Right now my feelings toward this class are quite mixed. My comfort with technology has always been strong, just as long as the conversation didn't get too technical. Well, guess what? It got technical! When the conversation turns from how to use it, to how it works, my stomach churns a little. I have always learned as much as I could about the "how to use it" but shied away from learning too much about how the technology worked. I want to clarify that this isn't because I don't want to know the specifics of how to the tools that I love using actually work, but more so because just becoming confident in using them is a process in itself. Learning the components of a tool or piece of software, options I have with each, how to implement it in my class, is it a teacher tool, student/teacher tool, or a student tool, and countless other questions, plus the other day-to-day thoughts and concerns with my students and lessons. I welcome the chance to learn more about the bones of the tools that I have come to love to use in my teaching, but also overwhelmed with the amount of new information that is constantly pouring into my brain.
The virus investigation was interesting for me because I am a Mac user who has been one of those people who thought, "it's a Mac, it can't get a virus." It was shocking to see how many antivirus programs are out there for a computer that is pretty safe when it comes to viruses. I also feel more knowledgeable when it comes to the amount of virus protection options there are for PC's, should we chose to purchase a PC the next time we are in the market. Norton has always been the protection of choice, but looking back on it, mostly due to the lack of knowledge on other products and simply trusting the product without doing much additional research on quality, performance, or other options.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Back In The Day...
My memories of using computers in school don't appear until my 5th grade year. Even then, the only true memory I have of using computers was when we would use KidPix software and create magical works of art on the screen (and of course, follow it up with the "KABOOM!" of the dynamite clearing tool). Middle school is much of the same. One research project comes to mind were we got to experience the new and innovative "Encrata" encyclopedia. And of course, you can't forget the great "Oregon Trail" program. That was the highlight of the 6th grade social studies curriculum.
When I was in 9th grade, my family got our very first computer. It was quite the treat. Again, I am very fuzzy on any of the specifics of the machine, other than it being a PC and that dial-up Internet brought the World Wide Web into our house. Even through high school, there it doesn't seem that computers were used for much other than word processing and simplistic research. Before I went to college in 2001, I got my own Dell desktop computer. It was a great computer and I had very few problems with it until the 5th year I owned it. By that time I was nearing the end of my college career and decided to move on to smaller and better. My next computer was an HP laptop. This machine was very dependable and served me well for many years and was my sidekick during two online courses (2000 and 2008). Now knowing more about maintaining technology, it has become apparent that the lack of updating and other maintenance could have been much better and would have resulted in my computer(s) working better and longer. My school district is a Mac school, so in the classroom and labs we have iMacs and several of the staff members (including myself) were given MacBooks to use. With all the changes technology goes through, one can only guess at what comes next.
When I was in 9th grade, my family got our very first computer. It was quite the treat. Again, I am very fuzzy on any of the specifics of the machine, other than it being a PC and that dial-up Internet brought the World Wide Web into our house. Even through high school, there it doesn't seem that computers were used for much other than word processing and simplistic research. Before I went to college in 2001, I got my own Dell desktop computer. It was a great computer and I had very few problems with it until the 5th year I owned it. By that time I was nearing the end of my college career and decided to move on to smaller and better. My next computer was an HP laptop. This machine was very dependable and served me well for many years and was my sidekick during two online courses (2000 and 2008). Now knowing more about maintaining technology, it has become apparent that the lack of updating and other maintenance could have been much better and would have resulted in my computer(s) working better and longer. My school district is a Mac school, so in the classroom and labs we have iMacs and several of the staff members (including myself) were given MacBooks to use. With all the changes technology goes through, one can only guess at what comes next.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Where To Start?
My brain never has a shortage of awesome things that I want to implement into my teaching and/or classroom. These ideas come from my own brain, through conversations with teammates and coworkers, through supplemental research, and now, from my Masters classes.
I have added a new component to my classroom blog by giving students another way of participating with it. Since they still aren't ready to write entries that we will post to the blog, I have started putting up a "Question of the Day" several times throughout the week. Students can go on the blog at home (which is encouraged) and can submit an answer for their peers and myself to see and possibly respond to. If students don't have the ability to access the blog at home, they are able to go onto the blog during some of our computer time at school so that they can participate.
Since having my own experience with Skype this past week, I feel much more comfortable setting this up and using it in my classroom. The simplicity of Skype makes it very easy to want to use because it doesn't take a lot of setup or time to learn how to facilitate. During a recent committee meeting at our school that is focused around technology, a coworker suggested that we use Skype to broadcast our morning announcements. This would bring a new and fresh way of delivering the announcements and add a new spark of excitement for the students. I also feel that by allowing students to see those students who are participating in the announcements (ie: saying the Pledge of Allegiance, sharing Student Council information, and any other student participation opportunities) it will create a better sense of community throughout the school because students will be able to put a name with a face and feel a connection to each other. I am excited to see if we can get this accomplished this year.
I would really like to find a way to use Google Docs with my students, but there are a few "privacy and privilege" concerns that need to be looked into carefully and then I will really look at how I want to use the tool (possibly for weekly spelling tests or spelling practice).
I have added a new component to my classroom blog by giving students another way of participating with it. Since they still aren't ready to write entries that we will post to the blog, I have started putting up a "Question of the Day" several times throughout the week. Students can go on the blog at home (which is encouraged) and can submit an answer for their peers and myself to see and possibly respond to. If students don't have the ability to access the blog at home, they are able to go onto the blog during some of our computer time at school so that they can participate.
Since having my own experience with Skype this past week, I feel much more comfortable setting this up and using it in my classroom. The simplicity of Skype makes it very easy to want to use because it doesn't take a lot of setup or time to learn how to facilitate. During a recent committee meeting at our school that is focused around technology, a coworker suggested that we use Skype to broadcast our morning announcements. This would bring a new and fresh way of delivering the announcements and add a new spark of excitement for the students. I also feel that by allowing students to see those students who are participating in the announcements (ie: saying the Pledge of Allegiance, sharing Student Council information, and any other student participation opportunities) it will create a better sense of community throughout the school because students will be able to put a name with a face and feel a connection to each other. I am excited to see if we can get this accomplished this year.
I would really like to find a way to use Google Docs with my students, but there are a few "privacy and privilege" concerns that need to be looked into carefully and then I will really look at how I want to use the tool (possibly for weekly spelling tests or spelling practice).
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