Type I and Type II Technology

Type I use of technology is when a teacher uses a computer to make it easy to teach. The teacher is in charge of what is happening on the students computer. Type II use of technology is when teachers use the computer to find new approaches to teaching. The student is the one who is in control of what they are doing on their computer, often having to figure things out on their own, using different kinds of thinking skills.

Type 1 Examples:
1. When a teacher tells you what to type what he/she is saying during class.
2. When a teacher uses their own computer to make presentations to the class on what they are learing, offering visuals for the students.
3. When a teacher walks the students through researching a topic, telling them how to find information, and where to go.


Type 2 Examples:
1. When a teacher assigns a project, and a student decides to present their project in a slide show.
2.In seventh grade, every student in my grade used their laptop to make an imovie about themselves instead of having to write an autobiography.
3.In Dr. Theresa's class, Lilly and I made a comic strip showing what we learned about classroom management.

My MEL Experience

• Student/teacher relationships: My junior and senior year high school history teacher is someone who was very successful in keeping me interested in his class because of the relationship that he built with me. He had a great sense of humor, and was able to use it when appropriate during lecture.
• Helping students succeed: My junior year high school theology teacher is someone who showed no interest in whether or not the students in her classroom succeeded or not. For example, when having difficulty with material, she was extremely unapproachable, and not willing to further explain the material outside of the classroom.
• Hands-on: Although I have never been very interested in science, my sixth grade science teacher made our class extremely interesting. We did a trimester long project on Maine, focusing on aquatic creatures. He ended up asking the school for a grant, and he was able to put a touch tank in his classroom full of lobster, and we each raised our own lobster.
• Interest: In the two history classes that I have taken here at UMF with the same teacher, he starts every class by asking the students if they have any questions. This is how the class discussion gets started, and for the remainder of the class, it is driven by the questions that we have to ask.
• Connections: My sophomore math teacher was always very frustrating to me. I have never been strong in math class, and I was curious as to when I was going to be using certain material in the real world. So I asked this teacher, and she was never able to give me any examples of when I would use different kinds of math, and it was very frustrating and gave me no motivation to want to learn her material.

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

One thing that definitely caught my attention while reading the second chapter was when Alexis states "Yeah, I should have respected you, but you're thirty or forty years old, an adult--you should rise above it, not continue animosity. No teacher should be rolling their eyes at me," (page 18). This was in response to a few questions asked by Cushman, one including, "What builds trust between teachers and students, and what breaks it down?" (page 18).

Alexis's response jumped out at me because I completely agree with her, and can relate to what she is saying. From my own experiences, I feel as if sometimes teachers can get frustrated with students, and they can have a hard time not showing it on their face, or just not showing it in general. I know that this will be something that I have to watch myself do, because when I get frustrated or impatient I have a hard time hiding it on my face. To agree with Alexis even more, it is extremely uncomfortable for a student to have a teacher make a gesture such as rolling their eyes at that student.

Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well

Something that jumped out at me while reading the first chapter of Fires in the Bathroom was when Kathleen Cushman said "And though students understand the importance of communicating with parents, they definitely do not want teachers visiting their homes," (page 7). The students that responded and agreed with this explained how they want to be treated like adults, and it would be uncomfortable for them to have their teachers come into their homes.

This advice was extremely shocking to me because of the experiences that classmates of mine in the past have dealt with that are similar to this. A highschool teacher of mine asked a classmate of mine if it would be alright to go to their house to have a parent teacher conference at their house because the mother refused to come to school or bring their child in to school for the conference and the student was completely fine with it. I agree with the book for the most part, but under certain circumstances I do believe that it varies among students. Although, after reading this advice, I will definitely take in to consideration that some students will be completely against this.

Learning Style Inventory Results

Learning Style Survey and results from learning-styles-online.com

This graph is extremely accurate in relation to how I learn. I really enjoy interacting with people and talking. I really don't enjoy math or thinking logically so that is why the graph is focused away from the logical area.