Week 3: Assignment 2

Which ideas from the PPT reflect what the ELA teachers you interviewed are currently doing to integrate technology with their literacy instruction? 
The PowerPoint talks about ICT's which are information and communication technologies. These include hardware and applications used to convey content. When interviewing my ELA teacher she talked about using google classroom which is an application students and teachers can use to submit and comment on work. 

How can you help change their instructional practices to include the use of technology and the Internet in their literacy and content-area curriculum?
One thing that I think would improve the use of technology in the classroom would be more online games/quizzes. There are many programs that allow teachers to create quizzes and educational games for children to interact with, and students seem to be more engaged this way.

What professional development and/or resources will they need in order to make these changes? I feel as if making these changes would be quite simple for teachers, as most teachers know how to use the internet. However, I think it is always beneficial for teachers to broaden their horizons and learn new things, especially when it comes to technology, an ever changing matter. What ideas do you have for grouping students so they will have equal access to technology in the classroom?
When it comes to group work, I think that doing some form of centers is a good idea, especially if the resources are limited. Having a group of students work on the computers and another group working on something else, and switching will keep the lesson interesting and also allow every student time on the computer. 



 

Week 3: Assignment 1

The main theme that was conveyed in all three articles was that technology is changing extremely fast and will continue to change, and teachers and students need to be able to keep up with it. Instruction in the classroom has almost made the complete turn to technology. If not all, most  classrooms have some sort of technological aspect of learning going on and its up to the teachers to instruct their students the right way to do it. This may be a challenge for the teachers that have been in the field for quite some time and are used to paper, books etc. However, it is extremely important that all teachers get on board with teaching technology and new literacies in the classroom because this is the only way to fully prepare students for their futures. Not only teachers have to be on board with this, but the school district as well. The districts must be able to provide teachers with tools for different media outlets to run properly. Technology in the classroom definitely comes with its challenges, but I think all in all it is a major benefit to the overall engagement of a lesson. One thing that really stood out to me in the Barone and Wright article was the statement that with technology in the classroom comes greater engagement and with greater engagement comes higher student achievement. I feel this statement has definitely proved to be true.

http://tinyurl.com/y5bbjxov