I have always enjoyed the latest technology and this lead me to really enjoy the Educational Technology class. This class has shown me different ways to use the technology I was familiar with. The class has also shown me how to incorperate this in a classroom setting. I never really thought about a blog being an educational tool.
The video project is definitely something I will use when I'm a teacher. It is an assignment that can be done with K-12 students. The younger students would need more assistance than older students but I think all grades would enjoy doing the project.
The lesson plan template may be the single most beneficial file I have saved during this class. How many times will that be used finishing up my schooling and once I'm a teacher?
I liked creating my own digital portfolio. I had never done that before and now that I have it, I can update it as I go on with classes and teaching. My digital portfolio can be found at http://jen726.weebly.com/. It took a little while to adjust to how to do things but now it's very easy.
I am definitely looking forward to incorperating technology into my classroom.

I would definitly use an interactive whiteboard in the classroom. It provides the need for visual learners but is much more attention-getting than a simple blackboard or overhead projector. What I really liked was the ability for the students to actually help in the creation process. You teach a concept, then have students create an activity using IWB.
I think the IWB keeps the students more engaged in the learning process, just as the internet does compared to library research. I would have loved to have this technology available to me in school. The possibilities for the use of IWB are near endless and I cant imagine it being boring to students when they would have an active part in their learning. I also think this would be fun for students who may not otherwise have access to computer at home.

Using video would have been great. The first subjects that comes to mind is history/social studies and science. All the reports I had to do on various subjects of history would have been even better if video of the actual events could have been incorporated. For science, we didn't always have time or the resourced to fully carry out all of our experiments. This would have allowed us to do so. I personally am a visual, tactile and auditory learner, yet many times in the classroom, I was left simply 'listening' to my teacher. Video would have helped support the words spoken from my teacher.
I will definitely try to incorporate video into my classroom. We have already learned that the current students of today and the future are multi learners. They will need to see the material just as much as they hear it. Video of actual events and information will keep their interest in the learning.

Teaching the Net Generation

I think what I took from this chapter is that the way many teachers are teaching is not effectively reaching this generation. Incorperating the internet and other technologies can enhance the students learning. One issue with this can be that the student does not have access to a computer outside of the classroom. I think about this class and if I did not have the immediate and frequent access to my computer or the internet, it would make this course difficult. As a future teacher, I would hope that my school would have computers in the classroom. I would also consider the idea of an online textbook. The money that is spent on books, could be used for computers. I think that if the classroom evolves towards computers and the internet, families would follow. While there are families who cannot afford computers, there are still many who do not think that computers are important or needed because they did not need them.
The chapter did not really give specifics for how to reach the net generation. I am going to be an elementary/special education teacher. There was nothing specific to help me reach this generation, other than using the internet in the classroom.

What I have taken from this is that I will have to find a creative balance between traditional teaching and interactive teaching. I don't think we can completely abandone traditional teaching methods, but we must incorperate technology into the classroom, even if it is only the internet.

Social bookmarking is a great way to get all your information organized. Teachers are able to post the reading assignments in a specific location, just as was done for this class on Diigo. this allows the students to access the required assignments, while incorporating technology in the classroom. I have not really thought of using this yet because I figured it was too much work. Since I have now done this for this class, it was quite simple and didn't take much time at all. This will help me to be more organized with the sites I visit frequently.
My list is at diigo-http://www.diigo.com/user/jen726.
The possibilities are endless for using excel in the classroom. I would use it to help students track the weather (temperature, rainfall, snowfall etc.). Have students create a spreadsheet to track there grades on their own. Excel can also be used to create timelines for various topics. It can also be used to track the student's favorite baseball teams batting averages in math class. They can also use excel to start a budget for their money.
There are many other ways to use this and, I believe, once I'm actually in the classroom, I will use them.

Google Apps

I have not used any Google apps as a student as they were not really around when I went to college for my BA. Now that I'm back in grad school, the idea of being able to work on a group prokect around everyone's schedule is great. I also like the google calendar. I need all the organization and scheduling I can get! As I'm about to explain the lesson plans I chose, I would definitly use Google calendar in the classroom to explain telling time further. Google earth and maps would be useful to show various locations being discussed. In my opinion, this would be more interesting to the student rather than simply looking at a paper map. I'm sure there are plenty more ideas that will come to me as I further educate myself with these apps.

The first lesson plan I chose was Telling Time and Google Calendar. It is a math lesson for K-3. This teaches time to student in a different way other than loking at a clock. It has them look at blocks of time, like if class starts at 10:00 and lasts 45 minutes, what time will it be done? It also has them plan out their schedule for the perfect Saturday. I think this plan is great because the student not only is learning about time but also about scheduling and planning.
The second lesson plan I chose is Historical Novel. This is for 4th-6th Social Studies and language Arts collaboration. It can also be used for 7th-9th graders. The students read a hisorical novel from a particular time in history they are studying. They discuss the meaning and main ideas of the book. Students use such things as Google Docs (word processing, presentation, forms), Google Blogger, Google Earth/Google Maps and Google Book Search/Book List. This can be solo or partner work. Both these lessons plans are great to keep the student actively involved in the material, while also utilizing the technology that the student already enjoys.

Week 2 Readings Blog

While I have not used all of the new R/W tools, I have heard of them. I think that these tools are very useful to incorporate in the classroom with the Net Generation. These kids already use most of these tools. In my opinion, using them as part of the classroom will only increase their willingness to learn. Google docs is a program similar to Microsoft Word, except that it can be accessed from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection. I have not used Google docs yet but there are several apps for the iPhone that allow the user to view, edit, and share docs, so I may check this out in the near future.

Chapter 5 in the textbook was again an article that I would disagree with. This could be because it is a few years old. I am a Gen X adult. I use technology as much as the Net Geners. It annoys me when a company doesn’t have a website or doesn’t have live chat help. The only time I use my iPhone as a phone is to talk to my parents. I think that generations before the Net Geners have a choice to follow the technology advances or be left in the dust. I choose to follow. I cannot speak about the entire Net Generation; I can only speak about my cousins, who are 12-20. All of these kids are self-centered. They only care about things that will benefit them. Several had to do community service in their Florida high school and they said that they felt like they were being punished. They did not like being forced to do this. I say all of this because like these particular kids are not like the description in this chapter, not all older generations are against the advances in technology and the benefits of using it.

In chapter 6, they described Gen X as having the penchant, “Get to the point” and “move on with it”. That is so me. Otherwise, Chapter 6 continued on the information that we have already read. One difference I did notice is that the author pointed out that Gen X prefers working independently. I am this way, mainly because I want my performance to be solely dependent on me, not someone else who may not have the same motivation as me.

Overall, what has remained constant throughout all of our readings is that, as a future teacher, I must create new methods then what has previously been used in my learning classroom. Bob Dylan wrote “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. This was true in the 60’s when he wrote it. It still is true, maybe ever more so now. If we as educators (current and future) do not adapt to this, we may lose this generation and future ones to come.