Twitter and Me

We have recently been learning about technology and why it is important to use it in the classroom.  Technology is always changing.  It helps get students engaged and more interested in learning.  I think it is a fun way to learn things and it allows you to connect with people all over the world.  This gives you more experience and knowledge than you could get from just within the four walls of your classroom.  In my SEDU class we all created twitter accounts to have discussions with.  Twitter is a popular site that many people use every day just for fun.  Using twitter to do assignments made it seem like we weren't really doing work.  It was simple and somewhat enjoyable compared to not using the technology.  On February 19th we took an online quiz using twitter.  Our professor would post the question and we could all post replies so that everyone could see them.  I personally loved doing this because I am not good at taking quizzes and tests.  I would much rather be able to talk to other people and hear their thoughts as well.  This surprisingly made taking a quiz fun and so much less stressful!  

Video- Twitter in the classroom

Importance of Technology  

The Final Frontier

       The assignment was to create a Google presentation on an article we read called "Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration?"  The article was about teachers and their use of technology in the classroom.  Technology is advancing all the time.  It is becoming very important to use it in classrooms.  This presentations shows some teacher beliefs and why technology is becoming more of a demand.  It also shows how students respond to it and the positive affects that it has.    The outcomes in doing this assignment were very good.  I think it says a lot about why we need technology and how it helps students.  Collaborating with the group was nice so that was could all discuss and share our thoughts about the article and what we feel about using technology.  Hope you enjoy!


                


           

All About Me

       Hello, my name is Katelyn Kosterman!  I am currently studying at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.  I am a sophomore and my major is Early Childhood and Special Education with a minor in Psychology.  My goal is to get my Bachelor's Degree, possibly attend grad school for counseling and become a Kindergarten teacher.  I have been a cheerleader for 10 years now and I love it.  I cheer for the University and also do a competitive all-star cheerleading squad.  I am also involved an Alpha Sigma Pi honor and leadership society on campus.  Outside of school I am a host at Outback Steakhouse in Erie.  I love spending time with friends, going to the beach and just enjoying life!

       I personally think technology in learning is very important.  Technology is used for so many different things nowadays.  I think it is very important for students to learn how to use technology and all different types of it.  This will help students in several ways.  They will be well rounded and learn different ways to incorporate those things into leaning.  It helps students learn information in several different ways.  They can be interactive and have a more hands on experience as opposed to just being lectured about a subject.  Almost all of the skills you learn will be used sometime throughout your life.

       I also think that technology in teaching is very important.  Teachers also need to adapt to all the new technologies coming out.  One main reason is because they need to be able to present those resources on to their class and incorporate them into their teaching style.  I think students learn better with the use of many different materials, especially programs they can be interactive with.  It is important for teachers to use it so that they are also well rounded individuals and can present information to their students in several different ways to increase the chance of learning it faster and for a longer period of time.  It also makes it easier to do projects and submit assignments and things.  Some great examples would be smart boards, D2L systems, Microsoft and power point.

I believe that all students have the ability to learn-
       All students have the ability to learn.  Sometimes it just depends on how you get the information across to them.  I think using different strategies and types of lessons is very important.  All children do not learn in the same way.  I personally am better with hands on activities which is why I feel very strongly about using them.  In my classroom, I will make sure to work with each student and make sure that they are keeping up with the rest of the class.  If you make things interesting and add fun creative ideas into your lessons there is a better chance that students will come in ready to learn.  If I just sit there and lecture them and there is no fun involved then I can’t expect the students to be excited about it and put forth the effort.  I will always do whatever I can to help students increase their ability to learn.  Some examples would be review games, group work, interactive lessons and field trips.