Blog 6 - Module 4

Blog 5 - Module 3

Week 3 Reflection

Blog #3

For me YouTube is a minefield, I see my kids sit for hours, if I let them just watching mindless video after video. I know when I watch something it amazes me how the next video catches my attention, or I just watch it any way and before I know it 30 minutes have passed.

I have not worked in a school for three years now and when I did the iPads were limited. When we moved to Illinois all three of our children had one issued to them from their new schools. The novelty at first was immense, then frustration because they had not used them as extensively as others. However, using them 90% of the time saw them quickly navigate them. I wonder how you keep them on task? I see my children at home distracted so easily, when I notification of grade comes in, they can’t leave it until they have finished the assignment they were working on, they click on the notification and then this leads to reading the comments to then reacting to the grade. Stressing that it wasn’t what they expected, hoped for or needed, to calculating the impact it has on their semester grade. All of this instead of being focused on the assignment in hand. It drives me crazy to watch, it feels so inefficient.

So how do teachers use them effectively? I came across this video and so many things captured my interest, from the seating in the classroom to the various stands and cases for the devices. I loved the QR code in the morning, it felt to me that it creates an excitement to get to work in the morning. Morning work was always something that I found difficult to plan for and make relevant to our learning. Some students come in early and are easily bored or finish what you set and with this, they can not only come in and the fact they have to scan means that it creates a buzz and they can move on to other things when finished, without the teacher being disturbed as the morning can be unpredictable with parents or notes etc. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSNdxsfk0Q
I had one of those moments where I was convinced that the internet can hear me, this video shows how the tablets are used for instruction and not just apps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7mKX4D76NU
I really like this video as it captures the positives of technology and how it allows a teacher to take a holistic approach and use technology in all areas of the day instead of the traditional approach I remember of technology being a class we took once a week so that we had basic skills. I really loved the platforms that allow easy differentiation for students to be able to carry out assignments to their reading levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN1StZzlmbU
Another positive to how much we use technology now if how easily it allows some students with disability to remain in mainstream classrooms and feel more included. This video shows how the technology allows a blind student to keep up without an aide or feeling different to the other students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j5-7xQ_7qM
I'm glad that one is done.... I refuse to admit how long I was on YouTube 'researching'. I found so many posts that were over five years old and how dated these already looked, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!