Week 2 Reflection

Blogging is very new to me. I have heard about it and read a few for my own education on various topics. At this stage having a blog makes me very nervous, especially with my name on it. My current teaching position allows me the unique experience of knowing all our schools students K-6 very well. I also meet and speak with almost every parent of those students. What makes me nervous is that I know the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students are on the Internet, looking up what they want when they want. All it would take if for them to type in my last name and our town to find my blog. I know I am not publishing anything unprofessional and I rest assure my classmates will only publish appropriate materials but my blog is open to anyone and everyone. If an inappropriate post is made on my blog and students or parents of students come across it then there is automatically an option formed about me and it is a reflection on me as a person and also as an educator. On a positive note I think it is a great way to communicate with a large group of people, to share experiences, and pass along information. I set up an RSS with IGoogle because that is what I use with my main email. I did not realize how easy it was and that I was already using a program that was capable of connecting me to multiple pieces of information in one place.

After reviewing the Cone of experiences several times, I believe a blog fits best as a contrived experience and the RSS as a visual symbol. The blog to me represents a conversation. A conversation in its original form involves verbalization of thoughts and ideas either face to face or over a telephone. A blog is a written representation of that conversation that can be one sided, with not response from another individual. The RSS provides a place to review written symbols. We choose the topics we would like to read about and have them placed all in one convenient place for us to view at our leisure.

This really shows I am an early elementary teacher but I can see a blog used as a show and tell medium. I find that show and tell can take up a lot of time in the classroom. Each student would get a week to post anything they want to share with their classmates. It could be pictures or pieces of writing. They have the chance to write captions and tell stories about what they are sharing. The other students in the class have the opportunity to ask questions and share similar experiences and situations. If I taught older student I would love to use an RSS at the beginning of each class. I would set it up as an assignment to begin the day or class period. Each student would be responsible for reading the information linked and then completing a task to go along with the information. The assignment could be a simple response/reaction or it could be to find another source to confirm/contradict what was published on the RSS. I see and endless amount of possibilities with this set up.

Week 1 Reflection

Conflicted is where I found myself after reading these two articles. I am questioning my current feelings about technology and its place in the classroom and what my new understanding should and will be about technology. Even more than technology I question what our school systems are teaching and providing for our children and their chances for a successful future.

As a teacher I want the very best for my students’ learning, no matter what the cost. I also know this is not realistic or always possible. So I settle for getting the best I can afford or that I can squeeze out of our schools pocket, which I have found is never much. I also try to give my students a variety of experiences and often find myself falling short in some aspect, especially with technology. That is always one of my worries, that my students will go into the next grade needing to know a skill I did not teach them or expose them to. Now, I am wondering if all my worrying was worth it. There sure seems to be at least a few people who believe our school systems are so screwed up that concerning ourselves with technology should be last on the list. From my point of view schools have worked for this long, there must be something that we are doing right. Of course there is always room for improvement, but are they really as bad as some make it our to be?

When I look back at myself as a student, I did not have a computer in my house until 7th grade. Even then it was another year until it was connected to a communication system called the Great Lakes Free Net, a simple local Internet system set up mainly for school age children to chat. Before I had that computer I managed to learn in school. I found the information I needed. I wasn’t even required to touch a computer until 7th grade when a technology class was offered to learn the basics. My teachers managed to create lessons and teach students with minimal technology.

Now as I consider my future, my students’ future, we live in a world that depends on technology, whether we like it or not. I know I check my email 20 times a day. I use the phone several times a day. I also watch TV, listen to CDs, and use my electric window. I know I am depending on a lot of technology for this class and all the classes I will ever take from now on. Although, some may not agree with technology my question is, are we doing our students any favors by depriving them of one subject we know they will have to know and learn to be productive in society? The one subject that will continue to advance? The one subject that is not going away? I am beginning to believe we can stand against technology or we can learn to embrace it, incorporate it to the best of our ability, and help our student become familiar with it so they can be successful.