Assignment #6- week 6

Generation IM article review:

I often hear about the amount of hours kids spend looking at a screen after school, and it always surprises me.  I figure that if a child gets out of school at 3, then 6.5 hours of using technology puts them at 9:30 at night, this being said, it seems as though kids spend all their time at home doing nothing but technology based activities, and this is a very sad reality to me.  I don't think that much technology use is necessary in a child's life. 
On the other hand, as we all know, technology is the future, and it is important for our kids to know how to use it and understand it.  The article clearly tells the importance that technology has in the younger generation and how even the littlest kids know how to use it in some form or fashion.  I thought the seven tips for teachers at the end of the article were good ideas that could definitely be incorporated in the classroom.  The best way for students to learn is when they get to do things for themselves, so watching a teacher use technology is not always the best method of teaching. This is why I liked the seven tips given, they give examples of projects students can work on that provide a safe way for students to express themselves through technology in an appropriate manner.  Overall the article had many good ideas and strong arguments as to why technology is important in the classroom as well as having students use it at home for homework activities.

Assignment #5- week 5

Promethean ActivBoard 387 Pro Article

This article tells the pros and cons of an ActivBoard.  For the most part, the author was a fan of the ActivBoard.  It said that the ActivBoard could only be written on with the digital pen, which is both a pro and con because it is nice to be able to rest your arm on the screen while writing and not mess up what is written (like it does with the SmartBoard), but it is a con because if the pen is lost, then there is no way to write on the board without getting a replacement.  The article also mentioned that the projector is put in a place where the speakers shadow will not be in the way of the light, so the teacher is able to stand right in front of it and students will still be able to see what is on the board at all times.  Much of the tools and hardware are very similar to the SmartBoard, but this article did lean towards liking the AcitvBoard's technology a little more than the SmartBoard. 
The article mentioned much of the uses an AcitvBoard can have in the classroom, and that using it for lessons, student interaction, and trivia games is very beneficial to student learning.  Like with most technology, when it is used correctly, it has a very positive effect on the students.  The question I have about the ActivBoard is if it has templates set up for lessons that can just be filled in so that teachers don't have to worry about the fancy touches that can make a presentation a little more appealing to students?

Assignment 2

presentation

Smart Board tools I will use:
-pen
-word chooser
-timer

Teacher NET
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

-The teacher NET is met because I will allow students to interact with the technology while also using it myself as a way to engage students in my lesson.

Student NET
 Technology Operations and Concepts
           Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
-The student NET is met because I am allowing the students to use the Smart Board a little throughout my lesson, allowing them to learn how to use the Smart Board technology as well.

An interactive whiteboard can improve student learning in my future class because it is a tool that I can use to engage students as well as get them involved in the lesson.  Interactive whiteboards are also nice for when I have students to technology based projects, and I can show their work using the interactive board i.e. videos and presentations.

What I Learned About SMART Boards- week 4

In class on Tuesday, I continued to learn more about SMART Boards.  I learned how to create more slides similar to a PowerPoint, and how to put a background on the slides.  I learned how to use the tools such as pens, erasers, and highlighters.  Some cool tools that we found as a class were the timers, the timers will definitely be helpful in the classroom because it can be used for timing the students to do work on their own, and they will know the whole time how much time remains for them to work.  Another fun tool was the word chooser, this is great because you can put students names into this and it will randomly select a name.  I also found many pictures that have noises with them.  Along with these tools, I also played with the actual SMART Board and found that the pen delays a little before writing, so it will be something to get used to.  There are so many different tools and settings that I need to figure out the best way to navigate through things to find them.  Also on the SMART Board website, when I search for good lesson plan slides, they tend to come up as games and quizzes, so I would like to know how to find better lessons.