Week 5

It is difficult to narrow down everything that I have learned over the past 5 weeks because there has been so much new information. I am surprised by how much I have learned in such a short period of time, and overall I really enjoyed this class. I was intimidated at first, because I am not exactly tech savvy, but I feel much more confident in my skills now, and I look forward to being able to (hopefully) use technology in my own classroom one day. 

The first thing I learned in this class was cognitive theory. This was pretty much all new information for me because I only took one psychology class in college and it was quite a long time ago. I learned about constructivism and student-centered learning, which will be very helpful once I get into the classroom. These theories reminded me of my time in undergrad, because at Cal Poly the motto is "Learn by Doing." I think Piaget and Vygotsky would approve. 

I also learned about how technology is best implemented in the classroom. Technology works well in constructivist classrooms, because it facilitates more hands-on learning for students. It takes the focus off the teacher, and places it on the students. However, many schools are not doing this. Few students these days are actually learning the technical skills that are essential in the 21st century. Our job as future educators is to make sure that we teach these 21st century skills to the best of our ability.

My favorite part of this class was seeing other peoples projects. I think a lot of them turned out really well, and they would be fun to actually implement in the classroom one day. My favorite one was the Civil War video; I thought it looked like a lot of fun. 

Week 3

The thing that surprised me most about the Student Technology Showcase videos was how young the students began using technology in the classroom. I assumed that using iPads, laptops, and programs such as iMovie was something that was reserved for upper elementary grades at the youngest; however, there was even a video about a kindergarten class using iPads! Overall I was very impressed by the videos, and they inspired me to learn more about technology so that as a future teacher, I can hopefully do similar activities with my students. It was clear that the technology really got the students excited about learning in a way that no book can. They were also able to collaborate in ways that simply aren't possible without technology. Not only that, but they were able to create something totally new, whether it was a video about the water cycle, or a story they recorded and animated, and that really instilled a sense of pride in the students.

In order for technology in the classroom to be successful, like in the video examples, schools need devices for every student, such as an iPad or iPod touch, etc., and teachers who know how to use them and are comfortable using both hardware and software. This is where the difficulties lie. Technology devices are very expensive, and many schools do not have the money to buy hundreds of iPads. Also, there are a lot of teachers who have been teaching for a long time who may not feel comfortable using that kind of technology with their students. Lastly, even the teachers who do feel confident using technology need some sort of training on how to use technology effectively. It will not benefit students to use technology if the teacher is merely using it for the sake of using it, or as a time filler. Teachers need professional development to help them use technology as a way that will enhance their students' learning.

I thought the videos were great examples of technology being used effectively. Some of my favorites were "The Comanche Insider" from Canyon High School, "Passion Based Learning," and "S.M.I.L.E." from McPherson Magnet School, and "No Longer Lost in Translation" from Fisler School. McPherson Magnet school seemed to utilize inquiry-based learning, which we learned is fairly rare. They encouraged students to ask questions and come up with what they wanted to learn, and then learn it by doing research on their internet devices. This is an extremely useful skill for them to learn, as it will help them to become life-long, self-sufficient learners. The Comanche Insider was really cool because students were in charge of creating a daily news broadcast which was shown to the entire school every morning. The students did all the work themselves: they were in front of the camera, they were editing, the were filming. They had to learn to work well together, and work efficiently to meet deadlines. I liked the No Longer Lost in Translation project because the goal was to help students with their speaking skills. The teacher found that a lot of students didn't have the confidence to speak up in class. By recording themselves telling stories on the spot and then animating them, the kids got to practice their speaking skills in a creative way. I think this is something that would benefit all students, especially English learners, and also students who are shy, like I was.  

Week 2

While reading the news a few days ago, I came across an article in the New York Times called "Oregon looks at way to attend college now and repay state later." As a graduate student who is already in a fair amount of student loan debt, this really caught my attention. It turns out that last week, Oregon Legislature approved a plan that would allow students to go to state colleges without having to pay any tuition or take out any traditional loans. Instead of paying tuition then, the students agree to repay the state with 3% of their income for the next 20 years. Therefore, those who make a small salary will pay a small amount, and those who make a very large salary will pay more. In theory I think this sounds like an excellent idea. Universities in Australia have been offering students a similar experience, but no university in the United States has ever tried it. It would take a lot of money to get the program started, but once it has been in place for a while, the idea is that payments from former students will sustain it. I think it's a great way to make universities more accessible for everyone. The price of school keeps increasing, while the value of a Bachelors degree seems to continually decrease. These days it seems everyone needs a college degree even to get an unpaid internship. Paying for college is a major issue for a lot of people, and then it is still hard to find a job after that. A program like this would help ease some of the stress students face about loan debt and not ruining their financial future.

I was curious to see what 3% of a teacher's income looks like, since we are in a teacher education program, so I did some simple calculations. If our starting salary is somewhere around $42,000 then that means we would pay about $1260 per year to the state. That is only a little more than $100 a month, which is definitely less than most people's student loans. So where do I sign up?

Travel Survey

Week 1

Our world is an ever-changing place, and as such, our education system here in the U.S. needs to be adaptable to fit the needs of today's students. Higher education is becoming increasingly important when in comes to securing a career in today's economy, though arguably some of the essential skills needed to thrive in the workplace are not being taught in schools. Both the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the National Educational Technology Standards have developed a framework describing the new skills they feel students need in order to succeed in the modern world. In addition to learning traditional subjects such as English, math, writing, science, and history, they feel it is essential for students to be globally aware, and literate in finance, economics, entrepreneurial skills, environmental issues, and civil issues. It is also imperative for students to learn to communicate effectively, collaborate with their peers, and develop strong critical thinking and problem solving skills. In addition to these other new skills, it is perhaps most important for students to become technologically savvy. Technology is becoming more and more dominant in today's culture and it is essential for students, who are the future of our country, to be knowledgeable about all kinds of modern media. That is why this technology class is so essential to our teacher training program. We as teachers need to be able to help our students master these new essential skills, and in order to do that we must be comfortable with new technology ourselves.   

Presentation