Journal 1

Shifflet, Rene (June/July 08). Extreme Makeover: Updating Classroom Activities for the 21st Century. 35, from http://www.iste.org


Extreme Makeover is the perfect title for this article. So many classrooms are not utilizing the great interactive and collaborative ways students can learn using technology. Many teachers are scared to use technology in their classroom beyond power point presentations. I think this is due to fear of the unknown. Many teacher already have a multitude of after school commitments and keeping up on technology is not high on the to do list if your afraid of cell phones. The good thing is that many young teachers will be coming into teaching with in the next several years. These teachers will be people who grew up in the technological age and are not scared to use technology in their classroom. Collaborative projects such as google docs are a great way for students to work together that allows them some independent thinking. So many times in class students are not given an opportunity to think they are canisters to deposit information. Not only can students work together to plan their document they can share it with peers and family at home or school. I think this creates pride and ownership in student work.
Q: How do we get more teachers to use technology in the classroom?
A: With current budget cuts I think its hard to do anything extra but a good way would be to find a technological literate teacher to take on the role of finding and distributing technology information. With programs such as Zoho available I think more teachers would be inclined to use this in the classroom. Once the element of fear is gone then there is less resistance to change. This can lead to a deeper interest in finding more ways to use technology in the classroom.


Mader, Jerod (June/July 08). Blogging Right Along. 35, from http://www.iste.org

Blogging Right Along is the perfect example of how technology can be used effectively in the classroom. This not only requires the student to be involved in the class but re-explaining concepts on the blog will help students get a better understanding of class materials. A classroom blog can be useful also for the student who is having trouble. Reading concepts in students own words sometimes is all it takes to really understand.
Q: Can you make this a requirement?
A: I’m not sure how teachers in a public school system could make this a requirement. With most days full of curriculum targeted toward testing it leaves little time for students to share usually the one computer in class or make trips to the computer lab. It is not safe to assume that each student has access to Internet at home. Once again good education comes down to the have and have-nots. It is those that have resources to supplement education that have the opportunity to excel. The difficulty of making this a requirement might be presumptuous of me since I have not been in the classroom yet. None the less I see blogging as a great educational tool.