Reflection 2-CDK's Education Technology Place

 :This is my personal reflection on CDK's Main Site...it opened my eyes to several different resources that I look forward to using as the semester, and my teaching career continues on!

CDK's Ed Tech Place-All you need and more!

I really enjoyed all of the different types of videos on the website. My personal favorites were the “flash mob” reading dance and the second language learner facts. My concentration within the Elementary Education program here at Kansas State is ESL (English as a Second Language). These facts were helpful to solidify my area of concentration and allow me to learn more about how I can incorporate other languages into my classroom, as well as support my second language learner’s native language or L1.

Also very helpful on this website are the links that go straight to the Kansas State essentials for future educators. Having these accessible to us, as students will be extremely beneficial in working on assignments for not only this course, but also the college of education in general. I look forward to exploring this website and building upon my prior technological foundations. 

I didn't realize that the digital footprint and technological resources could be so applicable for an elementary teacher. I feel as if I have had a huge wake up call on our society today and how much we rely on technology in the classroom. The reality of it is that everyday people are taking bigger and bigger strides in technology. We as teachers need to keep up and be able to facilitate our new discoveries in the classroom. I am most excited about learning how we can allow our students to blog and use technology as a familiar and comfortable source for them and also assess their learnings at the same time. How cool is that?...Very! I am excited to continue to learn about how technology can open doors for us as educators and our students as learners in a technological society. 

Check out some of my favorite videos!

                                                          Very fun video!

My Favorite!

Reflection 1-Technology Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles

I have recently started to open up my mind and  eyes to new blogs and websites for my DED  318 class. Here are some of my initial reactions... :)

Tennessee Schools requiring iPad: Crazy, huh?

I am very shocked to read about this story. I personally can see many pros and cons about this bold and technological move. Fourth graders using iPads seems to me a little risky and distracting. But then again, with all of the advances being made month to month, and our society becoming more and more aware of the need to ‘keep up with the status quo’ I can understand where the administration came to the conclusion to implement this requirement within it’s school system. I also found myself surprised to read about a Tennessee school implementing such an advanced technological requirement—this is probably due to the fact that I have grown up and gone to school in Kansas my entire life.

I think my stereotypical mindset was that this type of program would first be started on the East or West coast—somewhere that takes risk and starts trends traditionally in our country’s society today. This article has helped me to open my eyes and mind to the reality that the world is continuously changing and a more rapid pace everyday; and because of the change of pace, schools nation wide have jumped on the fast track to technology in the classroom.

Angry Birds—Valentines Edition: Look at me!

            After clicking on the link to the video, I found it to be weirdly familiar. Then I realized that my seven and six-year-old cousins were the ones who first showed me this YouTube link. They also play angry birds on their parents’ phones more often than I do on my phone and ipod touch. The entertainment is what excites them the most about the game, but taking a step back and reflecting on my little cousins being so comfortable with technology at such an early age is very thought provoking. At seven, I could maybe get on my tiptoes to put a VCR video (Disney, of course) into the VCR player. I most definitely could not have used a touch screen smart phone to try and smash as many green piggies as possible. This makes me think about how much I will have to learn not only to teach my future students, but also to keep up with their pace and style of learning.  


These articles were found on Bits, Bytes, & Nibbles :)