Concept 1: According to the textbook, technology plays an essential role in assisting teachers in answering the "what to teach" question and I couldn't agree more. There is so much out there! Electronic databases, online encyclopedias, blogs, wikis, etc. The fact that there are lesson plans already made from teachers all over the world is amazing! Working in a preschool I have found this very useful. I have to create curriculum for the afternoon and I always draw a blank since I am not creative at all! I usually look on Pinterest for cool projects we can do according to the curriculum given to us. I love to keep my students engaged so I always try my best to pick the fun stuff out! Pinterest is always my go to website! For the lesson plan my group created, I first checked out some WebQuests to get some ideas. All of these online websites are awesome and helpful for teachers and for those who work with kids or have kids themselves!
Concept 2: Three factors that strongly influence how teachers think about assessment are personal experiences, standardized testing, and teacher tests. In personal experiences, teachers try to teach to their students how they were taught when they were their age. So if the teacher was lectured all class period, then the teacher will do the same with their students. Students are now taking standardized tests from kindergarten all the way to high school. From all of this testing, teachers conclude that only tests that matter are those that rank students according to their numerical scores on local, state, and national exams. Teacher tests are tests that teachers are required to take to get their teaching license. New teachers might assume that students must be assessed in the same way that they themselves were assessed and that passing a standardized test is the only truly valid assessment format. In my opinion, I completely hate all of these standardized tests and teacher tests! The standardized tests that I have taken throughout the years, I have known completely nothing on it. If I passed, it was always out of luck. Most questions are put in ways that no student can even understand! I have some experience in teacher tests! In order for me to get into a teaching program I have to take the GK tests and I still cannot pass. The tests has four subsets. It's extremely upsetting that we have to take all of these tests in order to do what we love.
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
This kids' educational game requires a more recent version of Flash. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
