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What specific technologies did you learn about this semester that you think will be valuable in your future classroom (or other place of employment)? Why will these specific technologies be valuable?

This semester I learned so many different technologies and software, that before this class I had no idea even existed. I was so in over my head when I first started this class. I thought I was going to fail the class because I had no idea what Mrs. McCauley was talking about. Now at the end of the semester I feel so much more educated about how to work my computer and I feel I can do anything. My favorite technologies that we learned this semester were the Smart Board lesson Plan, the Blog, and the powerpoint project. I really liked the Smart Board because before this class I have never seen a Smart Board and they are really so interactive and they can be used for so many things. I think students would be more involved in the lesson and pay more attention. Also I enjoyed the blog because in High School we never really made one and actually communicated with our peers. I think this could be really useful for my classroom because it allows me and the parents to chat and if they have questions they can ask me on that, or mainly just communicating with the students/parents because I will only be teaching (K-3). Lastly I really enjoyed the powerpoint project. I really liked this project because although we have done many powerpoints in our lifetime, I learned so many things that I had no idea were on powerpoint. I could use powerpoint in the future to make lesson plans and its another fun way for my students to interact in the lesson plan.

My Voki

Do you think you would use blogging in your future classroom? Why or why not?

    Before this ETPT class I have never even dealt with a blog. In high school we may have created an account but we never interacted with our fellow classmates the way we do now. I always thought they were a waste of time and no one would care about my blog. After this class I have a whole new prospective of blogs, and I would actually use them in my classroom. I would use them because I think they give students the ability to learn different technology skills and also I think they allow students to interact and learn things they might not already know about each other. 

     After watching the video "Why Let Our Students Blog" and reading the article "Objectives and Guidelines for Safe and Responsible Blogging" I think it is really important that students use a blog.  I think it is a very useful and effective social networking site, because it can be educational and informing for the other students. 

    For being an Early childhood teacher I can use this blog to interact with students and there parents and also we can use it as a form of communication if a parent has a problem. I can also use it as parents and students linking homework and they can send it through the blog if they are ready to turn something in that we don't do in class.

The Impact of of Multitasking on Teaching and Learning and Thinking

   
    When I think of the word multitasking, I think of doing many things at one time. Multitasking comes as second nature to our generation. We can do our homework and text or talk on the phone, and while we think we are doing a great job we are actually doing more poorly. I used to think that multitasking was not a big deal and that i was just as focused, but after watching the video "Distracted by Everything" and a video about "multitasking", i found out that it has been affecting our lives in a negative way.
    I think that is very difficult for teachers to teach to mutitasking students. I think this because while a teacher is trying to teach students and help them, students are either texting or working on a different classes homework assignment because they didnt get it done the previous night. Also I think that it is very hard for students to learn when they are mutitasking. As though they think there learning just the same, they are focused on so many other things that they cant focus on what the teacher is trying to teach them. Since they are so focused on the other things they are doing, they are blocking out the teacher and there missing out on the information the teacher is saying, and that could negatively affect them on a test or a homework assignment. Lastly, when you are multitasking it is hard for students to think. They are so focused on everything else they are doing they cant think straight. Also for a teacher it is hard to think about what they are trying to teach when they have to constantly stop there lesson plan to try to make the kids focus. 

How will the next generation read and write?

In my opinion, i think the next generation will read and write the same as we are writing today. While kids are texting and slang words may get worse, kids are still being taught proper grammar in the classrooms and there writing ability wont and shouldn't change to much.  I think that personally we make a big deal about how kids are communicating through there phone, but kids don't write like that in an important english essay, or a homework assignment. I do however believe that reading will become a lot worse for the next generation. I think this because everything is online now and sooner or later kids wont even know what a textbook is, because i think eventually everything will be online.