Response 1 - Tech: Past, Present, Future

Computers have been a part of my life since childhood.  They were woven into my life from an early age, and I grew up using them in conjunction with my world, where as most children learned them as a separate aspect entirely.  My mother was a computer programmer for PGE and had often been charged with the task of breaking down complex firewalls.  I don't actually remember a time that there wasn't a computer available to me.  In early primary school, while everyone else was working with learning the keyboards on a typing game, I had already completed all of the levels, and was happily playing with Kid Pix.  It was just expected in my home that I was able to type quickly and accurately.  By middle school, I was helping to reset programming on the schools system, and in high school, I spent my required computer classes checking email after completing tasks in fifteen minutes that should have taken all of the period.

When I begin teaching, I would like to not only integrate technology into my classroom full of beginning primary student's classroom, but make it a seamless part of their days.  To do this, I will most likely use smartboards (or whatever the equivalent to them at the time is) to get students involved in the classwork.  Allowing them to work with their hands creatively and collaboratively will make the information not only more interesting to them, but will give them to opportunity to learn it at their own level and rate.

The most daunting task that faces teachers in the future filled with technologically based classrooms will be keeping students on task.  They may find the assignments unappealing, and with direct access to other applications, they may find themselves off task, and behind on projects.  Even more so then staying on task though, will be staying up to date with current technological resources.  With so many things becoming accessible in the technological world, things become outdated frequently, and teachers need to stay current on what is available to them.

Avatars and Education?

Avatars can be entertaining in giving a greeting, or sending a quick message to a friend.  But could they really be useful in a classroom setting?  In school, students are expected to absorb information at such a rapid rate, the Avatar is extremely useful in emphasizing key points.  A student may record their own voice and use it as a learning tool to repeat back to them what they have already learned.  In over crowded schools (like most today) a busy educator may prerecord short sections of a lesson with an Avatar, and play it during class, allowing them to work one on one with students who need more guidance.  The Avatar, while seemingly basic, can introduce key concepts to students, and expedite learning the learning process in the classroom.