Xs and Os to Engage Students

I have found that the way to engage students is through technology. It is my experience that this is the means in which students learn and retain the most knowledge from their teacher.  One has to use any technology at their disposal to encourage students learning but also to make it fun.  In a dynamic where the class is fun and learning project is fun you can bring out the creativity in students and also social enact where they learn to work with others and solve problems faster.  A class like Tech for Teachers has given me ideas on how I would use technology to help with lesson planing.  In this class we were able to really explore ways to use learning programs to help us find ways to teach.  I also usually enjoy just being able to "play around" with the different programs to see how they worked and have a little fun with it. The use of the Smartboard, which is something I have used very little of, will be incorporated into any classroom teaching I get to do in the future.

Whiteboards!!! Helpful learning tool.

     Whiteboards, a electronic white board vertically mounted on a wall, are becoming a tool in which the teacher can seize upon opportunities to help their students become more knowledgeable about a subject.  A study showed that students who are using whiteboards showed a 16 point gain in student achievement.  As the study explain if a student was in the 50th percentile, they now would be in the 66th percentile.  The three features the whiteboards have are hand held voting devices, visual graphic, reinforcer app, allowing the teacher to signal which answer is correct.  Using these devices have a 26 to 31 percentile gain in students. In order to have effective whiteboard lessons one must be organized, make sure that time is given to students to absorb visual information and students must be engaged with information supplied.  Being organized is the fact that you have the information on the whiteboard detail and understandable for students.  You have to give students time to understand the visuals they are seeing.  flipping through pictures does not help.  Most of all students must fell enagaged in the process.  If it is not fun and active you will lose them.  In conclusion the whiteboards if used correctly can be helpful to teach and help students grow.

Digital Natives, Digitial Immigrants

With a new age in teaching ahead of us, we need to make sure the teachers are using technology, (i.e. computers, internet), that is at their fingertips as much as possible.  Students will pick up information in a classroom by the use technology.  The students will likely be digital natives.  Meaning they will have grown up using technological devices in all facets of their life.  The digital immigrant is usually the teacher who has not learned the changes in technology because it was not a part of their lives growing up and is not a part of their daily lives.   They need to learn the latest technology in order to help them communicate with their students. When I was growing up the changes in technology were that we started using computers instead of typewriters to do our research papers.  There was no internet.  We still had to look up information in a book.  The main strategy a teacher can use is to engage the students with encouraging them to use their knowledge of technology in order to do the assignment.  The students will find their knowledge of a subject grow and the teacher will learn new ways to integrate technology into their classroom.

21st Century Skills.

Five common themes for 21st Century Skills.

- adopting to change.

- being innovative

- allows for empowerment

- gaining knowledge to create.

- allows for people to be engaged.

What is meant by 21st century skills?

Being able to use today's technology for future use.

Why are 21st century skills important for today's learners?

If the students do not learn these skills needed it will be difficult for them to pursue a meaningful future.

What is the role of technology with regard to 21st century skills?

Technology is a profound tool in learning the skills needed to have a future in society. 

Reflection: List three questions or ideas you have related to 21st century skills.

What can be done to learn technology as easy as possible for a potential teacher.

Should the students show the teacher what technology they use so the teacher can adopt a lesson plan for them?

Teachers have to make sure that they are applying the lessons of technology to real life.