Reflecting on Blog Post 1

In blog post one we were asked to talk about the reasons for choosing our final project topic. In my response to this question I replied talking about how this topic seemed like it would be fairly easy to find information on. I had also talked about the information that I find being useful in the future and in hopes that it will help me as a future teacher. For the part that I talked about of my prior knowledge of technology I said how difficult it is for teachers to ensure that all of their students have the same access because of multiple reasons. From the results of what I had said from my first blog post to now as of being done with my final project I have to say that my position has not changed. I still agree with what I had said. It was fairly easy to find good and useful information on this topic. The information that I did find as well as solutions to these problems that were addressed through my final project will definitely help me as a future teacher. I also agree with what I had said of it being difficult for teachers to ensure all their students have the same access because of the information I found and information that was talked about, the majority of it backs up that statement completely.

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My newly acquired knowledge will help me with my future endeavors as a teacher because, like I said in the previous paragraph, the solutions I found to the problems that came up will help me as a future teacher when I have similar problems come up. This final project topic will also help me in the future because it gave me a better understanding of what accessibility is and showed me more in depth how not everyone's access is equal. As a future teacher if I have a student/s in my classroom that are not getting the amount of access to computers or internet that they should I now will know of some ideas and ways to help them with that. This final project topic also taught me more about how the school system works and ways that schools receive their funding. Going off of that it also taught me some good ideas of different ways that schools could get funding as well as technology. Although there are always pros and cons to each idea, the cons were mainly discussed. Overall this project taught me a lot more about accessibility than I had already knew. It also furthered my knowledge of solutions to these types of problems.

Educational Technology

Image by Microsoft Images

The current approaches to funding educational technology negatively impact my final project on accessibility because the lack of funding in the schools is assisting the problem that is already occurring of the lack of equal access all around. This occurs especially among the schools that are already less privileged than others and just makes the gap even bigger. On the flip side of things like we talked about in class if a school partnered with a big company like some schools already have, such as a school that partnered with NASA, they would be gaining more access which would make this a positive thing. If a school partnered with Dell then they would be gaining access to computers in the school which could benefit them in a positive way. However, that still does not fix the issue of some students having access to computers or such things outside of the school while others do not. This issue could be solved possibly if the company that they partnered with gave each student an Ipad or a laptop, things that would give them access to technology outside of class. Schools are not getting very much funding as is, which is making the technology aspect of access not get any better. Because of this there is still unequal access among schools, as well as among students.

Accessibility in the United States

Easel.ly created by Anna Keehn

Gaining Access From Technology

Two educational benefits that can be obtained from technology are: in the classroom the use of positive technology to get students to be more engaged and interactive, as well as providing more resources to the students in and outside of the classroom.

Word Cloud Created By Anna Keehn

When I say positive technology what I mean is technology that will help students in the classroom such as computers, internet, smart-boards, etc, not cellphones or iPods. Having the availability and access to computers allows access to the internet as well which allows students to further their search on certain topics. For example if a student is writing a paper about someone the internet allows them to gain more information about the certain topic than they were given before. Smart-boards allow students to go up in front of the class and sort out a problem, which makes them be more interactive with the class. Having availability to technology in the classroom gives students the opportunity to be more engaged with their learning. Those that are affected by the digital divide do not have the same access to these resources as others do when they are outside of the classroom. The ones who are affected will now have equal access as others when they are inside the classroom which allows everyone to participate.
With technology providing more resources for students in as well as outside the classroom is a benefit because nowadays almost everything is done online. For example there is email and whenever you apply or sign up for anything you usually always have to give out your email. Same with jobs, applying for jobs is becoming very popular to do online as well as just seeing what jobs are even available. There are so many benefits that technology provides in and out of the classroom. People who suffer from the digital divide can benefit from this because it will help them with so many things. They can gain access to these benefits by using computers at the library, a neighbors or friends.

Accessibility

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The educational technology topic/issue that I chose for my final project is accessibility. I chose this topic/issue because it is the one that seemed the most interesting to me, and one that won't be as hard to find good information on. With accessibility it is one that we have briefly discussed in my previous education classes as well, so that should also help to make it simpler to write about. This topic interests me because finding further information about it-other than what I already have in mind-will help me as a future teacher with helping students gain access to different technology needed, as well as using them in meaningful ways. My prior knowledge of accessibility is slim. I do know that it is very difficult for teachers to ensure that all of their students have the same access to technology because of the way our economy is and how many students come from a lot of different backgrounds. I also know that when students do gain access to technology in the classroom it is very important that what they are doing is important and meaningful and will help further their knowledge of the subject they are working on. What I hope to learn from this process is ways that I can use this information to further my understanding of it and apply it to my future teaching style. By acquiring a deeper knowledge of accessibility it could benefit me in the future by using what I learn and applying it to real life, and helping to use ideas I find of meaningful ways to use technology in the classroom in my own classroom someday.

Emphasizing/De-emphasizing Technology In the Classroom

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I feel that emphasizing the use of technology in the classroom depends on what the uses are for and how long they will be using it. As long as the use of technology in the classroom isn't for long periods of time then it is not a problem, but if they are using it for long periods of time and then going home and spending more time in front of a screen I don't feel that is okay. It can take away from the interaction with other students.

EDST 220 K-W-L Post

When using technology to communicate with others, I know how to...

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• Email
• Power-point
• Facebook
• Blackboard

  What I want to know...

• Prezi
• Blog
• Power-points in a more useful way
• How to use graphs and charts to show information

What have you learned about using technology to communicate with others?