NETS*S and NETS*T

The relationship between the performance indicators, is this: In order for the students to reach their goals, the teachers must be affluent in the content of their five standards. For example, the purpose of standard 2 of the NETS*T, is to increase and enhance the skills of students based on their standards. Even before the teachers can assist the students though, as I mentioned in my recent post, teachers must FIRST become knowledgeable in the content area BEFORE applying it in the classroom. Students become frustrated whenever they are asked to use a new technology they don't understand and the teacher is not a good resource to turn to for help. I do not believe they should have to know everything, but at least be able to direct their students to the appropriate person who is able to assist them. Finally, it would be beneficial if educators would collaborate with their students on ways to implement these standards that add to the classroom experience and increase our knowledge base on the technologies available. As one of the students in the Malcolm Brown article pointed out, "in a classroom, everyone is learning."

My learning during week one....

This week of technology class has been a learning experience for me. I have never used elive before and thus was nervous and uncertain as to what expect; however, once I logged on successfully, I began to feel much more confident about the process. I will admit though, that I do not find myself being a huge fan of the program though; call me traditional, but I much prefer seeing the person to whom I am speaking and being able to get the full conversation (ie the nonverbal). In addition, I am a more visual learner and it becomes harder to focus on the conversation if there is no eye contact, visual cues, and so on. Basically, this a new experience in my learning career and even though it may be challenging, I believe the benefits will out weigh the negative.
Aside from the elive experience, I do find the weekley work to be engaging, because it keeps the students focused on practicing or enhancing the new information or skills we talked about in class. For this week, I especially enjoyed the creativity of the video and it opened my eyes as to how much technology there really is available and how little of it is used in the classroom. It's no wonder children don't feel engaged! As a future teacher, my goal in this class is to learn about a vareity of programs and such that are available, learn how to use them, and then think of ways that I can take my new knowledge and use it to encourage my future students. (I would especially love to learn how to create a website.)

Technology Video/Article

I found that the article by Malcolm Brown helped to describe how the children in the video felt about the lack or improper use of technology in the classroom. Even though the article was not written to supplement the video, I felt it did, because children today have so many forms of technology available to them, yet how often are they encouraged to use these forms in school? Even at the college level, it seems as though some professors are set in their ways and either refuse to incorporate technology, or lack the knowledge to use it effectively. Personally, I believe it to be the latter of the two, and thus think it would be a good idea for colleges and universities to take the time and educate their colleagues on how to enhance students' learning and understanding of material through the use of technology. After all, just because someone has the tools, doesn't mean they know how to use them.