The School of the Future

This article talks about schools in the future and how they will be community-style centers operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and that computers will become an essential ingredient in the recipe for an effective school. In these schools students will see and hear teachers on computers with remote learning. They will learn at times that are most convenient for them, but will have to attend actual school when required for appropriate social skills. All students will have laptop computers. They will have a special phone system used by teachers and students to find information or speak to experts in different subject areas. All lessons will be multidisciplinary and students will have individual learning plans. Utah State University is working toward the future school like the one above by identifying the most effective teaching approaches, techniques and ideologies. They encourage innovations and adapation to specific circumstance and assist the creation of a community of parents and teachers who support each other in improving schools. I personally think this goes to far. I think computers need to enhance teaching not take it over!

Laptops Change Curriculum and Students

This article talks about a middle school in Connecticut where all the students have laptops. They think the children have a greater interest in reasearch, writing and projects they need to do. They feel the computers give the students a sense of discovery everyday and keep them more focused and on task. They made all this happen by having their school system spend $2 million on the computers, but families pay $60 a year for insurance so they can take the computers home. Other ways to fund a computer program like this would be getting a grant from an outside source, donations or a combination of all three.
The pros and cons are: The cost of the laptops and whether this technology is necessary. The fact that students who don't have computers at home are at a disadvantage. The lack of administrative support on how to work computes into the curriculum, the experiences to feel confident in using them and the fact that they are a part of society and here to stay!

The 411 on One-to-One Computing

This article talks about one to one computing which essentially means every student has regular, reliable access to technology. They can use it anytime and anyplace. It address teachable moments as breaking down classroom walls and engaging students in real world learning. The basic types of technology used are laptops, handelds and tablet PCs.
Laptops are functional, easy to learn, support is readily available, it has integration helps and they have cross-platform capability. The disadvantages are that they cost $1,000 or higher, they are heavy, not real mobile and there is the physical barrier making it difficult for teacher to monitor.
Handhelds are cost efficient, functional, have task-specific hardware and mobile. They weigh the littlest and all software will transfer to PC or MAC. The disadvantages to the handhelds is the size(small screen), they have limited features and you need to spend time learning how to use, install and troubleshoot with them.
Tablet PCs are very mobile, have many handwriting capabilities, are easy to handle and very compatable. The disadvantages are that they have limited software, limited educational materials and they are the most expensive of the three.

Author Says Technology Brings False Promises to Schools

This article is based on an interview with Todd Oppenheimer, author of The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of Technology in the Classroom and How Learning Can Be Saved. He talks about how the current emphasis on technology use in schools is draining resources from other subjects and prevents the students from deveolping critical and creative thinking skills. It talks about how computers are shifting learning values from quality to quantity and this is causing students to look at the quantity of information instead of how to think about the information. In this authors opinion the key to technology is to use it as a supplement and not a replacement for traditional studies. I totally agree with this statement, I think computers need to be used as a resource only. He states that children need to learn the fundamentals of play and creativity from people and real situations not from simulated images. I also found it interesting that software companies don't have to "jump" the same bureaucratic hurdles that textbook companies do. I think that should be changed.

How Teachers View Technology

A company that provides technology to K-12 schools called CDW-G took a survey on teachers views of technology. The survey determined that teachers believe that a computer is a valuable tool that improves student academic performance, attention in the class and comminication with parents. Seventy two percent of the teachers surveyed believed that the students who have computers at home were at a greater advantage then those who didn't have them. I totally agree with this statement. It talked about the greatest obstacle of technology was the shortage of computers. What I thought was interesting was that techers who rated computers being very useful were the ones who have had the most training. I think it is very important to be trained in technology as a teacher and not just thrown in and expected to know!

Technology in Schools: Some Say It Doesn't Compute!

This article talks about all the reasons technology may not be so good for schools. They talk about the possibilities of visual and postural problems, emmissions from the machines, children being sedentary instead of active and software that is not necessarily relevant. The question was asked are they really motivated to learn by the computer or motivated to play. Sometimes I wonder this myself when I put my 1st graders on them, but at the same time some children are more willing to do the math facts on the computer and practice then the old fashioned flash card way. It talks about research that shows different schools that have done studies and they show no correlation between computers and achievement. I think this means we need to keep studying the idea of computers in the classroom and make sure it is harmful or helpful!

The Blue Nowhere blog 2

I find myself one moment being upset with the character Gillette for hacking into those systems. I feel that is morally wrong. The next instant I'm almost siding with him grateful he can assign that bot to plug into Phates computer and figure out where he is. That is amazing and beyond me! Phate is the "bigger" bad guy so I find myself forgetting that Gillette is too!

The Blue Nowhere

I was very excited to get to read a novel!!It is a hard book to put down. It is also very scary to know all this is possible. It's hard to believe that a women(Lara), who made it her life business to help women protect themselves could be caught herself! It has so many twists in it and I couldn't believe he just walked in and took that girl Sammie from school posing as her Uncle Irv! That is just plain scary! How do we keep our children safe?? I'm beginning to change my view on hacking. If Gillette does indeed turn out to be a good guy and he has helped them by hacking, will maybe it is ok in certain circumstance?? Can't believe I'm saying that!

ISTE Rules

This whole blogging thing is brand new to me and I'm not real comfortable with it yet! I do already know I have learned alot from this class and it's only the first week! I have read the standards for students as well as teachers. I'm sure I can abide by them. As a teacher some of them I already do are as follows: I enforce classroom procedures on the computer, implement procedures that are consistent with our district and school policies, use e-mail to communicate with parents as well as co-workers, and I use microsoft office to write newsletters and do lesson plans.
I have reviewed the student standards and looked at 1st grade. I do use all of the K-2 performance indicators in my classroom. My students become familiar with the mouse and keyboard. They view videos using United Streaming and their are other websites I allow them to go to in order to enhance their reading, writing and math.

Lori Blogs for the FIRST time

Hello everyone!! I don't like this much but here it goes! I hope this works???