Gamification

     One of the most important things to consider when using gamification in the classroom is that the program you are using is appropriate for the classroom and also that age of your students. If it is not then your students will not understand it. Another thing to consider is to make sure the your students have access to the program in and outside of the classroom.  

     The best example of gamification I've seen is in class when we used Osmo. I think it is a great way to have the students interact and be engaged in these learning activities. It was a great way for the students to be learning and having fun and getting the students involved while doing so. 

     I think gamification is a good thing. I think there needs to be rules and expectations for the students to stay on task and make sure they are learning and not just playing a game.  

How Students Learn

                                    How Students Learn

       When I was a student I learned best by doing hands on activities. I did not learn well by reading out of a book or hearing speeches/lectures from teachers because I found them boring and hard to focus on. By doing hands on activities I was engaged in what we were learning about so it was easy for me to concentrate on that topic.

I think this will affect me as a teacher by not giving so many speeches and assigning a lot of extra reading and when I do these things I will try to find a way to make them exciting or have an activity or something to do during to go along with it so I keep the students attention. I will have lots of hands on engaging activities for my students to keep them interested and excited to learn.

In a way I think that rewards are needed but not directly as a “you do this task and I will give you or you will earn this” type of reward. I think that humans need goals as motivation for themselves, but not so much rewards. If you set goals you have the personal motivation to do whatever it takes to accomplish them and the sense of accomplishment and success when you do so is your reward. In a way I see that as a big enough reward to motivate myself but everyone is different and some of my students in the future will think otherwise.

Augmented & Virtual Reality

ARVR

I personally think that Augmented Reality will make it farther because it is less expensive and can be accessed a little easier. Some schools don't have the money to give teachers to buy the headsets or any of the stuff they need for the Virtual Reality because it can often be expensive. However Augmented Reality is often a free app you can download for the students. Augmented Reality can just need printed papers or a spend a few dollars on the blocks or cards that come with it. I think because Augmented Reality is cheaper I feel like that is why it will go farther

 I see this being useful in a classroom that I teach in one day because I feel like the students would be very interested in it and want to try it themselves(which could sometimes be a problem). Having either Augmented or Virtual Reality in the classroom would also be a way to engage the students in something the class is learning about. Even though this could be used as a way to engage the students it could also be a distraction for them as well so when using or interacting with the two they need to be watched to make sure they are on task.   

How I Stay Current

       With technology having such a big impact on education now a days it is important to keep up and stay current with all of the updates and new tools coming out. Technology is a great resource to have in the classroom but it is also constantly changing. I think that one way to stay current with emerging trends is social media such as Twitter and Facebook because you can see how other teachers use certain apps and programs in their classroom and what they think of it. It also can help teacher gain a better understand of how certain apps work. I think Pinterest is another good one to use because you can always be finding new ideas to be using in the classroom. Internet and technology is probably the best way to stay current with all the new emerging trends. You can also use friends and other teachers as a resource to keep current as well. Ask them for their opinion and what tools they are using in their classroom. Even with technology changing as quickly as it is there are still ways to keep up with it. 

Where We've Been

               Some of the hurdles of educational technology is simply the fact that it can be expensive. Some schools just can't afford to have new things that come out because there isn't extra money in the budget for that. There isn't a whole lot teachers can do about that. Another hurdle could be that new technology that comes out is confusing to learn. To solve that teachers can work together and gain a better understand of a new program or piece of technology in their classroom. Another hurdle would be that students might not always stay on task depending on what technology you are using. Teachers need to make sure they are watching over the students to make sure this doesn't happen. My personal way of dealing with these problems will be to always have a back up plan. You never know when something might break or malfunction and you won't always have the time to stop the class and fix it. I don't think that all of the learning should be technology based there needs to be other ways to for the students who learn differently. 

Pros and Cons of Microsoft and Google

        The Pros of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint was that they are both easy to navigate. I am more familiar with these. However over the past year or two I have been using Google Docs and Slides a little more for school. I found that the Microsoft programs it was easier for me to edit and format my pictures. In the Google programs I struggled to do so. A con for the Microsoft Programs is that it does kind of limit you on what sound you can put into your work, 

         The pros of Google Docs and Slides was that it saved while you were working. I really liked this feature just because it reassured me that my work was being saved if something were to happen. I also like all the options that Google has but they aren't always easy to find. Another pro is that it's easy to share things with others. It would be easy for my students to share assignments with Google easier than Microsoft would. One of the cons is how the toolbar at the top is hard to navigate. There were certain things from the assignments this week I couldn't find. 

         The only problem I ran into was that on Google Docs and Slides I couldn't find Smart Art and how to put sound in to my slides. Overall I struggled to navigate and work the Google programs because of how unfamiliar I am with them. 

          I would prefer to use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint over Google because I have been using it for years and know where a lot of the stuff is at on there and it is very easy to navigate. I feel like it would make more sense to use Google with my students just because of how easy it is for them to share the assignments. Also they won't have to worry about losing their work if they accidentally do something because it saves as they go. 

What to consider when you have students searching the internet?

             When I have students searching the Internet there are many things to go into consideration. First things first, for younger students I think it is important to go over some basic rules/tips to help them find the information easier. As a teacher you have to make sure they are comfortable completing the task you have assigned. Also as a teacher you have to consider what you are having the students search and what all is going to pop up with the search. If there are things you want them to avoid give them pointers to help them get to the answer faster. Overall it is most important that the students are comfortable and knowledgeable about what they are doing on the Internet. 

            I would present the Internet as a positive thing but explain the "scary" things that can happen. The Internet is a great tool and resource to find information out quickly. The Internet can also engaged to children in the topic they are learning about. However, I also think it is important to tell them about the negative things. For example some websites have adds or pop ups all over them and some websites are just not safe or appropriate for young students. As a precaution I would either give the students a list of safe websites they could go on for the information or have them ask me to check the website before going onto it. 

          There are many policies that schools have in place for the Internet to protect the students. One of them would be that on student accounts there are certain websites that are blocked to keep them from going onto them. Some schools have websites that are automatically save the each students account at the beginning of the year to use as a resource. My school had a plagiarism checker and a works cited resource automatically saved to each students account at the beginning of each school year. 

       One solution to help with this topic would be to make sure not all of your assignments given to children are not on the Internet. Every child learns differently so you need to teach in a variety of ways. Also you don't want them spending too much time on the Internet or technology in general. You want the students to be up and active when learning sometimes.