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Reflection 2

So far I do not feel that I would ever use a blog or RSS Reader personally.  I feel that my life is pretty busy at the moment and it is just another “thing” to check like personal email, work email, Facebook and so on that takes more time away from my family.  Watching the news on TV is enough for me. I just don’t see myself getting into either one.   In the education setting, as a physical education teacher….Not quite sure.  Maybe I could use the RSS reader to subscribe to health/fitness sites.  I just feel that I am a very bust person and constantly going to meetings after school, it would be hard to find the time to sit down and blog or use RSS reader.   I was surprised, but it was actually a little confusing for me to set them up.  I’ve been out of the technology loop and just got an iphone this summer and that took some getting used to. 

Setting up a blog and RSS reader is my first and only experience with the two.  It is hard for me to place them anywhere specifically on Dales Cone because I am unsure what all they can do.  From what I understand about the blog, you can write down your thoughts (visual symbols category), post pictures (Exhibits or still pictures category), videos (television and motion picture category) and even recordings(radio/recordings category).  I feel that it fits into many different categories.  To me it fits best in the Verbal Symbols category.  In the reading it mentioned that this category is “the common ground for every person who can talk and listen.”  People post their thoughts and others read and respond.  I feel that it fits anywhere from exhibits on up to the top of the cone.  I feel that the RSS reader also fits anywhere from exhibits on up.  To me it pretty much can do what a blog does.  It publishes what people put on their blogs and other sites which include items that people read, watch and listen to. 

I work with students with special needs and teach physical skills which include a lot of modeling.  I don’t think a blog or RSS would help me with any on this.  I don’t think there is any problem that needs to be fixed here.  The best way for the students that I work with to learn is by my demonstrations and giving corrective feedback.  Maybe I’m not thinking hard enough, I just don’t see where a blog or RSS would be helpful in this situation.  If you have any ideas let me know!  I am having a very difficult time coming up with an “imaginative” educational use of each tool that my students could use. …..

 

Reflection 1

I remember being around the age of 10 when my family bought a computer.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  I spend a lot of time downloading music from Napster using dial up and it took FOREVER to get a song, but was worth it.  Just looking at how technology has changed from then is amazing.  I just got an i phone this summer and couldn’t believe how much you could do with it.  I use technology more personally than I do when teaching.  I am an Adapted PE teacher, so I work with children with special needs in the physical education setting.  I don’t use any technology to teach physical skills.  I do a lot of demonstrating and modeling, so I am interested to find out the many ways technology can be used in education. 

When I read Postman’s article I felt that he was definitely not pro technology, but I did agree and see his point of view.  With technology I feel that there is satisfaction for a while, but it’s always about creating something better.  Is that good or is that bad that so much time is spent on making things better even if it is not a necessity?  Every year a new model of everything comes out and some people feel like they HAVE to have the latest and greatest things. 

As a PE teacher, mother and wife, I do find computers/technology to be distracting like he suggested.  Examples of this are my overweight nephews whose favorite things to do are…surf the internet, watch tv, play video games….catch my drift.  But this could also be a parenting issue because they are also unhealthy eaters.  Another example is my husband always messing around on his i phone.  I see this all the time, people eating at restaurants, while driving….drives me insane.  I DO however think that technology in education is a great way to make teaching and learning interesting to both students and teachers.  I have seen Smartboards used in a center based school for children with special needs and thought they were amazing. 

After reading Reigeluth and Joseph’s article, I agree that technology is very important when you have many students with different needs who learn different ways and at different rates.  I used to be a paraprofessional at a center based special needs school, and I must say technology was a must there.  I worked in a SXI classroom and each student had MANY needs and were very different from each other.  Some students pushed buttons or switches to talk for them, some used their foot to hit switches to communicate.  There was technology everywhere in the classroom.  Technology definitely transformed teaching to meet the needs of these children. 

When this article stated that teachers become more of a “guide on the side” my first thought was…this makes it sound as if teachers are not really needed in the classroom and we could be easily replaced.  A peer of mine once stated that he thought online classes should be made available to students as early as late elementary.  I thought he was crazy, but with the way technology is advancing I wouldn’t be surprised if one day it happened.  I think in some areas high school students can take online classes, is this correct??