Kimberly Wright
This podcast interviewed a fourth grade teacher in El Paso, Texas. She talks about what she has learned in technology and how she uses it in the classroom. She wanted to get away from using the standard PowerPoint and start having fun with the students. She bridged the gap between testing and having fun by technology. She has seen improvement in the classroom while having the students and herself be a lot happier. She took advantage of learning more about technology through conferences. I think this is very important to any teacher to be aware of. The students will be more engaged and interested if teacher's vary their teaching style. Having knowledge of technology helps teacher's accomplish this. It is a process though, it won't happen over night. It is more like an experiment to get comfortable with different forms of technology and teaching it with a lesson in the classroom. It is very interesting that she talks a lot about the technology and different websites that we have learned in this class so far. One thing that I had not heard of is Plurk, which helps connect with other teachers with any questions or help they may need. Technology is unlimited!!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Classroom 2.0 Reflection
Classroom 2.0
The first year of teaching is going to be very overwhelming and having a group of teaching to go to for advice or support will be very helpful. Through Classroom 2.0, teachers can share information and news with each other. One nice thing is that it is free and if someone has used Facebook then it is pretty easy to navigate around on. People all around the world use this which could be very beneficial. It always helps to know people and have people to answer your questions. This website also has lesson plans, different forums, and resources.
The first year of teaching is going to be very overwhelming and having a group of teaching to go to for advice or support will be very helpful. Through Classroom 2.0, teachers can share information and news with each other. One nice thing is that it is free and if someone has used Facebook then it is pretty easy to navigate around on. People all around the world use this which could be very beneficial. It always helps to know people and have people to answer your questions. This website also has lesson plans, different forums, and resources.
Edutecher Site Reflection
Edutecher
One resource that I found interesting was BrainPOP. It is an animated website that will engage students. Every student likes cartoons and finds them interesting. There are interactive games that give the students opportunities to practice what they have learned. This website is organized by subject matter along with other fun subjects. When I went under the Math Tab, I found it split into many different subjects followed by many other subgroups. This website is not only a good resource but also one for students to get extra practice in any subject area that is fun, interesting, and engaging.
Another resource that I found was Books Should Be Fun. This website has thousands of books that students can download on their ipad, ipod, or computer. This is beneficial to students that struggle with reading or paying attention but also if students can't find the time to read, they may find the time to listen to it instead. It is an alternative to engage students and also keeps up with technology. It is very conveniently organized also by popular books, genres, or subjects. It's also very nice because all of them are free. When I searched under the link of Children, I found many books that I remember reading growing up or in school like Ann of Green Gables, Wizard of Oz, Black Beauty, and so many more.
Another resource is ABCya! This is a website that has many games and activities for students to help them practice their knowledge. All of these games are approved by teachers also. I take that as they are in someway beneficial to the students, not a waste of time. This is helpful when there is left over time in a class or the students want a break from their work, they can get on this website and interact with it while still learning and expanding their knowledge. It is also well organized by splitting the games up in the appropriate grade level. I played a few of the games and they are actually fun and made me think.
One resource that I found interesting was BrainPOP. It is an animated website that will engage students. Every student likes cartoons and finds them interesting. There are interactive games that give the students opportunities to practice what they have learned. This website is organized by subject matter along with other fun subjects. When I went under the Math Tab, I found it split into many different subjects followed by many other subgroups. This website is not only a good resource but also one for students to get extra practice in any subject area that is fun, interesting, and engaging.
Another resource that I found was Books Should Be Fun. This website has thousands of books that students can download on their ipad, ipod, or computer. This is beneficial to students that struggle with reading or paying attention but also if students can't find the time to read, they may find the time to listen to it instead. It is an alternative to engage students and also keeps up with technology. It is very conveniently organized also by popular books, genres, or subjects. It's also very nice because all of them are free. When I searched under the link of Children, I found many books that I remember reading growing up or in school like Ann of Green Gables, Wizard of Oz, Black Beauty, and so many more.
Another resource is ABCya! This is a website that has many games and activities for students to help them practice their knowledge. All of these games are approved by teachers also. I take that as they are in someway beneficial to the students, not a waste of time. This is helpful when there is left over time in a class or the students want a break from their work, they can get on this website and interact with it while still learning and expanding their knowledge. It is also well organized by splitting the games up in the appropriate grade level. I played a few of the games and they are actually fun and made me think.
Kan-Ed Reflection
The main thing that I discovered on this website is that it was is an AMAZING resource. This website will be very useful for my classes at Kansas State University as well as when I become a teacher. One thing that I found that was very helpful was ideas for lesson plans. I have only written a couple of lesson plans so far and have had trouble coming up with ideas and aligning them to standards. This website gives me ideas that other teachers have used and have found to be beneficial. It not only gives me ideas on what to teach but how to teacher, questions to ask the students, and assessments. This website is also helpful to keep things organized in the classroom. It would be easy to have the students take a test linked to this website and it be organized by the student name. This website it also very beneficial for students. They have the opportunity to ask a tutor about the questions they may have on homework as well as finding appropriate resources all in one place. All around this website is great, it gives me so many references and resources all on one website.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Reflection #5 - Ed and Jeff Talk Hi-Definition Television
I personally liked this Podcast because I haven't caught on to Hi-Definition TV like my family has. This helped me understand the benefits and drastic differences. HD channels are so much clearer which has led people to watch other channels than they were used to like History or Discovery which can be very educational. It will be beneficial for students to grow up with the HD channels because technology keeps changing and it's important for them to keep up with it.
Reflection #4 - Driving Questions - Kevin Honeycutt
I have never thought of using the technology of a GPS to teach a lesson. It is very creative and as the teachers discussed, it would be easier for a student to probably catch on to the activity than the teacher because they have grown up with this their whole life. It can be used in any subject and really engaged the children. The children can work together teaching them to work cooperatively with each other and also gets them walking around instead of sitting and listening to a lecture. This activity can help appeal to several learning styles creating a better understanding. There are many websites that can help teachers think of ideas and guide them to understand how to do it on Google.
Reflection #3 - Learning in Hand #23: Collecting and Organizing Voice Memos
Ipods, Ipads, and Itouch can all record voice memos. This can be useful in the classroom by recording audio to assess reading fluency, document a field trip, share reflections, record a musical performance, or have a discussion. Once the recordings are on Itunes, it is important for the teacher to organize the information so it can be easily accessed. It is a good idea to make a SmartPlaylist for each student to keep organized. This information was beneficial for me because I had not realized all of this could happen in Itunes. It would be fun to have the students do these type of activities and listen to themselves or be able to reflect later on in the year.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Animoto In My Classroom Reflection
I found this very useful and fun. It would be a fun lesson for the students to do at the beginning of the school year to tell the class a little about them and what they are interested in. It is creative and students can show their personalities through the music, pictures, and themes they choose. This would also be very useful for any introduction, middle, or conclusion of any lesson. It can highlight the main points and engage the students. Also, as we saw in class, it would be a great assignment to give to the students for any subject matter for them to explore and create an original video.
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