Post # 2

Chapter 3 was titled Application Software Productivity Tools for Educators. I am going to summarize three main points in the chapter beginning with application software. This is software consisting of programs that perform specialized tasks for its users. Microsoft Office, including a word processor, a spreadsheet, and several other applications is one example as Word is used to type up reports and essays, while Spreadsheet enables us to make tables of data and information. Productivity software, another important point in the chapter, is software that helps us get the job done faster! Software like Word, Excel, and Spreadsheet help us work more efficiently and effectively. Finally, Graphics and Multimedia Software, this consists of desktop publishing, paint, and multimedia and Web page authoring software. Desktop publishing allows us to design documents containing text, graphics, and color! Multimedia authoring allows us to create electronic documents containing not only text and graphics, but also video, audio, and animation! Paint/image editing software enables us to create and modify graphics. And finally, Web page authoring is used specifically for designing and maintaining Web sites.

Since the last posting, we have been required to make a newsletter, which I found to be very fun and certainly useful in the future. I had no idea that Microsoft Word offered so many awesome tricks to make normal documents look so much better! I had a great time playing with my newsletter and inserting all sorts of different shapes and graphics, that is until it got way to crowded and I had to begin deleting a few things! I could easily see myself using all the fancy applications in Word to make my class syllabus, homework sheets, and all sorts of other documents look fun, but still professional. I am eager to continue playing with Microsoft Word and learning more about all it has to offer!

I had always thought that being a math teacher I wouldn’t really need to know much about technology, just because the subject matter doesn’t require much in the way of using computers. However, I am beginning to see how technology can easily influence my teaching. I want to be different from the other teachers, hopefully appealing to all students learning styles. I know that I am a visual learner and that just by using Word to make worksheets more fun and colorful looking, I would be more likely to remember what I see. Besides if nothing else, I have always heard that students perform better in classes where they really like the teacher, so at the very least, hopefully I can use technology as a means of relating to students and they may appreciate what I can do.

Post # 1

Chapter one first deals with the different types of computers and the standards of technology in the classroom. It goes on to discuss today’s generation as being the “digital generation” and today’s students as being “digital students.” These “digital students” are defined as being “hyper-communicators” who use a variety of tools including email, AIM, and phones to communicate, “multitaskers” especially when it involves computers, and “goal oriented” pursuing multiple goals at the same time. Another key section in chapter one is about the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) which is a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of technology to support and improve teaching and learning. As a result of ISTE, the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers was developed. It is basically the fundamental concepts, knowledge, skills, and attitudes for applying technology in K-12 educational settings. The ARCS Motivational Model, another important section, was developed by John M. Keller in 1983. ARCS stands for attention, relevance, challenge/confidence, and satisfaction/success, Keller used this model to show that if a student is not motivated, he will not learn, this concept still applies today for learning in the digital age.

I have indeed acquired new skills on the computer since the first class. I had never experienced the world of blogging until this class, and since we made our blogging accounts I have been learning more and more about this fast-growing means of technological communication. I find it very interesting that anyone with access to the internet can post their thoughts and opinions on just about any subject matter. Furthermore, we can read other peoples viewpoints and comment on those as well. Although blogging is very new to me, I am already finding it to be a fascinating and efficient means of communication, one which I could easily see incorporating into the classroom. The idea that students can answer homework assignments online and that the teacher as well as all of the students can see each other’s opinions on certain matters just makes it that much more appealing to me.

I am very excited about taking this course and becoming further educated in the world of technology. I feel like I will learn a lot of information that will benefit me now as well as in the future, and that I will learn many things that I can one day incorporate into my classroom as a teacher. In this fast paced world I feel like we must be computer savvy, so I am excited for this opportunity to learn all about it!

Post # 0

Technology, in this day and age you would think most people, especially those my age would be very computer savvy, but I suppose I am an exception. My house was among the last in our neighborhood to get a computer, have internet access, and finally switch from dial up, which we just did this summer! Needless to say, growing up I spent very little time on the computer and now, know very little about it. I can use Microsoft word and power point because it has become a necessity for most of high school work. Beyond that, I don’t do much else, although I do have a MySpace and a Facebook, but the sad truth is that I have to get my younger sister’s help anytime I want to change something on my profile.

Because I know very little about computers and technology, I am anxious to learn anything and everything offered to me through this course. I admit, I will probably be a slow learner, but given time I think I can figure this stuff out. And hopefully, I can continue to learn after this course is finished, and one day I may incorporate what I have learned into my classroom as a teacher.

Based on the first day of class, I have discovered that I am worse than I thought I was with technology, and that I really need to take it slow, especially in order to remember what I have done that day. I will probably have to ask a lot of questions, but I look forward to the learning experience.