Blog reflection

Participating in this blog has really made me think about my interaction with technology. In this activity we have had to most many different kinds of things about articles, journals, internal reflections and much more. I was instructed to post at least one blog entry every week, and that didn't work out too well for me. This project is a big part of our grade and I feel like I allowed it to be put on the backburner for far too long.
I have learned that I must be diligent when it comes to using technology. I get easily frustrated and need to learn to be more patient (even if the computer won't talk back to me). I hope that with more practice, I will become more adept at using technology in everyday life.

Computers on Wheels?

I found this article on Wilson Web, which is an online database provided through Florida Gulf Coast University's Library. This article deals with the technology demands of a classroom going up against the short budget of a school. One principal decided to try something different. Instead of buying lots of expensive computers for each classroom, the school bought 30 wireless laptop computers. These are split among two 15 computer carts on wheels which can be wheeld and shared among 4 or more classrooms if scheduled correctly.
I chose to write about this article because I thought it was interesting. I love hearing new and inventive ways to supply technology without using every penny in the budget. I thought this idea was simple and has so far proven to be an effective way to spread the technology around evenly among the students. One of my biggest questions about technology in the classroom was how to integrate it effectively. I think this is a brilliant way to keep the students interested because they can be up or at their desks without being tied down to a giant computer station.

Article

The Soliloquy Reading Assistant

I found this article in ProQuest, which is an online database provided by the Florida Gulf Coast University Library. In this article, many elementary schools have recognized Soliloquy Reading Assistant as helping to improve reading fluency significantly in ESE students. This program provides a guided one-on-one reading experience. It uses propriety speech recognition technology and helps students improve comprehension, vocabulary, and reading fluency. This approach is more cost effective than providing one-on-one guided oral reading with a teacher.
I chose this article because any technology that can help with reading skills interests me. I hope to teach at the kindergarten level where the foundation of reading is laid. I hope to incorporate simelar programs into my own classroom. I also liked this article because it focuses on ESE students, and those are the students I spent the most time with in my many observations.

Article

Safe Blogs

I retrieved this article from ProQuest using Florida Gulf Coast University's Library online database. This article deals with using Blogs as an educational tool in the classroom. A Virtual Office is being piloted by New Berlin Public Schools. In this safe and secure system, students will be able to engage in discussion on their classroom blog without being exposed to uncensored activity. Students in two different schools will be able to discuss ideas with eachother while reading and writing about the same book.
I found this article interesing because it deals with blogs. Since this blog my blog is a classroom activity that I am participation in for the first time, I find it amazing that elementary schoolers will be doing the same. There is so much excitement about using this tool in a classroom setting without worrying about uncensored activity. I truly hope this is something I will get to use in my future teaching position.

Article

Annual Technology Fair

I retrieved this article from ProQuest through the Florida Gulf Coast University Library's Online Database. This article is about an annual technology fair called "Innovations in Education." More than 200 educators traveled to Ed Diamante High School in California to attend the event. The goal of this annual fair is to train administrators and teachers on better ways to integrate technologh in the classroom. There were even 50 students there to give teachers tips on powerpoint presentations and encorporating filmmaking into the classroom.
I really enfoyed this article. I wish there were something like this around here that I could attend. Anyone can learn the technology, but its difficult to come up with ways to integrate it into a classroom effectively. I also liked that some of the students were involved with the process.

Article

Technology Showcase

This article was in the Hoston Chronicle and deals with technology integration. Klein Collins High School is holding a district technology fair. This fair is not for students or teachers, but for parents and the community at large to have a chance to see the changes technology has made to education. Every campus will have its own booth at the fair to show off the ways in which they use technology.
I liked this article because it shows what a drastic change technology has incurred on our schools. Just twenty years ago it was ungeard of for an edementary school to have computers in every classroom. In today's world, schools have fairs to show parents how their own children use technology because most of the time now, the technology at home doesn't come close to what's at school. I think it is great that we've come so far, so fast; but there's still plenty of foom for growth.

Article

Technological Reflection

In my most recent search for educational technology I have come across some small problems. As I read about these technologies, I begin to reflect back on my many observation hours spent in an elementary classroom. The one thing that stands out the most in my memories was the frequent number of times the teacher had to stop instruction to help the students at the computer station figure out how to do their assignments. It seemed as if the effort to integrate technology was more work than it should have been. I have made it my goal to post any information on technologies that will improve the quality of the educational experience for the students and aide instruction instead of hindering it.