Digital Blog Post #C

The first concept that I would like to reflect on is, Instructional Methods to Engage Students. There are four different teaching methods that are used by educators to help engage students to learn actively. The first method is One-on-One tutoring, which some students need but is a great way to help children learn without the distraction of other students. My cousin actually had to receive tutoring because he was really bad at science and the tutor really helped him. His grade went from a D to a high B in no time at all. If children learn better in a group, there is also learning groups. This type of group work helps children learn off each other and helps them learn how to work together. Lastly, there is Metacognitive thinking, which engages students by showing them how to examine their own work and correct themselves. I actually worked at a Montessori daycare and they used this concept a lot with the children. The children there were constantly trying to help and correct each others mistakes.

The second concept that I would like to reflect on is The Role of Feedback, which believe it or not, really helps students want to learn. Feedback can help improve a students work. Positive feedback can make a child go from feeling discourages to excited and really change their entire outlook on their work. I remember when I was in 5th grade, I really hated taking the FCATS and would get really nervous beforehand, so my teacher started writing words of encouragement on my desk before I would take the test and it honestly really helped me get through it. Feedback can also be used with technology, through email, text, blogs, phone calls, and many more. 

Lastly, I would like to reflect on was Online Problem-Solving Environments. There are many apps floating around out there today for children to help educate them. I actually tutored two Vietnamese children and used a website called ABCmouse.com and they absolutely loved it. They were learning how to read and ABCmouse.com really helped them sound out vowels and put words together to make sentences. This website made them want to learn, they never wanted to get off of it. Websites like this help because many children do better learning online then just putting something in front of them and trying to teach them that way. There is so much you can do with technology and I can't wait for what they are planning for the future.

My Wordle I made for this chapter

Sources:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

  

Blog Post #A - Chapter 1

Three concepts to reflect upon in Chapter 1:

As I am the process of becoming a future teacher, I realize that I should realize how important the benefits of using technology is, and how they are crucial in today's teaching.

The first concept I would like to go over would be the importance of social media, and the internet. I came across statistic in the text that said, "Most 8- to 18-year-olds are using technology, experiencing a "digital childhood" and becoming an iGeneration of technology users in their teens" (Maloy, 2014, p.17). This made me feel that students if students have been raised around technology, that they will respond and react better if technology is also used in the classroom. The majority of children go straight home from school and go straight to video games, so maybe if more technology was put in classrooms, students would be more quick to want to learn. For example, I did observation hours at an elementary school and the students were excited to learn because they were able to come up and write on a SmartBoard which is just a huge computer. 



The second concept that i found interesting was building my identity as a teacher. I personally love using PowerPoints because it really draws people in to what you are saying, especially kids. Even little learning games online grab children's attention because they are able to interact with technology. As a teacher, i want to be able to take lessons and transform them into ways that my students will actually want to learn. My stepmom came across an article that has a great list of applications that can be used towards your classroom, 52 of The Best Apps For Your Classroom in 2015! 


The third concept I found interesting was the use of "clickers" in classrooms. I really like this idea because it gives every student the opportunity to answer a question you put on the board and the results would be shown and it could be discussed. I actually used a certain object in my math class in middle school that the results would show up anonymously but the teacher would be able to see what the most voted answer was. It made me actually want to keep doing math problems just to see my answer pop up on the board. This would be a tool I would love to be able to use in my classroom, not only do i think it would be useful to determine understanding, but I could use this technology to create games and contests that would be fun for my students