8/27/2008

Media Technology

Hello!



My name is Camile Wallace. I'm a 22 year old English Subject Matter Major and this is my 5th year at CSUN! I am graduating in the Spring. Hallelujah! I plan on enrolling in the Credential program for Fall 2009 and as gain teaching experience from the LAUSD School System, I will obtain my Master's and Clear Credential.



I was asked to write about Media Technology : How should it be used in teaching? What effective or ineffective uses of media have I witnessed as a student.

I was in 7th grade and my English teacher Mrs. Scott decided to go over proper usage of nouns and verbs. She broke out this archaic looking overhead projector. It was noisy, loud, and cloudy. She used those clear sheets of transparency that obviously had been used over and over because they had permanent smudge marks. It was hard enough for us to read her cursive handwriting, coupled with the dim lighting in the class. Needless to say, I probably learned nothing about proper usage of nouns and verbs. I was so turned off by this unsightly form of "technology". I would have rather choked on chalk dust.

I am very grateful with the new waves in technology. I had the awesome experience to attend a high school that was fully equipped with televisions, DVD players, computerized overhead projectors, and computers that actually worked .My teachers used these forms of technology to their advantage. Instead of looking at a white board every day, we were able to watch movies, search the net, and look at PowerPoint presentations. Most of the time we sat through formal lecture but most of my teachers were creative enough to integrate different forms of teaching as well. I believe that all the types of media that I listed above are effective. Each student might not be able to identify with every type but as long as teachers switch it up, they should be able to reach the entire classroom. I believe that teachers fail when they don't use all the resources given them. I had one teacher who only used PowerPoint and her classroom was quite boring and predictable. So as long as we switch it up, we can keep our future students engaged.

~Camile

4 comments:

Cali Judson said...

Hi Camile,

You mentioned choking on chalk dust in your post. I always thought it was funny that I never saw a chalkboard until I got to college. I guess that is a testimant to the great schools I went to the great neighborhood I grew up in. Like you my schools always had the latest and greatest of equipment and it really made for a fun and entertaining lessons. I agree that technology is important in integrating lessons into the student’s life; if they can’t apply it to their life they are going to forget it. However, I do think that some teachers are not ready to embrace the technology and they use it in the wrong way. For example, they prepare a PowerPoint and then read off of it like lecture notes. I think that teacher’s need to continue to educate themselves in order to provide the best teaching options for their students.

void said...

You're on to something hugely important here, and even though it might seem like common sense, it needs careful consideration.

Students need variety in the classroom.

Keep them guessing. If students don't know what's coming, they will be engaged at the very least to the point of trying to figure out what will happen next. And if you have their attention in that aspect, their minds are more likely to be open to whatever it is you want to teach.

Again, it seems like common sense, that we know we wouldn't want to be bored with the same 'ole noise day in and day out, but as you've experienced, too many teachers seem to forget about that.

Cynthia Elterman said...

Hi Camile,
I was reminded from your insightful blog that it's not enough to just create power point presentations, but it's also important to mix-up the different media available to us today. I think music is an important part of any classroom, and I hope to use it often and in create ways, like starting off the class with a tune that might inspire some creative writing such as :jazz, blues, classical, rap, rock or show tunes.
Videos are also important to use, especially, to compliment a book, short story or play. I hope I don’t ever bore my students with mundane predictable lesson plans. Variety is the spice of life! I may have to pay for some of the technology, but it will be in my classroom. I welcome any opportunity to use media because I think students learn more from it and are certainly more engaged by it. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation.

Summer said...

Congrats on finally getting to graduation! It’s a great feeling isn’t it? Finally a light at the
end of the tunnel. You are very lucky to have attended a school where you were able to
take advantage of such great technology. I am sure your exposure to computers and
being able to be taught from a PowerPoint had wonderful benefits which have carried
over to help you even today. Having teachers that use those types of resources is so
valuable and I absolutely agree that it contributes to the overall learning experience. I
think kids are more likely to pay attention and get involved in the lesson using resources
like the internet and getting them familiar with Word and Power Point and the internet. It
really is paving the way for the future. Great page!

Jaime

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