VoiceThread

I think that this technology is really cool. I would use it in my classroom because I believe that it would help my students learn better. This generation that we will be teaching learn different than my generation did. I think that it is really cool that students can say what they want to any way possible. I will be teaching special education, so having that avabile to home or hospital bond student is really nice. They can take part in activities but not have to be in the classroom. They will not loose instructional time.

Week 7

I believe that teachers should go as far as possible when matching technologies to students. If the teacher know that her group of students will not respond to a certain type of technology, then do not use it. However, if a certain type of program will help, even just one student, then the teacher should go for it.

I think chats and IMs could be. A teacher would just have to monitor the chat and the IMs really close. Students could learn a lot by asking each other questions in a chat room and cold possibly learn a grate deal.

Asynchronous text-based communication can be better than face-to-face communication because everything can be stored and looked at later. Students can also do this from any place.
I think podcast are really cool. I don't really think that it enhances learning because the student would probably see the information as boring as a lecture. Students can still "block it out" and wonder into space. For the students to learn best, the students should be given the information activity.

I think that video games can help with studying. When I was younger, I played organ trail. The game helped with math skills and also taught about the history of the organ trail. It is how I learned about greater and less than. The article talks a lot about this helped develop students math skills. However, students that are good programmers are most likely good at math. I would let my children play a video game everyday if it had scientific proof that it would increase test scores.

Blog week 5

For some students learning communities could be more effective. However, some students would slack off when in these groups. I believe that every person has their own particular way of learning. I would need to see peer reviewed articles from educational journals to confirm what to believe.

I think that is a possibility that learning styles and personality types have a correlation. Introverted students would probably not learn best by having to give a speech. Extroverted students need the spot light. I think that the test would help you to get to know students better. It would let you know what they like and do not like, how they spend free time, and what type of personality your class will have.

Blog 4

Before doing this assignment, I had already had a good amount of experience with spreadsheets. I have used excel to keep track of my grades and making calendars for day planners. Spreadsheets can be confusing at first. After you use the program for awhile, it is a lot easier. I believe that I will use excel in my class.

We can use spreadsheets to set up rubrics, graphs, charts, analyzing data, grade books, and a lot more activities. Spreadsheets allow you to see all the numbers you are working with at one time. This is important if you are trying to keep track of a lot of different numbers. You can save an excel sheet. You really can’t save an equation on a calculator. The three primary functions of a spreadsheet are storing, calculating, and presenting information. I think that these are quite accurate. You can store whatever numbers you want, do all sorts of calculations with the numbers, and then design a graph to present the numbers. Spreadsheets are also good at showing the relationships between data. Another important function of spreadsheets is that the program keeps information organized. All the information is in neat rows and columns. You can make multiple spreadsheets in one document. Again, all the information is right where it needs to be.

Blog 3

Inspiration sounds really neat. This program sounds like a really good way for students to pre-write or brainstorm for papers. I also like that the program is MAC and PC compatible. I believe using pictures to link to ideas is another good idea. Also letting links to pictures being named will help students with a variety of learning styles. This program will help students stay more organized when making side notes about points in Inspiration. The outline feature is a favorite of mine. This feature could be helpful in writing speeches or any other kind of report. Being able to hide subtopics is helpful because it helps the student stay on track. Color-coding topics will help a variety of learning styles. Linking information to the outline will help the teacher know where the student got their information. This will help with making sure that students do not violate copy write laws. Inserting media into projects will help make a lasting impression on students. I could use this program in my class to help students who have issues with tradition writing.

As a special education teacher, I could be helping a lot of students with writing. I think that having software like this would help students who have difficulties with traditional writing. To help my students receive feedback on their writing, my class could set up a program like SWoRD. This program insures confidentially, which is a big issue in special education. The first time I taught 3-4 year olds at my churches vacation bible school. I taught the children several bible stories. Even though that was over three years ago, I can still recite the entire Noah and the Ark story.

Chapter 6 Questions

What do you think about using blogs? What and how do you think blogs would be useful for education? Some people think using blogs in classrooms is a waste of students’ time. How would you respond?
I like using blogs. Blogs give people the opportunity to say what they want. It is also a good way to stay in touch with people. Blogs could be very useful for education. For education majors, this is a good way to have an e-folio. It is visible to all the schools in the world and could help lead to a job. For students still in grade school, blogs could be helpful with leaning how to type, critical thinking, and writing papers. I can understand why some people could believe that blogs were a waste of time. Anyone can write whatever they want, so a persons blog might not be true. However, the reasons I listed above out weigh the negative.

What are some ways that you could use the technology ideas in Chapter 6 to support your curriculum and student learners?
One way I could use technology to support curriculum and learning is allowing my student to take part in online communities. The online communities can help students experience different kind of people can give them ideas for school projects. Another way to support curriculum and learning is using wikis. Students could research a subject and then contribute about it.

About me

My name is Emily Stretcher. I am a Special Education major at Texas A&M University- Commerce in Commerce Texas. I am getting married in June!