Digital Video is yet another great tool to use in the classroom. It not only is an interactive activity students can participate in, it is fun! I believe I would have learned more about any subject if we would have had more interactive tools in our classroom like digital video.

I do remember having one video project for a social studies assignment in 11th grade. We had to "act out" a scene from a certain time period. We were put into groups of five and we set up a time to get together out of school to film our story. It was fun - I still remember doing it!

It's been a while since I have had classes in anything, but thinking back to my undergrad years, it would have been extrememly helpful to have actually watched videos on people and the social issues they face. My major was social work, and even though we read case studies in class and were told about problems people were facing, let me tell you, it was quite an eye-opening experience for me when it actually came time to go out and do my internship! Watching actual footage of people, just like the Water Buffalo video, would have been very educational and would have better prepared us for real life. It would have given us more understanding of the circumstances as to why the people were living the way they were, which would make it easier for all parties involved to help them become productive, successful, confident people. Podcasts would have also been invaluable tools for sharing experiences and learning about other social workers experiences.

When I actually get to teach, I think it would be fun to incorporate video into class projects! I could use clips from the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, PBS, and maybe even C-SPAN. Hopefully, I will have an LCD projector and a white board to display the videos, but if not, I could even have small groups of students take turns watching on the computer screen. Plus, there are so many educational websites that have video clips available for teachers to use as a supplement in the classroom.

Podcasts are a cool tool to use in the classroom as well. They get the students excited about learning and sharing their opinion, especially when they realize their audience isn't just the teacher! They can be viewed by other students and teachers all over the world. When I was in elementary school, the only connection I had with students in other schools was a pen-pal. I remember getting a name of my pen-pal - I was so excited to learn about her and tell her all about me and my life. I thought she was from a far-away place, and then later learned through our letters that she lived about 20 miles away from me! It was still fun to learn about someone new, but it would have been even better to hear from someone my age who lived in another country!

Success with the Net Generation

I find it interesting to learn that many of the net geners do not have ample access to technology. I was surprised to learn this fact while reading chapter eight. I guess I just assumed that because they are the net generation, they would have all of the newest technology and know how to use it! Learning this fact helps me to feel a little less intimidated about teaching the net generation. I know I still have a long way to go and so much to learn about technology, but I do feel more at ease knowing that some of the students will not know more than I do!

Technology brings on a whole new aspect to teaching. It helps prepare students for lives of creativity, citizenship, and social responsibility as well as success in a workplace. IT opens up new and engaging ways to learn. I would like to use technology in my classroon to enhance student's learning. I would like to use it as another tool to serve as a link between active and passive, individual and group, and transmission and generation of knowledge. By using technology, students can more easily express themselves, contribute their commentary, provide expertise, and otherwise participate in potentially wide-ranging conversations. It opens the door to students and allows them to be themselves while learning and teaching others.

I think for me to be a successful teacher, I need to incorporate technology into my classroom and make learning more interactive. I can do this by using animation, concept inventories, WeBWork, Ask NSDL, The Molecular Workbench, BugScope, and the use of cyberinfrastructure. Cyberinfrastructure can help us teach difficult and important material that requires more sophisticated modeling, simulations, and visualization.

Technology is like a giant mirror that reflects back to you and your own deepest issues. It sheds light on how we interact with our students and how they respond to our courses. It forces us to think about the real meaning of community. I think it will take a lot of work on my part as a teacher to keep up with the ever-changing world of technology, as well as researching what is good and eliminating what is not so good for me to be successful with the net generation. I am excited to learn more about technology and the ways I can use it to enhance ever student's educational experience!