Type I and Type II Technology

Type I technology is simply a use of technology in the classroom where most of the results are predetermined. An example of Type I technology are rudimentary applications that teach spelling or the home row keys. A few more examples of Type I technology would be a PowerPoint that is simply giving the information to the students in the classroom, also it could simply be a web quest in which all the information is provided and the user must go along with it to find the solution.

Type II technology is a lot more user integrated. This is the technology in which the outcome is determined by the input of the user instead of being predetermined by the programmer. A few examples of Type II technology would be the drunk driving simulator that I did at an open house for a college, or creating a historical documentary on the computer using iMovie, it could also be making a website to convey the ideas of a certain subject matter in an abstract way.


Maddux, Cleborne D., & Johnson, D. Lamont (2005). Introduction. Type II Applications of Technology in Education: New and Better Ways of Teaching and Learning.

My MEL Experiences

• Student/Teacher Relationship: Some of the best learning that I achieved has been with teachers that I feel that I connect with on a level outside of class. In high school it was my football coach who also taught U.S. Government and International Relations. I felt that we could talk about things outside of class and connected with him on more things than just what was happening in class and the curriculum that was being taught. His teaching style was also conducive to my learning style, he was very straightforward and had his expectations goals clearly defined at the beginning of each class.
• Interests: Another aspect of the Meaningful Engaged Learning was adapting to students’ interests. When discussing the founding of our nation and the writing of the constitution, my high school teacher from above adapted to our interests. In our class we had mostly people who were in sports and so he discussed the trades made by styling it like an ESPN story and the trade block that they have on SportsCenter. It was a really effective tool to show what each side was getting in the compromises that were made when writing the constitution.
• Avoid Rewards: The extrinsic rewards in education never help out the more applied students and only serve to hurt the unmotivated and semi-motivated students. In school I was always semi-motivated to achieve good grades and do well in school but when that work was never rewarded it had a negative impact on my attitude towards learning. It made me not want to try because I did not see the point if rewards were giving out to the same students over and over again.
• Connections: It is important to connect subject matter in the classroom to things that are happening in other classes or in current events. This gives the subject matter meaning to the students and gives them a way to apply what they have learned. In English class during high school we used to do current events while doing a unit on journalistic writing. This was helpful because it showed that we could write about subject matter that was happening in the world and helped connect the students to current events.
• Hands-On: My example of hands-on learning was an internship that I did in high school where I worked in a classroom of my peers and helped a teacher teach math. The hands-on experience helped me in two ways. It solidified my choice to study teaching and pursue it as a career. It also helped me decided that I could never teach math to high school students. Another aspect that helped was that it was a class of underachieving students and I learned a lot about confidentiality and also helping the unmotivated student.
  
  

Learning Style Inventory Results

These results brought to you by learning-styles-online.com, are extremely accurate. I am a very social and interpersonal person that likes to be around people. I am much more of a verbal social person rather than relying on logical, physical, or visual solutions. I am the type of person that will talk the problem out with a person or by myself to understand and solve it better.

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust and Fairness

Chapter 2 deals more with the feelings of the students in their learning environment and what the teacher can do to help the students' learning atmosphere. The one thing that stood out was the part about the students worrying about teachers betraying their confidence. The ability for students to trust their teacher is one that cannot ever be lost because you cannot gain it again.

This part surprised me because I could not think of a time when a teacher could break confidentiality except for in the case where the student was in immediate danger and needed more help than the teacher could offer. I feel that the students need to understand that in coming to a teacher confidentiality is respected but there is a point where safety is more of a concern than confidentiality, in those cases the student must understand that the teacher is not betraying them but helping them. The passage surprised me because of the students feelings that their confidentiality would be broken with the teachers.

Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well

The first thing that jumped out at me in Chapter 1 of Fires in the Bathroom was the idea of doing a student questionnaire to get to know the students better. I think that this is the best method for getting to know the students in a timely manner. The journal option is a good one but is drawn out throughout the semester that you have the student.

The questionnaire is a structured response that has less to do with feelings and more to do with facts. The most effective way to get to know a student is to pay attention to them and using the questionnaire is a good "ice breaker," while the journal helps with dealing with current issues in a student's life. I feel that a combination of both would be the best way to know a student and their tendencies and attitudes towards learning. I also like the part of being honest with the students about the teacher's life. Knowing somethings about teachers in high school helped me relate more to them and feel comfortable in talking with them.