Promethean ActivBoard

The Promethean ActivBoard is an interactive whiteboard that has steadily started to be used more and more in school classrooms. It resembles a lot of other interactive white boards where you can do all the same action at the board that you can do with a mouse on an actual computer. The Promethean ActivBoard also has pre-made lessons already on it so you can walk students through things. I thought the coolest thing about it was how you can adjust the height of the board. This makes sense because in any school setting or even a work setting you will have all different people that come in all different shapes and sizes. So by being able to adjust the board makes it easier to use and more effective. The board is not touch sensitive meaning that you cant control it by your fingers you need a pen. But i like this because sometimes you need something to brace yourself or just to lean your body weight against and when the smart board if you try to put your hand on the board it will mess things up because of its tough sensitivity. But it can also work the other way where some people might like the tough sensitivity of the smart board better. Overall, it is run very similar to other interactive boards and can be very effective in classrooms.

I don't really have any questions about the board i am just interested to see how it will be used in the classroom we will visit.

Reflection #5

We had playoff basketball game last night against OIT, at their home court and I was bummed i couldn't make the game. But I remembered we have the INTERNET! So all I had to do was make a free account to this website and they had the game live on the internet. I mean it seems like in today's era there's always a way to watch what you want to or at least listen to it. Watching it online was almost easier than watching it on tv because I can take my laptop anywhere their is wireless internet and place my laptop anywhere to relax and watch it.
It was also really crazy how as I was watching it they have live stats going on as well. So if you are interested in seeing who has scored all the points or has all the rebounds it will show you that as well. Those are things you cant see when you are watching it on tv unless they show you that on the screen. You don't have the privilege of seeing it like you do on the internet. The internet allows you do to so many things its pretty amazing.
Pretty soon we aren't gonna have tvs anymore. Everything could just be used with a computer using the internet. If you have the ability to watch live games on the internet as well as do the thousands of other things you can do on the internet its pretty crazy the possibilities that are present in the near future. I just thought it was really cool how I could just make an account and watch the game like I was actually there in person. Especially since we are a small school, so its even more impressive we have the technology to make this happen.Now with the ability to do the things we do online the next era's to come will make things even easier and i predict TV will be something that will fade with the ability to watch shows and sporting events on the internet.

Reflection #4

My brother dropped his phone in water the other day so we both went to Verizon to get a new one and it was absolutely amazing what cell phones can do. My brother and I aren't very technology savvy so we were just looking at the simple phones trying to find the easiest phone to use for the cheapest price. But, one of the sales reps came and was showing us some of the new phones and the things they can do and it's just shocking to me. You can get on facebook, get directions, email, and just about anything else you can think of. My head was spinning listening to this guy talking about the latest things you can do with these phones. It seems like yesterday everybody had the old fashioned flip phones with no texting. Now people can literally work through their phones. This is fascinating because if we can already do these things now, just think about how crazy cell phones will be in 10 years. After this guy talked to us forever and showed us all the new technology you can do on your phone, my brother decided to buy the blackberry. He's still having problems figuring it out since we are both from the digital immigrant era. I just find the the progress we have made with the technologies of cell phones insane over the last 10 years. To me its unbelievable what you can do with them. The negative thing about cell phones is that they can consume your life. With cell phones being so filled with all this technology we are constantly on them and they can serve as a distraction. But they are also very handy.

Big Bend Community College/ Week 7

Big Bend CC


After high school I decided to attend Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington to earn my AA degree. Even though Moses Lake isn't the exciting town by any means I had a great learning experience at the school and met a lot of lifelong friends that I will never forget. I wouldn't want to change anything about my time at Big Bend CC.

When I first clicked on their website the first thing that really stood out to me was there was this girl that appeared on the screen walking around the screen with pictures of each building on campus popping up through a slide show as she was giving you a tour of the school. I thought that was a very cool way to get your attention. It was fascinating to me how you can actually do that. It wasn't some animated fake person it was actually her. Another aspect of the website that I also liked was how it listed some job opportunities for students right on the front of the website where it's easy to find. As students a lot of us have to work while going to school to pay for tuition and when you can find job opportunities on campus it makes things a lot easier. Especially when the school website has it right where it's easy to find and has the people to get in touch with. I also liked how it has a " getting started" link that really shows you the steps you need to take to make sure things go smoothly at Big Bend CC. I thought that was a big help because a lot of incoming freshman need some direction and this is a great way to help with that.

I didn't really find anything to confusing about the website. There is just a lot of information and to some people that can be confusing. But nothing stood out to me about being confusing with the website. For the most part it was a very helpful website. Things were easy to read and easy to access.

This website in my opinion is a very well put together website that pretty much answers all the questions that I had. It has all the information that you need and they did a good job of adding pictures and different forms of interactive tours to help you find buildings and see what the campus would look like if you weren't their in person. I dont think there was anything missing for a school the size of a community college it was very well done.

Reflection #3

I had the opportunity to go back home this past weekend and make a visit at my old high school. It is really interesting to see the strides they have already made with the way classes are being ran and even the technology being used. Where I come from is a little tiny town in eastern washington where cell phone service is hit and miss so as you can imagine technology has never been something my school was good with when i was there. Now as I went back and visited the staff has changed, there is a lot more technology in the classrooms and even the attitude of the school has changed. Coming from a small town wheat farming community sometimes kids have hard time striving for success because all you know and see are a poor town with people struggling to make it month in and month out. So I just thought it was really encouraging going back and seeing the improvements made with the ability to reach the different kinds of kids and well as the attitude change.

Since I graduated from high school and have been on my journey through college I feel coming from a background like I did within the poor community I feel able to teach to kids from all different aspects in life. Sometimes its harder to reach kids when all they know is to settle for what they see, but by being apart of that I feel educated enough now to help fix that and teach to any kid regardless of what their background is like.

After smart board presentations

I learned that their are tons of stuff that I don't know about smart boards and that they create obstacles that you have to find ways to get around. Some things work really good for you when you are practicing them in preparation for your presentation, but sure enough when it's time for your presentation they dont work the same way. This can be frustrating, but it's something that you have to get used to when using technology. It seems like technology always has little glitches that go with their programs but we always find ways to adapt to them and make it work.

I also learned that the things you can do with smart boards is almost never ending. There are some really cool tools you can use that are very beneficial for us. Their is so much room to be creative it's pretty fascinating. Overall I think smart boards are a very cool tool we can use to connect with our future students and a great way to interact with them as well.

Whats the difference between a smart board and an interactive white board?

Assignment 2/ Before the class presentation

The two main SB features that I will be using is the touch and touch and drag. With my presentation you are constantly touching different aspects on the screen and eventually you have to be able to touch the screen and drag certain things to places that you will want it to go. I will also be using the keyboard at the very beginning just t0 put in a name because it wont let you continue unless do so. But it is another very interesting part of the smart board and its features.

Here is the link to my presentation. It's a fun little game that helps you kind of see where your at with your nutrition intake and shows you the amount you would need to have a healthy day in the sense of eating.

NETS- Students

The NET for students that I will be using is the Communication and Collaboration because for my presentation I will be using the SMART BOARD to interact and communicate to the class my ideas and different things that might help them in the future. I can present my game to many different audiences and even age levels because it can be a fun game but it is also a great learning experience,

NETS-Teachers

I think the main NET that I would use as a teacher in my presentation would be the Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Sometimes as P.E. teachers we can get stuck with just going to the gym and doing things one certain way or just get caught up lecturing all the time when were talking about health. But this presentation is also a game that involves good creativity and its fun so it might be a great way to connect with certain students and inspire then to eat a healthy diet and focus on food groups that their not eating enough of.

An interactive white board could improve student learning in my future classroom because it gives us another way to present our curriculum. With the new era of students already being technologically savvy this is a great way to interact with them and connect with them. With the interactive white boards you can have students come the board and do certain things with it that you cant with an ordinary white board and that might be just what you need to get their attention. Every student learns in different ways and this just might be that one way that you get that one student you couldnt seen to connect with before. As future teachers we defiantly want to look for different ways to teach our students and an interactive white board is a great start.

Reflection #2

Technology is something that really does consume are days. I was one of those "old" school guys who never really believed this ways true but everyday its more and more prevelant and i can't deny it anymore. You got everybody with cell phones, ipods, digital cameras, lap tops, and just all sorts of different technological devices that we cant go a day without using. You look today and half of our professors are using iphones to teach. Some have their notes on it and they use it for their lectures. It's just really interesting to me how these different things are consuming our lives in a good way. We are learning so much faster and things are so much easier with technology.

The reason this is so interesting to me is because when i was in high school some of my teachers couldn't even figure out how to use an overhead projector. The difference in just 5 years is absolutely amazing. When i was in high school nobody had cell phones, or ipods until about about my senior year which was in 2006. I can remember when everything was written on the white board and sometimes the markers wouldn't even work so they just stopped even doing that. Now we have smart boards and the ability to do really anything that you can think of. Just imagine what technology is going to be like in another 5 years.

Now that technology is everywhere and most of us are dependent on it everyday we need to make sure and focus this time we spend using technology in ways that are going to benefit us. You can use these things to reach and connect with students and we need to focus on that. Let the students use their creative minds. Most the time they are more technologically savvy then we are.

Reflection #1

Today was the first day one of my professors had used a smart board in our class and it was quite interesting. He was having some of he same troubles that we are all having. So when we cant figure something out on it... he goes back to the old way on the computer. This just made me think of how challenging technology can be and we have to make sure we are able to get a good grip on technology it wont affect your class time.

So what? Well it's a good thing professors are trying more and more to use the smart board because in the next year its going to be all over the place. Being in this class it's just really cool to see us having the opportunity to interact with a smart board, especially since i am in this technology of education class.

Now what? I think this is a good start. We are lucky to have this class in a room where their is a smart board that we can use. The more the professor is able to use it the more familiar and confident he will be to use it in his classes. Seeing him use the smart board also helps me because I can pick on up some of the things he does that I might not know about. Its a work in progess, but a very fun one.

Week #5: "Blogs of Educators"

The blog that stuck out to me the most was "Melissa's Secondary Education Blog." She talked about teacher burnout and I think this is something we can all relate too. Everybody has stresses in their life, and sometimes it's hard to juggle your professional career with your private life. Things can mount up and eventually lead to burnout. I think it would almost be beneficial for some teachers to take a class or do something to help advise them on how to handle stress and their busy schedules so they don't become burned out.

So what? Well if we know teachers can become burned out just like their students, we need to do something about it. Teachers need to make sure to have time to themselves or things that they enjoy outside of the classroom just like anybody else in order to clear their mind and get rid of stress. This can be things simple as working out, reading, taking a nap, there are all kinds of different ways to do this and each person will have his/her own way to handle it. Just like anybody else, teachers cant become obsessed with their profession to much to where its a downfall and it effects the way they teach as the year goes on.

Now What? Now that we know what we can do to help relieve some of the stresses of the job and some of the ways to help eliminate the ability to become burned out, we need to learn to enjoy everyday of our job or at least make the best of it. You might think, " well I do enjoy my job everyday that's why i choose those profession." I think that's exactly why we decide to become teachers but sometimes we get to in depth to what we are doing that we forget to make it fun as well. The rigors of making sure that our students are learning exactly what they need to know to be successful can be stressful for teachers. I think we just need to make sure to be thankful for what were doing and to make the days fun. Find ways to challenge yourself just like you challenge your students so it keeps you engaged and interested, not burned out.

I learned in this article that it's easy to get burned out and lose that interest that you start out with. It was really good for me to read this because by being aware of it, helps me keep that in the back of my head so I will always remember to do my best and never let it get to that point. I think Melissa picked a great subject to blog about.

Generation IM

After reading the article "Generation IM" it brings me back to my childhood and it's hard to imagine how things have changed. I grew up with no computer until i was in high school and we didn't even have cell phone service so nobody had cell phones. Now were in an era where "67% of preschoolers use computers"! I mean that's fascinating! It kind of plants that seed in your head about how we as future students have to teach in different ways than we were taught at their age. The old ways won't work anymore and the students will become bored and non engaged. Kids are becoming more and more creative with things and like to discover different ideas by themselves. So as we become teachers we are going to have to let them be creative beyond what we think they can do because they obviously know more than we do when it comes to technology. I think the most important thing i learned and took from this article is that we have to adapt to the technology world. The new generation of kids have and those are the kids we are going to be teaching and molding into successful people one day. We cant be afraid to tackle technology and we need to have an open mind. We also might have to start spending more time just investigating things on the internet to learn because this is exactly what kids are doing. We can't afford to fall any further behind. I really liked the quote by Peggy Sheely, who is an instructional technology facilitator at Suffern Middle School in New York when she said " I believe their brains have developed differently, if we teach them the way we were taught were not serving them well." This quote really sums up what I think is exactly what were facing as future teachers! Times are changing!!

Technology Literacy

In this article titled "EBSCOhost: CHANGING THE EDUCATION CULTURE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY"evaluates the different aspects that technology can change or alter in school. Whether we like it or not technology is what today's generation lives on and if we as future educators don't jump on the band wagon and start figuring it out and getting educated were going to get left in the dust. In this article it talks mainly about how it effects the culture and the leadership in higher education. They refer to the technology system as ICT's which stand for Information and communication technologies. They talk a lot about how transformational research, collaboration, and classroom culture are some different aspects that they believe the integration of ICT's( Information and communication Technology) will help with some of the higher education of the school. They are also aware that it will take time because with the process comes a lot of new things and sometimes new culture can bring baggage that that may take some accommodations for some time.

What I learned in this article is how important having a vision is as well as having leadership to accomplish the vision. If you don't have a vision as a school you wont go anywhere and things will never change within the school system. But once you have that vision and your staff has the ability to lead everything just seems to fall into place! So overall i think just having a vision and making sure the leadership agrees with that vision and sees it through is probably what i liked best about this article and what i learned from it.

I can apply this to P.E/Health at the secondary level by really just doing anything possible to integrate technology into my lessons. But when i do integrate technology into my lessons I need to make sure to enlighten my students on the vision I see with the assignment I am giving them. This way they will see where I am coming from. Kids love technology so I think integrating more technology into P.E/Health will be fun for the kids. I also need to be aware of the culture I am creating within my classroom. Maybe on the days we are doing health lessons I can have students bring in their laptops if they have one so they can look up information on certain foods as well as body issues that are appropriate for the high school level. Hopefully when I am teaching they will have smart boards or something where we can have access to so the students can present their health projects on these smart boards and have some fun with it.

The NETs that i want to attain this semsester is to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. Hopefully in this class i will inspire another student to look into the subject of health and learn more about it. The way to do this is to just talk about my subject area and just gain someones interest so they will look into it. My 2nd way would be to learn more in this class about technology so I can use that knowledge and make my presentaion more creative that I would have been able to in the past. Third i would just love to promote healthy living and eating. I am a big time nutrition guy and I think its important to eat healthy because in the end its going to help us live longer and lower the chance of diseases if we are healthy. I can do this by sharing information with students through assignments and my blog.

As far as the NETS for students I would choose Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. This standard is important for my students because in everything you do especially out in the real world you are going to be faced with challenges where you have to be a critical thinker, problem solver, and decision maker. If you can do all three of those things you are going to be a very successful person out in the world today. Two assignments you can do using this standard are first you can have the students diagram a lifting program where they can estimate how many calories they will burn each day and the foods they should eat before and after the workout. Each day they will have to include some food that isnt good for you like a doughnut and they are going to have to figure out how they can go about losing those empty calories within the workout time they are given. The second assignment can a group project where they research common injuries related to any sport and include a diagram and they have to present the project. This makes them think critically and problem solve together. They also have to make decisions on who is going to do the talking and who is doing what in the project. With both these assignments you will use this standard very effectively.

The citation information is in with the link at the top entitled Changing The Educational Culture Through Technology.