Wide Open Spaces

Europe at Night

Valuable Technologies

    Before beginning ETPT, I considered myself pretty proficient with computer technologies. However, throughout the course, I learned a great deal. While we used some programs that I was familiar with, I was not fully knowledgeable of all the features they offer. For example, before this class, I mostly thought of Word as a program that I would type essays on; now, however, I greatly encourage teachers to use Microsoft Word to the best of their ability. I loved learning how to type the newsletter on there, and all of the little things that can be added to make boring, plain information more interesting!
    Another great technology tool that I plan to use, if the school provides it, is the Smart Board. We did not have any of those in my high school, and I was pretty amazed at what it can do! I love how it gets all of the students interacting and presents information in the funnest ways possible. I believe by having the students participate in the games and activities on the Smart Boards, they will better remember the material for the future. One other technology that I find to be highly effective is this website itself: Blogger! Although many students may find this task boring or irrelevant, I believe it is an amazing tool. It allows students to get all of their thoughts out in a private setting and promote writing skills. While I only mentioned a few technologies, most of the ones I learned in ETPT will help me in the future. I'm grateful for the knowledge I learned in this class.

Blogging

       Before taking my ETPT class, I had never used a blog for any reason. Although we only use ours to answer thoughtful questions about technology and education, I feel that blogs can be used in many different ways. They can be a place where students collaborate their ideas about a topic, write answers to essay questions for a class, or even read the teacher's thoughts or explanations about topics. After watching the video Why Let Our Students Blog? by Rachel Boyd and reading the information on "Objectives and Guidelines for Safe and Responsible Blogging", I feel that blogs can be a useful and effective tool, and there is a good chance that I will use them in my classroom.
     For Spanish Education, I can use blogs to give students a reason to type their Spanish sentences on a computer rather than write them on paper. This is important because with today's use of technology, students will more than likely use a computer to communicate rather than writing things down. By having to type their answers in a blog, students will learn how to type using the Spanish keyboard, which can sometimes be confusing. Along with this, students will have to read and comment on others' blogs, which will expose them to more Spanish and they will get practice reading and understanding other student's Spanish at the same level, rather than the teacher's. This can be highly effective in comprehension and reading skills for my Spanish classroom. No matter what grade level I teach, I feel that I will use blogs in my classroom to hone on the skills we learn in class and complete them in a blog format.

The Impact of Multitasking on Teaching and Learning and Thinking

       When many kids in our generation hear the word multitasking, they don't feel intimidated or think it's a big deal. To these kids, multitasking has become second nature. Most of us have been writing a paper while texting our friends and listening to our ipods. However, while we think that we're being productive and effective because we are doing many things as once, it seems as though we are doing a poor job on the many things that we're accomplishing. After watching Professor McCauley's podcast about multitasking, as well as the Frontline's Digital Nation video titled "Distracted by Everything", I have come to realize that multitasking has been negatively affecting most aspects of our lives, including teaching, learning and thinking.
      In the aspect of teaching, I believe it has become much more difficult for teachers to teach to multitasking students. These students are easily distracted and do not seem to absorb knowledge from teachers unless it is presented in a technologically advanced way. Teachers cannot simply stand in the front of the room and command the attention of the students. As far as learning, people are not fully immersing themselves into the content they are learning. Therefore, they are not fully learning the subject completely. This isn't good; while students feel they can learn many things at one time, it isn't the same as just learning one topic to the best of their ability and then moving on. In the aspect of thinking, people become distracted more easily than ever before. They cannot concentrate on one thing because their brains are so used to doing multiple things at once. In all aspects of learning, thinking, and teaching, people are not learning the material to the best of their ability, and multitasking is harming all of these areas. I'm sad to think after watching these videos that even though I feel I am doing so much and being so productive when I am multitasking, I am actually harming my learning. I think I'll stick to doing one thing at a time from now on!

How Will the Next Generation Read and Write?

       Since thousands of years back, people have been communicating with both spoken and written language. Although the roots of the languages have remained the same, the languages have been adapted and  manipulated over time to fit with the society who is using it. For example, Americans do not still use the English that we adopted from the British many years ago; it has greatly evolved. Each generation has a different style of reading and writing. Our generation is the first in a long time to greatly adapt written language. One reason for this is the idea that technology is changing almost every aspect of this generation's lives.
      These days, people engage in communication with technology more than face-to-face communication. Through text messaging, this generation has created shortcuts and slang for new words that are easier to type and almost seem like a code language. This seems to be spreading very quickly, and many people are concerned that this generation is going to lose its ability to create fluid, grammatically correct sentences. However, after reading the articles, I don't think the next generation will read and write any differently. They will still be taught the same vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structuring in school, and will develop strong reading and writing skills. Although they will still use slang more often on the internet and social media, I believe it will not affect their schoolwork and their true ability to read and write clearly. In addition to this, I believe the next generation will continue to have stronger reading skills due to the fact that they are reading more often. While they may not always be reading intellectual challenging works, they are still improving their reading, comprehension and efficiency skills. Therefore, I feel as thought the next generation will continue to have great reading and writing skills, and will actually participate in these more often.