Today's Learners

I realize going into teaching that not everyone has enough money to have a computer in every household. I am lucky enough to have had multiple computers growing up. However, there is so much available access to computers in the public (ie. libraries, community centers, etc) that we must not avoid using computers as a teaching and learning tool. Technology is such a powerfull learning tool. We can explore more in one click today then students could 20 years ago in hours of library research.

"When teachers choose not to use technology in the classroom, students are disadvantaged." (Swain, C., Edyburn, D.) The authors hit it on the dot with this quote. Even if some students in your class do not have access to technology, you can not hold the rest of your class back. Not using technology because a few don't have it is a disservice to all. Getting ahold of technology is not difficult

If you ask students, they want to learn and be ready for the future. Holding information such as how to use technology or when to use technology will be holding back information. Our world is becoming more and more technologically advanced each and every day. Every day we don't encourage the use of technology is another day lost for the students.

For most students, "technology is an integral part of their lives." (Greenhow, C.) Most of the time, students want to learn in the classroom things they don't have outside of the classroom. There are some technologies that are classroom technologies and others are personal, or home technologies. They want to learn about those they don't have because they are interesting.

For those students who are not fortunate enough to have the technologies required for out-of-classroom-work, I would tell them of all the places in the area which have free access to computers. There are always community centers, libraries, etc. that have free access to technology. If that doesn't work, I would ask the students to show up early to school or stay afterwards to get the work done. Anything is possible if you look for the answers.

PowerPoint

During the Power Point presentations, I really enjoyed how Mikey used his own recordings to use as sounds. It added some humor to the presentation. Some others struggled with having too many words on the screen and not enough pictures. I guess it really depends on the topic and grade level.

If I were to redo my own presentation, I would add more sound. I don't think mine was engaging enough and it lulled the class to sleep. A more engaging presentation would have kept the lesson interesting and flowing. I really like the idea of adding funny videos and noises to keep the students curious. I really like using Power Point but I am not as good at using it as others. I could tell who in the class has used Power Point many times because theirs seemed to flow a lot better than mine.

I do like using Power Point as a medium to present lessons. However, it is technology and we have all learned that technology is not trustworthy. It has always seemed like when I wanted to use technology, something goes wrong. I would use it however because it is a very easy and clear way to present the material. It works for the visual learners as well as the auditory learners. It is not as condusive to the tactile-kinesthetic learners but using the Power Point to engage the students can work to involve them.