Journal #1

"Power of the Mashup" By Susie Boss and Jane Krauss

The "Power of the Mashup" article by Boss and Krauss identifies how technology can be combined with current everday teaching practies to form a better cirriculum. It also talks about how the internet is affecting how students learn around the globe. It tells how students from Australia can influence student learning in the Unidted States. I especially liked how teachers are taking students everday technology and incorporating them into teaching, such as ipods. By doing this it brings what students are interested in and turning those interests into a learning tool.

Questions:
1. What kind of challenges are there by using a student's personal technology within the classroom?
I think using a students personal technology as a teaching tool cna lead to abuse of policy issues. I think students would be tempted to use their technology for non-educational use, such as ipods being able to play music and videos as well.



2. Can technology be incorporated into every lesson?
I think technology can be incorporated into every lesson, as long as the technology is relevant. For instance I would not use an Ipod during a math lesson, conversely I would allow the use of the Internet during a silent reading time.

Intro Letter

My wife and I at a USC game.

Hello!

My name is Dana Lane. I was born and raised in Southern California and have lived here my entire life. I attended elementary school at Del Obispo Elementary and middle school at Marco Forester in San Juan Capistrano. In high school at Dana Hills I played basketball and gradutated in 1996.

My experiences with technology are a bit limited but have grown over the years. I have always had a computer around me since I was about 8 years old. My first computer was a Macintosh that my parents bought for the household. Since then I have only had PCs with windows on them. So I do play favorites when it comes to what type of computer I would rather use. Being an avid gamer I depend on technology quite a bit. I use technology on a daily basis, whether it's playing games, downloading music or watching television.

What I like about the College of Education Mission Statement is the commitment to "student-centered education." This has an impact on me, because I want to be in a program that provides opportunities for their students to succeed and are willing to help make a student's dream a reality. As I read the mission statement I hope to gain the knowledge necessary to be a great teacher and leader with the education field. In making my decision to attend CSUSM, I didn't take the mission statement into account until now. I know some current teachers who have graduated from the COE program and they have told me that it is one of the better programs within the Cal State system. So for me the mission statements were not an integral part of my decision making.