Technology Use in my Day-to-Day Living

During the academic school year I normally start out my morning by checking my multiple email accounts, then Facebook if I have time.  I get ready for work and head in.  A few times a week I use my Smartphone to play Pandora through my car while driving to work.  During the regular school day I will check my phone for texts and other updates on my prep and lunch.  We have no personal electronic policy after 8 a.m. at my school, I believe it is important to set and example for the students, so my phone stays in my desk the rest of the day.  I use my school computer all day long, so when the day is finished I am in no hurry to come home and get on mine.  After we have had dinner and I have spent time with my dogs, then I will get my computer out to get on Facebook, Pinterest, check all my email accounts again, and surf the web.   My husband loves his Ipad so we sit on the couch together and relax before we call it a night. 

Technology has allowed me to easily stay in contact with family and friends; however, I am still a bit old fashioned in that I really enjoy calling and talking to people on the phone. I am also considered the “technology fixer” in my family.  On weekends I am either heading to my parents, in-laws, grandparents, aunts and uncles, or family friends that need help with their computer, printer, tablet, etc.  I am a very happy to help, but sometimes I do resent technology.  Normally they are easy fixes, but not always. 

Right now it is easy to balance the demands of technology in my day-to-day living.  I am sure that once we start to build a family that the amount of time that I spend each day on technology will be pushed back.  I am okay with that and certainly looking forward to that day as well.      

Social Networking Technologies: Benefits and Drawbacks

Some of the current social networking technologies available that could be used for education purposes include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, and even Pinterest.  Hsiu-Ting and Steve Chi-Yin (2010) completed a study where they found that university students felt a strong sense of being part of a connected classroom community when using social networking technology.  Students enjoy being part of a classroom community as well as using these social networking sites to connect with other interest groups.  Specifically, Twitter holds chats, where students could take part and share their knowledge with other individuals across the world.

Educators must be careful not to overload the students with too many social networking technologies at one time.  It is best to have students get comfortable using one technology before adding another.  Griffith and Liyanage (2008) note that when using these social networking technologies, teachers must be aware of the types of advertisements that appear within these sites.  Students must be aware that most of their postings will be public to the entire world depending on what technology they are using.  One of Thorsen’s (2009) guidelines is to “never say something you wouldn’t want your mother to hear” (p. 90).  Social networking technologies have both benefits and drawbacks, but with the right amount of guidance the benefits can outweigh the drawbacks.         

 

References:

Griffith, S. & Liyanage, L. (2008).  An introduction to the potential of social networking sites in education.  Research Online, 76-81.  Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/etc08/9

Hsiu-Ting, H., & Steve Chi-Yin, Y. (2010). Educational use of social networking technology in higher education. Teaching In Higher Education, 15(6), 703-714. doi:10.1080/13562517.2010.507307     

Thorsen, C. (2009). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers (3 ed.). Boston: Pearson

FREE Educational and Personal Resources

CLASSROOM RESOURCES

Kutasoftware (https://www.kutasoftware.com/)

Kutasoftware has a huge selection of FREE math worksheets for the secondary students including Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Calculus.  These worksheets also come with answer keys (bonus!).  You or your school district can purchase the software in order to create individualized worksheets and tests. 

I use this quite frequently in my classroom to reinforce topics in my remediation classes.  I project the questions from the Kutasoftware worksheet on my SMARTBoard and then have students send in their answers through our central response system (also known as clickers).   

Coursesites (https://www.coursesites.com/webapps/Bb-sites-course-creation-BBLEARN/pages/index.html)

Coursesites is powered by Blackboard, where an educator can create up to five classes for FREE.  This blended learning environment is a great way to keep your students engaged, share websites, and link videos to their current unit. 

I used Coursesites this year in one my units to “flip” my classroom.  The students really enjoyed it, but I will warn you, like starting anything for the first time it requires a lot of time, effort, and most of all patience.  This program is a very similar to Blackboard, and I found it very interesting to be on the other side of the program as the educator running the course, instead of the student. 

Google Drive - Sheets (https://www.google.com/sheets/about/index.html)

Google Sheets is a great resource in order to share information in real time or whenever is most convenient for the classroom teacher and their students.  Sheets can be viewed online through a computer, tablet, or on a Smartphone.   Google Sheets is FREE and your work will ALWAYS be automatically saved. 

Personally, I love everything Google Drive has to offer.  My school district is pushing the Microsoft OneDrive, but my heart is with Google.  Google Sheets makes it so easy to share information with your students, especially when we were working with scatter plots, finding the line of best fit, and analyzing trend lines.  All students have access to the same data, they download it on their computer, and then each student is free to explore on their own.  This year I did a project with my Algebra I students on vehicle depreciation where we used Google Forms to submit each vehicle and then used Google Sheets to draw conclusions about vehicle depreciation.

PERSONAL RESOURCES

Pinterest (www.pinterest.com)

Pinterest consumes whatever “free” time I have.  I use this for cooking, crafts, education, and well just about anything you can possibly think of.  There are plenty of pins that contain humor, which is my favorite thing about Pinterest, besides that it is FREE.  If I have a stressful day at work I can always count on Pinterest to cheer me up. 

 

Twitter (www.twitter.com)

I am currently new to Twitter.  I am taking EDUC 638 as well this course and EDUC 638 has multiple assignments where you have to use Twitter.  I was against this at first for the fear of becoming attached to it, much like I am with Pinterest.  However, I cannot believe that I have not used Twitter sooner.  There is so much you can learn and share with thousands of other educators.  My experience thus far has been amazing, and it is FREE professional development.  Twitter has become a daily part of my life.  I encourage you all to check it out. (Note: If you are interested here is my Twitter username: @ramantonioli)

References:

Coursesites. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.coursesites.com/webapps/Bb-sites-course-creation-BBLEARN/pages/index.html

Kutasoftware. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.kutasoftware.com/

Pinterest. (2014). Retrieved from www.pinterest.com

Sheets (2014). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/sheets/about/index.html

Twitter. (2014). Retrieved from www.twitter.com

Module 2 - Video Blog 1: Technology in School

Reference:

Thorsen, C. (2009). TechTactics: Technology for teachers (3 ed.). Boston: Pearson.

"And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” - Deuteronomy 31:8 (NKJV)

About Me

Hello Class!  

Please view the link below to learn a little more about me.  Feel free to explore the rest of my personal website!

http://mkantonioli.weebly.com/

I am looking forward to working and learning with you all.