Technology Observations

     I have yet to observe some creative and fun ways of using technology in a classroom; whether it be in my own classroom experiences or the classrooms I have observed. Throughout high school the extent of technology use would have mostly been with an overhead projector. There was one computer and T.V. in every classroom but the computer was more for the teacher's use. The T.V. was used for the daily anouncements and any movies we had to watch. It wasn't until my classes at MSU when the teachers used things such as a powerpoint to address the information to the classroom. I did have a class last semester that used an "elmo" to display the books we were discussing on the screen at the front, and I have had teachers use YouTube videos as well.
     I have so far have been placed in two different field placements for observations, but none this current semester. The first placement reminded me of my own personal experience with technology in the classroom with only the use of a TV, overhead projector, and a single computer in the classroom. My second placement did not have a TV in the classroom, but did have an overhead projector and computer. However, about half way through my placement the overhead projector was replaced with an "elmo" and they began to use this in place of it. I found this to be a nice transition since it seemed easier to use. The teacher was able to avoid having transparencies made and didn't have to use big bulky markers while trying to fit it in small spaces. She was also able to use this for her "read aloud" time and had the kids follow along as she read to them, and since it was a chapter book it made it easier for her to point out the specifics she wanted them to pay attention to.

Response to Blog

I have some thoughts on the "Transform the instructor first" post, along with the comments made on the Dangerously Irrelevent blog http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/01/transform-the-instructors-first.html. I think the topic is quite thought provoking. If the teachers themselves are not experiencing the new technology then it is obviously not going to be used while they teach, nor will they be able to pass it along to their students. I think that this CEP class is going to help a lot with my own personal technology experience but also seems to be teaching me ways in which I will be able to continue my knowledge of such topics long after the class is over. Someone also commented on the classes we take to obtain our teaching degree and how there doesn't seem to be much of an attempt to teach us these tools before hand. If I do end up gaining as much from this class as I think I'm going to, I don't see why this class wouldn't be highly recommended/required to all education student.

Class Expectations/Background knowledge

    Well, I honestly didn't really know what to expect when walking into this class, but the few thoughts I did have you could say were a bit off. I like the idea of having a portfolio by the end and teaching us ways to keep up with all this technology, rather than just teach us what their is here and now. Lets face it, no one likes to sit in a class while the prof tries to figure out how to do something as simple as turn on the projector. I hope in my case I'm not having to ask a classroom full of second graders how to work something, since they seem to be right on top of all this. I'm excited but at the same time kind of nervous for all of this, hopefully I'll be able to keep up on all of this and manage to figure it all out without too much frustration.
    As far as my technology background I don't really have much. I manage to work with my laptop without screwing things up too much, using mostly the internet, and microsoft word. My freshman year of college I did take some sort of basic computer class that went over the basics of excel, and word, however I can honestly say I don't remember a whole lot. I have an itouch that you will rarely find me without, since I love music and hate silence, and as I'm sure most have a cell phone, mine is nothing special just a flip phone without internet or anything special. If I am introduced to something new though I like to screw around with it till I can figure it out, or until I get too frustrated and have to actually look up how to do something.