Can Technology be a Bad thing?

In 2011, almost 2012, why is technology still a class kids go to to learn to use a tool and not an integrated part of the lessons we teach? 

Throughout this class I have really learned that technology is not an isolated skill that we must teach our students.  It is a way to communicate and retrieve information.  We get so bogged down with teaching technology skills, when what we should really be focusing on is critical thinking skills.  

Just the other day, I had the laptops out in my room as my students were typing personal narratives (I was guilty of the $2000 pencil that was talked about in our readings...) and two different teachers commented on how my students are still using the "hunt and peck" method when they were typing.  They told me stories of how they used to sit in the auditorum and learn how to correctly type.  I agree that some of my 10 year olds are pretty slow when typing, but what skill are we really working on here?  I wanted my students to publish a personal narrative that they were proud of.  I wanted them to be able to communicate lessons on vocie, revision, organization, and word choice.  I think when we teach students skills in isolation, the meaning is completly lost.  As long as they have some basic instruction in typing, they will naturally learn how to type quickly becuase it is efficent and useful.


I believe that we should be asking ourselves what we want the children to be able to do and what technology will help us get there.  We should be staying away from teaching students to word process without publishing an actual piece of work.  What is the point in learning to use movie maker when they don't see an actual need in their lives?  I think it is much more beneficial to teach students to use technology through authentic products and experiences.

Week 9: Instant Messaging

Tell us what you think of Instant Messaging; Do you like it? What concerns do you have using a tool like Instant Messaging? Has it changed the way you work at all?

I love using the instant message feature on facebook.  It lets me instantly communicate with others that are also online.  I love the idea of Meebo because it consolidates all your instant messaging applications.  I also use google talk  because almost all of my close friends are on it.  I wish we used it more at school.  Sometimes I feel like we use email as a stand in instant messaging system!  Maybe I could suggest that we start using it at my school.  I am concerned about it when students use it.  It seems like another place for creepy people to get in touch with kids.  It is unclear to me how you really know who you are speaking too.  I guess you can never be completely sure!  This is another tool that we shouldn't be afraid of, but we should teach our students how to use safely.  

Week 8: Cloud Computing

Here is a quick google docs that I did.  It was remarkably easy and quick!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQInhL0lVsGPST1DkSdHgjpK9cUEahq9bkKAstUjBaM/edit

Here is another example of a google docs that my family has been passing around.  We are adopting a family this year for Christmas, instead of doing traditional gifts.  Google docs has made it painless to sign up and split up the gifts. 


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al7zQbO4akDXdDFNVXFVSUwxWTE3MWZvcXpsYTBjNmc

Week 7: Microblogging

What do you think about using one of these microblogging tools?
I am excited to learn more about using Twitter.  I had never had an account before because, honestly, I didn't really understand it.  I like the idea of following a few people and forming a community.  I was scared that I would get overwhelmed by all the information, but it was good advice to take in what you can and leave the rest.

Did you find it easy to find people to follow, especially after a list of examples was given?
I did find it really easy to find people to follow.  The list of librarians on twitter made it really easy to find people that could share valuable information with me.

Who are three people or organizations you starting following this week and why did you follow them? Have you found their posts helpful?
I have started to follow erniec.  He is a teacher and librarian and his tweets are helpful becuase he tweets about new things he has found to help students.  For example, he just tweeted about a new way to search for creative common images that I had never heard of before.  I also started following sljournal and they post really useful information.  One of my favorite tweets what the best books for 2011 - Top Ten.  There were some books on there that I am eager to read!

What kinds of uses do you see you might have for microblogging? Have you already found some uses for it?
I think it would be interesting to continue to follow educational twitter-ers.  I could also see it as a way to communicate with patrons of the library.  The librarian could announce new books that have come in, tweet about a favorite author, ect.