Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Idaho History with Mr. Borjian
The Podcast I created is about Idaho history. This episode deals with gold. I broke the podcast up into four segments. The first segment talks about the California gold rush and how it led to gold being discovered in Idaho. The second segment is about how gold was first discovered in Idaho. After that I talk about the largest mining towns that were in Idaho, which is followed by the tools that miners used. It is meant to be a review of the gold unit so students can listen to it to help prepare for the social studies test on gold.
Idaho History with Mr. Borjian
Idaho History with Mr. Borjian
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Last Thoughts
After completing this course I have realized that it will be impossible to ever be fully up to date with educational technology. With technology changing at such high rates, a masters degree now won't mean much five or ten years down the road. Learning about educational technology will be an ongoing task for my entire teaching career. I really enjoyed taking this class, and I am excited to be taking more technology classes down the road. Using technology in the classroom is an awesome tool that can be used to motivate and engage students and I look forward to putting as much technology into my curriculum as I possibly can!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Digital Divide
Digital Divide is the term used to describe the gap between people who have access to technology and those who don’t. This is something of which educators should be very aware. One of the biggest reasons for the Digital Divide is socioeconomic status. Students coming from lower income homes are less likely to have access to computers and technology than students who come from higher income homes. This puts lower income students at a disadvantage because they don’t have the same skill levels as students who have access to computers, internet, etc. at home. We are living in an age where technology plays a huge role in all of our lives. We use the internet for everything from paying bills and finding jobs to ordering pizzas and renting movies via downloads. It is imperative that all students come out of school technologically savvy for them to be able to function in today’s ever changing society. To do this we need to close, or at least significantly lessen, the gap in the Digital Divide. I am recommending six ways to help close the gap and lessen the divide.
The first thing I recommend is extra instruction time in the computer lab for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Students from low socioeconomic homes are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and they should also be eligible for extra time in the computer lab. Extra time each week in the computer lab with a low student to teacher ratio would be very beneficial in helping students learn more about computers and technology.
The second idea I am recommending is a computer loan program. I student taught at Hillcrest Elementary. The year before I started they received several brand new computers to replace some old ones. Instead of throwing out the old ones, they were loaned to the families of students who couldn’t afford computers. The families could keep the computers for as long as they had children attending Hillcrest. I think a plan similar to this would be great for both the school and the community. We could purchase new computers for the entire school and loan out all of the old ones to students’ families who couldn’t afford a computer.
Thirdly, I recommend that as a school board we lobby the local government and internet companies to work together to provide free wireless high speed internet. With the expansion of high speed internet, it is harder and harder to surf the web using dial up services, yet high speed internet can be too costly for low income families to afford. If we could blanket our entire city with free high speed wireless internet it would make it much easier for low income households to have access to the internet. If this seems like a farfetched plan, it really isn’t. In 2005, Google proposed the idea to blanket the entire city of San Francisco with wireless high speed internet, and is in the process of building a city wide wireless network.
So far I have only addressed the digital divide in terms of economic status. Although I believe this is extremely important for educators to be aware of, the digital divide refers to more than just socioeconomic status. Age also plays a big factor in the digital divide. Older people tend to know less about technology than younger people. This is a problem because a lot of our teachers are older and don’t know how to use new technology. I propose that teachers have to take mandatory technology classes. Teachers who don’t know how to use different types of technology obviously can’t use that technology in their classrooms. This means that students are either falling behind in the area of technology, or at best, at a standstill in their learning of technology. By making teachers take technology courses, and learning about technology, they will begin using it more in the classrooms.
A fifth idea is to have a parent computer night once a month. We could invite parents to the school one evening a month, along with their children, and have them work on activities on the computer together. Not only would this be a great way to get parents involved in their child’s lives at school, but it would help them learn more about computers as well as giving their children more computer time. This would benefit older parents who don’t know much about computers and technology and families in low socio economic statuses who don’t know much about computers.
My last suggestion is to organize a computer drive, and try to get as many computers and computer equipment donated as we can. We can then give these computers to families who can’t afford them.
It is extremely important that the gap in the Digital Divide be closed. We live in a time where we rely upon technology for nearly every aspect of our lives. People who are behind technologically are at a big disadvantage. We need to work together to make it possible for all people to cross over the Digital Divide. I have outlined 6 ideas to help with this problem. Although it would be implausible to implement all six of these steps immediately, we do need to start somewhere. A good beginning would be to implement extra computer time for students from low socioeconomic households. This wouldn’t cost any extra money and would be extremely beneficial for the students. Thank you so much for your time, I know that by working together we can help conquer the Digital Divide.
The first thing I recommend is extra instruction time in the computer lab for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Students from low socioeconomic homes are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and they should also be eligible for extra time in the computer lab. Extra time each week in the computer lab with a low student to teacher ratio would be very beneficial in helping students learn more about computers and technology.
The second idea I am recommending is a computer loan program. I student taught at Hillcrest Elementary. The year before I started they received several brand new computers to replace some old ones. Instead of throwing out the old ones, they were loaned to the families of students who couldn’t afford computers. The families could keep the computers for as long as they had children attending Hillcrest. I think a plan similar to this would be great for both the school and the community. We could purchase new computers for the entire school and loan out all of the old ones to students’ families who couldn’t afford a computer.
Thirdly, I recommend that as a school board we lobby the local government and internet companies to work together to provide free wireless high speed internet. With the expansion of high speed internet, it is harder and harder to surf the web using dial up services, yet high speed internet can be too costly for low income families to afford. If we could blanket our entire city with free high speed wireless internet it would make it much easier for low income households to have access to the internet. If this seems like a farfetched plan, it really isn’t. In 2005, Google proposed the idea to blanket the entire city of San Francisco with wireless high speed internet, and is in the process of building a city wide wireless network.
So far I have only addressed the digital divide in terms of economic status. Although I believe this is extremely important for educators to be aware of, the digital divide refers to more than just socioeconomic status. Age also plays a big factor in the digital divide. Older people tend to know less about technology than younger people. This is a problem because a lot of our teachers are older and don’t know how to use new technology. I propose that teachers have to take mandatory technology classes. Teachers who don’t know how to use different types of technology obviously can’t use that technology in their classrooms. This means that students are either falling behind in the area of technology, or at best, at a standstill in their learning of technology. By making teachers take technology courses, and learning about technology, they will begin using it more in the classrooms.
A fifth idea is to have a parent computer night once a month. We could invite parents to the school one evening a month, along with their children, and have them work on activities on the computer together. Not only would this be a great way to get parents involved in their child’s lives at school, but it would help them learn more about computers as well as giving their children more computer time. This would benefit older parents who don’t know much about computers and technology and families in low socio economic statuses who don’t know much about computers.
My last suggestion is to organize a computer drive, and try to get as many computers and computer equipment donated as we can. We can then give these computers to families who can’t afford them.
It is extremely important that the gap in the Digital Divide be closed. We live in a time where we rely upon technology for nearly every aspect of our lives. People who are behind technologically are at a big disadvantage. We need to work together to make it possible for all people to cross over the Digital Divide. I have outlined 6 ideas to help with this problem. Although it would be implausible to implement all six of these steps immediately, we do need to start somewhere. A good beginning would be to implement extra computer time for students from low socioeconomic households. This wouldn’t cost any extra money and would be extremely beneficial for the students. Thank you so much for your time, I know that by working together we can help conquer the Digital Divide.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Trends in Technology
Using Smartboards as a teaching tool has been a trend I have noticed over the last few years. I did my student teaching last year at a school that had Smartboards in every classroom. The teacher I was with at the beginning of the year had her masters degree in educational technology and incoporated the Smartboard with a majority of her lessons. The teacher I was with the second part of the year also used her Smartboard with a majority of her lessons. Although they both used Smartboards to help teach, there was an enormous difference between the two. The first teacher I was with created lessons that utilized the smartboard. She would make lessons more interactive and engaging. The second teacher I was with used her Smartboard simply because it was there. She did nothing special with it to help kids learn better or get them more engaged.
I personally love Smartboards and used them a lot last year. However observing the two teachers both using the same technology made me realize that good technology on its own doesn't help kids. It is up to the teacher to use the technology they have in the correct way. I think it is good that a lot of schools and school districts are getting Smartboards, but I think it is very important that teachers are trained to use them in the correct way.
I personally love Smartboards and used them a lot last year. However observing the two teachers both using the same technology made me realize that good technology on its own doesn't help kids. It is up to the teacher to use the technology they have in the correct way. I think it is good that a lot of schools and school districts are getting Smartboards, but I think it is very important that teachers are trained to use them in the correct way.
Definition of Educational Technology
Up until last week I had never put much thought into what educational technology is. When I had to write my own definition of educational technology I wrote that ‘educational technology is the use of technology such as computers, internet, tvs, or calculators in an educational setting.’ I think what educational technology really boils down to is using technology to help students learn. I like Reiser’s emphasis on instructional design because it doesn’t limit it to only educational institutions. New technology, such as Smartboards, don’t have to be used only in classrooms. Smartboards, as well as all other technology used in schools can also be used in a number of other places outside of the field of education.
One conclusion that I have made about technology in the last fifty years is that no matter what the newest technology is, the most important part of teaching is the teacher. Although technology can greatly benefit students, it is up to the teacher to use the technology in the best way that enables students to learn. I really like what Thomas Edison said in 1913: “Books will soon be obsolete in the schools. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in the next ten years.” Although movies and film can be a great technological resource to use, they haven’t completely taken over our school systems. This just emphasizes the fact that no matter how great the newest technology is, technology should be used as a resource for teachers to help students learn.
One conclusion that I have made about technology in the last fifty years is that no matter what the newest technology is, the most important part of teaching is the teacher. Although technology can greatly benefit students, it is up to the teacher to use the technology in the best way that enables students to learn. I really like what Thomas Edison said in 1913: “Books will soon be obsolete in the schools. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in the next ten years.” Although movies and film can be a great technological resource to use, they haven’t completely taken over our school systems. This just emphasizes the fact that no matter how great the newest technology is, technology should be used as a resource for teachers to help students learn.
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