My Opinion on Blogging

Over the course of semester I've written several blogs. Overall they weren't too bad writing them, however, I feel that when writing a blog you should write whatever you want instead of being told the topics to write about. I did enjoy however that we had blog buddies, because it made me feel that these blog entries had a purpose and was going to be read. I believe that writing a blog as a teacher can be helpful, so that you can jot down something that went well/wrong in a lesson and remember to change it for the following year. Also, it helps keep your thoughts organized and dated so you know when and why you felt something. Additionally, it might be helpful to keep a blog about your class daily so that parents can read and keep up to date with what's going on in their child's classroom. I do believe blogging fits in with the UDL approach because we are able to type up thoughts and we were also given the opportunity to record our thoughts via vocaroo. All in all, blogging was a great learning experience that I believe will come in handy to me when I am a teacher.

Chapter 5 & 6

Click here to hear a brief summary on chapters five and six

NET-S Standards

Although all of the standards are important, I believe critical thinking and decision making are the two most important. These are two crucial things that students must obtain to not only achieve throughout their educational career, but in life. As a teacher, I think that assigning group work is the most beneficial way to achieve both of these. Students must think out their plan and make a decision on how they are going to arrive at their final answer. I still remember projects and assignments I did that required me to really think and make a decision on how I was going to solve the task at hand. For example, even in this ISTC we had to work in a group to sum up a chapter of our reading. We weren't told what information to use or how much to use, we had to talk amongst our peers and make a decision on how we were going to chunk the information in an organized way to present it to this class. Little things like this do not seem to be so helpful at the time, but looking back it definitely improves a lot of these NET-S Standards, especially critical thinking and decision making.

Week 5: Technology

Technology has really helped me as a student. Since I was younger, I would type up notes on my computer to help organize and review what I learned in class. After writing my notes by hand and then typing them up on my computer I found this was my way to truly grasp the material. Additionally, technology has helped me a tremendous amount in performing different types of research. Whether I had to google something I didn't understand or if I had to search for information on a topic, technology was my go to for everything. I couldn't imagine myself using the "old fashion" research method and going to the library to write a research paper.

Throughout my school career, technology has been used within the classroom to aid teaching. In high school we worked with smart boards and my teacher would present power points of material to the class. Overall, I found the use of this different technology mechanisms because it was very visual for me. The power points that my teachers used always had clip art that I would associate the material with. On the day of the test, I remembered a lot of information from the different clip art pictures and power point slides.

The use of technology while teaching is a very good technique for getting students to understand the material.  I will be sure to use a balance of these skills in my future classroom.

Digital Native

A digital native is one who is very good at picking up new technology, understanding all the features, and putting it all to use. A digital immigrant is one who is not good with understanding technology and who can't really get the swing of how to use and manipulate current, old, or new technology. I believe I am a digital native. I have grown up surrounded by technology and feel comfortable using it. When I got my blackberry I didn't know how to use it, but I took it upon myself to learn all the features and put it to use. As a future educator I believe it is important to know the difference between a digital native and a digital immigrant so that you get a feel for the type of technology learners in your classroom. With this knowledge you will be able to come up with differentiated technological activities that will fit everyones needs.

Back Channel

The back channel we used last week in class was very intimidating to me. I didn't know where to jump in, by the time I read what other people had to say and came up with what I wanted to contribute, the conversation was at another topic. Additionally, I found it very distracting. As I was trying to pay attention in class I would hear people typing away at their computers so naturally I looked at my computer screen to see what people were saying and didn't listen to what was being said in class. I could see this being helpful in a huge college lecture where there just isn't enough time to hear from everyone, but I don't see it being very beneficial within a small group of students (30 or under). I personally don't see myself using this tool within my classroom because I didn't enjoy it and also, I plan on teaching younger children (K-2) so I don't see them being able to perform this task at their age.

Technobiography

Hello Towson ISTC class, my name is Katie Cohen. I am currently a Junior at Towson University majoring in Elementary Education. I am from Long Island, New York and absolutely love it there (although Maryland isn't so bad)! Ever since I was five years old, I had a TV in my bedroom. I quickly learned how to use a remote and control the channels as I pleased. I also had access to a gameboy and a Nintendo 64 when I was younger. Everything was great and I was best friends with technology. However, the friendship slowly faded when my desktop PC computer arrived on my desk. I had no clue how to use this thing nor any interest to learn. Finally, I attended 4th grade computer class and found so many cool games I could play on this gigantic machine taking over my desk and my friendship with technology was restored. I started appreciating my computer more when AOL came around and I was able to talk to my friends on the computer! It was awesome, especially before the cell phone days. At the age of 13 my parents gave me my own cell phone. I loved it, and had no problem figuring out how to use it and how to start calling my friends.
Technology has been a major part of my life since the very beginning and will remain in my life forever. I am constantly getting new devices such as a blackberry, ipod, laptop, dvd player, TIVO, and much more. I enjoy getting new things and figuring out on my own how to use them to the fullest.