Doing this activity was a little frustrating at first. My first obstacle was finding a software program that applied to my first grade classroom. After that, I had to make sure that the software was compatible with my MAC computer. A lot of the programs offered MAC and PC versions, but not a few that I looked at. After finding a software program that I liked, I had to find the specifications of my computer.
Operating System: Mac OS X
Processor Speed: 2GHx Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory (RAM): 1 GB 1067 MHZ DDRB
Screen Resolution: 1680x1050
Video Card: NVIDIN GEFORCE 9400
Removable Card Options: USB, Headphones, FireWire
The specifications of my computers were much nicer compared to the software that I found. I found software called “Reading Blaster” on www.journeyed.com. This software was older than my computer, so I looked up the specifications for the software. While the software needed much less that my computer had, I checked with our computer teacher to find out if there would be issues running this game on my computer. She told me that since my computer had all of the specifications needed to run the program, my MAC would work just fine, and that MAC’s are good at being able to use many kinds of software.
Reading Reflection
After doing the activity, module, and reading chapter four, I have found that I didn’t know nearly as much about computers as I thought I did. I can get away with talking about external hard disks, CDs, and USB flash drives, but I had didn’t know so much about the internal workings of a computer. I didn’t know what RAM stood for, and didn’t really know what it meant until I read this chapter. I really found it interesting to know what all of the words meant. I had never thought of our CPU, or the control unit as having four basic operations that it repeats over and over again. The CPU fetches an instruction, decodes the instruction, executes the instruction, and then stores the result. While this all makes sense, it was something that I had never thought of.
I really see how this can benefit me in the classroom. I can now take some of this information and share it with my students. The textbook says “you can use your newly gained knowledge to help your students understand new technology concepts, systems, and operations.” (Gunter, Gunter, & Shelley, 239) It is so important that before we try and teach something new to our students, we know about the topic first. How can we be effective in teaching technology if we don’t know how it works? While I have learned a lot from this chapter, I know that in the future I need to continue to learn and study technology. It is always changing, and as teachers we need to keep up to date on technology but it is also important to “stress to your students the importance of being able to transfer current knowledge when learning new technologies.” (Gunter, Gunter, & Shelley, 239) I see this in my classroom every day. While I have the newer MAC computer on my desk, my students use much older versions. So now that I can apply what I read in the book to teaching computers, I feel that I can be much more prepared for any trouble that comes along.
To see our activity click here
Gunter, G. A., Gunter, R. E., & Shelly, G.B. (2010). Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom (6th ed.). United States: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.
Great post Megan. I too enjoyed learning all the technical names of the parts of the computer as well as the inner workings of the computer. Just like you, these are all things I use on a daily basis but, “it was something that I had never thought of.” The more I read the book, the more I understand how much more there is to learn about computers.
ReplyDeleteI too agree that, “It is always changing, and as teachers we need to keep up to date on technology.” I used to think I knew a lot about technology. Then I entered this class, and there are teachers with their own websites and twitter accounts, and I realized I still have a lot to learn about. The more I learn about technology, the more I realize how much more I can help my students.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I also was initially frustrated when I began this assignment because I wasn't sure what software I wanted to use with my students. Once I began browsing it wasn't too difficult.
I too also thought I knew way more about computer then I actually know. I am very insightful when it comes to the external parts of the computer but I also didn't know much about the internal parts of the computer. I learned alot of very useful information through this activity that will be useful in the future.
I completely agree with you about being able to apply this technical knowledge to the classroom. I know many teachers who call the Technology Coordinator the second a black command screen pops up on their screen without even attempting to troubleshoot the problem themselves (I have been guilty of this in the past) The understanding of some of the inner workings of a computer are a good starting point to troubleshooting your own machine and solving technology issues twice as fast :).
ReplyDelete"I didn’t know what RAM stood for, and didn’t really know what it meant until I read this chapter." I loved learning about all the different aspects and workings of computers during this chapter, including about RAM and other acronyms and their functions. Thanks for the great post!
Alyssa
When I think back to when I was in school, I may be dating myself here; we first used computers to learn to write programs in basic. I was so excited to take a printout home to my mom of a heart. The days of basic programming and DOS startups seem to be gone, and the technology that is available to us to use with our students seems so endless and overwhelming. We not only need to be experts in our content, but also within the emerging technology, as it is changing so quickly. With so many programs available we really can enhance our effectiveness within the classroom to really customize individual needs of our students
ReplyDeleteJohn