Post #1

Today, technologies are improving constantly. Technology is used in many aspects of our life but I think that computers and new technologies are extremely important parts of the educational experience. Computers and technology help students to understand the subject matter more, as well as to help them process information by using the computer as a tool. Computers help offer tools to enhance deeper thinking for the students. Computers can be used as instructional models, which are models that help learners remember information more. Computers and technology also help make things more organized for teachers in the classroom because teachers can use it as a tool to assist the students in learning more about the subject matter. Not only can computers be an interactive learning tool for students but computers can also be used to display information to be presented to the students.
Some of the critical concerns related to how teachers and students use computers is that some students as well as teachers may become too dependant on computers and technology. Technology is not something teachers can always rely on; computers can shut down un- expectantly, which can cause problems if the teacher or student is depending solely on the computer as a teaching aide. Another critical concern would be that some students would know how to use the computers more than the teachers. The teachers should have the same basic computer skills as students so it is not the students who are teaching the teachers.
I agree with most of the issues raised in this chapter. I think that it is very important that teachers have the same basic computer and technology skills as students and know a great amount about what they are teaching with so that it is not the students who end up teaching the teacher.
I am definitely planning on using computers and technology in my classroom. I think that they are an extremely useful aide in learning. I hope to use them for programs to help the students learn certain subject matter. I also want to do an activity similar to the one in the file management chapter, so that the students can become more familiar with the computers and also learn some organization skills. In this class, I hope to learn of different programs that I can use to help me achieve these goals for my classroom. By the end of this class, I hope to have a better understanding of all of Microsoft office and all of the basic computer techniques so that I can teach my students these techniques or be on the same page as them.
I am very excited to learn a lot in this class! I think it is definitely going to help better my career. Technology and computers are becoming such a big part of our society today and I think that this course is a great opportunity. I have had multiple technologies classes throughout middle school and high school but none of them were geared solely toward teaching. I think that this class will be more interesting then those because this is something I am very interested in!