Questions and Answers Animoto

Throughout this course, we have been taught about various uses of technology in the classroom.  As part of my future as being a student teacher (possibly) in Cawley Middle School in Hooksett, New Hampshire, I posed some questions to my cooperating teacher.  In the Animoto posted on this page, you will see some of those questions and answers.  In case the video moves too quickly, here are those questions along with their slightly more specific answers. 

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important. Bill Gates

Some questions and answers…

Question 1: Who benefits the most from the use of technology in your classroom? DS:  The students. Question 2:   What do you use technology for in your classroom? DS:  Reading Comprehension Checks, Grammar exercises, Educational videos, Video clips (usually as lesson openers), definitions, visuals, publishing, listening exercises 

Question 3: Is technology an important asset for ESL students? DS:  Absolutely. Question 4:  How do you feel about using technology to teach more difficult concepts? DS:  It usually makes things easier.

Question 5: What is the best use of technology when trying to teach students who speak different languages? DS:  Students benefit from the amount of visual aids on the computer, students who are literate in L1 benefit from translations of content area materials Question 6: How should technology not be used in a classroom? DS:  It should not be used when not appropriate. Technology is a very good tool, but just a tool. Students still benefit from other types of instruction.

  Questions and Answers

Journal #2 Reflection

Journal Reflection #2

Nakamaru, Sarah. "Investment and Return: Wiki Engagement in a "Remedial" ESL Writing Course." JRTE 44.4 (2012): 273-291. http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ976469.pdf. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.

As per the requirement for this course, we were requested to reflect on two different articles that dealt with technology in education or more specifically education in an ESL environment. This was definitely going to be one of the hardest things which we had to do. In one such article, an education discussed how wiki engagement could be used in a writing course for ESL students.
            One of the largest issues for ESL students tends to be writing. American English has so many rules and so many more exceptions to those rules it is difficult to know how to write properly. People must wonder why the use of a Wiki would be beneficial then. In the creation of a wiki, students are going to be a bit more formalized in their writing as it is meant to serve as an informative guide about a specific subject. It is important that students gain the experiences that they can with more formalized writing because they are going to be using it more and more often as they get older. The other issue that the author discusses is the difficulty with maintaining engagement in a school environment. This is not merely something that is an issue for grade level students, college students and their teachers face this issue as well. The teacher (who wrote this article) wanted to utilize the creation of a wiki for remedial purposes so that students could perhaps learn to write better.
            Why is this so important then to those of us in a technology class and those of us who plan to be future teachers? Technology in the form of a wiki is most likely going to be something that a number of us will use in the classroom and help our students to learn. We do not want to be lacking in skills in using technology so that students get left. We want to make our writing intelligible enough and clear enough that any student regardless of their academic or language knowledge can understand the material. In addition, the importance of engaging our students should be a constant worry. We do not want our students to be nodding off or simply ignoring what we are trying to teach them. Thus, the use of a wiki and being aware of what we need to do to make our students succesful by using this type of technology and bringing good and solid information to the forefront of our students minds.             This article meets the requirements of understanding both #1 and #2. 
1)  Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning.
2)  Evaluate and use a variety of current technologies to ehnance content instruct to advance students' technological literacy. 
            Students can quite easily benefit from the use of a wiki.  If a wiki is done well, it serves the purpose of teaching people information that they may not know to begin with.  Having students use a wiki and create their own wiki articles helps them to practice their writing skills and use them in such a way that they may be able to help others to learn new information. 
            I have learned from this article enough information so that I might be able to get a better understanding of how a wiki might actually be a great idea in my classroom.  If I were to be teaching grammatical points, it might be a fun idea to have my students contribute their own articles to the wiki so that other students who may be more limited in their language skills can see how their fellow students created an understanding of a certain topic. 

One Final Reflection

Final Blog Reflection

Part 1:
I must say, I am going to have a hard time with this part of this final reflection. I do not know if there are certain course objectives that I have either met or not met throughout this course. I say this because so many of the things that were discussed in this course were either things I already had knowledge about or there were things that I learned that were somewhat new and built upon. I think that this class has made us more knowledgable about what we need or can use as future teachers with the world that technology has opened us up to. Technology is something that is either hit or miss even when it comes to us digital natives. I feel like I have gained more of an appreciation for what is out there in terms of technology. There are certainly tools that I will continue to use in the future when it comes to working with my students. I think I will build a wiki, use vokis, etc. for my students. I just do not know if there are objectives that were either met or have yet to even be learned. I feel as though I am definitely more well-rounded in terms of the technology that I have learned about. I definitely think I was less aware of the different technologies that are out there for teachers to use and I look forward to trying to use them in my own classroom. I just think that I can adequately explain in a blog how what I have learned will help me in the future and where I stood before I even took this course. I definitely think that this course should be one that is required and should be done before any other course work. The reason I mention this is because one can use any number of these different technologies in other courses or even in our free-time towards working with students. I apologize ahead of time if this does not seem to directly answer this question or if this is what was expected in terms of this series of questions.


Part 2:
This question is equally difficult and equally challenging to answer. Technology (as I alluded to before) is either hit or miss. There are going to be certain circumstances where using technology as part of the curriculum and lessons that we do with our students and other times where it is not. There are definitely certain age brackets where technology may not be a benefit. However, the users of technology continue to get younger and younger. I am not sure how many of you have heard about the young baby who was looking at a magazine and kept expecting it to react like a tablet computer. There are so many barriers to technology, i.e. money, availability, and proper teachers. Kim, with regards to the knowledge base you have, it is not surprising how much of this stuff seems to easily be taught to us. Technology should be used in such a way that we can help our students and hopefully not make them feel inadequate. I still remember that way back when I was in at least second grade that was one of the first times I used a computer (I even remember it was an Apple IIE and a dot matrix printer.) I do not think that technology should always be integrated into what we are teaching. It is matter of appropriateness and the usefulness of it. We should do whatever we can to try and overcome these barriers, but it is not vital. We have to be aware of what happened B.C. and B.G. (before computers and before Google.) It is imperative that we think of those what ifs. ESL teachers can certainly benefit from using technology so that our kids can be taught grammar in a fun and entertaining method, but it is not vital for our students.

Audioboo and Webquest

listen to ‘Review of the Class So Far’ on Audioboo

Where Did

I Come From?

A WebQuest for 10^th Grade English as a Second Language Students

Designed by

Jacob S. Plattjacobplattsnhu@gmail.com

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

Introduction

Many of you have come to the United States from different countries. Before you were even a citizen here, many of your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents may have come through Ellis Island (which is shown above.) In this Webquest, you will find information and then create a presentation about where your family comes from. Some of the research you do may need to be done at home by asking your parents what they know of their family history. You will find answers on each of the pages that are included within this Webquest. Your job is to find the important details that you would like to share with us as your fellow students and teacher. The big question I would like for you to answer is “Where Did I Come From?”, that is, where is your family from and what can you share with us about that place? Teach us everything you can about your family history.  

The Task

Your task involves answering these and any other facts that you feel are necessary to contribute to what we may not already know about the country where your family is originally from.

• Where is my family from?
• Why did my family leave?
• What can I find out about my country in the present day?
• What pictures can I find of my country?
• What do I know of the government of my country?
• Etc.

You are going to be using the Internet to find this information. I will be providing some Websites for your own personal research that may help to answer these and other questions. You will be eventually using PowerPoint to create the final product.

The Process

1. First you will go home and talk to your parents about your ancestry.
2. Ask your Mom and Dad about where their parents came from. If there is a specific place that makes you really interested, choose that country.
3. Secondly, come into school with this information and explain to me which country you have decided to focus on.
4. Thirdly, go on to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ and find the following information:

A) A map of the country

B) The total area of the country (in square kilometers)

C) The nationality for someone from that country as an adjective.

D) What is the average age for males?

E) What is the average age for females?

F) What is the literacy rate for males?

G) What is the literacy rate for females?

H) What is the name of the capital of the country?

I) When did the country achieve independence?

J) Who is the chief of state for the country?

K) What are the major political parties of the country?

L) Find a picture of the flag of the country

M) What is the name of the national anthem?

N) Find a picture of the leader of the country.

5. When you have found all of this information, put it all together in a Word document organized in such a way that anyone can understand the information.
6. Print this out, and show it to me.
7. When you have gathered the information and I have given my approval, go into Microsoft PowerPoint and start making a PowerPoint presentation.
8. On the first slide, provide your first and last name, your class name, my name (Mr. Platt), and the date in (mm/dd/yyyy) format
9. On the second slide, places images of the country found on http://www.google.com/imghp (no more than ten, and no maps on this slide)
10. On the remaining slides place the information you found from the CIA website.
11. You have the ability to design these slides however you would like with whatever transitions you would like so long as you have all the information that I have asked of you.
12. Have fun! This is meant to give you more of a fun understanding of where you come from.

Where Did I Come From PowerPoint Presentation


Teacher Name: Mr. Platt

Student Name:     ________________________________________

Background

4 Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from card to card and is appropriate for the topic.

3 Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from card to card.

2 Background does not detract from text or other graphics.

1 Background makes it difficult to see text or competes with other graphics on the page.

Sounds -planning

4 Careful planning has gone into sounds. All sounds improve the content or \"feel\" of the presentation.

3 Some planning has gone into sounds. Most enhance the content or \"feel\" of the presentation, but 1-2 seem to be added for no real reason. None detract from the overall presentation.

2 Sounds that are chosen are appropriate for the topic, but some detract from the overall presentation.

1 Sounds are not appropriate for the presentation.

Text - Font Choice & Formatting

4 Font formats (e.g., color, bold, italic) have been carefully planned to enhance readability and content.

3 Font formats have been carefully planned to enhance readability.

2 Font formatting has been carefully planned to complement the content. It may be a little hard to read.

1 Font formatting makes it very difficult to read the material.

Content - Accuracy

4 All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.

3 Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.

2 The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.

1 Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.

Sequencing of Information

4 Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be on the next card.

3 Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One card or item of information seems out of place.

2 Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional card or item of information seems out of place.

1 There is no clear plan for the organization of information.

Use of Graphics

4 All graphics are attractive (size and colors) and support the theme/content of the presentation.

3 A few graphics are not attractive but all support the theme/content of the presentation.

2 All graphics are attractive but a few do not seem to support the theme/content of the presentation.

1 Several graphics are unattractive AND detract from the content of the presentation.

Conclusion

Hopefully, by now you have gained a great appreciation for where you come from. I hope that you can put this information to good use when teaching people about where you come from. Who do you think you will share this information with in the future?

Credits & References

Thanks to the following websites:

• www.rubistar.4teachers.org
• http://images.google.com/
• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
• http://images.google.com/imgres?q=ellis+island&start=98&num=10&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1440&bih=733&tbm=isch&tbnid=SgAyKPyfv6I6FM:&imgrefurl=http://www.familyhistoryexpos.com/wordpress/2010/03/weekly-tip-my-ancestor-came-through-ellis-island-i-think%25E2%2580%25A6/&docid=-vpWqjX2509_6M&imgurl=http://fhexpos.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ellis-island1.jpg&w=425&h=282&ei=YfKoULuzEM-v0AG-y4GABw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=390&vpy=309&dur=480&hovh=143&hovw=213&tx=141&ty=78&sig=116604170435647797992&page=4&tbnh=142&tbnw=211&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:100,i:4

Animoto of Manchester

Here is a mini-animoto that was created using pictures I have personally taken here in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Blogs to Blog About

For this week's entry, we have to take a look at three different blogs and answer four different questions on each of them.  Here are those three blogs...


Blog 1:  http://learningismessy.com/blog/
"Brian Crosby is the author of this blog and a teacher who specializes in “at risk” students. He shares his ideas for learning in a personal style and encourages other teachers to understand that sometimes learning isn’t linear."
Question 1.  Brian tends to write about the important issues that we face everyday as teachers such as having to deal with difficult issues with administrators and trying to help our students to learn in the best way possible.  I think the general audience of this blog is meant to be anybody who is in the field of education.  He wants us to feel comfortable to know that we are not alone as teachers and that anything we can do is possible because there is always a "mess" that needs cleaning. 

Question 2.  I think that this is an important blog, not simply for those of us in this course, but any of us who plan to be teachers.  We can learn a lot from his insight as an educator and from the issues he discusses with his readers.  I would definitely consider adding this to my reader to continue to see what types of things he discusses with his readers. 

Question 3.  http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=1240 
This particularly post caught my eye for a few different reasons.  One, it was a good reflection on Brian's academci experience with his students this year and secondly, because it included Grace Corrigan, Christa McAullife's mother.  Years ago, when I was in elementary school, I got to see Grace speak at my school since my art teacher had helped build a space shuttle classroom out of a school bus. 

Blog 2:
 http://blog.chegg.com/

This blog is attached to the Chegg website; a student services site for planning and study help. The blog gives advice about finding inexpensive textbooks, study habits, and scholarships. Be sure to check out the post, What Does Your Major Say About You?

 

Question 1.  The authors are varied, so it is hard to determine exactly what their agenda is.  However, in the description of what the blog it states that it is meant to be an overall helpful tool for students.  Perhaps the authors want students and teachers to feel comfortable knowing that they can get information from this blog. 

Question 2.  I think that this blog will actually be helpful not so much for me, but it will be helpful for my future students.  I want my students to be able to feel like that if I am not able to provide the help that they need that I can point them in the direction of support on other sites. 

Question 3.  This was probably one of my favorite posts: http://blog.chegg.com/2012/10/16/biden-v-ryan-anything-goes/.  I think the reason why I enjoyed this post is because it simplifies the information about the recent Vice-Presidential debate and makes it more palatable than having to dive in head first if you didn't see the debate itself.  Students are going to want to read ideas that are not going to overwhelm their minds. 

Okay, seriously, how can we not be interested in a blog with this name? 

Blog 3:  http://funnymonkey.com/blog 

Funny Monkey blog is highlights all the news and information related to Funny Monkey, a business dedicated to making educational materials free. In addition to news, the blog also covers major educational issues, technology, and classroom solutions.

Question 1.  The author like Chegg's seems to be varied.  However, they are very interested in presenting important ideas to the academic community, primarily for those of us who plan to be teachers or administrators.  The blog audience is mostly those who are interested in the "Op-Ed" aspect of education.  This is an important blog for educators to read because it will keep us to date on what the current issues are for teachers.   

Question 2.  Again, this is not a blog that may be beneficial to this class, but it is more beneficial to the overall educator.  I want to be able to keep myself informed and not constantly feel like I am being left in the dark about what is important and what issues teachers are facing these days.  Students should read this blog to gain an understanding of what the current ideas are about education are that floating about. 

Question 3.  http://funnymonkey.com/if-we-outsource-curriculum-standards-assessment-whats-left  This is a very important post, it was the most recent one from earlier this week.  We need to start thinking about what values we place on standardized tests.  Is Common Core going to affect this? Are we going prevent our students from being independent thinkers?  What is going to happen?  What is Pearson's role in this?

Tagxedo

Jake Platt
October 18, 2012

Technology in Education

I am unique and sensitive

I wonder if the future is as wonderful as it seems

I hear people chattering away about their classes
I see myself before a classroom with students smiling up at me

I hear the printer creating text and making noise

I am unique and sensitive

I pretend that sometimes people knew that I had a heart

I feel sad and lonely when I am stuck inside my own head

I touch the keys and they rattle as I write these words

I worry that the future is not bright enough for me

I cry or feel sad when I can not see into my own successes

I am unique and sensitive

I understand that teaching and my future can be scary

I say that if we can all enjoy each other, then we will be able to make the world a more pleasant place

I dream that people can tolerate friends and foes

I try to succeed where I can

I hope that people know me not just for what they see on the outside

I am unique and sensitive

Common Core Standards

6.L.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions writing, speaking, reading, or listening
6.L.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Nets Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct

knowledge, and develop innovative products and

processes using technology.

b. Create original works as a means of personal

or group expression

Growing Up Online/Digital Nation

Watch This!

and 

Watch This!

These are two very important videos for any teacher, student, and parent to watch!

 1. Compare and Contrast each documentary. What has changed from the first one (Growing Up Online) made in 2008 to the newer one (Digital Nation) filmed in 2010 ? How did what you watched in the two videos support your feelings about technology or how did it change your views? It is quite difficult to compare and contrast these two documentaries because I was not able to complete watching the first one because it was quite upsetting. It is not surprising to me that technology has had such a profound impact on my generation. After all I am in the generation that was raised with America Online's People Connection, Myspace, and Facebook. As I brought up in class, cyberbullying is not something that is easily escapable. I myself have been victimized by it. Unfortunately, people are going to continue to abuse technology so long as it exists. Do we think that this is ever going to go away? Absolutely not, when we discussed the "digital footprint" we all leave behind, it is going to be far more challenging for my generation to erase this mark, much like the footprint Neil Armstrong left on the moon close to 60 years ago. Technology is definitely one of those things that when used appropriately it can benefit others, but put in the wrong hands will lead to utter destruction.

2. Your thoughts on multitasking. Do you agree? Can you multitask? Do you disagree with the video on the topic of multitasking?
This to me is an amusing concept to bring up. I think that my generation tends to believe that it is more successful at multi-tasking than our parents. However, we are not. I am definitely guilty of while I am multi-tasking while I work on assignments. Even as I am working on this blog, I am tagging my music and I am waiting for my insurance company to get on the phone with me. Am I good at this usually? Absolutely not. I would certainly be interested in taking myself to task to see how successful I truly am. It would not surprise me if I failed miserably in this task.

3. Is there an addiction happening in society today with technology or is it just a new way of living? Should we be concerned? Absolutely. Technology is very addicting. We should be incredibly concerned. When I think about the amount of time I am playing with my iPad instead of working on school assignments or when I am working on other assignments that I should be focusing on for different purposes, I have to wonder am I just addicted or am I using technology appropriately. I have to wonder why the United States has not started to see if this is true of American students. I would like to think that most American students are started to be "addicted to technology." They just do not realize it.

6. Do parents of today have any idea what their kids are doing online? Whose job is it to teach them the safety and digital responsibility? Parents/Teachers/Community/Government?? This is an incredibly important question for us to focus on not only as future educators, but as future parents as well. Unfortunately, most parents probably do not know what their children are doing online. There are a number of sick people on the Internet who will take advantage of children. I would have to say that the responsibility of this is on each of these parties. Parents should be good role models for their children in terms of explaining what benefits technology serves as well as any detriments that may come their way. Teachers also have a responsibility of instilling further information on students. Although it was amusing in the second documentary to watch Asian students singing about technological responsibility, it is not something to take lightly. The community is not a group that should be as responsible, but it is very important that laws are enacted (with the help of the government) to safeguard children.

7. Are kids and adults today ruining their digital footprints by sharing too much information online without realizing that it may be detrimental to their future? Should they care? I alluded to this briefly before. Hopefully, students of the next generation (not mine) get enough of an awareness that they realize that their footprints will follow them everywhere. Unfortunately, those in my generation have not begun to realize how much they share will affect our futures.

Vokis and Digital Citizenship

When learning about Digital Citizenship: There are nine different things that we should be paying attention to. In the video I watched on Youtube I came across a few of these important details while watching the video that I link below. See the video below for a little bit more detail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpFhHt82m0k&blend=10&lr=1&ob=5 There is a lot more to digital citizenship than I realized. Digital citizenship is important for all students to learn about. Unfortunately, even those of us who use technology on a regular basis are not always aware of what we need to do to make sure that we are acting appropriately as citizens. Digital access is something that we probably take for granted living here in the United States. As digital citizens living in the 21st century, we need to make sure that we are doing things that are appropriate within the confines of the Internet. If we do not do things that could be perceived as appropriate our access could be denied or taken away from us. I am willing to bet that most of us are people who engage in digital commerce. We are constantly buying clothes, cds, dvds, blu-ray discs, etc. on the Internet. It is going to be difficult unless we are in a third world country to not meet someone who has not engaged in digital commerce. Digital communication, this is one that strikes a chord with me as I had addressed in class. There are so many things that can be said and posted utilizing 21st century technology. Why people do not realize how easy it is to bully someone or to terrorize others just by using the Internet or other forms of technology I will never know. This leads into digital etiquette which I will address momentarily. Besides utilizing Internet and similar technologies for purposes of entertaining ourselves, literacy is definitely changing in this era. Students are often writing papers saying, "k, i, lol, jk, lmfao etc." For those of us who are looking to be English as a Second Language teachers we need to be on the look out for students who are using Internet vocabulary instead of proper grammar and spelling of things in their writing. Digital etiquette ties into the remaining three parts of digital citizenship. Why is it that people think that it is appropriate to do some of the things that they do online? People should be held accountable for it.

Week 2: ‘Embodied learning’ blends lessons with student-computer interaction

 Another thought into technology education...

Link to Article

      Finding an article that incorporates English as a Second Language and technology is very difficult.  I was not sure if there was anything that we have already discussed that might lend itself towards a better understanding of using technology for us as future teachers.  Technology can help plenty of students, but what types of technology are beneficial towards those of us who plan to teach English as a Second Language.
 
While searching for an article to do for a literature review, I was not sure exactly what I wanted to read about.  I was trying to see if there was an article that discussed teaching English as a Second Language in correlation with using technology.  I guess I had to settle for an article that took place back home in Pennsylvania.  First of all, "getting into a lesson" regardless of working with ESL students or not.  We need to be able to make sure that students find a way to get involved and interested in whatever we are teaching them.  So, what if students actually and quite literally "got into a lesson."  According to the article I read, students in Pennsylvania are actually doing that.   Using technology known as "SMALLab Learning"  students utilize a projector, motion-sensor cameras, and a computer to do this.  Using trial-and-error methodology students can figure out why certain things happen.  Imagine the possibilities of doing this in a chemistry class or a physics class.  The software and capability for doing this was created out at the University of Arizona.

    Technology such as this can help students to feel like they can get more involved and more interested in what they are learning.  We want students to feel like they can get do things that they get involved with.  Using technology gives students the opportunity to learn differently than they usually think that they can.  This type of technology that these students use will promote more active learning.  We want students to be participating in classes and not sitting idly by while we are attempting to teach them our lessons.         

    When we are able to we will teach our students the capability to work with such technology so that they can utilize this so that they can learn better.  Using content instruction we can give students an opportunity to work with this type of technology and help them to learn how technology can impact their learning.  There are so many ways that we can utilize these in helping our students to learn.  We just need to take the time to learn this technology ourselves so that we can help our students to use it in the best way possible.

    This article relates to future plans of mine as an educator.  I hope to use technology such as this in my future endeavors as a teacher.  This type of technology is more so geared towards science and mathematics courses.  However, I would like to be able to use anything that makes my students feel like they can participate more comfortably.  Anything that can make this situation easier for students is a great benefit.  Students need to be given any opportunity they can to learn new things that will help them to teach others that may be struggling.

    This is hard to say because I have not had any direct teaching practice.  I do not understand how we as students are going to be able to answer this question since some of us have not even been in a classroom yet.  I do not know if my students will benefit or find that technology such as this will serve as a disadvantage towards our students.

    This is a type of technology that can effectively promote student learning. It would hopefully help students to be more engaged in the classroom.  It would give them the opportunity to participate in various aspects of the learning experience.  It would actually make learning FUN, something that few students (particularly the age group I plan to work with) feel like doing.   

Should we integrate technology into the classroom?

http://www.tnooz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/academia-technology.jpg

Technology in the classroom... is it a good idea or not?

This is a very important question for us to answer. If we are to integrate technology into our classroom, we should make certain that this is technology that is not overwhelming and not going to cause students to be distracted in their education. As a future ESL educator, I certainly recognize the importance of utilizing technology in my class so that my students can better understand my lessons and the material that their mainstream teachers are providing to them if they are having a difficult time. Although it may take more time, i plan to integrate technology into my classroom so that my students are more engaged and pay closer attention to what I am teaching them. I want students to learn in such a way that they do not get left behind and fall into the cracks of academic society. There is a rule that students in the Intensive English Program here at SNHU are not allowed to use technology in the classroom. I do not personally understand that because if a student is struggling, don't we want to give them the opportunity to learn what they need to? Technology is something that the future generations of students are going to have to deal with every day of their lives. Academia and technology are no longer going to be two separate ideas. One should attempt to have both so that all students can succeed.   This is definitely something I will have a better understanding of and have a better answer for once I finish this course.  I do want to come back to this topic later on.

When watching the video that we had to watch for this blog posting, this statistic took me by surprise:




Capture taken from: http://quietube3.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8



I guess I took that as a surprise because I would have thought it would be much more, but I do not know when this video is from.  Kids are gaming a lot more then that these days.  However, the games that we can incorporate into the classroom will hopefully have a great impact on the learning that future generations of students do.  Are kids going to benefit from using technology?  In English as a Second Language classrooms, perhaps one of the best ways we can help our students to learn is by incorporating games into their learning.  Is technology becoming a detriment to those students of the next generation?  I don't think so.  I think it is important that we find ways to incorporate technology into the classroom so that our future students know that there are limits and benefits to using technology that can be used before they attempt to waste time and make technology into something that will be wasteful and prevent them from accomplishing any real goals.  This video is certainly shocking in some of the details it provides to us as future teachers.