Student Choice: Using Technology to Enhance the Classroom Environment by Levine

(see: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/15769_3 )


Levine describes the use of computer technology in the classroom either as an educational setting in which the teacher interacts with a wireless connection/projector as the students looks on, or as an educational setting in which the students interact with laptops and learn directly by interacting with them. Levine argues that the latter of the two aforementioned scenarios is the more effective learning strategy. However, from a pragmatic perspective, this approach is often exceeding difficult to accomplish for a number of reasons. If the students are expected to supply their own laptop computers, some of the difficulties encountered are these: not every student may own a laptop computer, and different students may have different platforms making it difficult for computers to communicate with each other in a classroom setting, and different student computers complicates instruction since the teacher cannot provide a single set of instructions for everyone to follow. On the other hand, if the school system is expected to supply the computer hardware and software the difficulties are these: insufficient numbers of computers, limited software and high cost factors for the school system.
Levine also describes how lecture notes, demonstrations and simulations can be integrated into a lesson. This is important because it helps to prepare students for college level instruction and life in the corporate world.

Some Pros and Cons of Web-Based Resources for Classroom Use
Pros:
Resources are already developed by other educators which saves preparation time;
Resources are often readily available;
Resources are often free of charge;
Resources are often varied;
Resources are often suited to different grade levels;
Resources are often available on different ability levels;
Resources are often interactive;
Resources often teach to the various learning modalities: auditory, visual and kinesthetic;
Resources often provide other useful links;
Resources often provide options for students with I.E.P.’s;
Resources can be used for extra-credit;
Resources can be used for independent research activities;
Resources sometimes have student assessment tools for teacher use.
Cons:
Resources sometimes do not fit perfectly within a given lesson;
Resources sometimes do not fit perfectly within a given curriculum;
Resources sometimes are not reliable in terms of their content;
Resources sometimes do not identify their source necessary to assess its validity;
Resources sometimes do not provide assessment tools;
Resources sometimes cannot be retrieved, especially when the web site changes;
Resources are not always uniformly available across subject areas.

Technological Gadgets

One of the rules in the school I work in is " cell phones must be kept in the students lockers and turned off". Many of our student's travel with these items anyway. They can not have that technology in their backpacks and not be tempted to text everyone in the known universe. I often wonder at what age are our young minds mature enough to have technology at their fingertips during a school day to be used for educational and not recreational purposes?
I would love to use laptops and pod casts as learning tools but I am hesitant because I don't know if it will do more harm then good!

HAPPY MOLE DAY!!!!

Today is an important day for chemists...it is mole day!

Here are some cute moleday songs from You Tube



http://uk.youtube.com/user/HappyMoleDay


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4hjnhtVcTQE&feature=related

Educational Software

The Inspiration software package assigned for evaluation is applicable for use in high school chemistry. A key benefit of this software package is the 30 day free trial period offered by the company. This is because all too often computer software is purchased sight unseen just to discover that it is either of poor quality or it is simply not suitable for the intended target audience.
A major plus of educational software is that it provides a technological and vivid hands-on approach to learning especially suitable for visual and kinesthetic learners. Major disadvantages associated with computer software other than the aforementioned is its expense and lack of compatability with existing computer hardware in a high school.

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards

The NJCCCS for Computer and Information Literacy and Technology Education, enumerate by number and letter, a series of strands and cumulative progress indicators for teachers to follow and specify what skills are to be acquired by students at the end of grades, 4, 8 and 12 respectively.
There are many arguments, pro and con that are affiliated with the standards. The strengths of the NJCCCS include but are not limited to the following: (1) they provide teachers with direction regarding both course content and skills to be mastered at the completion of certain grade levels; (2) they help to make instruction among various teacher classrooms across the state more uniform in terms of both skills and content; (3) the uniformity of instruction makes state required standardized testing more feasible; (4) they promote opportunities for higher learning thinking as per Bloom's taxonomy such as independent learning, critical thinking, problems solving and decision making skills.
The weakness associated with the NJCCCS include but are not limited to the following: (1) the mandatory documentation of the combined number and letter codes for each of the standards taught by the teacher in a given lesson by many administrations in the teachers lesson plans significantly slows down the process of writing them; (2) the strands are not written in the form of performance objectives (i.e., 85% of the students will be able to formulate a simple code that will enable them to add a given column of numbers in an excel spreadsheet); (3) the standards sometimes results in instructors teaching to the floor and not the ceiling , that is, teaching to a test often means that other important aspects of a discipline are ignored since they are not tested.

Introduction

Hi My name is Patricia. I like to be called Trish. I am currently a chemistry teacher at Immaculate Conception HS, I am also an associate professor at Felician College.
I have 1 son ( he is 3) , we love to play and bake together. We spent the summer doing lots of fun things.
I am currently going to St Peter's to earn my Masters in Education ( admin/ supervision). To date I have taken Educational Psychology. I am hoping to finish my degree by next August.

I use technology in my classroom via power point and computer based assignments. I am in full agreement that technology is a very important part of curriculum. I do believe we must use it with caution, because a student who becomes totally dependent on technology forgets how to think on their own. Technology must be a TOOL.