ED 205

I personally as a teacher will more than likely not be using a whole lot of technology in my classrooms. Mainly due to the fact that I will be teaching Physical Education and Health. However I do still feel that it is definately in my best interest to stay on top of new technological advances and the ways in which technology can benefit me as a student and as a teacher. Such as all the microsoft software and also grading and attendance software/ideas and more photography and video experience.
In my future PE classes I would like to use aerobic or workout videos as guidelines for some of my students activites and as a way in which they can work on becoming physically fit for life. Something else I would like to use for my athletes as a potential coach or students is still photography and video. Showing athletes photos or video of themselves in action can clearly show what the athlete may be doing correctly or incorrectly and what they may need to change in order to become more efficient. On the same note you can compare video and still images to one another to emphasis the correct way or incorrect way of the performance of many different individuals or teams, etc. This way students who learn better through visualizing instead repetition of doing can benefit more as well.
Some organizations I may use to help me stay on top of my education with technology include using online education organizations as a source of involvment i.e. ( www.educational-software-directory.net/ organizations.html), and subscribing to journals such as Journal of Technology Education, Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, and/or The Journal Online - Technological Horizons in Education. I would most definately consider going to workshops or conferences about technology and technology use in education or multimedia technology in education. I found a website www.ataacademy.org that has a highly regarded professional development program for educators in Michigan none the less. The site talks about summer workshops held in Michigan and their focuse on technology-curriculum integration. I feel that experiences such as these would really influence my future with technology in the long and short of things. The only downfall would be cost however the site also claims to provide some scholarships to cover the cost. I also found this site http://www.resa.net/techresources/ which holds conferences in Wayne Co. MI and they are currently exploring a Video Streaming Project to help teachers integrate video into their educational curriculm. This is exactly what I am talking about for my future classroom. I would be very interested to go and learn more about this type of technology advancement.
On the ISD page I see an educational service in Newaygo County which is where I grew up and wouldn’t mind teaching. On the website they do not seem to offer and classes about technology training however I know on some occasions during the summer they do offer this. My mother is a teacher in Newaygo County and has attended many mandatory workshops at this facility, a few regarding technology in education. Hopefully if I find myself teaching in this area the workshops will be beneficial to me as well and show me new ideas and ways of using education if not refreshing me with ideas I once encountered.

I feel that the group that made this site has some bias about the topic. The site does not present much information about MLK other than the negatives. The negatives however that I did not know. Therefore, this site was useful to me. I am not sure how I feel about the site being used by a school. The information was at times pretty deragatory. Even on the main page the quotes about his last night before his death while he was in the hotel are vulgar and most definately inappropriate for someone who I feel is younger than 16 or 17 years old. If you use this site in a school you can’t guaratee that students who shouldn’t be seeing this site won’t be seeing it. Kids can learn to be less trusting of this site or sites like these because it is presented and run by a person or group not a credentialed organization; Although they do credit others when using their information.
I used the search engine msn.com to look for this site and it appeared 21st on the list. Mind you that is 21st out of 308,375. Pretty good if you ask me. I feel that it has become so high on the list becasue it is a controversial website. It shares things about the history of MLK that many other websites don’t present, for whatever reason. Becasue this site is controversial it draws the attention of people on a larger scale.
The domain name is .org therefore making it a less trustworthy and personal created and run site. This site contains a link to stormfront.org and this statement just happens to be as displayed at the top of the website -”Stormfront White Nationalist Community.” This most definately sheds light upon and around the bias of the website. This site could be viewed as a public service if the content can be verified as truthful. They do list the books in which some of their information presented on the website came from. This would not relate to my curriculum, I would not use it as a resource in my class however I might look into the books in which they say they found some of the information on the site. It is an appropriate site for possible HS juniors or seniors and college students but not any younger than that. The links for the most part add value to what they are trying to share but then again all the information on the site is negative and not positive. The site appears to be up to date and reads for mature ages easily. The site design I must say in my opinion is put together well and loads fast. The graphics appear to have been taken out of historical text and many have captions about the locations of the pictures and if they were taken from a book or document, etc which one. The links all worked for me but one. It was one of the downloadable PDF’s. Overall easily navigatible as well.
To sum it up this site is bias and would not be the best choice for teaching a class…as I stated earlier I feel I might use some of the other resources listed on the page to help my class learn about MLK!

I feel that constructivism in my classrooms will be extremely useful and even neccesary. In teaching physical education it is very important for students to participate in all classroom activities to get the complete concept of sport/s and physical activity. Especially in order to benefit the particpant. You can’t learn to effectively play a sport by memorizing the positions and the “job/s” of each player in that position. The rules may also be somewhat confusing and oblivious to the learner if he or she doesn’t understand the appropriate context in which to use them. The learner needs to be active and go kick a soccer ball, throw a football, shoot a basketball, hit a softball or baseball, pass a volleyball, etc. You just can’t expect someone to read about the correct way to perform an activity and then send them out to play and expect them to score points and understand how the game functions when all players and teams are there and competeing. It is so much more involved than that.

Also, in this theory students are frequently placed in groups or teams, this will create a bond and a trust amongst the students in my classroom or on a sports team. It will undoubtedly effect the way in which the students/learners interact and it will encourage them to learn from one another as well and not just the textbook or the teacher. By participating in the activities it will also teach the learner that although the information they are given from the book or teacher may say for example that a foul is this or that that fouls aren’t always seen or called even if you feel one may have been committed, and there really isn’t anything one can do or say to change that. Fairness can be explained and written in a text but doesn’t neccesarily mean it will be feasible on the court or field.
I also feel that classrooms where science and/or math is involved should be extremely hands on. A lot of the things you learn from these two subjects contain tons of information and memorization. It will simply be easier and less stressful for the learner and the teacher if experiments are done and participation and asking questions are frequent. To sit and listen in a passive state sends the information in one ear and out the other, there is little retention.
I feel this issue really should not be controversial because where it is being used it is helpful. If it isn’t being used then it definately isn’t doing any harm and very little harm can be done by experimenting with using it in your classroom. Nearly any subject can certainly be suited for this type of learning.
I think constructivism and technology integration are so closely interwoven because technology is something fairly new to many individuals and it is growing at an astounding rate. Soon, much of the world is going to function with technology which will require learning about in order to operate. But once we learn to operate then it will provide an amazing array of information for us to feed on. So you pay a little price to gain much more than you will ever need or use in a lifetime.
I feel that Constructivism is going to go a long way in our society and I back it up and support it fully.

Until this class I never took an online class, so at the beginning of the semester I really didn’t know what to expect. However it all it came suprisingly easy. I don’t know if it is from my background with computers or if it is because the professor made the class completely organized and easily accesible and navigatible or from both. Either way at this point in the online class I have found it useful, convienant, and enjoyable. (as enjoyable as school can be anyway )
I like that I know in advance all my assignments for the week and knowing exactly where to locate them each week. I like having the time to complete any work due at the end of the week. It definately makes my life less stressful. I like not having to go sit in a class which takes away my day time. For the most part college students have enough packed into one day as it is and if they can have a class that they can access whenever they want for instance at 3:46am which is the current time then it can lighten the load.
I don’t know at this point that I would really change anything. I might have more insight in that area after the class is completed. At the present time I think everything is just fine.
Sometimes in class lectures can really just be a waste of time. I mean you might not learn one thing that day. For example this week in one of my classes that is 50 minutes the professors spent 35 of those minutes talking about up coming assignments and other junk and I didn’t learn a dang thing. The last 15 minutes we split up into our pre-formed groups and began discussing articles that each group was assigned. Groups one and two completed their class discussion and I was actually in group one, therefore I still didn’t learn anything new until the last 6 minutes of class or so. I mean honestly I just feel like that is a huge waste of my time. I don’t pay tuition to go to class to learn something for 5 minutes. I think a better idea would have been to post all those announcements and mumbo jumbo at the beginning of class on Black Board. Then everyone would have the information and tons of valuable time and money would have been put to good use. It’s so simple!
I would definately rather take some classes online. I guess it depends on the person and their learning ability. I know I couldn’t take a math class online but I could take an english class. For some people it would be completely the opposite, neither or both. But, if I was presented with the option of an online class at any time I wouldn’t hesitate to consider it.
I can’t think of any other classes off the top of my head that might help facilitate online learning that haven’t already been implemented. Then again I don’t know all the courses at GV or any other schools for that matter so I am sure some definately do exist. I will however look for online sections in more of my remaining classes. Having this class online has benefited me and my schedule this semester for sure. I have also enjoyed the class and the new learning style this class presents and enforces. I don’t doubt that at the end of the semester I won’t feel the same way, so at the next opportunity of an online class it will most likely make me look twice and consider ALL of my options!

The number one most important should be WORD:
Students should learn word first because more than likely it is the one thing you will use on a computer the most frequently in your life. Especially during school and work. I would say that around 4th or 5th grade would be a good age to begin teaching this to your students. At this age they are older enough to comprend and grasp the basic information. As they get older and become more familiar they will catch on to the other aspects.
Number Two - Powerpoint:
Powerpoint is an extremely useful tool. It can help you display ideas in a much less and more fun format than a simple outline. A powerpoint document is a lot easier to add your own written notes to than an outline and especially in college I have found powerpoint to be a huge part in my learning experiences. Students should begin learning this program right after word, approximately sixth grade. The concepts will be easily mastered at this age especially with a background in word.
Number Three - The Internet:
The internet provides people with an outstanding array of information which is greatly beneficial to students. Learning to search topics and gather information via the internet will be something most people continue through their entire lives in this day and age. Sixth grade would be a good age to start this learning. Although I know many parents that start their kids on the internet at a much younger age. My nephew who is six now has been playing online games at disney.com since he was probably three or four.
Number Four - Excel:
Excel is a great program for organization and data. This is extremely useful to those in the business or administrative fields. Students should learn this program at a later age because its concepts are a bit more difficult and tricky to master or understand than most other programs. I think 8th grade would be a good time to begin, and if they can handle it sooner, maybe 7th grde.
Number Five - Images, Editing and Digital Photography:
More than likely people will also use this information through their entire lives because it isn’t always work, it is a lot of play as well. But the concepts and organization can be hard to use if you aren’t familiar with what you are doing. I think 8th grade is a good time to start this type of program. By now the students should have a good base knowledge about the computer and its capabilities. This will only enhance the student and make them more well rounded and proficient at using their computer and all of its components.

I feel that if students have the want or need to talk about tradegies or disaters then we should talk about it with them. By having a discussion nine times out of ten they are only going to learn something from it. Even if what they learn or retain is in the most minute unimportant point they are still learning and hopefully will be able to develop their opinion and education from that point. It will also help your students form a better bond between one another. I mean most classrooms are full of students the same age especially through middle school. Discussions like these help students become more intune to one another and the world going on around them, whether it be in your town, state, country, etc. Locating resources for the most part should be easy, especially now when we have the internet. The television and radio also help. Occasionally watching CNN in a high school classroom during a state of tradedy is more than likely a useful tool. Besides that your students aren’t going to be able to concentrate if they are aware (i.e.) that planes are hitting the twin towers in NYC. People learn from times like these by growing stronger as a nation and uniting as one to fight for their beliefs and their country. Of course there will always be those who disagree about one thing or another but the majority of people want to know what others think about what is happening to their country or in other countries. All people have feelings, cares and concerns and for the most part want to help others out any way they can. If the students can learn a valuable lesson from the problem then yes. Say you are teaching 4th graders about weather and what to do or not to do in case of a hurricane. You may use Katrina as an example that hurricanes are not safe and you need to leave your home in order to survive no matter how much you think you just might be able to stay there instead. Ignoring the issue helps nobody. I don’t feel that things like this should be ignored. You are the adult in the situation and in most cases it will be your job to present material that is unbiased. So you do as you are taught and speak with an unbiased and age appropriate tongue and give the best advice and information possible while doing so.