Seven Technology Tips for Younger Elementary

After researching several articles that discussed the use of technology in a classroom of elementary setting, I came across an article that described how to introduce it rather than ways it is used. I believed this article was useful because it could be used as a guide to many teachers! This article gives 7 tips on how an educator can introduce technology in an elementary classroom. Apparently educators of lower grades want to bring technology into the classroom but are scared about the children not being able to understand how to use it. The a few of the tips are, before introducing a new tool, play around with it enough to figure out where you think your students will struggle the most, don't try to teach too much at one time, let students who master the goals quickly help others, and use your students as a resource. After each tip a brief description is given as well. I believe this article is useful because it can help teachers introduce technology to their students, who may be hesitant to do so because of different reasons. The link to this article is below. 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/technology-tips-younger-elementary

The Machine is Using Us

Question:
What was the point to this video exactly? Was it about how a simple text can create so much more?

 Digital text is much more useful than writing and easily edited like writing with a pencil. Elements in a document define content not form. The title the Machine is Using Us basically refers to how the computer is picking up so much information but we need to "teach the machine what we think is important" because the machine needs us just as much as we need it. We are all basically feeding the machine and using the machine as a "go to".  Everything you put on there you no longer own yourself. Internet is not really safe and we need to be cautious what we decide to share. Written text is more difficult to manipulate than typed text. All websites can be created from text like HTML doc.

The Dirty and Dangerous Side of Technology

Who knew technology was dangerous? I know I certainly didn't. I honestly had no idea about this concern until reading this article. I have never heard of this issue and I know most people have either. Like most other people, technology completely blows my mind to the point where it is like it is made of magic. I would have never believed that technology was composed of arsenic, lead, or mercury. People need to be aware of this issue. Obviously for economic reasons this issue hasn't been brought into the light because people would stop buying technology which is basically a "have to have" now a days. It scares me to even use my cellphone or my laptop (which I am currently using:/). I am worried about what this will do to our future and especially to our environment, which is already at such a delicate state.

Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend

Manti Te'o, Notre Dame linebacker and runner up to the 2012 Heisman Trophy, recently claimed his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, died of leukemia on the day he had one of the best games of his college career. After interviewing Te'o about his girlfriend, it was discovered that she never existed and as a matter of fact, she lives in Torrance, California and claims to have never met the star athlete. She also does not suffer from leukemia. When they began researching they could not find anything besides the stories linking to her death, but they used the picture to trace it back to the actual person. Apparently a mutual friend between the two helped Te'o construct his virtual girlfriend. Te'o denies any involvement in the hoax.

I personally believe that he is lying because his story simply does not add up. According to news stories he apparently met her after a stanford vs. Notre Dame football game in November 2009. After meeting each other, they continued to communicate via phone, email, and meeting up in Hawaii. He also claims that after a car accident in the summer, she was hospitalized for leukemia and didn't survive. If he had nothing to do with this, why did he claim all of these things to be true? He clearly did not have an actual girlfriend because the real Lennay Kekua had no idea she was Te'o's fake girlfriend and she obviously did not die of leukemia so where did he get that idea from?

"Pay Attention"

I was very interested in the video "Pay Attention" because I never really thought about such a create style of learning. I believe that since technology is being modernized so should our way of teaching. Everything is changing around us and rather than trying to preserve the past we should embrace the future. I believe that children are more interested in what is now rather than what used to be before they were even born so we should use that to our advantage as teachers. We need to stop complaining about the "youth of our generation" and how they don't understand what it was like before we had technology but really adults of our generation were children once and at that time adults were probably thinking the same thing.

I was very impacted by the statistics of how much technology we use as well as the amount that a child uses. Something that intrigued me was how we could use technology to our advantage in the classroom such as texting or emailing. An example of using technology to learn is using this blog for my IT 365 class! Another point is that if you cannot beat them, join them. Students are going to try to use anything and everything technology while in school so we might as well take advantage of that. This makes students think in such a different way. It also makes them enjoy school rather than resenting it.

Technology will have a place in my classroom in the future. I will not depend only on technology but I believe there are plenty of ways to use it in a way to get students interested. I will personally have to learn how to use technology to a greater extent in order to impact my children.

A little bit of me

My name is Alexandra Waldrop and I am a sophomore at the University of Southern Mississippi. I am majoring in Elementary/Special Education. I love to dance as well as sing. Music is my lifeline and painting is my outlet. I love nature and I spend most of my time outside. I am currently the Chair of USM Relay for Life for 2 years now. I am also the Panhellenic Delegate for Kappa Delta Sorority! I cannot wait to be able to help all children learn and grow to be the best person they can be!