Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Safety vs. Privacy
As a school and teacher, you are responsible for the safety of your students. This applies to keeping them safe on the internet as well. I believe that close tabs should be kept on students while they are on the computer, in the school. Students shouldn't be doing anything on the computer but learning while at school. If teachers can monitor them while they are on the internet, kids will be a lot safer because if a teacher sees them on something they shouldn't be, they can have the child exit it and even logg off the computer completely. I believe monitoring the students activities on the internet while at school is a very good idea.
Classroom computing
I'm not a fan of the tablets in the classroom. I feel like they are a distraction. All the kids ask is, when are they going to get to play on the tablet. I can see that they could be useful, especially in centers in lower grades. Using the tablets as a reward may be ok, but using them solely to teach is not a good idea. You can't be looking over every child to make sure they are actually working while you're teaching. If you don't have a full classroom set, the kids argue over them. If i had a classroom with these, i would make it work with interactive learning apps. Overall, a classroom with these devices would be a minus for me.
Internet
You have to be careful when on the internet. It is a very public place. Anything you put on there, will be there forever. I think the internet needs to be moderated, especially in schools. Its very easy to post something and unintentionally hurt or offend someone else. The internet can be useful and when used properly, very handy. The problem is when on the internet you don't have to use your own name, you don't have to show proof of who you are, and you can do whatever you want. This can be very dangerous. I think if schools are going to allow their students to use the internet, it needs to be moderated and only used for learning purposes.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Technology in the classroom
I believe that too much technology in a classroom is not a good thing. Children become reliant on technology. I want my students to be prepared and well educated without the use of much technology. I want them to be able to do things on their own. Of course technology will be introduced but, it will not be used all day. I always want to be prepared for everything. Every time i go anywhere or do anything all the what if's run through my head. What if in 10-20 years our technology fails or doesn't grow anymore? I want our kids to be able to make it on their own, without needing the assistance of technology. Technology only goes so far, you can only do so much. Kids need to have social skills, need to get excited about going outside to play, and need to be excited about learning. I srtive to make the learning environment an entertaining one, because if the students are having fun they could learn something new and not even know they learned it in class.