Technology in a Classroom is a Needed Tool

Made by Logan Geissler

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Greetings,

As teachers the use of technology is sometimes too time consuming to tackle. When teaching the use of technology to children it can seem even more overwhelming and not worth the effort.  That is not my opinion because even if the beginning of the year you have to take time to teach the use of the tech, in the long run it will be very rewarding when all the students can find keys on a keyboard; when they can search responsibly on the internet; when they can understand what a SmartBoard does. My two reasons that students benefit from technology are: you will save time in the long run if you teach it early and explain step by step how to manage technology. And 2, they are emerging into a technical world where jobs, money, and everyday necessities are online and only there. Without the knowledge to use technology wisely and to his/her advantage these students will suffer later in life. Some students that are greatly affected by the “digital divide” are those who are in poverty. Students in poverty may not get the same chances to own computers, etc. at home; therefore, they will not get the same chances to learn how to use technology to their advantage. When you use technology in the classroom all children are learning something they will use later in life, and that is a huge benefit.

Buh-bye for now.

My Topic and Why!

Hello to the World,

As we talked about in class there are three topics to choose from: e-sponsibility, accessibility, sustainability. From those options I thought of many possible ways to format my project, but I finally narrowed mine down to E-Sponsibility because this is something I will need to control in my classroom and in my personal life. Not only will this help me control how kids see their schools internet it will also help show me what I need to change and not let the public see.

Photo by Pics4Learning

One topic really caught my attention: Cyber-Bullying. In high school I helped lead an effort to crack down on school bullying, but we never attempted cyber violence. I am really interested to see what is out there, who it affects, and how we might be able to change that. This kind of information is going to be very helpful in my career because kids nowadays are online a lot. With kids being online all the time they are more susceptible to cyber-bullying and cyber-violence. Because these students see each other almost every day they may bring the anger and sadness into the classroom, but I will be unaware if it is online. As a teacher, I can protect my students by teaching them how to use the internet and online resources safely and respectfully, without the need to bully.

Signing off,

Logan

Use more tech, or less in school?

World,

Because children ages 8-18 are spending 6-8 hours in front of screens, schools may as well use that to their advantage. They can do this by using what the students already know (how to type, to search, to take pictures, find videos, etc.) in the classroom and making learning more interactive. The teachers job would be to challenge the students intellectually while allowing them an electronic medium for learning. As a tech inclined "teenager" I would love to be able to use my laptop or other tech in a classroom both for learning and teaching. If the students spend more time in front of a screen at school they will be learning, which they may not be as much at home when watching TV, getting on Facebook, or watching silly cat videos on YouTube.

Photo by iStockphoto

Adios,

Logan

EDST 220 K-W-L Post

Greetings "World",

When using tech to be a socializing human being, I know how to...

Photo by MS Images.

• Email
• Word Process
• Type Legibly
• Microsoft Office
• Photoshop
• Mac Applications

I want to know...

• How to set up Web pages
• How to set up interesting PowerPoints and Prezi's
• How to use technology effectively in a classroom

I have learned...