Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Journal #2
Journal #2
McFarlane, Sarah H. (2008). The laptops are coming! the laptops are coming!. Rethinking School Online, 22 No 4, Retrieved
This article was written by a teacher who has incorporated the use of technology in her classroom. At first she was happy about her students receiving laptops to use. She soon discovered that her excessive time spent on the computer was taking away from the face-to-face communication she should be having with the students and parents. Sarah talks about how she felt like she was more of a computer monitor than a teacher. I think it is creepy that people can monitor other computers so closely. She began to notice the increased distraction of her students the more they used their computers. Sarah also noticed that the students began to have less communication amongst one another. There was a discomfort about how the laptops were introduced to the students. It seems as though everyone was too eager and did not take the time to plan ahead. Some students are not as computer savvy as others and it takes them longer to complete the steps and end up getting lost way behind the other students. Sarah ends her article by saying that technology can be a good thing in the classroom, but it needs to have the proper planning for execution. The DYN is an interesting group, because they encourage personal contact and still explore technology as it advances. The participants are learning to work together on technological projects.
Q: Who really does gain through an excessive use of technology in schools?
A: I think that many people benefit from the technology. Schools benefit even though they spend the money on the products, because they get to tell the community that they are using the technology. Technology use might make the school more appealing to some. Advertisers benefit, because it gives them a higher chance of their ad being seen if students are constantly using the internet. The manufacturers are benefiting financially. It seems the only people who have a negative side to their benefit are the teachers and students, who are spending less time communicating face to face. In the case of the DYN, everyone sounds like they are benefiting.
Q: Will everyone have an experience like this?
A: Not everyone will have the same outcome as Sarah. I thin that as technology emerges into the classroom, teachers need to be willing to learn about the technology they are incorporating. This way they can better control the usage by their students. Maybe they can only allow the use of some technology at specified times if they are abusing the use.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Journal #1
Shifflet, Rena, & Toledo, Cheri (2008). Extreme makeover: updating class activities for the 21st century. Learning and Leading in Technology. 34-35. Retrieved on July 13, 2008, from http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fjheil65.googlepages.com%2FJournal1.pdf&images=yes
This article talks about how classrooms today should upgrade their technological activities. There are so many Web-based activities and tools that one can access for free. It is thought that by using the social networking sites, the students will be more inclined to stay focused on the activity. There are programs that offer many document writing tools (essays, spreadsheets, presentations, etc), which can be posted to a website or to a blog and can be accessed by other people. Creating a blog for class should be for academic and not personal purposes. When the class is involved in social bookmarks, they will have easy access to the websites they need without being on the computer they saved the site to., as well as accessing other’s bookmarks. Students are also encouraged to upload their photos to a site where they can access them from any computer. There is a possibility of misuse of Web-based activities, but we can always use the misuse as an example of what not to do. As technology continues to advance, we need to teach our students to be knowledgeable.
Q: Will printers be a thing of the past and blogs become the new way to submit all work? A: I think that this is definitely possible. There are people out there fighting to slow down paper production. This would be a good way to keep all the work organized. Plus, it would be fairly easy to check for plagiarism.
Mader, Jared, & Smith, Ben (2008). Blogging right along. Learning and Leading in Technology. 36. Retrieved on July 13, 2008, from http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fjheil65.googlepages.com%2FJournal1.pdf&images=yes
This article talks about how a blog can help to tell if a student comprehends the class material being taught. It enforces them to think about the topics covered and actively interact with other students. They can be asked to write a weekly blog discussing what occurred in the classroom, where they should make specific references to class. Each student will be responsible for a certain amount of time that they should be online working on the blog. Photos should be used to remind those who are visual learners. This way everyone gets the reminder in case they need it. If the teacher sets up the blogs to send an e-mail when a change is made, they can easily keep track of what the students are doing. This will help the teacher stay organized and be able to grade easily. Other students can help monitor others as well and help fix mistakes that their classmates have.
Q: What about the students who do not have internet access at home?
A: There are libraries that offer internet access. Schools also offers internet access. They can go over to a buddy’s house who does have the internet. There will also be time allotted in the classroom to work on the blogs. This way everyone will have a chance to get as much done as possible inside the class where they have the guaranteed access.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Introduction Letter
Hey all! My name is Sarah Sentianin. I was born in Orange County and moved to Palm Desert when I was 5. All my schooling through my AA were all done in Palm Desert. I graduated from Palm Desert High School in February 2000. I then spent many years screwing around in a community college, COD (College of the Desert). I now attend CSUSM, where I will graduate in the spring of '09. I am a Liberal Studies major with an emphasis in Child Development. I hope to start the credential program in the fall of '09. EDUC 422 is my last prerequisite class to complete.
I use my computer daily. I recently bought a new HP laptop. I love it, but I would have rather gotten a Mac. I think I settled for the PC because I am familiar with how things work. I love to explore the internet and I do a lot of communication through email. About 2 years ago, I had a teacher assign a powerpoint project and I had no experience with them. I was a little embarrassed when she stated that her 4th grade daughter knew how to make them. I am becoming more and more comfortable with them each time I make one. I absolutely hate the new set-up for Microsoft Office, so I use the 2002 version. I hope that I will be able to continue to use it for quite awhile.
In my search for what I wanted to be when I became a bigger kid, I stumbled upon teaching. I did not always want to teach. I had always wanted to be a chemical engineer. I went to help a friend in her classroom for a week and immediately fell in love with her students. I knew this was what I wanted to do. I began to look at a few different schools and my little sister begged me to check out CSUSM, because that is where she was going. In my research, I found out that CSUSM was ranked very high for teaching. The first time I read the mission statement for the College of Education at CSUSM, I felt at home. So, I applied and here I am, making the necessary steps to become a bigger kid. It was like someone was reading my thoughts. The part that really stood out was when it said "life-long learning." I love to learn knew things and I was glad that they thought it was important as well.
