Podcasts in the Classroom

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Integrating Technology into my Teaching

I believe that technology can add to any lesson in new and interesting ways.  After exploring the podcasts available on iTunes, I realized that these will be useful resources to integrate technology into my classroom.  My concentrations are Social Studies and Language Arts; I found two podcasts that could be very beneficial to each content area.  I found a CNN student news podcast that I think would be useful in a social studies classroom to use as a current event at the beginning of the class period.  I will also use vidoes to teach certain topics, such as one I used this week from national geographic to teach about American Indians.  If the resource is available in my future classroom, I will also incorporate the use of a smartboard to allow my students to interact with the lesson. Now that I am learning how to use blogs and wikis I plan to use these for my students and their parents to use at home.  Not only will it be a fun place for the students to learn and stay organized, parents will also have acess to the information their students are learning, and will be able to monitor homework assignments.  I still need to learn more, but I have gotten a lot of new ideas just from the first three classes!

Technology in the Classroom "New and Improved"

Technology is a growing necessity in classrooms today.  So, what are the consequences, whether positive or negative? Well, from my experience, technology has a special way of making learning enticing and exciting for students of all ages.  Just think how much a quick video, internet site, or use of a smart board appeals to students.  Incorporating technology into the classroom can reach out to multiple types of learners. Technology can transform any lesson into an interactive and interesting experience. 
Not only is technology effective during a lesson, it has helped me numerous times while planning lessons. It is true that teachers collaborate, and the internet is a very useful resource for thinking outside of the box.  I believe that "good" teachers gather information from as many sources as possible, and I am learning how to take advantage of these resources to better my teaching.
Though there are many positive aspects of technology, there are some downfalls.  The validity of sources can create problems for students.  Student's must be taught how to use technology in helpful ways, and I hope that, through this course, I will learn how to teach technology effectively to my future students.