Blog #11

There are many non-computer-technologies that are useful in a classroom, but one I thought was very resourceful and easy is a cd player. A cd player can be used for two devices, one is children to listen and learn through music. That is one of Gardner's intelligences, and many elementary classrooms include music daily. It can also be used for reading. I know one teacher who records someone reading the story, and the child follows along. She uses this for her students who have a more difficult time with reading. These are only two ways a cd player can be incorporated in the classroom, and cd players are very easy to find!

ERIC Research Projects:

After presenting and listening to various ERIC research projects I have learned a lot of new things about technology in and out of the classroom. I was assigned to focus on electronic portfolios, and this was very beneficial for me. Before doing this project, I did not know a lot about e-portfolios, I knew they existed but nothing more than that. E-portfolios are a great useful tool for college students because it can help you design your resume. For teachers, it can also help show progress, build rubrics and lesson plans, and organize information. Another presentation I found interesting was the one about gender in technology. I was not aware of the statistics that were discussed, and was shocked by a lot of them. It is a stereotype that men know more about technology then women, but as technology grows so does women's interest and minds. After that presentation, a very interesting question was asked, "do you think in the future men or women will dominate technology more?" My answer is both, just depending on what types of learning styles and personality the women or men have. I thought all of the presentations were very interesting. Some of the stuff I already knew, but it got my mind thinking about the topics more. As technology grows in our future, so do people, and with all of the resources on the computer, I believe it will make everything more resourceful and easier!

Technology in an elementary classroom

I found a great website that specifically discusses technology in an elementary classroom. The website is http://cherryweb.com/msippel/summertech1.html, and it was created by an elementary teacher. The homepage consists of four icons teacher resources, sites for kids, website creation and multimedia resources. Teacher resources included tons of different sites and databases that are easy for teachers to use, such as easytest maker and rubric makers. Website creation included different sites that teachers or students could make their own websites from, and multimedia resources that included a lot of helpful programs where you can design graphics and use hyperstudio. The icon sites for kids was organized by subject and grade level, and seemed very simple for children to use. I really liked this website because both teachers and students can use. It gave a lot of ways technology can be incorporated into a classroom. It was also very organized, so students would not be confused using it and it have a lot of helpful resources for using technology. I also liked the fact that an elementary teacher used it because anyone can make a site such as this one, and she knew what is important in using technology in an elementary classroom.