Reflection on The Tech Savvy Teacher

Looking at two other Tech Savvy Teacher articles (Stacy and Asheley ), I have learned that technology although it has many glitches can be very helpful in the classroom. It not only helps children become more engaged in the experiments you are having them try, but they also are very useful to show the whole class different things.
One of the things that I liked about these lessons is that they all used some form of newer technology, such as the digital microscope and Stellarium program. This would be so helpful to the teacher because they are able to project things bigger so that all the students will be able to see and the students will be able to explore the objects in greater detail. Overall, I am very amazed at how many uses technology can have in the classroom.

The Tech Savvy Teacher

September 24, 2008
The Tech Savvy Teacher
By: Amy DeLawder, Janae Stolle, and Candace Sanders

We all know that students live in a world surrounded by technology. What better way to capture their fascination with technology than to incorporate it in your classroom. Here is a good example of how to incorporate technology when teaching a third grade science lesson.

Our lesson is based on the Utah Third Grade Science Core Curriculum. It is found in Standard 2 Objective 1. This objective states that students will classify living and nonliving things in an environment. Keep these guidelines in mind:
1. Identify characteristics of living things (i.e., growth, movement, reproduction).
2. Identify characteristics of nonliving things.
3. Classify living and nonliving things in an environment.

After the students have gained an understanding of how to classify living and non-living things, they will be split into small groups. Each group will go to an outside environment chosen by the teacher and take pictures of three living

and three non-living things.

Then students will choose one item out of each of the categories to bring back to the classroom. They will collect data in a small petri dish. Then they will come back to the classroom and observe their specimens under a digital microscope. Using the microscope students will be better able to observe their specimens by taking pictures and recording videos. They then will use this time to observe characteristics of living and non-living things. Students will post the digital pictures onto a PowerPoint presentation to share their findings with the class.
Technology can be a great aid in the classroom. The use of a digital camera and microscope enhanced the student’s ability to make observations and classify their findings. Technology is also an efficient way for students to gather data and learn new technological skills that will be beneficial to them in the future. So go out there and become the tech savvy teacher you always wanted to be. Do not be scared of technology—it can be your friend in the classroom.

Fair Use and TPCK

In watching the fair use videos and looking at all of the guidelines on using media, as well as printed documents in our classroom, I had no idea it was as specific as it is. I think that the charts on what you can and can’t use are a great resource to us as teachers. This way we are able to follow the copyright laws in our classrooms. I think fair use policy for teachers is really great, because the resources they are able to use to teach their students are so valuable to each individual’s life.

Learning about TPCK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) helps teachers like me become more aware of all of the new practices in teaching and technology. It also helps us to better incorporate the knowledge needed in the classroom into our teaching, as well as helps us better understand the intersections between content, pedagogy and technology today, so that we can better help our students.

Possible Wedding Invitation

Here is a sample of what our invitation possibly will look like. Tell me what you think about it.

Web 2.0 Resources

We had to create some kind of blog, wiki, or website for my IP&T 287 class. I chose to do a blog because I have always wanted to start one. In this class so far I have learned so many reasons why technology is important to learn now. In learning about web 2.0 resources, I have decided that they will be really helpful to use when I have my own classroom. I was very surprised at all of the helpful technology tools to use for teachers. As a teacher, you can definitely use goodreads as a tool to recommend a variety of books, share books with your students, find new books to add to your classroom library, as well as help parents learn and know what their kids area currently reading. In addition, the delicious website will help assist teachers in finding many different resources for different subjects they are teaching their students. This website also aids teachers in finding more resources that meet their state requirements.
Using these resources will help as well as parents have a place where I can update parents on what we are doing in our classroom as well as post any homework or announcements I have on a blog, wiki, or website designed for my classroom. This will also allow me to better keep in contact with the parents of my students. This is becoming a very effective use of technology, because now day’s early and elementary aged children as well as parents spend so much time with the new technology developments. I have learned that it is extremely vital for everyone to keep up with technology. As a teacher, using a balanced amount of technology in the classroom, will help their students become more aware of the newest technology ad how to use it for many future jobs that don’t exist yet.