Comments on other's blogs

Ashley Peavey
Mckenzie McCaine
Melissa Newhouse
Natalie Dolely
DeAnna Akerman

Begginning of Semester Reflection

As a teacher in the 21st century technoledgy is a vital compnent to lesson planning and teaching. However, learning and acquiring new technolodgical skills is one of the longest and most fustrating processes I have ever gone through. I completly understand the need for technoledgy and I get exsited about new ways to teach and learn, but I get extremly frustrated trying to learn these new technoledgies. As a teacher I need to be able to get more proficiant at learning new technoledgies because they will be a big component to my life as a teacher. Technoledgy will keep my students interested, allow me to vary the way my students learn, and enhance the content of my lessons. Technoledgy is not an essential component in learning but it is one that makes learning better in almost every way. Math can be taught without calculators and smart boards but it becomes real and engaging with these technoledgies.

Interactive White Boards

In the article "Teaching Content with Interactive Whiteboards" Amy B. Mounce gives many examples from her personal observations in which interactive whiteboards were being used to enhance learning in many different subject areas. Mounce demonstrates the great impact that interactive whiteboards have on education through her examples.

Education changed drastically when interactive boards were introduced to the education world. The benefits of having and using an interactive whiteboard are endless as Mounce demonstrates. Not only does interactive whiteboards make teachers more accessible to students but they also make content more accessible to students. Never before has teaching been so effortlessly active and engaging to students. Student's will now have a hard time getting bored at school as their visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning are constantly engaged by the use of an interactive whiteboard. Mounce made it clear how Teachers can enhance and teach endless subject areas through the use of the white board. Of course interactive white boards also offer the ability for teachers to teach 21st century skills as well, such as using technology in research and for future jobs. Interactive whiteboards simply make the possibilities for teaching and learning endless and fun. Teacher will now spend less time preparing for lessons that are twice as engaging as before.

To read the article and see the examples of the interactive whiteboard in action click here:

"Turing on the Lights"

In the article "Turning on the Lights" Marc Prensky said that 21st century students are not learning as they should in schools. Prensky blames this lack of learning on the school systems refusal to adapt teaching to the digital age. He says students are bored at school and learn more from their connection to games and the Internet than in classrooms. Prensky suggests that students today want to learn about the future while schools are stuck teaching about the past.

Although Prensky does make some good points that need consideration, he takes his argument to far. To suggest that students learn more useful information from a video game than they do in schools is slightly far fetched. Yes, schools and educators today should adapt their classrooms and teaching to the technologies of the 21st century, but they cannot stop teaching history or writing or math. The subjects taught in schools have been taught for centuries, but they are important regardless. These subjects need to be updated to keep the interest of today's youth but they cannot be abandon all together. Still basic algebra skills are vital for any functioning adult that wishes to do their taxes or find the best loan rates. Still writing and reading skills are demanded by almost every job. Still we must learn about our history to learn from it in order to not make the same mistakes in our future. Teachers should not students roam the Internet during school or use their cell phones since both are distracting and should be regulated. However, teachers should incorporate technology in their classrooms, update their curriculum, and encourage students to creatively use technology for projects and other assignments.

Why I am Taking this Journey

The first day of Jr. High was a blur. I was transported to a new school with new people. There were things about Jr. High I did not understand: why I needed a locker, the A B C D grading scale, breaks in between classes, and popularity. However, there was one thing that I loved about my first day of Jr. High: my math teacher Mr. Carson. He was beautiful and tall and young, for a teacher. I had never had a male teacher before, and I certainly never had one that wasn't in their fifties gray and wore a cardigan. Mr. Carson was in his early thirties, he had light brown hair, and was in excellent physical condition. My thirteen year old self was in love, or infatuated a lot anyways. On that first day Mr. Carson gave an introduction to his class that was just like every other introduction I heard that day, and would hear for years to come, except for one thing. During that introduction he said, "I want to be the type of teacher that inspires students to become teachers." Since I was so in love with him I said to myself that I wanted to be a teacher just so he can be the type of teacher that inspires students.

That was when I first thought about being a teacher thanks to a silly childhood crush. However, that first spark to become a teacher did not stay in the crush level but turned into a passionate desire. Really I decided to be a teacher in high school after being sick of seeing the lack of good teachers at my school and the ample amounts of students falling through the cracks. Thus, in high school I decided to become a high school teacher and decided I wanted to teach English/Literature. English was one of the only classes I really enjoyed in high school thus I wanted to teach them. Up till high school English was boring because it was mostly grammar. Where as in high school I learned that English involved great novels and poetry and imagination.

So here I am nine years after that fateful day in Mr. Carson's class making my dream, and his, come true. This semester I hope that I develop skills that will be a daily help in my teaching experience and becoming Mrs. Angleton. In Technology in Education I wish to learn how to use technology in the classroom and learn how to teach around it and with it.