Technology Use Day to Day

            I use technology quite often each day. I use two laptops, a personal one and work one, a smartphone, a tablet, and a Promethean Board. I use my work laptop to keep up with my graduate classes, post grades for the classes I teach, communicate with my students’ parents, and prepare my lesson plans. The programs that my school uses for communicating with parents and students and posting grades are Gradequick and Edline.  On my personal computer, smartphone, and tablet I use social networks to keep up with my friends and family that are out of town. I use my Promethean Board on a daily basis to give notes to my students and to play the daily video announcements. I also use Ipads on occasion to assist me with teaching a particular subject.

            I appreciate being able to use technology on many different tools. I am able to continue my job as a high school math teacher and take classes because of technology. I can also communicate with students and their parents frequently through technology. I send weekly emails to my students’ parents to keep them up to date on what goes inside of the classroom. Because I have the ability to post grades and communicate with parents and students easily on my computer or smartphone, it is sometimes difficult to separate home time and school time. I can easily become distracted on social networking sites instead of the doing the graduate work that I need to on my computer. The important thing with technology is to set boundaries and goals to be sure that family time is not infringed upon and that work is productive.

Social Media and Education

    There are many social networking technologies available. Incorporating these social networking technologies into education can be useful when done so appropriately and effectively. One that can be used for educational purposes to create a synchronous learning environment is Google Plus. Students and teachers across the world can communicate and learn together through classroom discussions and group work. Skype can also be used in a similar manner. Social networking technologies like Facebook, Twitter, and blog sites can serve educational purposes of bridging the gap between distances and from school to home. Friedman and Friedman suggested that social media, when used in the educational setting, allows for students to be involved in communication, collaboration, community, creativity, and convergence (2013). I see these technologies mainly in regards to post-secondary education; however, it is slowly becoming more common in the elementary and secondary levels.

     I am interested in learning ways to engage my high school students. If using social media can engage student and promote learning I would be willing to try to use it. However, my concern is that these technologies can be misused. We are living in an age where the term bullying has been extended to include cyber bullying.  On the other hand, it would be a good opportunity for students to learn how to professionally communicate through social media. This skill will prove beneficial because colleges and universities are offering more and more online programs.

Reference

Friedman, L., & Friedman, H. H. (2013). Using social media technologies to enhance online
     learning. Journal Of Educators Online, 10(1).

My Favorite Online Resources

Below is the list of my favorite websites that serve as good resources in education. Some I have come across on my own and others have been given to me by other teachers. Most of these are math centered because I am a high school math teacher.

1. Promethean Software Website: http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/. I appreciate the services that this website provides for teachers. This is a really neat website that allows teachers to post promethean flipcharts that they have already made for specific topics. Teachers can join this website for free and search for specific topics, grade levels, or subjects and then download them. This site also offers resource packages that can help teachers on a regular basis. An example of this is a package that offers math symbols like square root. Instead of having to “reinvent the wheel”, teachers can look for what they need for a lesson or unit on this site.

2. Texas Instruments Technology Website: http://education.ti.com/calculators/products/US/home. I haven’t gotten to use this website yet. I learned about it through a teachers’ conference that Liberty Christian Academy hosted. This site offers teachers activities that can incorporate technology into a lesson. It has links to worksheets for the students to work through in order to teach a particular function of the technology.

3. Kuta Software Website: http://www.kutasoftware.com/. I have used this website countless times when I was in a crunch and needed a math worksheet. My first year teaching, I had four preps and no resources and this site helped be to be find worksheets for each topic that I covered. The site is divided into the subjects Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Geometry.

4. Cool Math Games Website: http://www.coolmath-games.com/. I personally enjoy playing games on this website but it can definitely be educational as well. I was first introduced to this website when I volunteered at an elementary school. This site offers fun math games that help students practice their basic math skills. It also has explanations of topics that students commonly struggle with.

5. Khan Academy Website: http://www.khanacademy.org/. I was introduced to this website last summer when I was preparing to teach math remediation. This is a great website that offers so much help to students. Students can sign up for free and work through practice problems on just about any math topic. The practice problems progress in difficulty. The students can also watch videos on the topics they struggle with to see a teacher walk through a lesson. Teachers can add their students to class lists to keep track of how they are doing.

I do not use many websites for personal use.  I use pinterest.com when I am in need of a little creativity or ideas for a craft. My crafts have ranged from Halloween costume for a dog to a festive wreath for my front door.

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             Technology use in schools today is dependent on many factors. One of those factors deals with the availability and resources that the school has. If the school has ample resources available, then the teachers will be more likely to use technology. Another factor is the familiarity and confidence level of the teacher to effectively implement the technology. In a study by Durik and Eccles about teachers’ attitude towards technology the teachers’ answers were analyzed and the conclusion was that “teachers favored activities with which they were familiar and that took little time to prepare” (2006, p.33). The final factor that affects true integration of technology is the school’s expectations of how and when technology should be used in the classroom. Many schools today are moving toward a more technology enhanced curriculum. Much research is being done to determine the effectiveness of authentically integrating technology into daily lessons and instruction. The key is how the teachers use the technology. In five to ten years I believe most schools will be paperless or working towards that goal. Students will have tablets with all of their books on them and be able to submit all assignments online. Many universities already of these capabilities so K-12 schools are soon to follow.

Reference

Durik, A. M., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Classroom activities in math and reading in early, middle, and  

             late elementary school. Journal Of Classroom Interaction, 41(1), 33-41.