Reflecting on the various technologies / software we have explored this semester

The most influential pieces of technology/software we have used this semester, that I will definitely use in my future 9th grade Language Arts classroom, are newsletters, Google Earth, the Concept Maps, and Powerpoint. 
IN all of my technology pieces I have found a way to connect the software we used to the classroom I plan on having in the future. Newsletters can be used for a lot of things in a grammar/language arts classroom. I used information in graphs and how they can be analyzed for the project. 
Concept Maps can also be used for a lot of things with works of Shakespearean plays, writing prompts (which is what I used for the project) and my own teaching methods. 
I used Google Earth for a Shakespearean tour. I had my students stop at a lot of places plays occurred.

The only piece of technology I would have a hard time using in my classroom is the excel project. It's really hard to try to switch things up year to year using that piece of technology. 

Using games, simulations, and virtual reality in the classroom

I would see a use for each technology. As a Language Arts teacher I could use games that were a lot like the one's with the 50 states but to match authors with their books. Interactive Whiteboard Activities could be used for presentations (like what I had my students do with the concept maps. They would each get a turn using the whiteboard and with that would be able to become familiar with its use. Simulations/Role Playing games could be used to pretend to be a "monster" which could be referred to in Shakespeare's play "Beowulf." I am not sure if I would use this technology in class though because of the lack of standard completions. It would be a fun thing for students to do during a lunch period, before school, after school, or even at home. Virtual Reality/Worlds would probably be used for the same thing as Simulations/Role Playing. It would, once again, probably not be used in the completion of a standard, but would be a good activity for students. 

For the 3rd world farmer role playing game; (as extra credit) I could have students play and then write a paper about what they learned from the game with the poverty in Africa and having to plant crops. They would also have to show some research work (relevant to the past 4 years) about the poverty in Africa. 

For the Whiteboard Activity I could have students "explore books." This activity is geared to help students understand the author of the book they are reading better. It shows a short clip of them and how they have generated their own writing ideas. This could help students because not only would it give them more writing prompts for papers, it would also allow them to connect more to the author and what they have written instead of just seeming like they are reading a bunch of words that happen to make sense. 

For the virtual reality/world project I could have students take a virtual reality tour of England. Most of the books we will be reading will be English works of art and English authors. This would help the students understand the background of where the author came from and the challenges(if any) they faced growing up in a foreign country.

Based on the segments you watched from PBS Frontline's documentary Digital Nation, respond to the following prompt for Blog #3: a) In what way (s) does Digital Nation depict digital technology as beneficial to teaching and learning? b) In what way (s) does Digital Nation depict digital technology as detrimental to teaching and learning? (For both of the above questions, cite or refer to, a specific example or examples to support your conclusions.) c) What are your overall conclusions regarding digital technology and its impact on teaching and learning?

The two videos I watched were, "Relationships" and "Where are We Headed." The video "relationships was about the relationships people have online, through blogging, and through gaming. 

In the first video Digital Nation suggests that technology is beneficial to  teaching and learning because of how people can inhabit these worlds as if it were a real place. For a game, World of Warcraft, they talked about in the video, people can learn more about the fantasy world, and the old English peasant world. In the second video it suggests that learning through technology can be detrimental because the gaming systems are death games. The site that allowed the type of gaming used to be an army station, but now recruits kids and allows them to play the stimulated games on their systems, run by Apple.  The last time I bought a game it said that you had to be a certain age for whatever the content was. There was one kid who was 14 and was playing the war-like games. The protesters outside the gaming office said that "shame shame shame, war is not a game." They said there was a difference between playing the war-like video game, and actually going to war. Which there is. 

My overall conclusions about digital technology and its impact on teaching and learning is that it is okay to teach some things using technology, but not through gaming. It poses different threats to many children, and could be seen as distracting.  There was a lady in the "Relationships" video who quit her job because all she wanted to do was play the World of Warcraft. I would definitely see schools using gaming to learn, a quicker way for students to become addicted to it. I think in my classroom I am going to stick with MicroSoft word, powerpoing, and excel. Perhaps a few videos, and blogging. 

Tell us the level of students with whom you plan on teaching as well as your content area or the content area you have chosen for the newsletter. Tell us the standard you are working with. Then, describe the benchmark and/or grade level indicators you were working with on the Newsletter assignment.

Level of Students: 9th grade
Content Area: Language Arts
Standard: Reading Applications: Informational, Technical, and Persuasive Text
Benchamark: Analyze information found in maps, charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, cutaways, and overlays.
My newsletter represents a "learner-centered activity," because the subheading that was more difficult than the rest was the one that had the footnote (that way other students could go to that page and clear up any questions that they had, or to find out more information). I also believe this because every one of the subheadings had a chart or bullet point next to it, with example information and the students had to go and research that information in order to be able to analyze it correctly. The students were working together in groups and then had to reteach the benchmark they received to the students in the class. 

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From an educational perspective (as a both a current student and a future teacher) is Wikipedia a blessing or a burden? As a teacher, what would you tell your future students about Wikipedia's role in education?

From an educational perspective as a students Wikipedia is neither a blessing nor a burden. Many of my college professors do not allow students to use Wikipedia as a source  of information. I do not believe it to be a burden because I still like to get to the website and get general information of the subject that I am writing about. As a future teacher I believe Wikipedia could be a blessing because it is easy access to almost any information that I would want my students to study and be able to understand. The outline of the website is what makes it the easiest to understand. The table of contents can point you in the direction of the subtopic of your topic. I would tell my students that Wikipedia's role in education is not to make things "easier" but to make things a lot more easy to understand. I would also tell them not to go too attached to the website because many of their college professors (unless something changes in the next 3-4 years), will not permit them to use Wikipedia as a citation in a paper,whether it be a research paper or something else.