Reflection # 9

As I am babysitting, I am noticing how the 5 yer old I watch never wants to do anything but watch t.v.  I tell him it is time to go play outside, listen to music, read, play toys, etc it doesn't matter- he only likes to watch cartoons on t.v. If I turn off the t.v he get very made and throws a fit.  Kids spend way too much time watching t.v or on other forms of electronics.  Some people think this is good, but I think we are turning our children into zombies.

Reflection # 8

Yesterday in my Instructional Design class, one of my classmates was giving a presentation and somehow the power point was not displaying her slides.  People rely on technology for everything and when it does not work correctly, it is easy to freak out because it is all we know now days.  Luckily, my classmate had aback up plan and used her laptop to teach the lesson.  Otherwise, I do not know what she would have done since her lesson was so greatly based on the information from the power point slides.

Reflection # 7

My son who is 2.5 just recently started taking an interest to t.v.(even though I am not a fan of him watching tv)  He never really liked t.v much before until my parents started letting him watch it while I am at school.  He has only watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse two times now but already he knows most of the intro song when it is first coming on. When we drive in the car together he has been singing the song.  This shows me how fast little kids learn and how attracted kids are to technology.  When I was my son's age I never watched t.v, so I am curious to see how technology will play into his life as he gets older.  

Week # 14

http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction

I found an article called "Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many." This article explained that overall education is valuable in the classroom.  It helps students learn better and it gives teacher unlimited options to teach. "Properly used, technology will help students acquire the skills they need to survive in a complex, highly technological knowledge-based economy."  Technology is an essential skill for all students to learn in order to be successful in this world.

Week # 13

Word- typing, spell check, tables and charts, bullets and numbered lists

Excel-Charts and rubrics

Power point-slideshow, pictures, different layouts with several types of backgrounds, uploading videos/pictures for slideshows

Three projects I could have my students do using Power Point, Excel and Word would be:

1. Make a power point about the life cycle of a animal, or plant using pictures and descriptions to teach classmates about the topic.

2. Have my students use excel to make a schedule of the books they have read over the month.

3. Type a two paragraph paper about why Microsoft Word is useful in learning.  

Week # 12

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov09/vol67/num03/Teaching-with-Interactive-Whiteboards.aspx

This article by Dr. Robert Marzano discussed issues related to technology and the Whiteboard. I found this article interesting because Dr. Marzano talks about how the reinforcement some teachers use when showing the correct answer such as clapping sounds, are actually more of a distraction than they are helpful.  Dr. Marzano said teachers need to explain to the students why the answer is correct, not just that the answer is right.

Week #11 Education Blog

http://danesedblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/lessons-in-diversity.html

This blog is very educational because Dane has many different topics on his blog including diversity, morality, class biases, feeling sorry for one's self.  His blog is very insightful to teachers since he does cover many different issues.  My comment contributed to community of learners because so many people forget that diversity is all around us and it is not an issue that we just accept.  It is a learned behavior that one must be taught. It is a very sensitive issue to some and we must never forget that we all different.  No two people are the same.