Is the Smartboard smarter than you?

I am not really sure what to think. There are all of these new technologies around me and I feel like I am lost in another planet. Although I can see the positives of technology in the classroom I really can, I just feel as though it is being over used. Some of the older methods of teaching are still valuable and work well. I know we are at a time when children are immersed in technology but maybe school is the place where we can show them other ways of learning.



 

When I was in school my teacher wrote on the chalk board and I took notes. When I was in school my teacher designed activities for me to interact with my peers, for us to help and learn from one another. When I was in school my teacher taught! It seems like now teachers and schools are relying too heavily on technology to take the wheel and for teachers to take the passenger seat and students, well their stuck in the back with their headphones on and their eyes locked on a screen. And for some students this might work, it might work well, but what about for the others. The others like me, who feel lost and afraid of things like Wimba and the Smartboard.

 

In the classroom the teacher needs to be in control. Classroom management is one of the most important things I have learned about as an education major. Are we using technology to manage our classroom for us? Are we supposed to keep our students entertained or enlightened? I am still really leery of how far technology has made its way into the classroom. Maybe it is for the best and I am just taking too long to jump on board.

 

I hope by the end of this semester I am less afraid and more motivated to use technology as a positive learning enhancer in my classroom.



Children Doing BIG Things!

Take the time to watch this short video. If you have never seen it before I can almost guarantee you it will move you in some way.VIDEO

The girl who silenced the world for five minutes!

Her name is Severn Suzuki. At the age of 12 she delivered one of the most remarkable speeches of all time, at a UN meeting, at the Earth Summit in 1992. When Suzuki was nine years old she founded the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO). ECO is a child organization dedicated to learning more about the environment in order to teach other children about what is happening in the world. It is now 2012. Is it true for me to say that the topics she discussed then are still relevant today? I think yes! It has been twenty years, what will it take to make a change? Will our leaders make a change? Will other children rise and speak up to make a change? Children are our future and they are going to be here long after we are gone. Is it fair for us to leave them with the mess generations from the past and present created?

What I am most amazed with is how this young girl had so much courage to speak up! She spoke in front of adults from all over the world about the sad truths of our planet. Do children today still care about our planet? I don’t really know. What do you think?

                   

In case you’re wondering what she’s up to nowadays, she graduated from Yale in 2002, and now she’s an environmental activist, and even had her own show for children on Discovery. She was involved in an internet-based think tank which was used as an advisor for Kofi Annan, but the project was disbanded when she continued her education.  

Day One

Today was my first day in Instructional Technology for K-12 Teachers. In the beginning of the class I was quite overwhelmed and to be honest I am still nervous about the amount of technology we will be using because much of the things we discussed tonight I have never heard of before. As the class continued I started to relax a little bit at a time. Susan Ross is very knowledgeable in her field of technology. I am looking forward to learning from her and being able to put what I learn to use today and in the future. I am aware technology is all around us and I am beginning to accept that there is no escaping it. Before tonight I would never have thought I would create a website or ever write a blog. However, now that I have I know I can. This excites me to think of all the new doors that will open for me as I become more comfortable with the technology our world has to offer.