EDOL 533 Week One

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

First Week with EDOL 533

I had always been the person that hooked up friends' stereos, programmed VCRs, used video cameras, recorded tape-to-tape (VHS) and wired transformers from 220V to 110V for our appliances overseas! That was the 1980s...a lot has happened in 30 years!

This week I have read so much on the exciting things that can happen when technology is brought into the classroom. The assigned readings, the discussion board, and the worksheet have all set my mind in motion to begin thinking of ways I could use technology in my classroom. I am excited for all the help and enrichment information available on-line for classroom use. I am anxious to try setting up various methods for communication with parents-allowing the ability to keep them up to date with the successes or concerns, of their child.

Although I read the wrong text edition, I learned how the learning environment can have a definite impact on the learning process. Good classroom layout is key for the success and individual needs of each student. Also, learning and feedback are a continuous loop, each corroborating and supporting the other.

Challenges I may face as a teacher may be spatial limitations: teacher/student ratio; no windows; no room for individual space; etc. Neptune Beach, Florida had approximately 40 children in a classroom, whereas, Cynthiana, Kentucky has between 18-21.

I have learned that I must adapt to the ever-changing classroom atmosphere. Certain methods of teaching may work one year, with one group of students, but may miss the mark another time. As a teacher, I will need to constantly be assessing the learning process of my students to ensure that my methods used are matching their needs.

The YouTube Video: A Vision of Today’s Students was incredible. As much as it got me thinking of how at home I am in the environment that they were saying was obsolete, it also made me ponder the statement that today’s students multi-task. I think at times that the way that students multi-task are with quick, instant tasks not always with something that requires a long attention span. Children of today’s society are surrounded by hype and we keep giving it to them bigger, better, brighter, louder, crazier, etc. While we must meet their ever changing interests, we must also be a stabilizing factor in their lives. Many are jostled from school to daycare, to after school activities, to eating supper in the car, to spending weekends at either mom’s or dad’s new home- each with a different set of rules. We must keep up with the times to help students prepare for the future and meet the demands society will all too soon place upon them, but we must also teach them how to enjoy a good book, have conversations with friends, and notice the world around them.