X's and O's to Engage Students

  In my short journey through my Tech for Teachers class I have learned so much. I have discovered many new ways to engage my future students. In this day and age there should be no reason that teachers are not incorporating some type of technology every day into their lesson planning. Some types of strategies that I am planning on engaging my students in are interactive white board lessons, creating digital stories, using Google Earth to make lessons come alive,  and creating presentations using Prezi and Powerpoint. These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. I want to keep my students excited to learn.
  This class has prepared me to engage 21st century learners by making me a 21st century learner. It has given me a taste of all the opportunities out in the digital world and made me want to learn more. This class has taken away a lot of the anxiety I had in regards to technology. I learned that I can do a lot more that I thought I could. It makes me even more excited to teach in a classroom in the future.
  I learned so much in this class that I am so grateful for. I learned about many new tools that I never knew existed. I learned that as a digital immigrant there will be plenty that my students, as digital natives, will be able to teach me. And I learned that it is o.k. that I may not always have the answer. The information I learned that will impact me most is the information on interactive white boards. I think that IWB's are and will be the most technologically impactful tool that the classroom has seen in a very long time. I am so impacted by this class that I will use every tool I learned about when developing lesson plans, as well as make me want to find out about more interactive tools I can use in the classroom.

Incorporating Interactive White Boards

  Interactive white boards are a relatively new addition to any classroom here in the U.S. The use of these boards are supposed to get the students engaged in learning. These interactive white boards are supposed to spark a desire and excitement to learn. Used correctly and efficiently that is exactly what they do. Generally speaking, the use of an interactive white board in the classroom is associated with a 16 percentile point gain in student achievement. Throw in some of the other interactive features of a IWB and that gain rises significantly.  But, if used improperly and inefficiently the students achievement actually drops. Why is this? In the cases where the device is used incorrectly the teacher is not clearly laying out the objectives of the lesson. The teacher is using the IWB just for the sake of using it. The teacher may be racing through the information and there may be too much information and too many visuals.  The teacher may not be taking the time to discuss and reflect on the information being revealed by using the IWB.  In order to get the most of the IWB there are some specific strategies to creating effective lessons. First, the teacher needs to take time to organize the information and create small meaningful segments of information. Second, the teacher must make sure that the visuals focus on the important information being presented. Then, during the lesson take time to discuss and review with the students about what is being presented.  Let the students be engaged.  Finally, when using reinforcing features, such as applause, make sure the students focus on why the answer is correct or incorrect.
  The use of an IWB in the classroom should be a welcome addition to engage 21st century learners. Let us take the initiative as future teachers to be educated so we can pass that excitement of learning to our future students.

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant

Students today were born into the digital age. Elementary school students today are born into homes using iPods, iPads, laptops, and cellphones in their day to day life. Children today are teaching their parents how to use the technology in their homes. Why should the use of technology stop once they walk through the doors of their school? These kids are fearless when it comes to technology. The world is at their fingertips. Educators today need to grab onto to these tools and incorporate them into the classroom if students are to excel to excellence in the future. All of the students today in k-12 are digital natives. They were born speaking the language of technology. We, the educators, are for the most part digital immigrants. We are learning as we go. We were not born into the digital world in which we live now. We are trying to adapt as best we can. The role of the teacher, as a digital immigrant, is to educate our students and point them in the right direction and watch them fly. We may not be as technologically savvy but we can push them in the right direction. And you know what, it is o.k. if our students know more than we do in technology. Just watch them excel and be proud. When I was in school my first taste of technology was in high school. My Intro to Computers class, including my floppy disc. How can I compete with these kids that are digital natives? What I can do is keep them interested. Use technology in my daily lessons. Incorporate the smartboards, iPads, iPods into my daily lessons. Let them engage with the technology. Let them teach me some things and have fun!

My First Time Blogging!

My first assignment is about 21st Century Skills in the classroom. I believe teaching our students 21st century skills is essential to promote efficiency in problem solving, higher level thinking skills, creativity, engagement and empowerment. 21st century skills is essentially teaching our students to adapt to the changing world around us. It is important to teach these skills to our students because our students will be expected to obtain jobs that do not even exist today. The educators of today will need to prepare them technologically for what the future holds. We are teaching the digital generation. The role of technology is entwined with every other skill our students will be expected to learn. I would like to know if there is such a thing as too much technology in the classroom? What is appropriate for elementary school students? And how do we balance technology with face to face interaction?