Intro Post for EDUC 6814

Greetings All!  My name is Jana and I’m working on my Masters of the Arts of Teaching (MAT).  I will be certified to teach high school chemistry.  In the past I taught a general chemistry laboratory at FSU and had a blast.  I am excited to be completing my student teaching this semester at East Fairmont High.  I cannot wait to put some of my ideas into action with my students.

I chose this class because the course description interested me and I want to learn more ways to incorporate technology in the classroom.  I wanted to choose a class that would keep my interest because I know I will be busy with student teaching.  After reading the syllabus I feel I have chosen the right class and will not have to “work” instead I will enjoy what I’m learning. 

I am not currently a huge gamer but I have been in the past.  I don’t seem to have the free time I used to which is something I hear a lot of other people say.  I have always been a fan of solitary on the computer, phone, IPod, IPad, etc.  I enjoy the game with cards but electronics make it easier.  In my “younger years” I played a computer game called Zoo Tycoon.  My best friend, at the time, would spend hours playing that game.  We lived in a small town and did not really have any other way of occupying our time when we couldn’t go outside. 

My feelings about kids and video games change depending on the circumstances.  There are some games that are educational and the child is actually learning while they are playing.  I feel these types of video games are helpful for students.  Technology is becoming more important in today’s society so children should be exposed to it with limits.  On the other hand some children do nothing but play video games.  Generally these games are not educational but violent.  I am not completely against this type of games but I feel its use should be limited.  I guess my overall position would be video games are acceptable but should be limited regardless of the type of game.  As with anything I feel a case by case decision would be appropriate for a given specific situation. 

When searching the topic of the effect of video games on children’s learning I came across a blog called Science Blogs™.  The post was about a study conducted in Chile in 2002.  The study contained three groups of first and second grade students.  The first group was taught a lesson using a video game, the second group knew about the video game but was taught using a lecture, while the third group was in a different school, knew nothing about the video game, and was taught the same lesson.  I decided to link to this post because I found it interesting and relative.  I have read other posts in this blog before and was surprised to find one related to the topic I was studying. 

In 1984 ...

…Ronald Reagan (Republican) defeated Walter Mondale (Democrat) in the United States Presidential Election.

… The AIDS virus was discovered.

… The first megabit chip was made at Bell Labs.

…On Dec. 29 I was born!