Week Two

This week’s module covered the use of spreadsheets and databases in the classroom setting. Educators are using both of these tools in a variety of ways in their classrooms. Here are two websites that discuss the educational use of spreadsheets and/or databases in the classroom:

http://www.classroomtech.org/integration/50ways.htm

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mathchat/mathchat025.shtml

I was surprised to discover that students in elementary grades are using spreadsheets, including grades 3-5. They are expected to become familiar with technological tools such as dynamic geometry software and spreadsheets and should learn to set up a simple spreadsheet to pose and solve problems, examine data, and investigate patterns. This was surprising to me because many higher-level students cannot even perform this difficult of a task, much less an elementary student. It is easier to understand how spreadsheets can be utilized in a high school mathematics classroom to model functions, use utilities for symbol manipulation, graphing, and curve fitting. However, many elementary teachers are already introducing their students to the use of computer software, including spreadsheets and databases.

Personally, I have used spreadsheets and databases in the past for several things. Microsoft Excel has enabled me to set up a personal financial budget, where I can input my paycheck information and calculate how much money I have to spend in different categories before the next paycheck. I have used Microsoft Access to keep up with contacts and create a database of addresses to mail out mass amounts of letters. The databases are also useful for organizing documents and files. As a first-year teacher, I have not had much opportunity to utilize spreadsheets or databases in the classroom. I have used a spreadsheet to merely track grades and attendance, but I have never used a database for classroom use. I intend to integrate more technology in my classroom, including spreadsheets and databases, not only for personal use, but for student use as well. As an Algebra teacher, there are many ways I can enhance the learning process for my students by incorporating tables, charts, and diagrams in a spreadsheet. Microsoft Excel has various tools for mathematics that will be beneficial to a math teacher when instructing students on the relationship between different functions and graphs. There are a diversity of ways that spreadsheets and databases can be used in any classroom setting, especially in a mathematics classroom.

Week One

Welcome to my Educational Technology blog! Each week I will reflect on my learning for each module covered in my EDOL 533 course. The blog will discuss several things, including how I will implement what I have learned for use in my own classroom, as well as the challenges I will face when using these things in my classroom and how I will overcome the challenge(s).

The first module of the class focused on standards and the value of integrated technology. This module opened my eyes to the expanding world of technology. My mind had already formulated a definition of technology and how it can be utilized in the classroom, but after completing this week’s assignments, I now realize that technology is much more than I knew. One reading for this week emphasized the fact that humans have always used various forms of technology to solve problems. Education has been revolutionized by the addition of new technological resources, as it can be used for instructional purposes alongside the teacher, textbook, and blackboard. Technology allows students to move beyond focusing on basic skills such as computation and memorization and move toward applying knowledge, testing results, and synthesizing information. I also learned about the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for both teachers and students. The standards provide a guide for teachers to use when planning lessons that utilize technology. The lack of technological literacy profoundly affects everyone in every facet of life.

After seeing how many different ways technology can be utilized in the classroom, I plan to immediately use what I have learned in my own math classes. My goal is to utilize new types of technology successfully in my instruction as well as organization of grades and filing. Implementing what I have learned this week in my classroom will be a challenge because the module focused more on the value of technology. Understanding the value of technology is key to understanding how students can benefit from the use of it. The information I learned this week will be beneficial more for myself as a teacher than for my students. I will attempt to stress the importance of using technology in the classroom to my students so that they can develop a deeper appreciation for mathematics in a real-world setting. The main challenge I will face trying to implement this new knowledge is the time constraints I have in the classroom. With so much to accomplish in regards to curriculum and state standards, there is very little time to introduce new approaches to teaching. It will take time outside the classroom on my part to learn how to implement the new technology and instructional strategies so that things will run more smoothly in the classroom.