Discussion+Questions+EDT+674

=**Discussion Question #1** = = =  **What do you know about using technology with students?**

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. I know from experience that you need to have a very clear objective of what you want the students to learn before you incorporate technology into a lesson. I know that kids LOVE working on the computers and are much more skilled than we give them credit for. I know that it can be maddening to work in a computer lab with a big group of kids, especially when the computers aren't working right. I know that I have seen students have more success with a task when they used some kind of technology, than when they did that same kind of thing the old-fashioned paper and pencil way. I know that technology offers many, many different ways to complete the same task. 


 * What do you want to know about using technology with students?** 

I think I do know a lot about using technology with students, and I am able to quickly learn new things. What I would like to do is refine my knowledge about how I can use technology with my kindergartners. There are a lot of great things out there to use with older kids but sometimes they simply can't be adapted for five year olds.

=Discussion Question #2 = 

**Look at the Essential 21st Century Skills List - Select one skill and discuss how you already meet this skill via your current instruction.**

Interpersonal and Collaborative Skills - This is something I spend a tremendous amount of time on in my kindergarten classroom. While most of my students have been in preschool, day care or a 4K program, this is the first time they really have to work together as a team so that we can accomplish all our goals by the end of the year. The majority of our teachers have been trained in Responsive Classroom techniques and this is one of the cornerstones of RC - that the social curriculum in school is just as important as the academic curriculum. 

**Select another Essential 21st Century Skill that you may NOT already touch upon and project how you might be able to meet that need in future instruction.**

Information and Media Literacy Skills - Analyzing, accessing, managing, integrating, evaluating, and creating information in a variety of forms and media

=Discussion Question #3 = 
 * Into the Book**

This is a series of videos that explore different reading strategies and these videos are targeted to younger readers.

In order to watch one of these videos, you will need to click on one of the strategies. That will redirect you to a page with a link for watching the video.

[|Into the Book videos]

You can access these videos through [|Badger Link].

=Discussion Question #4 =

**What have you learned from the readings, activities and discussions from this course about using technology with your students?**

I think the biggest thing I learned is that there are many, many computer applications that I could use in my classroom that are often overlooked. For example, sometimes I wish that I could manipulate data and show my students how that can change things on a graph or chart. What I've learned is that I can use Excel to do that, and it is not necessarily something I would have thought to do. I also found some cool links to math sites that have various non-linguistic representation tools that I can use in the classroom.

I also really liked the book and the framework it presented. Sometimes I get frustrated because there is so much cool stuff out there but I often can't really see how I can make it work for my K5 students. The strategies presented in the book help me clarify what it is I am trying to help my students do so I can then investigate and choose an appropriate technological tool that will help me and them achieve that goal.