Technology is Changing Education

This is an excellent article that discusses just how important technology has become in education. It is highly relevent to those of us in this class because it emphasizes the importantce of the technolgy we are learing and how we will apply it once we teach. The article elaborates on how versatile computer are. Students can use them to write a paper but they can also use them to talk to other students around the world. Computers provide the most current information for reasearch. They also provide creative methods for teaching, not unlike what we are procticing in this class. This is an excellent article for anyone who is interested in learing how they can effectivley use computers in the classroom. Click here to view this article.

5th Graders Using Computers not Paper in the Classroom

An article in the Miami Herald discusses an elementary school in Miami which is using computers instead of books and paper for most of thier lessons. Students each have their own computer at their desks and are able to look up what the lesson is about on the internet rather than relying on what could be an outdated text book. They do power presentations instead of writing papers. I think this is the wave of the future. Before long, most books and paper assignments will be a thing of the past. It is an excellent preparation for what business life will be for the students. Another interesting item in the aritcle is that there are 40 schools offering after school programs, sponsered by Dell, where children learn to build computers. At the end of the 40 hours students get to keep the computer. This is an amazing program. Not only are they teaching studetns all about making computers, they are providing a means for which they can obtain them. I chose this article because it is so relevant to what the future for education holds. To view this article click here.

Classroom Observations

I continue to be amazed at how much elementary schools have changed since I was last there. The classrooms are set up completely different using groups instead of the "old fashioned" straight rows. The greatest improvement is the implementation of computers into the classroom. Students are so proficient in many programs it is encouraging to see what the future generations will become.
Last week I was doing an observation at Lake Park Elementary in Naples and had the opportunity to help some of the students with their assignment. The lesson was on black history. The "puzzle" had the names of several prominant black figures throughout history. The students needed to match the name of the person with their greatest accomplishment. In order to find what that person's greatest accomplishment the students had to use the internet for research. They would use a search engine such as, Google or Wikipedia, and read about each person. I thought this was such a great way of teaching. It was increasing their technology and research skills, as well as teaching them a great lesson on black history. Because they had to research each person they were able to learn more than just one accomplishment about that person. They had to read all about them in order to find what exactly they were looking for. It was fun to be able to get involved in the project with the students. I learned a lot about block history, much I was not aware of. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with the students which was much more interesting than just sitting in a lesson and watching.
I am finding the observations to be really interesting. You are able to gain insight as to what goes on in classrooms and in many cases the teachers are more than willing to answer any questions you might have about you future profession.

Digitized Documents in the Classroom

This is an article relating to research. Every classroom I have done observations in has had at least 5 computers. Therefore much of the research students are doing is done on the computers instead of what was once done in the library. This article addresses digitized documents which come from the Library of Congress and other sources previously not as readily available.
What computers have done for research is phenominal. Students at any age are using the technology. Last week I was in a 5th grade classroom and the students were using the internet to research the answers to a puzzle on black history.
Using digitized documents also allows one to manipulate the data to suit one's needs. For instance if the font needs to be larger that can be changed. One could adjust the contrast to enhance photos.
Digitized docs have changed the way research is done. It has made it much more accesable for all. With the intigration fo the computers into all classrooms it is technolgy that can be widely used, allowing many students to benefit from it.
To view this article click here.