What do I do when I research?

When I research on-line I usually always go to google.com or yahoo.com to do my searching. I have found google.com to be my best bet when looking for something specific. I also think its very user friendly. They also have a lot of great images to choose from if you are looking for something in particular to use for class.

Once I am on google.com I just type in what I looking for in the search box. I then scan over the selected websites and start to visit them and see if any can help with what I am looking for. If I can't find what I am looking for I reword my search options and try again.

My Views about Technology

My experiences with technology have been mostly positive. In high school I didn’t use a lot of technology, but once I started college technology became more prevalent. I had more access to technology in college classes and it was more widely used by professors. I have also used technology within my classroom now. I use PowerPoint on a daily basis at my student teaching placement and do most of my research on the internet.

I think computer use in the classroom K-12 is a great resource and can teach the students a lot about our changing world. My problem with technology in the classroom is that it does not always work. We have many problems on a daily basis using the laptops and getting the internet to work for the students. Technology can only be useful if it works. If we can get the technology up and running properly, I do think it should play a large role in the classroom.

I think positive things can come from using computers in the classroom. We as teachers can learn so much from our students by observing their writing and on-line use. If we model how to use the internet and technology in our classroom, students will use technology effectively.

Technology is such a huge part of our everyday lives. I don't know what I would do without it. We are all constantly checking our email, on our cell phones, and listening to i-pods. Our culture revolves around technology. I don't think this is a bad thing though. In reading Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, I see there are many positive things that can come from using technology.

I found it very interesting that the book was written in 2006, and at that time each day over 70,000 new blogs and a million Weblogs posts were added. There are so many changes that come with all this technology too. Before reading this book, I did not know what a Wiki even was. It is so hard to keep up with the ever changing and developing technology.

We can use technology is such a positive way in the classroom. It opens so many possibilities for the students. I like the idea of blogs for my students. I think this again builds that sense of community within the classroom. Students can express themselves in writing, plus you as the teacher will know more about your students and if there are problems occurring. I also like having assignments and portfolios on-line. It cuts down on misplaced papers and on wasting so much paper that students will just throw away eventually. Overall, if used correctly and monitored by teachers and parents I think technology is going to be an asset to education.