Final: Reflective Post

I will begin this blog by thanking Professor Coleman.  Thank you Professor Coleman.  My experiences in EME2040 were great because I felt listened to and guided throughout the whole course.  I thought I was pretty familiar with most technology but soon learned that there is so many more tools out there that can be used to enhance technology even further.  I learned about and got a chance to use many great new programs such as ToonDoo, Prezi, FlipQuiz, StoryBird, Kahoot, and Wordle.  I learned how to properly hyperlink in Blogger, embed images, embed videos, add creative commons, but most importantly how to give credits to those who created a website, image or video that I am using on my own creation.  Here is an article describing a couple of educational technology tools.

I enjoyed reading the chapters in the textbook which was very informational.  Because this was an online class the textbook helped a great deal when I was confused about something.  I loved having to create a blog in which I would write about what I had learned after reading the chapter or further research certain topics that I found interesting.

Photo credits to Bryan Alexander from Flickr

I have taken many classes online because of my personal schedule and it is hard to get to meet other people this way.  Discussions are my favorite part of any online class.  This activity gives everyone enrolled a chance to read other responses and get a little insight of who everyone is.  I am glad we are required to respond to at least two other classmates because you can discover new ways of doing things, see things from another point of view, or even just get a chance to read a funny little story, to then find myself reading way more than just two posts.

Promoting success for all students was the most eye opening discussion for me.  To be honest, I hardly ever remember to think about the hardships in the classroom.  I used to always picture a perfect classroom and now see it more in perspective that this can only be if the teacher is dedicated to adjust to each student's needs.  There will be students who will need more help than others and as a teacher, I must be there, along with making sure that the other students are not neglected.

Although I have to say my favorite assignment of this particular course was the "Instructional Strategy Wiki", for the most part my experience was great.  There was some confusion here or then but I believe this helped everyone because in a classroom it will not be perfect and we must make arrangements to meet deadlines.  I believe another collaborative activity added to the course will be awesome because it gives more real life situations to learn from.  Everyone has his or her own life and sometimes this causes problems, having practice with unanticipated issues builds character and builds problem solving skills.  Here is a video of the benefits of collaborative learning.

Resources

Corrigan, P. (2014). The benefits of collaborative learning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRtQUKSdxrM

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Blog Post #L

Chapter 12 is about integrating technology and creating change as teacher leaders.  As I further my education, I hope to find better ways to incorporate technology throughout the school years and not just for 30 minutes one day a week.  As I began this course I realized that I was a person who followed the pattern of inclusion.  I depended on technology for about only 30 minutes a day for a particular assignment and moved on, of course this still works but does not necessarily involve technology as effectively as it could be.  I have grown and hope to continue to grow to efficiently infuse technology into the school year.  An ongoing lesson plan throughout the year as the two mentioned in the book are a part of my future goal as a teacher.  It will excite students and get them into the habit of using technology to achieve success.  Today's jobs all revolve around using some sort of electronic or technology and children must be prepared properly for the world they will be entering.

Photo credit to Duke Ellington DNG 343 from Flickr

Every job in current society requires the use of computers and/or more advanced technology.  Teaching children how to use computers, which can be thought as the foundation of technology, can create successful students who are technology savvy.  As mentioned in the chapter, significant technology use contributes to other positive learning developments such as being more confident, aware, self starter, communicate more effectively, and share knowledge spontaneously.  Here is an amazing video on how much the world is changing everyday because of technology and as educators must do our best to attempt to prepare students.

Hendry county is where I hope and am planning to teach in the future.  Hendry county is a lower income county in which public education sometimes suffers in lack of supplies.  Although, I did learn that recently many classrooms have been able to receive laptops for each student to assist in learning.  When students have access to computers in the classroom, it helps the teacher to be able to create more exciting lessons in which students can access the internet for research projects, assessments, and classwork.  The laptops are not the most up to date, newest, or best quality computer but get the job done.  Teachers must make sure laptops are taken care of, its software is updated often and are used appropriately.  I found a really great blog on how it has been found that one-to-one laptop computing in the classroom has great benefits.


Resources

Herold, Benjamin. One-To-One Laptop Initiatives Boosts Student Scores, Research Find. (11 May 2016). Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2016/05/one-to-one_laptop_test_scores.html

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Pkhz. Education and The Future of Technology. (2009). Retreived on 13 April 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPO_HGafBsE

Digital Blog Post #K

Chapter 6 is titled "Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps", and includes information about how we can use the web to assist us in teaching.  We have all been instructed to create a WebQuest this week.  I had never heard of a WebQuest and found it quite interesting, fun, and an easy way to create sort of lesson plan.  It really helps that WebQuest's are broken up into pieces to be filled in by the teacher and guides the students thoroughly to complete the lesson.  I found  this very informational website which helps break down what a WebQuest is and how it helps in the classroom.

One of my favorite subject when I was in grade school was social studies.  When it was time to learn about past times, wars, battles, victories, etc, I was ecstatic.  I plan to involve fun activities to this part of the school day with one being a field trip to a nearby exhibit or place that is full of interesting facts from our history.  History is endless and there are countless places to see and visit, unfortunately it is impossible to visit some of the most fascinating places on earth.  I plan to take a day out of the year and plan a virtual field trip for my students.  I know I will enjoy creating an unforgettable experience for my students in which we can visit a historic place together and learn.

Photo credits to Iqbal Osman from Flickr

At the rate technology is taking over, I will definitely be using educational websites as teaching resources in my future.  I will have to learn by experience and tips from other teachers on which websites to trust and use for successful teaching.  Lesson plan websites (from what I have heard) can be day saving resources.  Teachers come together to create lesson plans for themselves and others to edit and use in their own classroom.  This is an awesome use of technology because why not share what has worked great for you to benefit others as well?  Here is a video to watch about a teacher who involves technology into her classroom.  Technology is an amazing tool and I plan to use it wisely in the classroom.

Resources

Learning Futures. How can we use technology to enhance learning? (LEARNING FUTURES - NITA'S STORY). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv02p3i2YP0

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Using a WebQuest in Your Classroom. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.internet4classrooms.com/using_quest.htm

Digital Blog Post #J

Chapter 11 is about how technology is used to evaluate and assess the learning happening in the classroom.  Reflection is described as a process of self-assessment in which a learner examines past actions to identify what to maintain or change to continue to grow.  I am personally a person who needs to see my strengths, weaknesses, skills, etc on a graph or document, this is where a portfolio can come in.  A digital teaching portfolio is a collection of educational and professional materials stored in an electronic format.  This is a very clever way to use technology to document and graph the growths of a teacher's work.  It can also include pictures, videos, audios, PowerPoints, and other types of multimedia to enhance strengths and experiences.

Photo credit to Jerry Swiatek from Flickr

Democratic schools and classrooms is a very intriguing movement.  Democratic schools and classrooms are places where students and teachers together make substantive decisions about important aspects of educational operations, from the academic curriculum to school climate and rules.  This can be confused to where the students are in control of what happens in the classroom.  On the contrary, teachers and adults are always in control.  This is a good idea to implement in schools.  Just like a business, feedback and opinions from consumers help the business grow.  Students are the ones learning and if they have a chance to come up with an idea or mention a method in which they learn the best, this can be of great help to the effectiveness of the school.  Here is a video on democracy in a classroom.  In my future classroom, I plan to have short discussions quarterly to get the students opinion of how they feel about certain teaching methods I am using or by passing out short surveys to anonymously receive feedback.

So far in my education, I have not had the ability to use a student participation system such as the clicker.  Teachers have mentioned it and how they have PowerPoints ready to be used for such a system but the school does not have the funds to provide it.  It attracted my attention to want to use it to learn so I can only assume my future students would love it.  These "clickers" which are like a smaller sized television remote allow students to be actively involved in the lesson.  Instead of the teacher standing at the front of the classroom, reading off the projector and pointing to the board, students will be answering questions such as true or false within the PowerPoint.  It can also give immediate results so the students and teacher knows how much they are learning during the lesson.  Here is a link to an article about how current research supports the use of clickers to enhance learning in students.


References

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MS: Pearson Education, Inc.

Martyn, Margaret. Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach. 1 January 2007. Retrieved from http://er.educause.edu/articles/2007/1/clickers-in-the-classroom-an-active-learning-approach

Sprouts. Democratic School Education. 23 March 2016. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhUx1pArrO4

Digital Blog Post #I

Chapter 4 is about designing lessons and developing curriculum with technology.  Learning assessments that can occur before, during and after teaching a lesson is a tool I will be using in my future classrooms.  I plan to look deeper into how or which technology method will work best to give me, as a teacher, the best evaluation on the student's knowledge, understanding, and performance.  I have been given online surveys before a starting a college course and then after to see my growth in that particular course.  I do not get to see the results, although I know personally how much I have grown through my own evaluation.  I assume teachers are advised how much growth is being seen in the students to help them redo or keep the lesson plans they are using.  Using technology for these assessments makes it so much easier on teachers to receive a percentage or graph to show the results.  Here is a video that supports learning assessments before, during, and after assignments.

Another thing I can definitely see myself using in my future lesson planning, is using technology in lesson planning.  A teacher I recently observed talked to me about a website he and many other teachers at that school trusted and used in their classrooms.  They would review lesson plans provided and personalize it to their liking and use it in there classroom.  Lesson plan templates can also be found on the web to give an outline or guide to educators.  Here is a link to a website that can get teachers started on lesson plans.

Photo credit to Wm Chamberlain from Flickr

Lastly, is being able to meet educational standards in the lesson plans.  As we all know and the textbook highlights, there is so much more to teach than there is time to teach it and national curriculum standards narrow the "what to teach" question.  Even at that there is plenty of work for the teacher to get done.  Teachers have the freedom to decide on exactly how to teach the academic content along with choosing what to focus on in the lessons.



References

MsEmilyFlood.  Assessing Learning with Technology. 10 November 2015. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs-9qDR__sw

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013).  Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MS: Person Educaiton, Inc.

Trackstar. Retreived from http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/;jsessionid=B2588F1514F67A69308D0A28F51D35B2

Digital Blog Post #H

In chapter 9 we talk about how we can express creativity with multimedia technologies.  Multimedia means "the presentation of material using both words and pictures".  There are many great forms of technology being used in the classroom such as a smart board, laptops for students to work on, digital projectors and screens, etc.  In my educational experience, many of my teachers which I have greatly enjoyed have used Powerpoints to assist their teaching.  Then again there have been teachers who use this type of multimedia but fail to interest the students, along with teaching efficiently.  I definitely plan to implement Powerpoints in my future classrooms.  A teacher should take his or her time into making these presentation because they can make or break a lesson.  A Powerpoint can be short or long and can include text, pictures, charts, graphs, audio, video and animation.  This is really an all-in-one technology teaching resource.

Photo credit to AJ Cann from Flickr

Prezi is also another amazing tool to use for teaching.  Prezi's are more interactive and playful than Powerpoints.  In a Prezi key points can be emphasized by zooming into a particular part of the presentation, along with supporting details.  Teachers can allow students to make changes in a Prezi and add information that they may find interesting.  This is another technology tool that I will use in my future classroom to engage student in learning.  Here is a video of a teach whom has assigned students to create a Prezi on various subjects and the students are enjoying it.

YouTube has come to be the biggest video hosting and sharing website.  YouTube even offers a channel teachers and students can search titled "education" which locates appropriate classroom videos.  This channel through YouTube gives teachers a tool to further enhance the learning process through technology students are already familiar and comfortable with using.  There are millions of people whom have already uploaded videos onto YouTube about pretty much anything you can think of and if not, anybody has the liberty to upload their own YouTube video onto the site to share.  I can see myself using this resource in a project for students in the future.  Here is a link to a website which explains some benefits of using YouTube in the classroom.


References

Cann, AJ. (2017, March 3). The Flipped Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Eddwards, Sharon A., and Woold, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies, 2nd Edition. Boston, MA; Pearson Educaiton, Inc.

Olmeda, Gabriel. (2017, March 2). Using Prezi in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNMgjWSSFG8

Digital Blog Post #G

Chapter 10 is about promoting success for ALL students through technology.  Every individual is unique and therefore they all have different ways of learning successfully.  To be able to make sure that a teacher is meeting the needs of every single one, he or she can use differentiated instruction (DI) for teaching.  Differentiated instruction is an instructional approach in which teachers create different educational experiences as ways to meet the learning needs of individual students.  For example, if I was giving my students a book to read and then have them in return turn in an assignment to present their understanding of the book, I would give them the option of writing a book report, do a powerpoint presentation, act out a scene, or create a song.  This would give every student an option in which they can use a skill they succeed in.  Here is a link to a very informational website that defines DI an UDL and gives links to tools to help a teacher in a classroom.

Universal design for learning (UDL) is the application of universal design principles to educational settings.  Universal design for learning accommodates students with broader needs yet not reducing opportunities for other students in the classroom.  There are three principles to this method which are multiple means of representations, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement.  A teachers goal is to have students successfully meet these principles because this means that they have successfully understood the lesson.  For example, in the classroom there may be a student who is suffers with severe dyslexia, instead of just writing out the math problems with numbers I could use physical objects or picture to help understand the lesson.

Assistive technology are amazing tools that enable great learning experiences to students that suffer from physical and/or mental disabilities.  There is a great diversity in the type of students with disabilities in school.  Some of these disabilities may include visual, hearing, mobility, cognitive, language, etc.  Technology assists teachers to help these students learn.  For example, when teaching reading/language arts to my student who suffers with severe dyslexia, I can use a computer software that reads out the words in large text to help him learn and cope with his disability.





References

Ally, Learning. Student with Dyslexia Blossoms with Assistive Technology. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKrgxeXDtjk

Differentiated Instruction & UDL. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.21things4teachers.net/21-things/di-and-udl/

Gomez, M. (2017, February 23). Dyslexic?. Created with Prezi. www.prezi.com

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies, 2nd Edition. Boston, MA; Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #F

Chapter 8 consists of ideas on communicating and collaborating with social media.  In my opinion, social media has taken over a huge chunk of the technology world.  Children begin learning about the internet and social media as early as five years old, and as they grow eventually end up sharing ideas, pictures, videos, rumors, etc on the world wide web through these resources.  A successful teacher should learn to uses these programs as educational resources to help them teach his or her students.  Children can access social media at any given point throughout the day, why not use it to our advantage.  If I allow my future students to conduct research projects for a particular subject or topic on Facebook, for example, it will allow for during and beyond the school day learning.

Photo credit to Leonid Mamchenkov from Flickr

Today's lifestyles are completely different from what they were 15 years ago.  Students are learning with different methods to get their education as well as parents and guardians to get reports on their children's progress.  We all love being informed of things going on in the world, as well as knowing more than once a quarter during parent-teacher conferences how their children are doing in school.  It is confirmed that every 9 in 10 adults are engaged in some sort of internet communication service.  Using email and text messaging to often speak with parents about students' progress can be very helpful.  This allows the teacher to express her thoughts on the student and get assistance from the parents when needed.  Here is a link to a website that talks about using email-based text messaging to effectively communicate with parents and students.

There are other available methods to communicate with parents that can be seen more efficient than individually emailing or texting each parent, which is to create a website or blog to reach out to multiple people at once.  For the most part, most students are usually at the same level and learning as a group and creating a blog or website to primarily inform the parents of what is happening in the classroom can be sufficient.  A website can include due dates for exams, help for homework assignments, and a schedule of school events.  On the other hand, a blog can be created to be more personal about ideas or thoughts that can be or are being used to educate the students.  Websites and blogs are also a great idea to share among other teacher or professionals.  I plan to create my own website for my future students and parents to access.  This is an amazing technology tool to keep everyone on the same page and always informed.

Resources

Gomez, M. (2017, February 17). Communication. Created with ToonDoo. www.toondoo.com

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post E

Chapter 7 talks about finding ways to explore problem solving using different softwares, apps and games.  Ill-structured problems is term used for real world problems that require in depth thought and investigation for a solution.  These problems are difficult to teach students to solve because they will come with time and will vary throughout his or her future career.  As a teacher, what we can do is introduce them to softwares, apps, or games that can help in finding a solution quicker and most effective, although many self skills will be needed to think throughly.  Here is a video that defines ill structured problems to better understand the excitement they can bring along with the work required to solve.

It is very true that using educational video games can be concerning and if or not the student will receive the education he or she needs.  It is also true that 21st century kids love playing video games.  It is smart to combine education with video games because it will entertain kids along with teaching them.  I believe using digital video games for learning does work to trick students into learning.  Without realizing students can be solving math problems to open the door to the next level or as seen in one of the video in the module, evolving elements together to create molecules to learn chemistry.  Here is a website that offers online video games that can be downloaded on cellular devices for easy access to education.

ITS or intelligent tutoring systems are powerful new software programs that promote inquiry learning through computer responses to students actions.  These programs sound very intriguing.  Using a computer based software to evaluate students responses allows the student to receive immediate feedback.  A computer is faster and more efficient in providing results to further education.  The program will recognize what material is being struggled with by the student to keep on giving him or her similar problems, otherwise the program will move on to new material.  A tutoring system like this can be extremely helpful for a classroom with multiple struggling students.

Resources 

Gomez, M. (2017, February 10). One. Created with Gliffy. www.gliffy.com

How To Solve Ill-Defined Problems - Jon Kolko. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1jrnMnO-dY

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA:Pearson Education, Inc.

Molecualar Jig Games. (2017). "Games | The Science Game Center". Web. Retrieved 11 Feb. 2017, from www.sciencegamecenter.org/games

Digital Blog Post #C

Active learning is when students are most apt to learn.  "Active learning is also known as discovery learning, learning by doing, inquiry-based learning, or hands-on learning" (Maloy, 2013).  Active learning sounds like the dream mindset for a student from a teacher.  When the student is directly involved in the learning process the material being taught will be better learned and kept with the student.  Always reading and learning from text books, taking standardized tests and attending a teacher-centered classroom will become boring and lose active listening from students.  Active listening is something all future and current teachers should be looking for everyday in the classroom.  I know I enjoy it most when doing something hands-on, as I am enjoying what I am learning whether it be through an online quiz about the bones in the human body or creating a powerpoint about a president.  Here is an article that I found very helpful with 40 useful strategies that help students to stay actively learning.

Teachers will be using technology to teach students successfully.  It is only fair to us as teachers, to guide students into building the own appropriate digital citizenship.  This is a personality they will be when online.  To teach students to use technology productively, honestly, and safely is the goal.  We never think of having an actual identity when we are using the web but we do.  When we create documents, blogs, pictures and videos that will be posted online for the world to see, we must make sure we are putting the best of us for successful websites.  Credit must be given to ourselves when creating these post, as well as to others when using information from other sites.  A positive digital citizenship is an important characteristic to possess as we do live in a digital world and will continue to live in a digital world.

Photo credit to MeacherTeacher on Flickr

                                                      

The third concept is to be able to actively engage students in learning whether it be by one-on-one tutoring, learning groups, inquiry learning, metacognitive thinking or finding new ways to successfully teach students.  I can say that learning groups is definitely my favorite method so far being used in a classroom.  When students are put together to work towards completing a goal, they share ideas and use each own unique abilities to help in completing the project.  One-on-one tutoring is best when a student is struggling because he or she will feel that the teacher cares about their success in the classroom.  Usually an extra hour of personal attention is all the student needs to feel like they are cared for or to fully wrap his or her brain around the material not being understood.

Resources

Gomez, M. (2017, January 27). Bones In The Human Body. Created with FlipQuiz www.FlipQuiz.com

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #B

Chapter 2 goes over and introduces me to what is known as Web 2.0 tools.  "Web 2.0 technologies include blogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking and social networking tools, inquiry based educational websites, photo-sharing websites virtual worlds and other highly interactive tools and services that are now becoming resources for teaching and learning in schools" (Maloy, 2013).  I have heard of most of these resources and have used them but never thought of it in a way where I could use it to teach others.  For example, podcasts I always knew were used for gossip or information, but I can see where it can be used for educational purposes, especially for those students whom are auditory learners.

A second concept that I want to further explore and want to be confident in once I graduate is my teaching philosophy.  Even though we are only in week 3 of the semester, I already have learned so much about who I am in terms of being a teacher.  I have found that I am fond of the classic teacher-centered method of teaching but also believe that students need to have learning experiences engaging with the outside "real" world.  Thinking ahead, I am excited to get through this teaching course with a great deal of new knowledge of who I will be as a teacher to confidently be able read students on who they are to teach them efficiently.  Here is an article titled "Six Questions That Will Bring Your Teaching Philosophy into Focus" that upon reading it helped me continue to answer questions to further build my personal teaching philosophy.

The third concept is about apps for teaching and learning.  So far I have learned of new programs and resources that can be used to enhance learning in a classroom with technology but what about the more simple types of technology that can be just as effective, such as apps?  Apps are so easy to access and are widely available on basically any hand held electronic, this means learning is available at any moment.  When I was taking Anatomy and Physiology last year there was two different apps I downloaded on my iPhone that helped me so much in learning the bones in the body, organs and system functions.  Having experienced these apps as a student, I hope in the future I can find ways to use them for teaching students as well.

Resources

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #A

Becoming a 21st century teacher compared to the teaching I grew up knowing has definitely changed drastically due to the growth in technology.  Now that I am on the path to becoming a teacher, I can see that the way I grew up learning will not be the same for the newer generations.

The first concept that caught my attention is that grade school students now are known members of an iGeneration.  iGeneration are those whom have grown up using digital technology every single day of their lives.  Being born in 1989, I do not consider myself from this generation, but it was upcoming when I was still in some of my very own learning stages of life.  I see kids at the age of 6-7 years of age that are very technology literate to the point where they can find things that even I cannot.  Here is a video ad on the way Huawei is planning to create technology that can engage a student in the classroom using similar methods of interest, such as tablets and programs similar to facebook.

The second concept that caught my attention is how an everyday workday as a teacher is almost 100% technology based.  It was known to me elementary school teachers coming into the classroom carrying his or her grade book, folder full of homework to be graded and a calendar to fill in.  Now I watch my college professors walk in with only a laptop and a clicker in hand.  Times have greatly changed and now have a technology-based library, textbook, environment, teaching tools and office.  Students no longer need paper back books to follow along and have the opportunity to download versions onto a tablet, submit assignments online, ask questions through email and receive his or her grades through an online grade book.  Here is an article which describe 15 characteristics of a 21st century teacher.

The third concept that caught my attention is knowing that we each have a "digital identity".  Digital identity refers to ones technology talents and competencies.  After reading this chapter I realized that this is an identity that will continue to build no matter the career path.  In the teaching profession, we must keep up with what kinds of interests in technology future generations are using so teachers can incorporate it into a lesson plan for successful learning.

In conclusion, with this just being the first chapter of the semester, I am excited to continue to learn much more of how I can become a successful 21st century teacher.  Technology is advancing and we must use it to our advantage to teach future generations with what they are growing up with.  We now have the ability to teach with technology, teach outside the classroom with technology and record with technology.

Photo credit to Ken Whytock on Flickr

Resourses

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.