Technology Integration: What I've Learned

   Looking back on this class, I can see many ways in which I've grown and learned as a teacher.  I didn't know what to expect, but I have taken some very important things away from my first technology course.  One thing I've learned about technology integration is that it's a long process.  You cannot expect to be able to integrate technology quickly into your classroom because it's a learning process for everyone.  Since technology changes so much and so quickly it's a lifelong process and I've had to let that sink in and realize that it's okay if I don't understand right away.  The point is to keep at it and show students that I want to learn and become an example of how they should approach technology with a good attitude and an open mind.  I have a long way to go but at least I've started. While being excited about technology and having an open mind about it is a good start, there are also content standards to keep in mind as well as learning abilities, accessibility, and the overall appropriateness of the technology being used for a lesson.

   All of this has got me thinking of how I can take the tools I learned about and use them to benefit all students and continue furthering my knowledge of technology and what is out there to use.  Honestly, at the beginning of this class I was skeptical about technology and it's uses in education.  For some reason I had in my mind that technology wasn't going to stick around and wasn't going to play a big part in the classroom.  After reading about and studying about all of the ways in which technology is being integrated into the classroom and how big of an influence the technological tools can have, it's almost laughable to think that I once thought technology wasn't important.  My biggest worry was that technology would take way from other things that I see as extremely important, like face to face communication and physical exercise.  After this class though, I understand that technology is a tool, just like anything else we use in class.  Too much can be overwhelming and too little can take away precious opportunities from students.  Overall, I've found that I am very fond of technology in the classroom and support it's implementation.

   I think our class book and the video "Growing Up Digital" as well as articles like "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" by Marc Prensky and technological tools like Animoto, blogger, and the WebQuest really made a huge impression on me and changed my views of technology. I really enjoyed reading more about how our culture has changed because of technological advances and what we can do to bridge the gap.  I have no idea how technology will influence future generations and I don't know how they will incorporate it into education, but right now students need the skills in order to keep up with the rest of the world.  If we can become good examples and develop an attitude that promotes curiosity and wanting to learn, our students will pick up on it and want to develop that also.  And that's what it's all about.

Equal Access to the Digital World

For a long time special education has been seen as something separate and apart from regular classroom instruction.  With advances in technology and more research on students with special or unique learning needs, it is becoming much easier to educate everyone equally while meeting all learning styles.  We're required as teachers to educate everyone equally and many times that is challenging and not at all equal.  I believe that with the advances in technology and studies about the brain and how we learn, it's possible to change the way we teach.  One thing that can help special needs students to be included into regular classroom instruction is the use of assistive technology.  This can range from simple pieces of technology that can answer for students to high powered PC's that help students connect on the internet in a way in which they can't in real life.  Special needs students, gifted students, and hyperactive students are not the only ones who can benefit from this either.  All students can benefit from programs geared toward their specific learning styles and  different needs they may have in the classroom.  Finding different ways to incorporate technology into the curriculum and changing the way we perceive teaching can change the lives of students who may have slipped through the cracks.  This way we can provide equal access to technology through the curriculum in a way that engages and sparks interests and passions in students.

Teacher, students, and parents,

Recently I've created a page to help you stay connected and up to date with what we're doing in class!  You can check out all my updates and posts on my new social media page called Julie's GeoQuest.  Feel free to leave questions or comments on that page and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!   Enjoy!

~Julie Roach

Welcome to GeoQuest!

Welcome! You are about to begin an exciting journey in Geography! I've created a quest of sorts that requires you to work through five themes of Geography. At the beginning of every theme, you will be given a hint that will help you to create your final project. At the end of each theme you will need to complete a task before moving on. You can comment, ask questions, and respond to themes on the student blog located under the "Home" tab. You will be told that you have been teleported to some other location on the earth and it is up to you to use your hints and work through each theme to help you create an informational page about the country you were teleported to. This page should include the country's population, language, government, climate types, tourist attractions, and a few pictures of the people and sites of the country. To begin your quest click on the "Intoduction" tab. Read each hint carefully and make sure you complete the required task before you move on to the next theme. Good luck!!

Educational Value of Animoto

Recently I put together a video for U.S. Geography using the Web 2.0 tool Animoto. Honestly, I was dreading the idea of using this tool and was thinking it was going to be complicated to use, but it was so easy and so much fun! If I had that much fun using this tool, I can only imagine that students allowed to use this to create work for a class would greatly enjoy getting to work with technology. While students may see it as fun or games, they are really learning how to collaborate, communicate, and create lasting products on a global scale. Animoto is a great tool that even students who don't view themselves as creative would enjoy. This site lets you upload photos or videos, text, music, and style of your video. Then you can arrange the information and Animoto will put it all together for you. It's great! I can see kids getting excited about research topics now because they can take their research and put into a video that synthesizes what they've learned to help others understand their topic. This is a great tool for collaboration, summary and synthesis, and authentic learning and producing. My Animoto shows different landmarks around the U.S. and my students love trying to figure out which state each landmark is in.

Make a video of your own at Animoto.

Educational Value of Wordle

Wordle is a such a unique and interesting tool to use!  I love that I was able to play around with the text, colors, and format and come up with an interesting page that sparks students interest into my topic.  I will be using this to introduce U.S. and world geography to 1st-4th graders.  I think that students would  enjoy creating their own World  because it not only gives them that creative freedom, but it highlights common words and points out text patterns.  This neat little tool is great for getting very specific points or ideas across to others.  It's hard to get students to paraphrase work and whittle it down when there are so many themes to address.  Wordle simplifies the task and allows for the major themes or ideas to pop out and become obvious.  If I had this much fun creating my Wordle, I know kids will have a blast!