Introduction:
My name is Jon McClelland. I was born on October 27, in Dayton, Ohio. I graduated from Kettering Fairmont High School in 2006 and have been a proud bearcat ever since. Both my mom and dad still live back in Kettering along with most of my relatives. I have a brother who lives in Philadelphia with his girlfriend. I have a girlfriend who goes to Ohio State. We have been together over a year now.
I run track here at UC. I specialize in the 800 meter run. I have a pet bulldog named Guinness who I adopted this summer. He snorts a lot. I live off campus in a house with five other guys. One of my roommates created a website for our house. Anything you would really want to know about me I would tell you. You need only to ask. I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching the leaves change color, and I'm a scorpio.
Standards:
I. Technology Operations and Concepts
Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers: b. demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies. I feel that as a future educator, this is very important. Technology is perpetually changing and improving itself. It is crucial to stay on top of the changes and improvements being made. I feel I have done just that in this class though. I had never even seen a smartboard until this class. I feel much more capable of working with a wide array of technology and feel that I will continue to gain confidence and knowledge about technology.
II. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers: a. design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners. This standard is the basis for what the final project is built on. For the final project, we are learning how to do this. We are working in a real classroom scenario with technology and as a group are trying to find the best way to develope a lesson plan that incorporates technology successfully, to meet the various needs of students' learning styles.
III. Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum
Teachers implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers: c. apply technology to develop students' higher-order skills and creativity. I feel that technology gives students a much greater chance of exploring their creative side. The wide range of programs and software gives students the chance to explore creative outlets that they would not be able to without the technoogical resources we have learned about. For example, the use of SmartBoards gives students a new way of having hands-on experiences working with a wide variety of subjects. The wide sample of programs that come with SmartBoard technology or that can be downloaded through their website give students a lot of different games, programs, and samples to work with and develop their skills and creative outlets.
IV. Assessment and Evaluation
Teachers apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies. Teachers: b.use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning. I think making the gradesheet with Microsoft Excel was a great way of applying this standard. It used technology effectively to show student averages, totals, and low scores with relative ease. It made it very easy to look at how students are doing and what areas they are struggling in. It also helps show patterns that may indicate I need to change teaching methods in certain areas.
V. Productivity and Professional Practice
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers: d. use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community to nurture student learning. I feel that this a good standard that I am already getting to grasp in this class. Using technology to communicate with colleagues, parents, students, and peers is a much more efficient way of communicating and is bound to improve as technology improves. In working on the final project, I have already learned to work with e-mail and discussion boards to talk with my fellow group members. It is an easy way of making sure every member is aware of what is going on and what is expected of them.
VI. Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues
Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply those principles in practice. Teachers: e. facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all students. This was one of the problems that we had to make sure to overcome in the final project. I think all groups that had to deal with this problem did a good job of it. My group didn't have too much trouble dealing with it because we were dealing with a classroom that had computers, just not enough for every student. By putting the students in groups and making them work together on the computers it made it much easier to enforce this standard. We have also talked in class about how to deal with this kind of situation both in and out of the classroom.
Reflection:
As this quarter has progressed, I have gained insight into a wide variety of topics and ideas involving technology in teaching. I feel that one of the most important topics I have looked into and learned about are the ethical and moral issues involving technology and education. Reading "How Young Is Too Young?" made me think about the issue of when technology should be implemented in our schools. It really made me think about how important it is that teachers apply everything in the classroom with a certain sense of responsibility, no matter how minor or major the technology might be. The issues being mentioned in the article made me realize that computers can be a very good tool for students as long as teachers make sure to teach how to use them correctly and clarify the responsibilities associated with them. After thinking about that, I started to think about how true that is with everything that teachers and students use in the classroom. It is the teachers responsibility to make sure every student knows what is expected of them and what is appropriate in dealing with technological devices in educational settings.
Another insightful moment that I had was while watching that Digital Divide video. I realized there will be issues that I will have to deal with that I will have no control over, what-so-ever. It is a shame that the world I am going to teach in will have to deal with a divide like the one mentioned in the video. To teach students like the ones in the video, who have less access to technology than students in school districts with more money, there are more issues to face in dealing with the applications of technology. It is important to communicate with these students, their parents, and the school administrators in order to figure out the best way to use technology and to teach the students to the highest possible standard.
I think these are the two biggest concepts I have learned during this class. I have learned some more minor things. For example, I have learned how a SmartBoard works and how to use Microsoft Excel. I have also learned about some of the emerging technologies that may be implemented during my career as an educator. I also think that the online textbook that we have started to develop as a class will become very useful to me in the future. Learning all of these will help me to become a great educator and I feel I am already on my way there.
My name is Jon McClelland. I was born on October 27, in Dayton, Ohio. I graduated from Kettering Fairmont High School in 2006 and have been a proud bearcat ever since. Both my mom and dad still live back in Kettering along with most of my relatives. I have a brother who lives in Philadelphia with his girlfriend. I have a girlfriend who goes to Ohio State. We have been together over a year now.
I run track here at UC. I specialize in the 800 meter run. I have a pet bulldog named Guinness who I adopted this summer. He snorts a lot. I live off campus in a house with five other guys. One of my roommates created a website for our house. Anything you would really want to know about me I would tell you. You need only to ask. I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching the leaves change color, and I'm a scorpio.
Standards:
I. Technology Operations and Concepts
Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:
b. demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies. I feel that as a future educator, this is very important. Technology is perpetually changing and improving itself. It is crucial to stay on top of the changes and improvements being made. I feel I have done just that in this class though. I had never even seen a smartboard until this class. I feel much more capable of working with a wide array of technology and feel that I will continue to gain confidence and knowledge about technology.
II. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers:
a. design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners. This standard is the basis for what the final project is built on. For the final project, we are learning how to do this. We are working in a real classroom scenario with technology and as a group are trying to find the best way to develope a lesson plan that incorporates technology successfully, to meet the various needs of students' learning styles.
III. Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum
Teachers implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers:
c. apply technology to develop students' higher-order skills and creativity. I feel that technology gives students a much greater chance of exploring their creative side. The wide range of programs and software gives students the chance to explore creative outlets that they would not be able to without the technoogical resources we have learned about. For example, the use of SmartBoards gives students a new way of having hands-on experiences working with a wide variety of subjects. The wide sample of programs that come with SmartBoard technology or that can be downloaded through their website give students a lot of different games, programs, and samples to work with and develop their skills and creative outlets.
IV. Assessment and Evaluation
Teachers apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies. Teachers:
b. use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning. I think making the gradesheet with Microsoft Excel was a great way of applying this standard. It used technology effectively to show student averages, totals, and low scores with relative ease. It made it very easy to look at how students are doing and what areas they are struggling in. It also helps show patterns that may indicate I need to change teaching methods in certain areas.
V. Productivity and Professional Practice
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers:
d. use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community to nurture student learning. I feel that this a good standard that I am already getting to grasp in this class. Using technology to communicate with colleagues, parents, students, and peers is a much more efficient way of communicating and is bound to improve as technology improves. In working on the final project, I have already learned to work with e-mail and discussion boards to talk with my fellow group members. It is an easy way of making sure every member is aware of what is going on and what is expected of them.
VI. Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues
Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply those principles in practice. Teachers:
e. facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all students. This was one of the problems that we had to make sure to overcome in the final project. I think all groups that had to deal with this problem did a good job of it. My group didn't have too much trouble dealing with it because we were dealing with a classroom that had computers, just not enough for every student. By putting the students in groups and making them work together on the computers it made it much easier to enforce this standard. We have also talked in class about how to deal with this kind of situation both in and out of the classroom.
Reflection:
As this quarter has progressed, I have gained insight into a wide variety of topics and ideas involving technology in teaching. I feel that one of the most important topics I have looked into and learned about are the ethical and moral issues involving technology and education. Reading "How Young Is Too Young?" made me think about the issue of when technology should be implemented in our schools. It really made me think about how important it is that teachers apply everything in the classroom with a certain sense of responsibility, no matter how minor or major the technology might be. The issues being mentioned in the article made me realize that computers can be a very good tool for students as long as teachers make sure to teach how to use them correctly and clarify the responsibilities associated with them. After thinking about that, I started to think about how true that is with everything that teachers and students use in the classroom. It is the teachers responsibility to make sure every student knows what is expected of them and what is appropriate in dealing with technological devices in educational settings.
Another insightful moment that I had was while watching that Digital Divide video. I realized there will be issues that I will have to deal with that I will have no control over, what-so-ever. It is a shame that the world I am going to teach in will have to deal with a divide like the one mentioned in the video. To teach students like the ones in the video, who have less access to technology than students in school districts with more money, there are more issues to face in dealing with the applications of technology. It is important to communicate with these students, their parents, and the school administrators in order to figure out the best way to use technology and to teach the students to the highest possible standard.
I think these are the two biggest concepts I have learned during this class. I have learned some more minor things. For example, I have learned how a SmartBoard works and how to use Microsoft Excel. I have also learned about some of the emerging technologies that may be implemented during my career as an educator. I also think that the online textbook that we have started to develop as a class will become very useful to me in the future. Learning all of these will help me to become a great educator and I feel I am already on my way there.