1. The effects of technology on children is a complicated issue. There must be a balance between the benefits in terms of enhancing the educational process and costs both monetary and academically. Children's brains are developing and impressionable, frequent exposure to technology has an effect on the wiring the brain in different ways than those of previous generations. What we have learned throughout history is that advances throughout history, determines how our brains develops, and this applies to technology. The Contemporary Issues Revolving Around Technology and Children http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus One of the first comments about the use of technology and children is that they dont learn how to focus but that isnt necessarily true. Yes uninterrupted reading helps children to focus on the content of a story or facts in a textbook but as you will see in a later slide technology can also help children focus at faster rates. Technology has been accused of being used as a replacement for physical activity and imaginative interaction along with contributing to diminishment of the ability to develop social skills. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/children-and-technology-should-you-be-concerned.html 2. http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_games The Impact of Technology on Children Video games are a very powerful tool. The can entertain, educate, be a distraction to learning or enhancement. It is the responsibility of the teacher to figure out ways to use video games that will engage students. If we want to reach todays students we need to use the tools they have been using long before they stepped into your classroom. There has never been a time that technology hasnt existed in the lives of todays children. We must embrace that impact technology has on our students lives and use it to our advantage as an educational tool 3. Developmentally Appropriate Technology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c2-kYxNyMc&index=3&list=UUdksaQxXH13BMeHo09MorBg Web-based technology is centered around a web site with visuals and visuals. The content and presentation needs to match the level of the students abilities. Any age can be taught Newtons Laws of Motion but a kindergarten class will mostly need the web site that uses cartoons as examples. Software based technology are the video games, software applications such as wikis, Poppet, and Snagit. These types of software can be used to create presentations, share ideas, build concepts. A wiki in 1st grade may have more pictures than words as oppose to a high school wiki would be filled with content with a few pictures to support the content. Hardware are the physical things used to access the web or create with the software. Just as with everything else how the hardware is used in kindergarten may differ from a high school class but just about anything that is appropriate in kindergarten can be used in any other grade. It is incumbent upon the teacher to know what type of technology will be appropriate for a class. Not all kindergarten classes are created equal, the teacher should be the best judge what is best for each class, each new year. 4. Promoting, Supporting and Modeling Creative Learning The object of education is to prepare our students to educate themselves throughout their lives Robert Hutchins Students are individual people and should not be looked at as a class of 20-40 students. Each one of those students are passionate about something different, and if teachers know these passions they can connect to each one of their students. Digital Natives states the students roles are researcher, technology expert, thinker, world changer, and self-teacher. The more teachers know about their students as individuals the more they can connect learning styles with innovated ways to reach each and every student with the use of technology that will suit each students way of learning. http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2007P/None/SugataMitra_2007P-480p.mp4 This video clearly demonstrates when students are given the tools they need to use technology they become innovate thinkers. 5. Learning Experiences that Incorporate Digital Tools In any type of classroom setting, drawing on students prior knowledge becomes a perfect tool to use as the background for new knowledge. When the students can expand that knowledge through the use of technology we are providing them with the opportunity to use the tools they will use for the rest of their life. As a caveat to this video, the first time I saw it I wished I could do my elementary internship all over again just because we would have done this project when I taught my kindergarten class about aerodynamics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eyucHMiftoh?v 6. Customize Learning Using Technology Provide opportunities of learning through multiple forms of technology. Weve all heard of Gardners multiple intelligences, the rules dont change just because we are now using technology to enhance our teaching methods. We all learn in different ways and technology can meet the needs of all types of learning styles. Give students options. This video of the young mans love of music was met through the use of technology but in a way that fit his interest. Independent practice is important. Students need the opportunity to explore. Youre the teacher, youre always going to be there should a student request assistant. Be flexible, yesterday the big interest may have been how to create an animation, next week it may be exploring the moon, technology has the ability to customize learning. And remember flexible also means be prepared for those days when technology doesnt want to work. http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-ten-key-lessons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcwpk2n0Ph4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Uw2hk2LnY 7. Collaboration Using Technology Studies have shown that when students collaborate it enhances their learning experience. This third grade class learned just how much fun it was through collaborative learning. When students use collaborative learning they become responsible for each others learning. On slide 4s TED Talk remember the children began to teach each other how to use the computer which in turn enhanced everyone's learning process. These are the same reasons a teacher should collaborate with parents and peers, because you are now giving others the opportunity to share in the responsibility. Through technology its possible to help a parent stayed involved with the learning process with something as simple as a school web site. The success of a student is the goal, collaboration and technology can support the task. Of meeting that goal. 8. Modeling and Facilitating Effective Use of Technology Simply being able to use technology is no longer enough. Today's students need to be able to use technology to analyze, learn and explore. Digital age skills are vital for preparing students to work, live and contribute to the social and civic fabric of their communities. http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students This is a direct quote from the ISTE website. The introduction of new technology is happening everyday and as teacher we must evaluate how or if we are going to use any type of technology and it must be based on the students needs and learning styles. In this TED talk he makes a great argument for using computers to do math. Why not? We still need to teach the meaning and value of the those symbols that make up our numbers but most children by the 2nd grade knows the difference between 100 and 1000. As a teacher I must take into consideration; he is right in stating that using computers allows students to apply the calculations, it allows them to go beyond just the value of the calculation. Good teachers need to research and evaluate new concepts and determine if and how those concepts will benefit your students. This is true for all subject matters, not just math. http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2010G/None/ConradWolfram_2010G-480p.mp4 9. Diverse Needs for Learners http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2010/None/TempleGrandin_2010-480p.mp4 The speaker is autistic and although her comments are more focused on the issue of autism, just about every one of her comments can be applied to any student. Ive already stated teachers need to find ways to teach students based on each of their styles of learning, technology makes that possible. Should the class have only one computer or just a smart board, it is possible to meet the needs for every student. Planning learning opportunities for every student can be accomplished. Possible solutions can include creating stations with one of the stations being the computer or smart board. The one computer should include at a minimum a CD encyclopedia, multimedia presentation software, spreadsheet software, Web browser, and an e-mail program. Maintaining an external hard drive should be used to save only students work on a daily basis. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech092.shtml 10. Evaluate and Reflect on Effective Us of Technology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG5iK7TMRuU Feedback is a constant process in the classroom not just a simple note when test scores and completed assignments are completed. Formative assessment is better suited for today's students but in order to be something more than a good theory teachers need to provide feedback. Ipsative assessments is related to improving and measuring that improvement. It is a relative score based on where a student starts, often used in sports and physical education classes. It a classroom it allows the teacher to measure how far a students is growing in terms a learning. When using ipsative assessments the scores are taken in terms of the relativeness of where each students prior knowledge was before they started and how much each student learned beyond what they knew before the assignments was started. Assessment in a partnering environment should be done using tools the students use. With the technology its easier to let students know how well they are doing much faster and using the tools they use daily In order for assessment to be effective it must be accomplished much faster than two weeks after the completion. Technology will allow a teacher to assess all the same subject but feedback is what is important to make it relative to the assignment and the faster that assessment arrives the better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lBhMSaFNhY 11. Thank you for your time.