Responsible Internet Usage

In today's class we had in depth discussions about the importance of internet safety not only for students, but also for teachers. When I read the article for the discussion post, my main concern was the well-being of the students. With MySpace and Facebook being so prevalent in today's society it was interesting to hear about my other classmates perspectives on being a teacher and maintaining privacy. Although I am an avid Life Time watcher (it's like quicksand, I just can't escape!) I had never seen the movie we talked about in class. That story is terrifying to me! Not just from the perspective of a teacher getting inappropriately represented on the Internet, but also keeping in mind that there are way too many crazy people out there that target both adults and young children.

From having read the Internet Safety Article, I feel much more confident about using the Internet in my classroom. For that particular discussion post I talked about how I felt that my fear of online predators was very justified, but it would not have been enough to stop me from using the Internet in my classroom. This is now especially true after our lesson on Internet safety; I feel very secure in my abilities to advise students to utilize the internet properly.

The Power of PowerPoint

During tonight's class we learned how to properly use Microsoft PowerPoint. This is something that I thought I knew how to do, not necessarily because I'm a genius and PowerPoint, but because I've seen it misused so many times. My sophomore year of college, I enrolled in a World Cities class. Not only was the instructor pretentious and supercilious (for definition please see my PowerPoint), but he grossly misused the wonders of PowerPoint. Simply putting text on a slide and reading it verbatim was not a fantastic way of encouraging his students to learn, and become involved in what they were pursuing.

My favorite thing from tonights lesson was the template website that we were given. I found this so helpful! Without it, I think I would have been lost. Also, its just a really neat way to get students involved beyond a note taking level. I designed my PowerPoint around the quiz template, and I found it to be a fabulous format that would allow students to improve their vocabulary in a fun, technological way. In addition to this, you can make additions to the PowerPoint in order to make the students vocabulary list ongoing, and give them confidence in their ability to know, and understand new terms.

Hopeful Thoughts on My Future with Technology

When I say "Terrific Technology for a Terrified Teacher" it is a hopeful statement with an edge of truth. I am a terrified pre-service teacher who is hopeful that this technology based English Ed class will reveal to me how terrific technology can be. It's not as though I am so afraid of using technology in my classroom that I am reluctant to learn. It's merely that, beyond the basic uses of Word and Power Point, I do not have much experience.

Over the holiday, I took a trip to Epcot and I never thought that this technology class would remind me of that experience. You know the big silver ball at Epcot? Well, the ride that exists within that ball is futuristic, and it really plays up the role and importance that technology plays within our society, and, even specifically, with youth. Thinking back to this brief 3 minute ride, it's interesting how everyone seems to be proactive in the knowledge and uses of technology. I'm excited to use the knowledge I will gain in this class to make my future students excited about English in a technological sense.