One to One Reflection

While watching the One to One video, I was amazed at how productive the classroom environments appeared.  Teaching and learning styles still seemed varied, even though each teacher and student had been given the same laptop.  Also, teachers seemed to be using this technology in different manners based on their comfort levels with the technology at hand, not the comfort levels of their students.  The learning atmospheres however, all seemed to possess high energy no matter who the teacher was.

The students all seemed to be cooperating on projects despite the distractions in the room.  All of them seemed engaged in the authentic learning atmospheres that they were provided, thanks to the laptops.  Students were also seen socializing over things that they found on their laptops, making them a learning tool on more than one level.  All of the students seemed positive about the One to One program and the work that they were able to due because of the programs creation.

One concern that I had about the classroom was whether there was still work being done the "good old fashioned way," which was not really addressed in the video.  I often wonder with all of the technology that we are exposing students to today, will they know what to do one day if the power goes out?  Will they be able to pull out a pen and paper and complete their work at a desk if they had to?  I'm sure that this will still be possible ten years from now, but what about 30 years from now?  

My hope is that students would benefit from having the world at their fingertips.  The video did address this some, and I think it's terrific.  The fact that teachers and students alike are not bound to just the information that is available to them in their textbooks and at the library is wonderful.  My hope is that having this freedom would create students with a more worldly knowledge base.

I personally would love to have a one to one classroom.  I feel that this would be the ideal environment in which to teach my students.  Many students these days are already computer savvy, and the wealth of knowledge out there to be gained by having a technology based classroom I feel is endless.  I would love to have the satisfaction of knowing that my students were learning a minimum of two skills at one time with each lesson, with technology being one of those skills.  Computers are the way of the future, and I believe the sooner that we can start students learning them, the more we are benefitting them in the long run.

Personal Introduction

My name is Lisa Kozarik and I have lived in the Fairbanks area for eleven years now.  I was born here in Fairbanks and raised in Delta Junction, which is 100 miles south of here.

In 1997 I married my best friend, Andrew Kozarik.  Together we have one son, a fourth grader at University Park Elementary, named Alexander.

I am currently an Elementary Education major at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  I also work for University Park Elementary coordinating the ERII program.

In my spare time I like to hunt, fish, camp, quilt and read.

I am looking forward to this semester and all of the great things that I can  learn about technology and how to best use it to better serve the students in my future classroom!