Tecnology Reflection

Reflection:

1. It seemed odd to me that the computer specialist was also the reading specialist. Due to this factor, the computer lab was not available for half of the day. It would be ideal for there to be a full time computer specialist on staff in addition to a full time reading specialist.

2. I also learned a lot about the resources that are available to specific classrooms such as smart boards and sound systems with microphones. I anticipate then when I am looking for a job I will see what specific technology is available in the classroom I will teach in because apparently, it can differ from classroom to classroom, even in the same school.
3. It also became apparent that just because there is a computer lab, does not mean it will be staffed full time and my class may only have limited time with the technology expert so I should be educated enough to be able to teach skills myself. The smart board thing looks kind of tricky and complicated, I will need to learn how to use it. I had never even heard of it prior to this experience!

Journal: Field Work final lesson

On Thursday Lori and I wrapped up our unit on Native American Legends. After two weeks of having the students write their own "Legends" we were so excited to have them share their storied with each other! We came up with the idea of having a "campfire" since that is traditionally how legends are shared. We pretended to camp out in the classroom with fall leaves spread strewn across the carpet with an ingenious simulated campfire that Lori had concocted out of red paper, firewood, and flashlights. The students enjoyed some trail mix while listening to each other read their tales. After all was shared we had a grand finale of performing a rain dance. It went great! My one regret was having to keep reminding the students to speak up, and even then some of their mumblings were hard to decipher. I was soon wishing I had brought some sort of portable karaoke system so all the students could be heard.

Later when I was reflecting on how the lesson went with Lori and Mrs. Sloan, I told them that I wished I had brought a microphone system. Mrs. Sloan told us that some of the newer classrooms in the school and other schools had a built in sound system with a microphone!

What!? What brilliant person thought of this!? And why is it fair that only newer classrooms could enjoy the benefits of this new luxury? It didn't seem fair to me that in order for Mrs. Sloan to have a microphone system she would have to use her small amount of money she receives at the beginning of the year for various supplies to pay for it. I think that if a district decides to implement a new technology in a school than all the classrooms should get equal fair share, not just newer classrooms....or schools for that matter. It seems there are so many new schools popping up around the valley with bigger and better toys, but what is being done to improve the current state of the older schools? Not much it seems, and any attention these older schools are getting is not equal. Having only a few classrooms with a new sound system demonstrated that.

Field Work: Week 2

We did our technology specialist interview this week. I thought it was interesting that the "technology specialist" was also the "reading specialist". She did half and half. She appeared to be super busy so a few of us combined so she would not have to answer the same questions over and over, she seemed very appreciative of that. We were a little confused about which questions we were supposed to ask her and the ones we were supposed to ask our teacher we were working with. So unfortunately we looked a little silly and unprepared when we repeated questions. All in all I was fairly impressed with the resources the school had, considering the rumors I had before hand of its low economical status.

We also had our technology rich lesson where we used the overhead, the video player as well as the cd player.

Field Work: Week 1

We started in Field last Monday and it was a really great week!The teacher and class we were assigned to are both awesome!

On the very first day we accompanied the students to the computer lab where they got to "vote" for the President. The computers seemed pretty nice. The classroom itself does not have any computers for student use and we found out they only go the computer lab once a week for thirty minutes. But there is other "technology" items in the classroom. There is a TV with a VCR and I learned what a "Smart board" was. What a neat device for the classroom! The teacher used it to do a bubble chart where she could use different colors and highlight things. I noticed the format kind of resembled a power point presentation with each screen on the left hand side so you could easily access them. It was neat to watch!

Learning Journal #7:

I'm not sure how I feel about having a website where I can send my parents. As practical as it may seem to to have one with pictures, calendar, etc. it seems more to be more trouble than its worth. If you consider the issues that we students (aka future educators) are having, think of how much trouble a parent might have! Obviously it has several different pros and cons. Pros could be that once mastered, it could save a lot of time and effort, it cuts down on paper that would have to be sent home, and it would keep parents very informed on what is going on in the classroom. On the other hand, it could potentially be a major time consuming process, and possibly a wasted one. How many parents would actually keep tabs on it? It would be a shame if all that effort and time was in vain. Also, how much of a priority would it be to keep updated if you had more pressing matters? I have trouble enough posting a blog once a week....(I never post on my personal unless nagged by friends.)

In conclusion: I'm not yet sold on classroom websites. But as technology increases by the minute....we shall see how my opinion (and skills for that matter) change by the time I am actually in the classroom.