Todays Classroom

Today's typical classroom might include students whose first language is not English, students who are not reading at grade level, students with behaviorally , motivationally, or attentional problems,and students from various culture backgrounds. Because of all this diversity you have to be prepared for everything.

Teaching gifted students

Working with behaviorally and emotionally challenged students

Teaching cross culturally

XO Laptop

What would the laptop "give" and what would it "take away" to this world?

As far as I could tell from the laptops they looked very kid friendly. They just had the features on there that you would need as a child. There were games and a program where you could write and a connection to google where you could search the web. I can see where people would jump all over this idea as a great way to bring technology and education to all the illiterate children of the world. It would give them access to learn so much more than they know already. It would teach them how to use a computer which is something we consider such a necessity in our culture today. It would also open their eyes to all that they have been missing. This could be good, they could make up for lost time, who knows what brilliant minds are there just waiting for the chance to explore. This could also be bad because they are so far behind. They would have a long way to go before even coming close to knowing all that we have here with technology. It would take away their innocence. It could take away family time. It could drive people apart. It would put a rift between generations.















Do you think the idea of one laptop per child is a good idea? What assumptions does it hold?

I am really torn about this issue. As an aspiring teacher I can see where something like this would be so useful in teaching in a classroom. Children would be learning essential computer skills; it would be easier to teach them a new language with pictures or words. They can explore and express themselves through pictures or drawings. It sounds so good and loose so good on paper but you also have to take into consideration what it will do to those countries. Just look at what technology has done to our country. It has made us all greedy and now we can never have enough. We think that they will all just be overjoyed to have this one little piece but who are we to say that they have to stop at that. What is they want newer and better technology when it comes out. We will be turning the whole world into the selfish and demanding country that we find ourselves in today.

5 ways technology is used in the classroom

A cognitive tool
It is used to help teach the students whatever content area you are currently covering. This could be power point slides, a research paper where you need the internet, interactive learning games, etc.





Communication.
In high school and college it can be used for communication with your students or other teachers and staff. In elementary school it can be very useful to contact the parents.







management tools
Teachers use computers for grades and report cards. They submit grades to the principle and board all through the computer. It is a very important part of the way that classrooms work.






An evaluation tool
It is used for almost all standardized tests these days from reading to writing to math. Even in a kindergarten classroom children take the federally mandated tests on computers.






A motivational tool.
It can be used as a reward for students. The reward is 10 minutes of choice time on the computer or with your favorite game. Interaction with this type of technology is what children want these days and so it works as a great motivator.

My Class

There are 24 students in my class. There are a range of different cultural backgrounds. I would say that there are probably more white students than any other ethnicity but there are many other races and cultures represented. The first day I was there I was wondering how I was ever going to survive. These first graders were worse than I imagined first graders would be. They had zero attention span and got nothing accomplished and it was just crazy. The next day I went to school they were going o a field trip so once again the kids were a little anxious to be getting out of there and it wasn’t a normal day. Now that I have been going for a few weeks things have gotten much much better. They do such a great job of listening to their teacher. Sure there are those kids that don’t but my teacher does a very good job of handling those situations. However first graders are first graders, they get distracted easily and like to get up and walk around while they are supposed to be doing other things. This is just part of bring a first grader, you are very explorative and inquisitive.

Personal Reflection

My first time in the classroom




My first time in the classroom was when there was a sub there. That changed the feel of the classroom a lot. The kids knew that they could get away with more and so they did. The actual classroom was really nice. The desks are set up in rows facing each other. They switch them around maybe once a moth or so. There are all sorts of things you can do. Cabinets and shelves filled with the typical “teacher supplies”. There are multiple bulletin boards. One is for the star student of the week, one is for their centers. There are about 5 different color coded groups, each day the different groups all have a different center. Another bulletin board is for lunch count and attendance. Another is for artwork that the class does. Right now there are a whole bunch of Rainbow fish up there that the kids made. One up by the front of the class is for calendar time.
There is a table over by the teacher’s desk where she does center time with the kids. There is a table in the back corner where I work with them o crafts of play games. Then there is another table where parents will sit and work with the kids if they come in to help. Along one whole wall there are baskets of books labeled A through Z. Each kid is at a different letter or level and that is the basket they are supposed to read out of.

Startling Statistics

Technology in the home has increased exponentially in the past few decades. This effects not only home lift relationships, education, work, religion and every are of life. With children's minds being stimulated in this way at home, it determines what their minds are going to be expecting in the classroom and what will actually be enough to grab their attention. Here are some statistics I found on this topic.


Playstation or Playground?



parents choice foundation

Children, TV, Computers and More Media: New Research Shows Pluses, Minuses

"Children use computers at very young ages – 21 percent of children 2 years and younger, 58 percent of 3- to 4-year-olds, and 77 percent of 5- to 6-year-olds, in a study led by Calvert and funded by NSF and the Kaiser Foundation. According to their parents, children began to use computers on their parents’ laps at about 2-and-a-half years and independently at about 3-and-a-half years."

national science foundation

Smart Boards

Smart Boards are interactive white boards. The first of its kind was created in 1991 but did not gain popularity or stability until recently. It is now used in may classrooms from kindergarten to collegiate level.





Here is a link to the SMART technology website where you can find a short tutorial on the smart board.






The Smart board can be hung from the wall or kept on a stand, ready to wheel to where ever it is needed. It is all controlled by touch, this makes is easy for use even at the lower elementary level. It comes with many special programs and software to make it really east to do projects and assignments that work well with the smart board.





The use of the smart board as well as an other technological device in a classroom changes the dynamics greatly. It teaches children to relay more greatly on technology and has them get accustomed to it as part of daily life. It also provides benefits by having many more options and opportunities for teaching.

Multiple Intelegences

I took a test at this link to find out what intelligence I display. I thought it was really interesting so I wanted to post it on my blog.

test

In my test I came out very close in a lot of different answers. My highest score was Interpersonal, followed closely by intrapersonal and visual/spatial. The visual score I was expecting to receive. I learn much better when I can see a picture or think about it in my head. I like to lay things out in front of me so I can visually see them and arrange them. I love to do crafts and to scrapbook. It is a way for me to create something with my hands. I also think that I do have tendencies towards intra and interpersonal relations. These are areas that I would never have really thought about as intelligences let alone intelligences that I possess. I think that I got my sense of awareness for both myself and others from my mother. She is a counselor and was always very keen on making sure that my sister and I knew who we were and where we stood and to make sure that we would not let others sway us. I grew up probably being the bossy kid because of this but in recent years it has taken a different turn. Because I know who I am as a person I am then able to step back and look at others and see where they are coming from and try to understand their emotions and thoughts. This is really a gift. It is an intelligence. It is not something that everyone has. I probably would have thought everyone has the same intelligences as I, up until recently.