#5 What specific technologies did you learn about this semester that you think will be valuable in your future classroom (or other place of employment)? Why will these specific technologies be valuable?

    There was an abundance of technology that I learned or revisited this semester. Microsoft Office, Google Earth, SMART Board, Notebook, and other technologies were very fun to use in this class; more than that though I can see myself using them in the class room.
     Microsoft Office holds the well known Word, Powerpoint, Excel, as well as many others. Word, Powerpoint, and Excel would be the most useful for the students in my class, and I can see my students using them in many different ways. Word, of course would be for essays and papers but more than that Word could be used to create things such as newsletters with the publishing tools. Powerpoint would lend to notes for myself, but also as presentations for the students. They would be able to show me how they understood the information through sounds, pictures, and animations. In Excel their interpretation of the data would allow them to understand it with out having to read it out of a text book.
      SMART Board would be for interacting with the students. The hands on learning that comes from a SMART Board presentation would be very beneficial for going over what the students had learned in class rather than just using homework.
     Notebook would be a fantastic way to keep myself organized. Taking a central topic and branching off to what I want and need to cover would make the actual development of the Lesson Plan easier. Each branch would be for a separate class period and all the multimedia I planned to go over would be there, along with the worksheet or what ever homework there was.
   And finally Google Earth is a great way to show the students where the places are that we talk about in class. Talking about how the Danube River runs through Europe means nothing to students unless they can actually see it. Experience which cities the Danube runs through and powers. Experiencing is understanding in a lot of cases, especially when paired with the text book.

My Voki

#4Do you think you would use blogging in your future classroom? Why or why not?

I think that I would use blogging in my future classroom. It is a great way for students to share their own takes on the books or on that part of history. There are many different ways a piece of literature or a poem can be explained. Like the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams. 

           The Red Wheelbarrow

           so much depends

           upon 

           a red wheel

           barrow 

           glazed with rain

           water 

           beside the white

           chickens. 

The poem could be taken to mean just simply a farm and a red wagon, but if someone where to get creative they could link to a multitude of different interpretations. These interpretations could go as far to include the history of Russia/ USSR. The red wheel barrow being the red army and the white chickens being the white army and their fight for control in the early 20th century. The point being that their could be so many new ideas that not all students would share openly with the class. Blogging and being able to share via the internet makes the shyest of students more comfortable. Being more comfortable makes the experience of learning more engaging for students. 

#3 The impact of multitasking on teaching and learning and thinking.

You get home. Throw your backpack on the floor and grab out your laptop. Homework time right? Wrong. Many students before they start their homework they have to plug into their music or turn on the TV. And don't forget about Facebook, Pintrest, Tumblr, and Twitter being up on the screen while they work. In fact as I am typing this, I am guilty of multitasking. I know that all this multitasking isn't good for me and yet here I am; constantly flipping through the tabs and blaring my Breath Carolina. I have to step away from the situation as do other students, or nothing gets done. In order to do my Psychology homework, I have to award myself with looking at my phone or my Facebook to get through the section or the question. If I didn't have this system of reward to myself I wouldn't retain half of the knowledge I needed to pass my test.
In class I see this same thing happening. Multitaskers are every where. A girl that sits next to me in Psych and plays on her laptop all lecture wonders why she isn't getting higher marks. She told me that she couldn't understand why. She came to lecture everyday, but her learning capacity had been diminished by her multitasking ways, as had the teachings of the professor.

#2 How will the next generation read and write

With the introduction of texting, emails, and the Internet a sort of shorthand has been created by the younger generation. There is a vast quantity of people that believe that this shorthand is ruining the ability of the newer generation to read and write, but I disagree on this. This shorthand that has developed makes the reader and writer actively think about the acronyms that are used. Beyond that they have to switch back and forth between normal writing for school and the texting shorthand which makes them more adaptive then those who do not. 
When I first started texting I was all for the acronyms, but as I grew and progressed my shorthand usage became less and less. I still can read most shorthand, unless the sender made it up themselves, as can my friends and my younger siblings friends. The ability to read and write is not lost to us, it is just evolving. Evolving like it has since the beginning. We don't still use Middle English or even Elizabethan English because language isn't constant. It grows as people grow. 

#1 What do I know and think about integrating technology in the classroom?

Integrating technology into the classroom is very important as the world changes and shifts towards a more technological age. All students of the 21st century have grown up with the new and changing technology, I know this because I am one of those students. What a better way to allow the students to learn,  then to integrate what they have grown up with into the classroom. The use of computers, smart boards, and even cellphones in class has made the experience of learning more exciting for myself and other students rather than the textbook approach. There are such websites that I used over the course of high school to text in answers,  making the use of the cell phone more educational rather than just recreational. Students become more invested in their work when technology is used along with textbooks to teach new material, I know that I was.