Television in the Classroom

At my high school, every classroom had a television. The morning announcements were in the form of a live broadcast from the technology department. This technology was amazing. The students would run a full news room at our highschool and inform students of upcoming events, weather, and information on school sports. This is only one use of the television in a classroom. Another example would be watching the news or a show on TLC or the Discovery Channel. This can be made possible through "Cable in the Classroom". Cable in the Classroom is designed to bring effective media into classrooms for the benefit of students. Televisions are a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom.

Cell Phones in Schools

Many elementary school teachers are having a problem keeping some technology OUT of their classrooms. High school teachers have been facing this problem for years. Should cell phones be allowed in school? Children seem to be getting cell phones earlier and earlier, resulting in third and fourth graders bringing cell phones in to their elementary school clasess. At this age, their parents most likely drop them off at school or at a day care provider, where there is an adult, then they stay at school all day, then go home or to an after school program. When would a child need to use the cell phone, there isn't much time when they aren't with an adult to be calling their mother and father. Cell phones are a great tool, but I feel they are a little unnecessary to have in the third grade.

Christmas Lists in 2007

What is topping Christmas lists in 2007? Ipods, televisions, digital cameras, cell phones, and lap tops are a few things topping christmas lists this year. Kids don't want puzzles and games anymore, its video games and mp3 players. Children are growing up during a time where they are surrounded with these techonological advances. There is no longer a need for board games, they can have an entire gaming system that fits in their hands and can be taken anywhere. There are commercials on television for video games for infants, cell phones that can store all kinds of information, and ipods that can hold more songs than you could possibly want to download. Apple, Sony, and Dell are just a few companies that are popular this year.

I am Thankful for... Technology!

Thanksgiving is a time to realize all that you are thankful for. Friends and family, my home, my accomplishments, are just a few things I am thankful for. I am also thankful for many technological advances. My computer, cell phone, car, and television, make my day much easier. Thanks to researchers and companies that figure out ways to convenience todays population, we have cell phones to text or call someone no matter the location, computers to research and share information, cars to easily transport ourselves to any location, and televisions to update us on breaking news and for simple entertainment. I take for granted many of these because I use them everyday. Without these, I would feel very disconnected to the world and other people.

Microsoft 2007

When I purchased my laptop this summer, I knew it was coming with Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. I thought, just with past "upgrades", it would be pretty much exactly like the old Microsoft Office. I think this version is much different. I'm going on 4 months with my new laptop and I'm still finding new options, new templates, and new buttons. Obviously, the appearance of the programs themselves have changed. There is no longer a File, Edit, Help, etc options at the top. There are ribbons of options that you have to click and try to find out where these old options have been moved. Overall I think I like this new version, but as with anything that is new, it will take a while to get used to. With technology advancing so quickly, we'll be going through this for years to come!

Excel

I think Excel is a very good program to use for keeping a gradebook. It is simple to set up and once it is set up, simple to use! I like how you can find sums, averages, and determine letter grades within a few clicks. It is also nice to be able to present the information in a graph. It is easy to see how children are doing in class not only by themselves but in comparison to others in the classroom. The technology of Excel is definately replacing the old paper and pencil gradebook. I would imagine that teachers had to spend hours calculating final grades. If one grade changed, they would have to recalculate the child's entire grade. Using formulas in Excel, if one grade changes, it automatically updates all information involving that grade. I plan on using Excel, or a similar program, to keep my gradebooks in the future.

PowerPoint

I think PowerPoint is a very effective tool for instruction. These presentations make it easy for students to see the main points of a lecture or lesson. You can add words, pictures, charts, and graphs to get the points across. Most effective powerpoints use no more than six lines per slide and no more than seven words per line. Too many words on one slide can become confusing. Effects such as slide transistion, sound, and self timing, can also help to make a powerpoint slideshow very informative.

As a student, I find it very helpful when I am in a lecture where the teacher uses a powerpoint slideshow. Not only does is keep me alert and paying attention, but it helps me focus on the important things in the lecture. If it is important enough for a teacher to underline or use bold or italic font, then I know it is extra important and will most likely be on a quiz or test. When a teacher just stands in front of a class and speaks for an hour, students become very bored and stop paying attention. I think as a teacher, I'll be using powerpoints to keep that from happening in my classroom!