Assignment #1

In all of my previous high school classes, the technology used was a computer, overhead projector, and rarely the television. Usually lectures were the most popular form of teaching. For me, I think using the SMARTBoard will be a very useful tool in the classroom. Because I will be teaching Social Studies, the students will need an engaging form of not only lecturing, but something that they can use and interacte with as well. Another way I could use technology in my classroom is using video segments to aid the lecture and subject area we are talking about. This will include the visual side of learning and hopefully create a better picture of history for the students.

The article I read was title "The Impact of Cognitive Organizers and Technology-Based Practices on Student Success in Secondary Social Studies Classrooms" by Richard Boon (Journal of Special Education Technology 2006). Cognitive Organizers are an alternative method for textbooks. In this article, twenty-nine general education students and twenty students with mild disabilities were randomly chosen for an experiment where they received instruction using either a cognitive organizer or a traditional textbook. The students were given both a pretest, as well as a posttest to assess the effectiveness of the technology. The Cognitive Organizer is an outline of the lesson given to each student. The teacher has a copy on an overhead slide that he or she fills out as they go. The students fill out the organizer along with the teacher. Overall, both the general and learning disabled students that had a Cognitive Organizer for their learning did better than those that did not have a Cognitive Organizer. I really like this tool. I think that with an outline and guided notes/questions, the students will be able to focus more on the learning than frantically writing everything down that the teacher says. 

For teachers, the NETS explain that inspiring creative thinking through using up-to-date tools is necessary. Understanding digital culture will be used to grow in our knowledge of technology. These guidelines are important because as educators, we need to be aware of what is expected of us in our classroom. We need to use modern technology and tools, and always strive to grow in our profession. The NETS outline that students need to be creative above all other things. Communication and interacting with others is next, followed by using research methods and critical thinking, being able to solve problems, and making decisions. Last on the list for students is the use and understanding of technology. Knowing your students expectations is also important so the teacher can match that level. The requirments for teachers and students are clearly different, so looking at these standards is vital for the classroom.