Blog Journal #1

• Computers and Technology play a major role in education today and are extremely important in both a teacher's teaching process and a student's learning process. I agree completely with the concept chapter 1 brought up about students using technology to get a feel for real world scenarios. Many elementary school children are already using PowerPoint in the classroom, a program many of them will use in their professional careers. Getting hands-on experience with computers is an excellent way to learn new concepts and I truly believe students would be more engaged in learning from a computer as opposed to a textbook. Another issue that was brought up in Chapter 1 that I was able to relate completely to, was the issue of students today knowing more about computers and technology than the teacher. I've witnessed my fellow classmates setting up our teacher for class on many accounts. For example the student would have to show the teacher how to plug in the VCR so we could watch a movie, the student would have to fix the audio on the teacher's PowerPoint lesson, and many other similar issues have occurred. As a future teacher, I hope to show my students how competent I can be as their teacher, and I hope to learn even more advanced technological concepts so that I may teach my students in the most effective manner.
• When I become a teacher, computers are going to be play a major role in my teaching tactics. As Chapter 1 suggested, I am going to set-up my very own classroom blog. In this blog I will include fun stuff like pictures from different lessons I teach in class, a few learning games that students can have fun with, and I may even post funny videos that relate to things we have discussed in class. In addition to fun stuff on my blog, I will keep an updated calender displaying important upcoming events hosted either by me or the school as whole. One essential quality my blog will have is an explanation of every homework assignment and the due dates. This way, if a student missed a day in class or forgot to write the assignment down, they can log onto my blog at any hour of the day and view the assignment. This will also help parents stay involved with their child's education and keep their children on task. I also plan to use computers to communicate with my students' parents via e-mail, and I will definitely use computers to keep a grade book of the progress of my students. From this class I hope to learn more blogging skills, and I definitely hope to learn how to use the more advanced computer programs like excel, since I will be using these advanced programs for grading purposes.
• I'm very excited to learn everything this course is going to teach me this semester, and I've already feel I've got my money's worth, after learning to set up my very own blog. I'm a total beginner when it comes to technology and computers and I hope to call myself an expert by the time I'm done with this course. I'm excited to read all the posts from my classmates and view their blogs to help give me ideas on how to better improve my own blog. Oh and did I mention I'm really excited to finish school and finally start my teaching career?!
  

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Blog #0

Questions
1) My prior experiences using technology include basic skills such as Word Processor, PowerPoint, and Windows Excel.

2) I hope to learn a variety of different ways to incorporate technology with learning. Technology has made so much progress over the recent years and I believe many of those improvements can significantly impact my ability to teach students successfully.

3) My learning style results matched exactly what I've discovered about myself over the many years as a student. It was interesting to read about the many ways each learner can help themselves learn to the best of their ability according to their learning style. I will definitely use the tips provided in the future!