21st Century Language Arts

In the article, Telling Stories with Video, students are able to be creative with their learning of Language Arts. I focused on a Language Arts article because I am interested in English and want to find creative and fun ways for students to learn what they need to know. I believe English and grammar is very important in schools because it is a building block of a vocabulary as well as is needed in everyday life.

WHAT: In this article, I was able to develop the sense that students work better when they can use other forms of text other than printed text. As students, we have grown up reading text after text and doing the same thing day after day. I believe that if we use other ways of learning, students will be more interested in the subject and have a better understanding of what Language Arts is really all about. The article highlights how technology can be useful to help or even save a Language Arts lesson. By having students, create videos to show their understanding, we are offering them a fun and creative way for learning.

SO WHAT: The authors are trying to get learning up-to-date with the current lifestyle we live. Technology is a huge part of our world today; therefore, we should be able to incoporate it into our learning just as we can incorporate it into our everyday lives. We can simply enhance our learning and interest by making learning fun rather than a "chore."

NOW WHAT: As perspective educators, I believe it is necessary to move as quickly as techonology does. If we find ways to help our students learn in a fun, creative, imaginative, and friendly way then we are giving them more concepts to learn rather to just read from a text. Unfortunately or fortunately, technology is making a pathway into education and we must find a way to incorporate it instead of running from it.

Young, C., & Kajder, S. (2009, June). Telling Stories with Video. ISTE, 36(8). Retrieved October 31, 2011, from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/June_July_2009_Telling_Stories_with_Video.sflb.ashx

Web Tools For Teachers

In the website, Web 2.0 for the Classroom Teacher, I was able to find a lot of interesting web tools that can significantly help out a teacher and his/her students. I found two tools that especially caught my eye as a student and I can believe could be very helpful to teachers as well. The first tool I found is GradeFix and the other is Scriblink.
These two web tools can help a lot in and out of the classroom. Grade fix is very helpful website for teachers to organize their work and assignment they assigned to the class. The students can create their own grade fix account which allows them to track their homework appropriately giving them a good sense of time when to complete it. This can be significant in the classroom because it can create a good sense of communication between the teacher and the students as well as the parents. Parents will be able to see what their child has due and when it is due by simply logging on to the account and accessing their homework, test, quiz, or project information. This is a good way to keep students on top of their work so they could receive the grades they deserve.
Scriblink is also an important tool that can be used a lot in the classroom. Scriblink is basically an online whiteboard that can be used among a number of people at once. A teacher or student can share their screen with the rest of the class. I believe this tool could be helpful because the students can possibly receive a step by step instruction of a math problem allowing them to see how to complete the problem. This is also good for group work and could benefit many students learning styles by being able to see it right in front of them.
I believe that these tools correspond to the NETS-T standard #1 because it allows the teacher to promote students reflection of understanding as well as model collaborative knowledge construction over a virtual environment. Since the teacher is generally checking for understanding from his/her students they are communicating through a virtual element the proper way to do something or organizing what is expected of each student.
I think that these tools are essential to the classroom because it helps work towards students learning and development. These tools can be definitely used in different ways and as perspective teachers, I believe we need to find ways to incorporate them into our classroom.

Summerford, S. (2011, July 28). In Web 2.0 for the Classroom Teacher. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listweb20s.html

New Steps Toward Technology

In the article, Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement and Independence to the Physically Challenged, Diane Curtis explains the new technology that have helped physically challenged children make a difference in their studies. It was interesting to read this article and watch the short video because it is amazing to see how technology can benefit everyone.

Physically challenged children are given the ability to communicate through computers and other technological devices. These devices can help them learn, do homework, and even communicate with their peers or their teacher. These high assitive technological devices have really given physically challenged children a away to feel successful in their learning.

I believe this is great for students because we can help them communicate their needs through devices that fit their desires. Since technology plays such a major role in our society today, we are giving all students the chance to learn and develop to their fullest potential. These devices that are created for each individual are astonishing to see because they can work with the slightest movement. I think special education teachers need to become more educated on the devices out there and inform the parents because these students have seemed to really excel in their studies through these devices.

Technology is making a pathway for itself by creating a way for all people to be able to use different sorts of technology.


Curtis, D. (2005, February 2). Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and Independence to the Physically Challenged. Edutopia. Retrieved October 17, 2011, from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-class-school-participation

What's Your Story?

In David Jakes article, the process of storytelling is very intriguing. Digital storytelling is a way for students to write about a variety of experiences or imaginative things; therefore, every student has their own individual story. This process includes writing a story, and adding multimedia concepts of voice, imagery, and music to create their story or movie.

This is a multi-step process that can enhance a child's creativity and technological skills.  A basic recap of the process is to write and script the story then add visual elements which will then you allow to conclude with a final project. I believe this process would be a very interesting project to do in a classroom. Each child is given the ability to show off their own individual creativity to the class. This allows students to see that everybody is different; yet, we are all similar in many ways. By having the students show each other their stories, I believe we are allowing students to learn about their classmates and learn something maybe they did not know. Digital storytelling helps students understand each other and not judge each other. I think this lesson would be ideal to incorporate inclusion into because it is letting each child identify who they are and not having to feel ashamed about it.

Not only do students learn about each other they also enhance their learning with technology. They will be able to comprehend more uses for technology by knowing how to complete several tasks. Students can also work on their writing and spelling skills and allow them to edit and review several times.
Overall, I believe digital storytelling is the way to understand a child. As teachers, we want to connect to children on a personal level and this can be away to help us connect with the student and create a relationship with them. I think this activity can be fun, educational and live changing; therefore, we just need to sit back and let the kids bring their own creativity to the floor.

Jakes, D. S. Capturing Stories, Capturing Lives: An Introduction to Digital Storytelling. JAKESONLINE.ORG. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://www.jakesonline.org/storytelling.htm

Power of the Web

In the article, "The Power and Peril of Web 3.0," I learned a great deal of information. I believe that the author Jason Ohler brought up some pretty good points about the information we find on the web. As we all know, there is a great deal of personal information that is put on the web for many people to eventually find. In order to find the information we are looking for, we must be willing to evaluate our resources and see if they are valid resources.

I agree with Ohler because I think that students should learn how to search properly so that they find exactly what they are looking for. When we use the search bar, we get millions of hits upon our search; however, if we narrow down our search or focus on the main points, we may be able to find what we are looking for in a quicker fashion. I believe in order for this to occur, we, as educators, must be able to educate our students on the web. As the web continues to grow, there are more concepts we can begin to understand. We need to be able to educate students to look up appropriate information and not waste their time on searching every hit to see if that provides them research.

Although technology has its ups and downs, we need to be able to incorporate it into our everyday lives because it is only going to continue to grow. It provides another source of intelligence that we may find useful for some information. Even though it sounds like the easy way out of finding information or research, we are developing better skills in a technology sense. Instead of avoiding it, I believe educators need to be able to incoporate technology and the web into their classrooms now because we have time to plan for it before it grows at a faster rate.

Ohler, J. (2010, May). The Power and Peril of Web 3.0. Learning and Leading with Technolgy, 37(7), 14-17. Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201005?pg=4#pg16

Where, Oh Where, Will Technology Take Us?

In the article, "Navigate the Digital Rapids," I found some key points that I would certainly agree with. I thought it was great to see that there are different types of technology one can incorporate into the classroom depending on the age level. I think that if we start our students off at a basic understanding of technology and find ways to enhance their learning then we can continue to grow with technology in the classroom as time goes on.

I believe that the old saying, "You will never know, if you never try," goes hand in hand with this article because technology is a big jump that someone has to be willing to take. I think no teacher wants to necessarily incorporate technology into their classroom because they anticipate distractions among their students. I agree with this this article when it says that the teacher must take control. This is significant because if the teacher shows control, confidence and capability then the students should know their consequences if they seem to get out of hand.

It is always scary to take that first step in a new direction but after that there is always room to learn what is needed. This article basically says one must struggle before they succeed. Once everything is figured out then we will be able to offer different digital footprints for each student through their adolescent years. We want our students today to be given every opportunity of greatness and success. By being able to learn in different ways, we are broadening their knowledge in many ways.

Overall, I found this article to be very interesting because it allowed me to see the necessary steps to be successful with technology. By being successful these days, one must take new steps and challenges in their lives and I think technology in the classroom is our first greatest step to a new beginning.

Lindsay, Julie, and Vicki Davis. "Navigate the Digital Rapids." ISTE-Learning & Leading with Technology 37.6 Mar./Apr. (2010): 12-15. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/March_April_2010_Navigate_the_Digital_Rapids.sflb.ashx>.

Speak Up for the Future

In the article, Speak Up, technology was introduced as being a major part of education today. Students are becoming more educated with technology today it seems as if it can be a distraction; however, at the rate we're going, we will be able to incorporate technology into our classroom for the anticipation of teaching rather than distracting our students.

WHAT: After giving and receiving various surveys about the use of technology used among schools, it was obvious that technology was making its way into the classroom in one way or another. While reading this article, I was interested to see that, in the future, teachers as well administrators were absorbed in the fact that eventually each child would be able to use a laptop in the classroom. Today, we rely so much on technology it becomes second nature. At the rate we are going, each classroom student will be able to monitor their own computer with various types of exercises as a way of learning on top of what the teacher is teaching. As technology grows, so do we, we become more educated inside and out. It was also interesting to see that technology can play a major role in each individuals learning. The typical teacher usually uses a great source of technology now by creating power points, music, visual elements for their lessons. Project Tomorrow and Speak Up are teaming up to help technology work in the classroom. It is proved that students in a digitally-rich learning environment are more successful than the basic teaching. Technology gives us a different perspective on learning and we must find a way to incorporate it into learning to make it fun and interesting for every individual.

SO WHAT: The author of this article makes a bold statement. A statement, in fact, that prepares us for our future to come. Technology has continued to grow over the years, expanded in ways some never thought could happen. The only way to use technology to our benefit is to incorporate it into our classroom lectures/lessons. I believe the purpose that the author is trying to make clear is that we are the future. By the time we are classroom teachers, technology would have or will be already taking over the classroom in spectacular ways. Instead of working against it, we must work with it and use it to our benefit.

NOW WHAT: I believe the steps to the future with technology are very basic. We can incorporate different technology structures into our classrooms allowing students to learn in a variety of ways. I imagine that there are not enough ways to teach a classroom full of children. By being educated in technology, we are broadening our horizons for teaching beyond the traditional "box." Once we are educated, we will be able to share our knowledge with our students. By allowing students to create their own visual elements gives them to ability to grasp the information in a different way. As the years go on, technology gets more advanced; therefore, that leaves us striving for more ways to enhance education.

Speak Up: Unleashing the Future