Saturday, October 25, 2008
My Access
My Access is an awesome program to use in the classrooms. I think that this program will really help the students to improve in their written assignments. I am sure that most students would love to be able to use this program to write their essays. This program is great because it helps the students in the process of writing, from the first step of organization, until the last step of giving them a feedback of how well they did by just submitting the essay. When I used it to write my essay, I was a little unsure of what to write, so when I submitted my essay I got a low score. However, when I used the program to revise the essay, I used the prewriting features which in a way guided me in how to write the essay. The amazing thing of it was that when I finished the prewriting, it was posted on the space of the essay. This is great because you do not lose your time rewriting what you just wrote. Actually when I submitted the essay the second time, I noticed that there was an improvement in the score. This program has many features to assist the writers such as a word bank that suggests the use of vocabulary that makes the essay more meaningful. The program is wonderful and if I would have the opportunity of using this program in the classroom, I will welcome it because it is such a great innovation, which most students and teachers would love.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Technology in the Classroom
I do agree with the integration of technology in the classroom because in the society where we are living today, technology has become part of our lives. Students need to be prepared for the use of technology in their daily lives.
I think that in the classroom, there should be a combination of technology and traditional education, where the teacher not only is able to use some sort of technology, but also he/she takes his/her time to use the board and explain a lesson.
I feel that teachers and students should not be too dependent on technology either. It is not that technology is going to go away, well maybe, who knows, but I think that it is necessary to gain some skills without being so dependent on the available technology. For example, in a math class is important that students know how to use a calculator, but it is also important that they can actually do simple math like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication without depend on a calculator to do all the “thinking” for them.
At the same time, teachers need to know how to apply the technology in the classroom. There are good teachers who teach terrible using technology, while there are teachers who teach fine with the use of technology. PowerPoint is very popular in the classroom. However, there are some teachers who teach using long PowerPoint presentations, which sometimes are boring. While there are other teachers who use PowerPoint, but their presentations are interesting and encourage the students to learn.
Teachers should be aware of the different ways that their students learn. Therefore they should use that information to modify their classrooms. The same method of teaching does not work for all the students, for example, for me to learn math I have to see where the numbers or letters are coming from. I just don’t like to copy what it is appearing in the slide and then have no clue where everything is coming from. I prefer the traditional teacher who writes on the board and at the same time explains me where the numbers are coming from and what they mean. I have been in classrooms where students use the time to copy the PowerPoint presentations, while the teacher is explaining. For me it is very difficult to pay attention, while I am trying to copy all the written material. That is how some students feel in the classroom, they want to copy all the notes, but did they learn something? Well maybe there are students who can copy and listen at the same time, but that is a technique that does not work for all the students.
I had also experienced being in classrooms where the teacher gives the students time to copy the notes and then he/she explains it. If the teacher gives students some time to copy the information and then he/she explains it, it might be a more effective technique. In this way the students are going to have good notes for reference, but also they can concentrate more in the point that the teacher is trying to explain without being distracted by trying to finish writing down the information from the PowerPoint. There are many ways to modify a classroom using technology. Technology is a very useful tool, but teachers need to know how to use it in their classroom. They should use it to do class more interesting, not boring and stressful.
I think that in the classroom, there should be a combination of technology and traditional education, where the teacher not only is able to use some sort of technology, but also he/she takes his/her time to use the board and explain a lesson.
I feel that teachers and students should not be too dependent on technology either. It is not that technology is going to go away, well maybe, who knows, but I think that it is necessary to gain some skills without being so dependent on the available technology. For example, in a math class is important that students know how to use a calculator, but it is also important that they can actually do simple math like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication without depend on a calculator to do all the “thinking” for them.
At the same time, teachers need to know how to apply the technology in the classroom. There are good teachers who teach terrible using technology, while there are teachers who teach fine with the use of technology. PowerPoint is very popular in the classroom. However, there are some teachers who teach using long PowerPoint presentations, which sometimes are boring. While there are other teachers who use PowerPoint, but their presentations are interesting and encourage the students to learn.
Teachers should be aware of the different ways that their students learn. Therefore they should use that information to modify their classrooms. The same method of teaching does not work for all the students, for example, for me to learn math I have to see where the numbers or letters are coming from. I just don’t like to copy what it is appearing in the slide and then have no clue where everything is coming from. I prefer the traditional teacher who writes on the board and at the same time explains me where the numbers are coming from and what they mean. I have been in classrooms where students use the time to copy the PowerPoint presentations, while the teacher is explaining. For me it is very difficult to pay attention, while I am trying to copy all the written material. That is how some students feel in the classroom, they want to copy all the notes, but did they learn something? Well maybe there are students who can copy and listen at the same time, but that is a technique that does not work for all the students.
I had also experienced being in classrooms where the teacher gives the students time to copy the notes and then he/she explains it. If the teacher gives students some time to copy the information and then he/she explains it, it might be a more effective technique. In this way the students are going to have good notes for reference, but also they can concentrate more in the point that the teacher is trying to explain without being distracted by trying to finish writing down the information from the PowerPoint. There are many ways to modify a classroom using technology. Technology is a very useful tool, but teachers need to know how to use it in their classroom. They should use it to do class more interesting, not boring and stressful.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Homework
Some students have a very negative view about homework. They think that homework is boring, takes time and is not worth doing it. Some students do homework because is mandatory, but they do not see another reason beyond that. Yes, I had been in the position where I have felt stressed about doing homework, especially when I have many classes and each teacher assigns a different homework and all of them are due the same day. However, homework is more than a grade because it helps students remember the material covered in class. The purpose of doing homework is to learn, remember material, practice the skills learned, but also do mistakes and learn from them. I feel that homework is important and I can tell this from previous experiences. For me, mathematics and homework have a special link. In high school and in college, I took math classes that were challenging. The only way that I could tell whether or not I knew how to apply the material learned in class was by doing the homework. If I was able to do the math problems assigned for homework, it was a good sign that I understood what was going on in class. However, if I had too many difficulties then, I knew where the weaknesses were. Any class can become a challenge, however if students would practice what they learned everyday, life would be a lot easier for them especially when they have to take tests.
Homework is meaningful when students do it not when they copy it. Students who copy homework do not learn anything. Yes, some students see only the side of getting a grade for whatever assignment they have to do, but what about the knowledge they can get from doing it?
Homework is very important, but teachers also have to consider the amount of homework that they assign to their students. Some students hate doing homework because that is what they do all afternoon long after they leave school. Some teachers just give too much homework. Yes, students need to practice the new skills, but that does not mean spend all the free time after school doing homework. Then that is just like living in school. Students need to be constantly practicing what they learned, but they also need to rest in order to perform well in class the next day. Otherwise, the lack of rest has consequences in the classroom the next day. Some students go to class too tired, and they barely pay attention in class.
At the same time, teachers should go over the homework. If students do their homework, but teachers do not check it that is not meaningful. Teachers need to let the students know their mistakes because that is the only way students are going to learn.
Students need to remember that homework is just a practice of what they just learned in class and "Practice is the best of all instructors" (Publilius Syrus).
Homework is meaningful when students do it not when they copy it. Students who copy homework do not learn anything. Yes, some students see only the side of getting a grade for whatever assignment they have to do, but what about the knowledge they can get from doing it?
Homework is very important, but teachers also have to consider the amount of homework that they assign to their students. Some students hate doing homework because that is what they do all afternoon long after they leave school. Some teachers just give too much homework. Yes, students need to practice the new skills, but that does not mean spend all the free time after school doing homework. Then that is just like living in school. Students need to be constantly practicing what they learned, but they also need to rest in order to perform well in class the next day. Otherwise, the lack of rest has consequences in the classroom the next day. Some students go to class too tired, and they barely pay attention in class.
At the same time, teachers should go over the homework. If students do their homework, but teachers do not check it that is not meaningful. Teachers need to let the students know their mistakes because that is the only way students are going to learn.
Students need to remember that homework is just a practice of what they just learned in class and "Practice is the best of all instructors" (Publilius Syrus).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
