As a future educator it is so important to learn about technology and how to integrate it into teaching, especially in today’s day and age. W310 taught me ways to keep learning with technology fun. There are so many cool resources that I discovered in this course. Now I want to go over my 5 top takeaways from this course! 

My top takeaway from this course is learning how to use the smart notebook software. The reason I am choosing this as my main takeaway is because smart notebook is used in the majority of classrooms I substitute in, and before I learned about smart notebook I had a hard time using it. Not only did I learn how to use it in ways that will enhance my teaching, but I also gained knowledge on how to use it now for my daily job! One of my favorite features that smart notebook offers is being able to create games and activities that relate to the material that is being taught. I cannot wait to hopefully be able to use smart notebook in my classroom someday!

My second takeaway is from our textbook, “Design for how People Learn,” by Julie Dirksen. It comes from chapter 5, “How do you get their attention?” To get the learner’s attention you have to talk to the elephant. When it comes to getting someone’s attention you have to talk to the brain like a rider and an elephant. Talking to the elephant is where you have to be the smartest because it is the automatic, emotional, visceral part of your brain. A better way to explain the elephant is it is the devil on your left shoulder. A lot of times the elephant tends to challenge the rider, and the majority of the time the elephant wins. In order to attract the elephant to go along with the rider you have to tell it stories, surprise it, show it shiny things, tell it all the other elephants are doing it, and leverage the elephant’s habits. 

My third takeaway is also from our textbook. It is about using practice and feedback when students are developing certain skills. For example, if I am teaching a lesson about verbs I would first introduce verbs, give students a lot of practice with verbs, and once the initial lesson on verbs is complete I would continue to go over verbs once a week. Then while students are using verbs in writing I can give them feedback on well they are using verbs, or if they need improvement. It is important to not give up on someone just because they need a little extra practice or help.

My fourth takeaway is learning how to spot clear cultural representations and confusing representations. This assignment taught me to not only pay more attention to things around me, but it also taught me that someday in my own classroom I need to make sure everything I display for m students to see makes sense. For example, some things might not make sense because they don’ t know what certain things mean yet, or maybe it’s something they’ve never been exposed to before.

The first video I watched was case #1 where students were using the interactive games. The teacher was very engaged with students throughout the video even though they were playing games on their electronic devices. That was nice to see, because a lot of times I see teachers letting their students play games and many students won’ t ask for help if their teacher isn’t up and interacting with the class to make sure everyone knows what they are doing. Having the interactive games is also a helpful strategy so that the teacher can really help and focus on the students that need extra help. As the video continued it seemed like the students were staying engaged and were enjoying the activities whether they were on Planet Turtle, using an iPod, or getting help from their teacher. Since there were three different activities they could choose from I believe that helped keep students motivated because they all wanted to get to the activity where they could use iPods. One thing that surprised me was how engaged the students were. I say this because I watch students struggle with activities all the time because their teachers are not helping them. However, since their teacher is helping them in the video they are able to understand what they are learning, and they are also having fun.

The second video I watched was case #4 where the students were doing enrich projects. Right off the bat I liked how there were three different categories that way students could choose a category they enjoy. This case was very different from the first mainly because case #1 was elementary school and case #4 is high school. However, I think the teacher was doing a good job at explaining what students were doing and throughout the video I saw her walking around the classroom and helping students. I think enrich projects are great because with the three different categories there is a category for students with different learning styles. I also think that is what keeps students engaged throughout the whole project. 

           After taking a look at the PowerPoint for Happy Grove College I knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done in order for it to be presentable. The first thing I noticed was that many words that needed to be capitalized were not, and many words that did not need to be capitalized were. I also noticed the variety of very tacky colors and images that were used on each slide. When it comes to a PowerPoint the slides need to have a balance of color, and the font needs to be a color and style that is legible.

Technology is becoming such a common part of education, especially in the classroom. Growing up, my elementary, middle and high school all had computers, laptops and tablets, but there wasn’t one for each student. Therefore, I never began to experience a 1:1 classroom setting until college. It has taken me a lot of getting used to when I see Kindergarteners on iPads, but the fact of the matter is that technology is only becoming more prevalent in the classroom and as a future educator I need to be prepared to integrate it into my teaching as much as possible. 

When it comes to my future classroom I will integrate the “BYOD” method as long as it is okay within the school district. Schools will usually always have access to providing technology to the students who need it, but I believe “BYOD” is a very smart method. Instead of scolding students for having their own devices out in class, give them the opportunity to use their own devices in class. One plus side I see to having students bring their own device is that they are already familiar with how it works and they will be able to navigate it efficiently. I also feel as if letting students use their own devices might motivate them more to get work done because most of them will have their devices with them at all times. However, I will make sure personal devices are being used only when it is appropriate. If I have students who do not have access to their own personal devices then I will make sure they are able to get a Chromebook, tablet, or any other type of device through the school so that they can stay in tune with the use of technology in the classroom. 

It is important that students learn how to use the different apps I will implement, and that is where I, as the teacher, come into play with helping them practice and giving them feedback on how they are doing. One app that I believe is great for a class is google classroom. Right now google classroom is being used more than ever with all of the e-learning that is going on. I have been able to watch my mom who is a first grade teacher use google classroom with her students, and I have been helping her upload assignments, videos, and any other information she wants her students to have. Not only is it a great way to assign homework, post notes, and just check in with students, but it is also a very simple app to use. It allows teachers to give students feedback, and then also have the students fix their work and resubmit it. So no matter the age I believe google classroom is a great application to use, especially in a 1:1 environment.

Nowadays there are so many distractions in the classroom. Whether it is because students like to talk a lot, or maybe it is because students become distracted with technology. It is important as a teacher to know how to not let your students lose attention and make sure they are always giving you their undivided attention. According to Dirksen, in order to keep a learner’s attention you need to “talk to the elephant.” When it comes to attention there is the elephant and then there is the rider. The rider is the rational part of the brain. It is always is steering you into the pathway of success. Whereas the elephant is the “attracted-to-shiny-objects,” part of the brain as Dirksen states. To make this a bit more understanding the rider is the one telling you to eat a salad, and the elephant is the one telling you to just eat the mcdouble instead. 

So, as a teacher I believe it is important to set an example for your students so that they are more than likely always going to listen to their rider. I have had teachers in the past who just brush off their responsibilities as a teacher and put a movie in for the whole class period that way they can grade papers. Then I have had teachers who plan out their lessons so that there isn’t a minute throughout the day where we weren’t learning and interacting with classmates. As a student, seeing a teacher just brush off their job is very discouraging. Usually in those cases my classmates and I would just pull out of phones and not even watch the movie. However, being in a class that was fun and engaging all the time really helped me to listen to my rider. With that being said, as a future teacher I will always make sure I am learning about my students’ personalities and figuring out how to get them to listen to their rider. 

There is a lot that goes into the process of remembering information and storing it in our memories. The first step in the memory process is encoding and retrieval, also known as, memory in and out. While taking in information it is just as important manipulate, combine, and be innovative with the information you are learning. The brain is constantly changing while retrieving new information. It creates new connections, both strong and week, and builds upon connections that were already formed. To sum it up, in order to remember things we must retrieve information and then relate, combine, and compare all the new information that is being learned. 

When it comes to helping my students remember things I already have a few tricks up my sleeve that I want to try out. The first concept I will implement into my classroom is consistency. I will be consistent in my teaching style and my classroom procedures. Creating a consistent environment will help learners stay more focused on the content they are learning, rather than how they are learning and processing it. Another thing I believe is important in helping my students remember things is always going back to certain skills or topics. What I mean by that is if I talk about addition one day, move on to subtraction the next day, and then give them a quiz over addition a week later it may be hard for them to remember everything they learned about addition. Now I am not saying I will teach addition for a week straight, but instead I might teach it for 30 minutes two days in a row, and then review it with them a few days after I taught it.