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Technologies |
Technologies |
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As I sit, ponder, and reflect upon the Curriculum and Instruction 335 course a plethora of thoughts and feelings, both frustrating and exciting, flood my mind. I have to admit that at the beginning of the course, I wasn’t quite sure where I was going or what I was going to take away from this course. In fact, there were many times my frustrations were very overwhelming, and I was sure I made a poor decision. But, as I look back at my personal growth and accomplishments throughout this course, I know I am walking away more enlightened in the realm of technology and how it impacts my students and myself as a person and an educator.
Curriculum and Instructions 335 has exposed me to the use of a variety of technological tools and skills that I can surely use within my classroom. I have become adept at using several forms of technology and software along with insights as to how to implement these with my students. In addition, I learned about issues and problems that could arise.
The following sections refer
to five major areas related to the use of technology in the classroom that
were addressed throughout the Curriculum and Instruction 335 course.
Throughout this course, we were introduced to several technology tools that can be used to access and generate data. I had not had the experiences of creating files or web pages that would then be uploaded to a server. Needless to say, I faced many setbacks at first, and was quite frustrated trying to get past them. Slowly and patiently working though the process has led me to a deeper understanding and level of comfort with these processes. Although I may not know all the "ins and outs" of web page design, I have a fairly good understanding and have already branched out to designing a web page for my dance troupe. With this background, I’d like to begin training my classes to build web pages to display their work and projects. My district is currently switching over to our own server which might delay this project somewhat. I learn as much from my students as they do from me, so I think allowing them to experiment with this medium would be most beneficial.
Another tool, the Internet, was
used to "surf" for information and upload information onto the server.
Although "surfing the Web" was not new to me there were times I had a first-hand
understanding of what students go through when they begin to find information
on the web. Some information we were asked to find led to long and
involved searches. The vast amount of information on a given topic
could also become quite overwhelming. Deciding on the most beneficial
sites became a priority. I will therefore continue to use the Internet
with in-class projects and also make sure my student’s search is focused.
As I learned to evaluate the usefulness and validity of sites, so will
my students.
Throughout this course the need for open lines of communication between students and staff were apparent. In order to communicate effectively, several methods of communication must be learned and mastered. One of these methods was the use of e-mail for direct communication. I have been using e-mail for years and am quite comfortable in this arena. Problems do arise, however, when sending attachments from programs that might not be compatible. This slows down the lines of communication, but there are ways around this problem. Another drawback to this type of communication can sometimes be the turnaround time for responses. Although usually regarded as a rapid line of communication, differences in schedule, and also being at the mercy of your server, can slow down response times. Sometimes I was left wondering if the e-mail was lost in cyberspace. Even thought there are a few drawbacks, I will continue to have my students e-mail scientists and professionals with questions for their projects.
The most important communication tool I learned throughout the course of this class was the use of WebBoard. At first, I ran into a few glitches and was overwhelmed due to my limited knowledge base of this tool, but I have since become quite comfortable with using it. WebBoard easily allows for posting and allows for valuable peer feedback and reviews from fellow classmates. The utilization of the chat rooms for office hours and discussions is also a useful feature of this communication tool. Again, an adjustment period was needed, but since the purchase of a new computer and help from classmates, things are running much smoother.
It will be interesting for me
to observe the impact of technology within my school as we move to e-mail
as the primary source of communication. There are quite a few teachers
apprehensive of this type of communication due to their lack of confidence
and experience with technology. It may even open up lines of communication
with my students outside of the classroom!
Technology can be an important and powerful supplement to the curriculum. With it, however, come different responsibilities and "rules" for use. This course certainly provided me with questions on using it appropriately within the classroom. Many of my students own computers and benefit from Internet connections at home. Some, however, are not as fortunate and don’t have enough in-school time to be as efficient users of the computer. This therefore, becomes my responsibility as a teacher. Although I am more than willing to devote time to teaching computer and Internet use to students, the curriculum is quite aggressive and doesn’t really allow for much time for this task to be accomplished. Again, the problem my team and I face on a daily basis is the amount of work we have to get through in a limited timeframe. For the use of technology to be a successful and beneficial one, we have to train the students to be effective users of technology. This can be a long, drawn-out process when there isn’t curricular time devoted to this area.
It is coming to the point that
something must go so that we have a fighting chance of accomplishing the
goals set before us. Training students at younger ages might help
ease the curriculum stresses at upper grades. Ideally, the curriculum
should incorporate student training and use of technology within the classrooms.
The assignments and readings on legal and disability issues have given me a new awareness and a higher level of understanding of these issues. Through our studies of web page accessibilities, I have learned about web development strategies that can prohibit others from viewing the pages as designed. Accessibility problems can arise when using tables, small font sizes, graphics, background colors and patterns, and graphics without ALT tags. I learned to solve some of these problems through the use of Bobby which evaluates pages and spots accessibility problems. As a teacher, I have to be sure to adapt to the needs of my students.
Other issues I explored included
acceptable use of computers and technology. As a teacher, it is important
to let students know what is allowable through an "acceptable use" policy.
It also becomes important to monitor my students carefully and steer them
away from certain sites. Software piracy is also a topic that must
be explained to my students. Programs acquired from the web may not
be free and using them illegally is piracy. They must also gain an
understanding of the differences between shareware, freeware, and commercial
software. Both parents and educators must stay involved and informed
to provide the best educational experience when using technology.
There are many issues that must
be addressed as the use of technology within the classroom increases.
Teachers must develop the standards and knowledge necessary to evaluate
students on projects that are technology based. With this, we are
faced with difficult issues of evaluation.
Will standards be developed
to incorporate the use of technology?
What skills will be taught
at each grade level?
What type of assessment will
be established for students to demonstrate they have mastered the required
skills?
How will a model for technology
use include accommodations for students with disabilities?
How will the issues of technology
and its use be incorporated into state standards, taking into consideration
every student’s accessibility to technology?
How do I assess and compare
the performance of my students with and without the use of technology within
the curriculum?
Do students really learn better
or more with the use of technology?
Do they benefit to the extent
that would make it a worthwhile time investment considering continuing
decrease in skill levels of my students?
Will technology completely do
away with traditional methods of instruction?
Hopefully, we will address some
of these issues in upcoming classes.
The activities in the Curriculum
and Instruction 335 course have led me to new programs, ideas, and resources.
These each have a spiraling effect as one resource, program, or idea let
to another and so on. As a result, I have an increased thirst for
knowledge and experience in the feasibility of using technology to enhance
the curriculum within my classroom.
Last Modified: 12/5/99