Assessing Meaningful Learning with Technology & Inspiration/Kidspiration

Integrating technology is becoming more and more standard in the classroom. The new technologies being implemented in today's classrooms have made learning easier as well as increase the student's grasp on the concept. Rubrics are becoming more and more popular with classrooms due to the ease of use and allowing faster results for the students and teachers. Faster results make it easier for the teacher to go over what the student went wrong in their assignment. It allows for easier organization and allows for easier sharing. The ease of this technology makes it where anyone at any level can use it. bridging the gap where no one is left in the dust. It also makes storing work that you have done a lot less hectic as well as keeps us well organized. Keeping track and keeping organized makes using this a must and should be looked into heavily.

Throughout this course i have seen new things that have given me ideas on what i could implement in the classroom. Try out new things and take a different approach to a subject. With multiple web 2.0 tools at our disposal it is our imagination that provides use to the class. This class has made me thing outside the box. For me i want to try as much of what we learned in this class for my classes that i will teach. From using streaming sites, to twitter, to wikis the possibilities are endless. I'm not afraid of experimenting with the tools we learned and want to see where i can take it. I also learned how much restricted with certain media teachers have and how important technology can be. I have used some of these web 2.0 tools in the past but never thought i could use them in teaching. For me my future in teaching has many possibilities and cant wait to see what comes next.

Technology Application Standards

It is hard for me to find one thing in the TEKS that is specifically for my grade that i want to teach. Since i am going for teaching high school most of what they learned from previous grades still applies but needs refinement and guidance. For that reason i was looking into mainly what would i really like to focus on and found one after reading most of what was on the site for high school teaching.

§126.37. Discrete Mathematics, recommended for grades 11 and 12th grade.

(b)

    (1) creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.

(c) knowledge and skills

    (1)Creativity and innovation

    (2)Communication and collaboration

    (3)Research and information fluency

    (4)Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making

    (5)Digital citizenship

    (6)Technology operations and concepts

There is alot covered in here but mainly its a refinement of what they have learned, or should have learned from earlier grades these are just expanded to fully encompass and reinforce what they learned. Mainly this focuses on computer science which has its ups and downs but requires a high level of math in the later stage of programming. Since i want to become a high school math teacher what it focuses on is in part one and the same. the concepts they teach and reinforce are transferable to the math room. How i would utilize this TEKS in the classroom is in several ways. I want to encourage the students to think outside the box. Leaning multiple ways to look at a problem. Communication and Collaboration is a big deal as well i want easy communication and collaboration in the class, coming up with different ways to teach the subject is a big help to this. Research and information fluency, i would encourage the students to discover multiple ways to solve their problems. Proper research methods from using the computers to using the calculator to aid them, but not rely too heavily on.  I want them to use what is around them to aid them. using every resource they have to succeed. 

The one TEKS i really want to focus on is §111.32. Algebra I. When i was in high school i had a hard time with algebra is was not until recently i was able to solve them in interesting ways and able to see ways of how the way i was taught in the beginning was not repeated and able to show students how i was able to get through it. Algebra is important later on in life an i want the students to see that. Most think that they will never use it again but we use it without think about it and i want them to see that. Most of all the problem solving used in Algebra is important in other fields that don't use math, but the steps are the same for the most part. There is soo much covered in this part that it is hard to put it all down and how i would integrate it in the class. most of what i talked about did not have technology for the most part, but all the same the concepts it brought to the table is a big deal. The idea brought up are ways to improve the classroom environment. As i stated earlier this part of the school they need to be refining what they learned and improving upon it taking the next step in their lives. Concepts and ideas that change the way a class looks at that is technology in a sense, what they learned in the past is a tool and different ways of using that tool or modifying that tool is technology. Yes its philosophical for the most part but it was hard for me to see different technology applications for the most part that was on the list that seemed right to utilize and peak my interest. 

Visualizing with Technology

Visualizing is a big thing for teaching in my view. Some people, like me, need to see the concept in action. For math i need to see the problem to understand it as an example. Technology is also a big point in today's education. Combining the two is not as simple as it sounds but is a no brainer. Using technology to increase the students understanding of what subject you are teaching is a big deal. The students are seeing the problem in front of them and in some cases are able to interact with the problem. You are able to see the problem and then can see how to solve it. You also increase the awareness of students, helping them look at it in different ways. Expanding the ways of how a teacher teaches the subject, has its problems but is needed for the ever changing student. Combining multiple ways to teach is a benefit and a must for tomorrow's students.

The impact on the teaching world is greatly affected by this. You provide multiple ways to grasp the concept and see the way to solve it. You can create an understanding easier of the topic you are covering easier than just reading from a book or talking about it. Visualizing the subject is a bigger and deeper form to understanding what the teacher is saying. students now and days are moving away from learning just from lectures and require a visual aid to help them understand what is being taught at that time. There is multiple ways to increase the visualization with technology and there are many sites to help achieve this. Discovery education is a wonderful source for teachers to get ideas and different ways to teach a course as well as plans and tasks to do. Engaging with the students is becoming the better way to teach and becoming the most efficient way to help them grasp the concepts you want.