging activity was the Digital Story.  I don’t know if I would be able to use that in the classroom for teaching purposes.  I could definitely make digital stories to help students understand things more efficiently, like the one I did about parallel structure.  But, I think the digital story activity itself is a too challenging to use in an English classroom.  But, if I had students who were that advanced with technology, I would be really excited to let them go ahead and let them use MovieMaker for a project or presentation. 

I think the best thing I am taking away from the course is that learning and teaching can be so interactive.  After we started making the website, I realized just how much work we’ve done and how much it all links up.  I really like the idea of making a website.  I’m not sure if students would be able to use SharePoint because it seems a little tedious, but there are other website tools out there to use.  Making the web portfolio really displays all the hard work students have put into their unit or course.  I think displaying that all in one place can help the students be really proud of all their hard work and allow them to share it with their friends and family.  It can also help them learn how to navigate the Internet.  Making the website really helped me learn how to put different kinds of information, such as documents, videos, pictures, Power Points, etc, all in one place. 

Another important idea I will take away from this course that I will be sure to share with students in the future is the Fair Use guidelines.  We are all so familiar with plagarism and documentation in the traditional sense, but sometimes we think that if something is on the internet, we can simply put it wherever we want.  Learning the Fair Use guidelines and the other ethical issues of interet use helped me to understand how to avoid copyright infringement and plagarism on the internet.  Also, since students are getting more and more sources from the internet, it will be very important to teach them the Fair Use guidelines.

I think my views of technology in the classroom have changed because I have learned that there is so much more technology available to use.  I am looking forward to using the software tools we researched, as well the Web 2.0 tools we all discovered.  By learning all these new uses of integrating technology into the classroom, as well as the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards, I feel I will be very prepared to use appropriate technology tools in my own classroom.  I also look forward to learning more about the different types of resources are available for me to use in my lesson plans.

I am addicted to surfing the internet.  I don’t belong any social networks other than Facebook or do any other blogging, but I find the amount of free information available to be amazing.  So, I’m sure I use many Web 2.0 tools all the time.  I use all the usual ones, like Facebook, Google Docs, and I’ve used the Towson BlackBoard account.  Another thing I like to do is read articles and blog post on websites along with the comments other people might write about those posts.  Sometimes they might be really ridiculous, like the stupid comments people leave about YouTube videos.  But other times, they might be really informational, like medical forums where people can share their questions and experiences.  I just really enjoy the interactive, and mostly anonymous, nature of the web.  These tools have helped make my life more efficient because they have made people and information easier to access.  I have been able to interact with people all over the country, and maybe the world, when doing research, which has helped me locate texts and articles that I would not have been able to find on my own.  I think social networking is an excellent tool that helps me stay in touch with people that I might not otherwise contact.  I know there is the controversy that the Web is destroying our social skills.  I think a very good arguement can be make that social networking sites can help people improve their social skills beyond the internet.

As I have explained, I did not have a very extensive relationship with technology during my K-12 years.  I think that made me a little hesitant to become more familiar with computers and technology as I have gotten older and more involved with my education.  As an English major, the most I was really ever required to do on computers was research and write papers.  I don’t think I even had to make a Power Point the entire time wasI  been at Towson until last year when I was fulfilling my prerequisites for  this program.  And even then, the PP I did make was for an education class.  The use of BlackBoard at Towson is somewhat of a joke.  In my experience, teachers don’t take advantage of the online program nearly as much as they could.  Last year, I took a Semiotics class that was half online and half in the classroom.  The class was very enjoyable because the teacher took advantage of the fact that we were all very familiar with the internet and would have us search YouTube and internet advertisements to use for class discussions online.

I don’t know how high schools are now, but when I took my computer class in high school, we learned how to type.  It was completely rediculous.  Most students probably know how to type by the 6th grade now.  I think it is extremely important to integrate technology education into the schools and classrooms, especially now.  Most every job uses some type of technology and as we’ve already discussed, almost every house / individual in America owns a computer.  If we all own computers, we should have access to the education of how to use them properly and to their full potential.  After getting past the initial frustration of what exactly I should be doing for this Digital Storytelling project, I have discovered what useful tool it is and am very excited to be learning how to use it.  I am sad and frustrated that I am only now learning how to do these types of things at age 25.  This technology has been available to me for so many years, and I should have been able to use it before.  It would be a very fun way for students to learn the process of writing a research paper.  The writing application is there, along with a presentation.  How much fun is that?!

On the other hand, I definitely see the potential for inappropriate uses of technology in the classroom.  Computer programs, software, websites, etc… all need to be used for the right purpose.  Without a purpose, something can’t be educational.  For example, without guidance and previous learning, a student won’t know why they are sitting in front of a computer and playing a game about algebra problems if they don’t know how to mulitply.  I think what I am trying to say is that computers should not be used as babysitters and disciplinarians to get the misbehaving kids out of the class for a while.  I feel that computers and other technological supplements should always be used in a positive light with purpose and guidance.

My classroom technology post correlates with my technobiography.  All the technology I have learned over time led up to the way I feel about technology in the classroom.  I have always been very positive about learning new things, even though I have been a little frightened of using technology.  I think that is because I am always afraid I am going to break something.  I think my parents were afraid of computers themselves, which is why we didn’t have a lot of technology, but at least we did have a computer early on.  They were pretty big on no videogames, though, because they were convinced they would rot my brain.  But, anyway…I think there are both appropriate and inappropriate times to use technology in the classroom, just as there are with any other type of supplemental material.  Conversely, as our world becomes more integrated with technology, students need to become more fluent in using that technology, as well as the internet and its infinite resources.

So, that’s my example of using technology in the classroom!

I have never felt negatively towards the technology being used within my classes.  Even when they brought the first computer labs into our schools and my class was the first class to get to use them, I was more excited than anything else!  We didn’t really do anything more constructive than simply learn how to use computers, but anytime students are learning how to do something new and innovative, I feel that is productive.  I guess technology was being integrated into my classes more than I realize since so much of it was being invented and changed during my life.  I remember the laser discs we watched in elementary and middle school.  Those always seemed to cause more trouble than anything else.  So, in that regard, I guess technology can sometimes be troubling.  Other than the few minor glitches, though, I’ve always seen the integration of these technologies as an exciting sign of advancement in my backwards community.

I do not have any real personal teaching experience, but I have observed a few classes.  I really wish I knew more about all the emerging technology, such as whiteboards and smartboards.  I really have no idea what they are other than videos I have watched.  I think for the most part, technology is still not being implemented as much as it could be because schools don’t have enough money to do so.  This is probably a really obvoious point.  I would really like to integrate the use of technology into my own classroom (when I get one) in a lot of ways.  I want students to feel comfortable in every facet of technology because they need to be able to change with the world in which they live.  If they don’t learn how to adapt as quickly as technology, they will not be valuable in society.  I feel that is why I am always needing to learn more and more.   I hope to be able to learn from them as well in this respect.  I know that my parents learned a lot from me about computers. 

And that pretty much sums up my views on classroom technology.

The main factor of using instructional technology is to aid in human performance.  According to Morrison, Ross, and Kemp, “ The Instructional design approach considers instruction from the perspective of the learner rather than from the perspective of the content, the traditional education and training approach.”

Instead, I filled this time with my Walkman and my Gameboy.  These were probably the most advanced pieces of technology I owned until late middle school.  Of course, my parents had the proverbial VHS player along with other household items.  I could work my way around a microwave.  In retrospect, my experience was delayed compared to that of my classmates here at TU since I grew up in rural WV.  My schools didn’t even get internet access until I was in high school.  But even by then, I had my own AOL account and knew how to Instant Message.  But of course, as a teenager, those were the most beneficial uses I could find for the internet.  I was still rocking the microfiche and card catalog method of research for high school papers.  Finally, my 11^th grade English teacher taught us some ways to use the internet for research.  This changed my life a lot.

Since I have been in college, the technology that we use has made enormous progress.  It is pretty overwhelming, and even though I am immersed in this technology, I am constantly learning new things.  I recently got my first Blackberry, which is basically a tiny computer that happens to make phone calls.  It’s amazing to think that the first computer I actually got was probably bigger than half of my computer desk at home.  Instead of lugging around a 100-disc DVD case, I can just keep all my music on a tiny mp3 player. 

Personally, I find this a very exciting time to be going into the teaching field because of the advancements in technology.  I realize that my students will have already been living with all the technologies that I had to become accust0med to as an adult.  I see small children running around my neighborhood while carrying cell phones.  These kids don’t know what life is like to not have portable communication at their fingertips. ( And that’s ok—I have never known what it is like not to have a car in my life.)  Therefore, my students will naturally be more accustomed to using these technologies in daily life.  I am also excited to show them how they can use it all in new ways, such as for researching. 

Hopefully, my technobiography continues to advance as modern technology advances!