Twitter and Me

I was not in class on Tuesday, the 19th, so I did not get to use twitter in class. But in my own personal use as far as exploring it and seeing other people tweet, I find it to be not too hard to use. In the beginning I thought it was hard to figure out because I had never used twitter before, but I'm finding it is not that difficult and actually very useful. I like how I am following teachers from around the states and seeing what is current in education these days. Nothing has been problematic and I am finding it a bit easier to use now than it was when I first started using it. I can honestly say that finding the time to get on twitter is very difficult as my homework load is very heavy right now and I work all day three days a week and am always busy on the weekends. When I do have the time to get on I am always intrigued by what I find from the teachers that I follow. As I come closer to graduating and becoming a teacher I realize how important it is that I stay current with the times and use technology to my advantage and to my students advantage. I found a website on how teachers can actually teach using twitter. I think it is geared more towards middle and high school students, but it seems to be more on their level as far as getting them interested in what they are learning. It always gives the students an opportunity to get to know their classmates, which I think is a wonderful opportunity especially for the older students who tend to judge each other without even knowing each other. I found another website for teachers who might be a little skepitcal about using twitter with their students that explains the benefits of using twitter for teaching. The more I learn and read about how twitter can help in the classroom the less I am against using twitter or any social media in the classroom. In conclusion, I have learned myself that twitter is not such an awful tool like I thought it was and I am growing to like it and appreciate it. I'm not saying it is good for all students, but for the older students in middle school and high school I can see how using twitter can be beneficial to the students and teachers.

The Final Frontier

I was happy to learn that in that Google allows users who do not have Microsoft Office to make documents. It is fascinating to me to learn all these new technologies and what Google specifically has to offer. I'm not even that old, but it never seizes to amaze me how technology is constantly changing. 

From the article I learned that teachers are very reluctant to try new things in the classroom. More so the older teacher than the new ones, but I kind of agree with the older ones. If their method of teaching has been working for years and years, why would they want to try something new? It may not be fair to children who are in the 21st century, but learning the old fashioned way is better. It also seems that children learn at a very early age how to use technology just in their home lives. Now as the older teachers are replaced by new teachers I think that the new teachers should use the new technology so they are not using older ways of teaching. My feelings about technology in the classroom are very mixed, but all in all I know I am excited to learn new technology and get excited when I do learn something new!

I did not feel that I communicated with my group at all. There were no emails or phone messages. But I did think the Google Presentation where only the three of us could edit it was neat. Again that goes back to never seizing to be amazed by technology these days.

All About Me

 My name is Emilie spelled with a "y" but I like it spelled with "ie". I am a pretty laid back person. I enjoy just relaxing at home by myself with my kitten and boyfriend. I do hang out with friends, but I have always been a "to myself" person. Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to be a teacher. When I was a child I used to pretend to read books to a class. My homework always got done because I would pretend to be teaching a class. That helped me learn too! So I would say I was born to be a teacher. I have been teaching in daycare centers since I was sixteen and I am almost twenty-six. I would like to teach second grade though.

I am a transfer student from HACC in Harrisburg, PA. I studied Elementary Education there so I am a transfer student. While I was at HACC I took a class that required twenty hours of field experience in an elementary school, not daycare. Being in a second grade classroom was such a neat experience. I loved seeing the kids' daily routine and being a part of what they were learning in school. The teacher used a smartboard to teach but that was as high tech as she got. One of my teachers at HACC always showed us videos related to class material. One that I found interesting was people's lack of really paying attention to things around them, called change blindness.

I was fascinated by this phenomena when my teacher showed this clip in class. I think technology in the classroom is a great idea. I know it helps me learn and in our world of technology it only makes sense that we are teaching children how to use it as well as have it in the classroom. My friend's daughter's class has an iPad station in her classroom which I thought was very clever! I am very passionate about teaching and it seems as though technology is making it easier to teach students which makes me excited to learn myself so I can use it in my classroom!