SmartBoard

I never knew what a Smartboard was until I came to Albright. I first heard about it in my Communication Skills class last year. Some one in my class gave a speech on how to use the Smartboard. I was so interested because it was so different. It was a great tool to use in the classroom. There is so many things you could do that would keep the students interested in the lesson. The next time I heard about it was in my Math and Methods course. We were briefly shown how to use it, and it was a learning experience for me. Two students in my class did lessons on the Smartboard and the lessons were great. The one lesson was on fractions and I loved it. The student was using pictures and so many other visuals. The students in the class even got to come up to the Smartboard and use it. I am 20 and I loved going to use it. Since that lessson I began to love the Smartboard. Being a student sitting in a math classroom is boring and the Smartboard can make it fun and interesting. If students are taught on a Smartboard they are more likely to retain the information. Who ever came up with the idea of a interactive white board is amazing. I know that if we had interactive white boards in my elementary school it would have been great.
Being a math teacher is not going to be easy. I know that math is hated by many and can come off as boring. I need as many different learning tactics as I can get. The Smartboard is going to be a great tool for me to use in a classroom and if the school doesn't have one, I will request one haha. I might not get it at first but sonner or later I might. It is a great to use in all areas of teaching, not just math. The sky is the limit with an interactive white board.

PDA

So I never thought you could use a PDA in the classroom. I thought a PDA was just a phone and a calendar. I guess I am not up on the lingo of technology. Now that I know what a PDA I am very interested in how students in the classroom can use it. Well Libby's article was talking about how they use it in reading and taking notes and everything, but to me that can be a little confusing to some students. I know that most schools won't just give the students the PDA's and tell them to use it, they will give them a crash course on how to use it. The thing that has me wondering is when the students are taking notes, doesn't it take them a longer time to do that. I mean what if the students are not that good with typing or writing on the screen, don't they tend not to be able to keep up with the notes. I think it is great that schools are introducing all different types of technology into the class room but with the PDA's I feel that the students have to become very familiar with the PDA's before they use it in a classroom setting. Now I don't know if all the school's are making sure that all the students know how to use a PDA effectively before using it to help students in the classroom, but there are schools that are. I am not against the PDA, but when I use it in the class I am going to make sure that every student knows how to use it effectively, because I know I would be the kid that wouldn't tell the teacher that I didn't know how to use it just because I would feel embarrassed.

O technology

I didn't have publisher on my computer and I needed to do the productivity lab, so I had to find someone that did. It turned out that my roommate had it, but she had the 2007 version. I was like, I will be fine, it won't be that much different. Well to my surprise it was, well at least to me it was. I was so confused. But once I sat there for a little while and played around with it, it wasn't that bad. I got curious, so I went on to the Word Version 07. The word version was so much different. They had all the tool bars at the top of the page, and you could switch them if you wanted to. I had such a hard time when it came to saving my paper on a usb drive and when I had to print my paper. I had to go to help tool and search for a while to see how to print and save. It is the same program but you just have to adjust to its changes. I guess that is how it is with every program though. When they come out with a new version, they are just trying to make the program better and more useful for the users. Once I get used to it it I will probably feel that it is much better, but for now it is still a little tricky.

WORD

I thought I knew all there was to know on Microsoft Word and all the other Microsoft programs, but I don't haha. This past week we learned about Word and I learned so much. I just wish I took this class at the beginning of college. There were so many things we covered that would have helped me. We learned to make two coloums and how to add a picture with the words wrapping around them. I thought that those two concepts are really good to know. Being an Education major, knowing how to use word and publisher are so important. I now feel that I can make some of my projects look so much better. Before all my projects looked boring, but now I can go back and change a lot. I never knew that word could be so complex. It probably shows you how to use all the features that we learned this week in the manual, but honestly who reads the manual (its just to long and boring lol).

I was sitting here, trying to think of something to write about and I never realized how much I use technology in my life. Its kinda of sad to say but I carry a calculator with me to every class. I feel like its my security blanket (I know thats kind of a little sad). I am just scared to leave my room with out it. You never know when you need a calculator right?
The technological advances, such as the calculator, are great tools for adults as well as kids. When I was over tutoring at 13th and union, I had to administor a standarized test. The thing that shocked me the most was that they were allowed to use the calculator for the test. One of the students asked to have a calculator and I was like no I don't think you can use one for the test. Then I saw one of the teachers handing them out to the other students. I went back over to the student and gave him one. When I was in grade school, I was never allowed to use a calculator. I was able to use one in high school, but not until my senior year. Later on in the semester in my math methods course, I learned that the students should be able to use the calculator as practice and it also can help students with many other concepts such as counting back.
There are many great reasons for the calculator. It is very benefical to those in the math, physics, and chemistry professions (and many more professions also). It helps in so many different ways. I never really thought of the calculator as technology, but to me it is one of the best I know of now.

View on Technology

Technology has always scared me. When I was told I needed to take a Educational Technology class, I shriked in horror. I am not a person that is very good with any kind of technology. I know how to write a paper, go on facebook, and play music. As you can tell I am not that up on technology. The one thing I can tell you is that I am very interested in technology, I know that it is all around me, so therefore I need to keep up with the times. I love to hear about all the technology devices that can be used in the classroom for technology purposes.

There is one thing that bothers me though. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my uncle and he asked me if I would play out in the snow when I was younger. I told him "of course, ever time it snowed me and my friends would go out sledding." He was telling me about how his kids, my cousins, don't like to do that. He said that they were always inside playing video games. Now my cousins are eight and ten and they are full of energy. The one thing that bothers me is that they spend all their energy on playing video games and none on physical activity. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with playing vidoe games, but when they would rather stay inside and play them all day this is when a problem may arise.

I believe technology is great in many ways, but I feel that it is to far advanced for chldren today. I feel that technology is good to help the students learn and communicate, but I just think it is all just advancing at such a high rate. Our world is extremely fast paced in everything we do.