Reflection #2

Everything Google was so interesting to me. I found out so many new parts to google that I never knew even existed. I thought I was pretty down with technology, but it just goes to show that technology is endless. There is always something new to learn with technology. I especially loved google docs and google calendar. These tools will be so useful in my future classroom. I think google docs can definately be used for group projects with creating powerpoints together and giving each other feedback. Students have a new way to communicate which is very awesome and it is also a way for the teacher to look in and see what things the students are doing and give them feedback from home, not just in the classroom. You could even use it for announcements about class. Creating a book club with this tool for extra credit or something would also be a lot of fun! I do believe that this kind of technology would need to apply to the upper elementary students though because it is a little advanced for younger kids. Also, google calendar is such an awesome tool that could help students learn to make schedules and plan and be more prepared. Then receiving reminders on their cell phones about upcoming events...thats just amazing! It would be a good way to get students excited about getting things done and learning how to plan out their time. It would teach responsibility in a fun way. The only downfall I see in this technology is less them meeting together as groups and building strong face to face relationships, which is so important as such a young age. But I do believe that if students are given time in class to talk with one another and have those face to face group experiences, then google is an incredible teaching tool. Google has so many great new technologies that I'm excited to learn more about and think of more ideas of where to use it in my own classroom.

The video this week certainly touched home with me. I truly feel that if more teachers used cell phones, i pods, and computers positively in their classrooms students would respond to their teaching methods so much better! I would absolutely love if you could say "pop quiz students, take out your cell phones." Then you could have multiple choice questions where students texted their answers and somehow it could show up on your computer what their answers were for a grade. Then if you had it connect to your projector so the students could see what percent answered a, b, and so on. It would be a good way to discuss the answers and not leave the students wondering about the answers they didn't quite know. The students would be shocked to use their cell phones for a pop quiz! It would also be really neat if teachers used pod casts more in the classroom where kids could go home and watch the pod cast and then report back on it through google docs and give feedback to one another that way. There are endless options with technology. Teaching would definately be more effective if teachers used cell phones and i-pods positively in the classroom for teaching instead of yelling at students to put them away. Students would respond better and learning would be more fun.

This is such exciting new technology to me! I'm definately planning on learning more about it so that I may understand it better to use it in my own classroom one day.