SMART-4

Are you a proponent of one-to-one computing in classrooms? Explain your answer and provide supporting documentation for your argument.

I support the one-to-one computing in classrooms. I think of course there will need to be necessary shifts in teacher instruction in order to propel student academics. However, if this is done I think it can be quite beneficial in the long run. If students are given the opportunity to have access to one-to-one computing, teachers can easily set up programs and assignments that will extend learning beyond the schools day (pg 42). Without one-to-one computing this is nearly impossible. This is also something that will be highly engaging to students as well as giving them real life experience with technology, which is something they will definitely run into in the real world.

The small size and light weight of both netbooks and tablers make it easy for students to carry around.

Netbooks are lower priced than tablets.Many parents have already purchased netbooks for their children, while tablets have not reached the same sales yet. Both have lower power requirements, which cut down on the mess of power cords in the classroom. Netbooks have limited capabilities, which makes distraction of students by gaming highly unlikely. Allowing students to bring netbooks onto campus opens the school's network to anything that is on the student's computer, which is a major risk, while tablets do not run the risk. Different ages of students prefer different dimensions for both screen and keyboard, which makes it difficult to appease everyone for both. It is also quite difficult to find an operating system that will run all the needed programs on a netbook. Netbooks are often unable to support powerful applications that students need to use, unlike tablets.

SMART-3

Pros
Teachers can instruct students to use MP3 players in a way to facilitate thinking.
Can propel foreign language skills.
Students can listen to teacher created podcasts.


Cons
They can be quite distracting in the classroom.
They isolate children form their peers.
The can facilitate cheating.

I really enjoyed the Teachers Teaching Teachers webpage. There were a variety of podcasts on this page that were up to date and discussed practical uses of technology for teachers. I think this would be beneficial not only for myself as a teacher but also my students. I think these podcasts could be used when introducing a new type of technology to allow students to have some background knowledge before we begin. This site would also be a good example to students on the format of a podcast if I was going to ask them to make their own.

I have no experience making podcast so all of the pointers were beneficial. I thought it was kind of cool that you can create a podcast from your phone. This would make it fairly easy to do with students since most will have cell phones. I also liked where the author discussed the positives of K-12 students creating their own podcasts. This helps to develop and support literacy skills, which is always a good thing!

SMART-2

It was quite surprising to me when reading chapter 2 in Teaching with Tools Kids Really Use 262.7 million people in the United States are cellphone users. I think I would have estimated the number a little higher. It’s hard for me to imagine not having a cell phone. Another intriguing statistic was that forty-six percent of children ages nine to eleven have cellphones and maybe even more surprising was that reportedly twenty percent of children ages six to eight have cellphones. This was certainly not the case when I was that age.

Cell phones engage students. Who wouldn’t want to find a new inventive way of engaging students? They also can be used in a variety of ways to help support the curriculum. The first is in a visual way. Most cellphones have cameras, and many students learn visually, so having them to take pictures to support what they’re learning is quite helpful. Employing podcast is also helpful. Students can record a podcast to turn in that demonstrates a concept they are learning. Also by using phones in the classroom students can begin to develop proper manners for cell phone use by having role models in their teachers. There are so many positive possibilities for cellphone use in the classroom.

Cons of allow cell phone use in the classroom include running the risk of propelling cyber-bullying, sexual harassment, cheating, and prank calls. I witnessed all of these things in high school, and I realize the harm these things can cause students. However, I am prone to think that the good outweighs the bad, and that these things can be managed if cell phones are used in positive meaningful ways in the classroom. 

I think the most creative suggestion the book made was the use of cell phones in taking online surveys. This allows the students to combine texting with quizzes or personal input.  I have seen this used several times in classrooms, and it works very well.

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 This first chapter in Teaching with the Tools Kids Really Use was rather intriguing. The main discussion in this chapter was not only whether there should be a shift towards curricula that include 21st century skills but also how the educational system should go about accomplishing this. The book stated that the majority of the public thinks it is absolutely necessary to include 21st century technology skills in the curricula, which I whole-heartedly agree with this opinion. However, it is my opinion that these technology skills should be integrated with the general education courses.

  Children must be equipped with technology skills, because that is so much of what our world revolves around today. This is a fact that I did not realize until I began teaching in my field experiences during my undergraduate career. I was amazed when placed in a kindergarten classroom that students were already doing much of their work on computers. This to me was astonishing since I did not have a computer in the classroom until I was in the fifth grade, and I did not have one in my home until high school. I think by seeing this rapid rate of technology advances and subsequent skills in young children that teaching these 21st century skills is imperative. I am still quite young, yet I still feel behind in much of the technology that students are using today.

As a teacher it was encouraging to hear the author of this book urge teachers to work together. Changes in the curricula must be made, but it does not have to be done alone. Teachers can support each other in making necessary changes that will positively effect their classroom. I was also encouraged to read the authors suggestion to go beyond automated traditional activities. There have been many times when I was required to do an activity that included technology, but was not truly different from what the assignment would have been had the technology not been available. It will be my goal as a teacher to incorporate technology in the classroom in meaningful ways that will help my students to learn the technology itself as well as the general subject matter. It is my opinion that both aspects are paramount to a competent education.

I'll end with a quote from the book that summed it up quite nicely: "As educators work to align curricula to these standards it's important to remember that they do not replace content areas standards; they support them by emphasizing the importance of using modern tools and strategies to achieve academic goals." (pg 7)