I will not be using the What so what and Now what format because I used a a lot of the some things last time, I hope that will be ok. I am enjoying my field experience. My teacher uses technology in his classroom a lot. It is one of the classrooms in the school that has Macs in the classroom. The computers are shared between two students. It is kind of hard because the screens are in the way and the name tags are not visible. I do not know the student' names yet because of it. I do get to see the teacher do most of the instruction with technology. He will use the Internet to show pictures and maps, he also uses the permithion board to do the math. He has problems set up in a folder on his laptop. He will pull up the program and write with the designed marker. He is able to cross things out and erase things and redo them. I want one in my room when I do my teaching.
I did use some technology during the first lesson I taught. I looked up the websites previously when I was preparing my lesson on Roman Geography. I fould a fun interactive map that showed the Roman Empire and the growth throughout time. It went great with the lesson I was trying to teach. We have created a couple of PowerPoint's to assist with other lessons we did. I am having fun learning about the different ways that technology can be used in the classroom, it is amazing what the students know and the things they are able to do. The students in Mr. Jenning's class have done digital stories in the past. We wanted to do something like that with the students, but it looks like the time does not permit us to do it. I will continue to be observant and learn some things which might aid me in my teaching in the future, there are many things that can be done in the classroom with a computer or technological device.
Video
I was not amazed by the video because of what I have been seeing in the classroom these past weeks. Mr. Jennings will tell the students will open a PowerPoint and create a presentation on the planets. He told them to make an ad for each planet and try to sell it to someone. I am really impressed by what I am seeing there with those presentations. I do not believe, however, that the Wii is a learning tool in the classroom. I think it may be great to improve hand eye movement, but there should be a boundary in the schools. I believe there is other ways to stimulate the brain. I do agree with some of the things that can be done in schools with the use of technology, Parents should try and get all these things to become available to our students in our schools.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Field Experience 1
What? I am doing my field work right now for three weeks. I am working with Mr. Jennings at Edgemont Elementary in Provo. I have enjoyed my time observing so far. I have seen some great things during my time there so far; the classroom I am in is a technology room.
So what? The students in the class have a mac for every two students. They do a great amount with technology in the class. During the time we have been there we have not seen much use of the technology, however the teacher has explained some of the things that he did with them during the year. Some of the things have been fun to listen to. The teacher is good,but he seems to be way too chill for our good. I hope that I am able to see some techie things done in the classroom because of the setup he has there in his classroom. We are preparing for our digital stories in class; he showed us some of the digital stories the sixth grade students were able to do for an assignment. The class seemed to know what they were doing and the projects looked good. It made me start thinking about how I would use digital stories in my future classroom.
Now what? Right now I have planned to listen and observe in the classroom so that I will get some ideas for the future. I hope to see some things which will give me some ideas on how to use technology in the classroom. I will use digital stories in my room; just in noticing how these sixth grade students used their computers to make digital comic books. It will be fun especially when the students are able to do the work by themselves. Our teacher also has the students use the computer to look up word meanings and vocabulary. It kind of makes me think the teacher is lazy. but I do see how technology makes the teacher's job easier. I will use it with that in mind.
Video Do you teach or do you educate?
I definitely a future educator; this is why I decided to come back to school to get a job in education. I want to make a difference in the lives of my students. I hope that all teachers want to do the same thing. It is hard to think someone will take all the effort in being a teacher and not do it for the correct reasons. Education is much better than just learning the subjects in the classroom. It is a wonderful thing we all do for the children of the world.
So what? The students in the class have a mac for every two students. They do a great amount with technology in the class. During the time we have been there we have not seen much use of the technology, however the teacher has explained some of the things that he did with them during the year. Some of the things have been fun to listen to. The teacher is good,but he seems to be way too chill for our good. I hope that I am able to see some techie things done in the classroom because of the setup he has there in his classroom. We are preparing for our digital stories in class; he showed us some of the digital stories the sixth grade students were able to do for an assignment. The class seemed to know what they were doing and the projects looked good. It made me start thinking about how I would use digital stories in my future classroom.
Now what? Right now I have planned to listen and observe in the classroom so that I will get some ideas for the future. I hope to see some things which will give me some ideas on how to use technology in the classroom. I will use digital stories in my room; just in noticing how these sixth grade students used their computers to make digital comic books. It will be fun especially when the students are able to do the work by themselves. Our teacher also has the students use the computer to look up word meanings and vocabulary. It kind of makes me think the teacher is lazy. but I do see how technology makes the teacher's job easier. I will use it with that in mind.
Video Do you teach or do you educate?
I definitely a future educator; this is why I decided to come back to school to get a job in education. I want to make a difference in the lives of my students. I hope that all teachers want to do the same thing. It is hard to think someone will take all the effort in being a teacher and not do it for the correct reasons. Education is much better than just learning the subjects in the classroom. It is a wonderful thing we all do for the children of the world.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Digital Story 1
What? This week we learned about digital stories. I was interested in seeing what a digital story was because I had seen clips of them in other classes. They looked like they would be very difficult to do and that they would take a long time to accomplish. I learned that digital stories are stories that are told with pictures. They have tell a story that may be emotionally catching. Something that will catch attention yet teach about the chosen subject as well. I was glad to see that it is something that I will be able to do. I am still a little bit nervous about doing it, I feel that I do not have much experience in doing voice overs and movie clips. It will be interesting to see what we come up with.
So what? Digital stories can be a great way of teaching a subject that may be hard to teach verbally or with any other form of instruction. The reason it would be a great is because a picture tells a thousand stories. I think anything students can look at will only help them to learn and understand better. It is good to show students visual aids to teach. If a student can learn by watching a movie, imagine how a student will learn watching nothing but facts about the subject they are trying to learn. I believe that a little effort can go a long way with students. It may take a lot of work to put a digital story together, but when it is all said and done the students will learn a great deal about the subject being taught. It brings emotions into learning, something that is hard to do otherwise. I felt some feelings toward the digital stories we saw in class, especially the one about Abraham Lincoln. Could there be any better way of teaching that particular subject? By actually hearing the address being read and seeing the pictures made the experience enjoyable for me. I learned a lot about that topic in the three minutes it played for.
Now what? I would like to say I will be a professional digital story creator, but I seem to take too long for things like that. I spend the whole unit making the thing and would still not have it done for the time I wanted to use it. I don't know how efficient it would be for me to try using it. I will borrow others, however, I do hope to use them because I see great learning potential in it. I will use the information we learn in class to better understand the creation process of a digital story, when I actually learn how to do one and if I am any good at it, I will use them in my future classrooms. If I was drawn into a story about Abraham Lincoln and learned so much in the minutes with that, I will surely use them in my classroom to show emotion and portray the use of feelings to aid in learning.
Video NASA Digital Story
I liked the digital story about NASA, I thought it was well prepared and had a lot of thought put into it. I did find myself thinking that the words were used too much in the story. I did like the part where he stopped talking and brought in Kennedy's speech. The flow of the audio went well with the pictures that were being presented. I liked it and I hope I will be able to do something compared to that in quality of work shown. I know more about the space program from watching this segment than my whole life of watching TV and listening to news and reading. It is affective and should be used in the classroom for sure.
So what? Digital stories can be a great way of teaching a subject that may be hard to teach verbally or with any other form of instruction. The reason it would be a great is because a picture tells a thousand stories. I think anything students can look at will only help them to learn and understand better. It is good to show students visual aids to teach. If a student can learn by watching a movie, imagine how a student will learn watching nothing but facts about the subject they are trying to learn. I believe that a little effort can go a long way with students. It may take a lot of work to put a digital story together, but when it is all said and done the students will learn a great deal about the subject being taught. It brings emotions into learning, something that is hard to do otherwise. I felt some feelings toward the digital stories we saw in class, especially the one about Abraham Lincoln. Could there be any better way of teaching that particular subject? By actually hearing the address being read and seeing the pictures made the experience enjoyable for me. I learned a lot about that topic in the three minutes it played for.
Now what? I would like to say I will be a professional digital story creator, but I seem to take too long for things like that. I spend the whole unit making the thing and would still not have it done for the time I wanted to use it. I don't know how efficient it would be for me to try using it. I will borrow others, however, I do hope to use them because I see great learning potential in it. I will use the information we learn in class to better understand the creation process of a digital story, when I actually learn how to do one and if I am any good at it, I will use them in my future classrooms. If I was drawn into a story about Abraham Lincoln and learned so much in the minutes with that, I will surely use them in my classroom to show emotion and portray the use of feelings to aid in learning.
Video NASA Digital Story
I liked the digital story about NASA, I thought it was well prepared and had a lot of thought put into it. I did find myself thinking that the words were used too much in the story. I did like the part where he stopped talking and brought in Kennedy's speech. The flow of the audio went well with the pictures that were being presented. I liked it and I hope I will be able to do something compared to that in quality of work shown. I know more about the space program from watching this segment than my whole life of watching TV and listening to news and reading. It is affective and should be used in the classroom for sure.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Podcast and vidcast
What?
A podcast is an audio file which can be downloaded to the Internet or placed on the computer with some sort of audio recording device. A vidcast is an mp4 or video based upload to the Internet. These tools can be used to show many different things on the website. They can be used to help explain what is trying to be shown on the Internet.
So what?
I have not really ever placed content on the Internet in the past. I was introduced to blogging and face book, which I have posted comments on here and there but never really did much of anything else with technology on the web. It is handy to use technology in the classroom to do anything that will make the classroom a better place for the students to learn. With podcasts a teacher could show the information in class on the web for the students who are not there during a class time, or that may have a question with the material explained. Parent would be able to see what is being taught in class. There would be no excuse for the students to not have the homework done.
Now what?
I don't know if I will be using it a lot in my classrooms. I don't know how I feel about children not getting work one because they missed the class time. If they don't take the opportunity to do the things that will get them the grade, then they should not ave parents have the information to get the work done for them. I believe in class participation in some degree. If I were to use podcast and vidcast, I would need to take the time for preparation and I would also need to make sure everything was exactly perfect each and everyday for all the parents to read. I don't know if it would be good to do that everyday, but I surely could do that some days of the year. It would be good to do for special projects that are worked on in class. I will us it some, but even Doc Waters has stopped doing it all the time. Great idea for someone who has all the time in the world, but the lesson plans still have to be created an lives have to be lived.
Video: Why let our students blog
I would like blogging if I could type faster and more efficiently. I like the idea of creating a journal for all the items that have been learned in class. It is hard to find the time to do it in a journal by writing. I guarantee that writing in a book would take much longer for me to get the information on the paper than for me to type it even though I am slow at typing. It is fun to read what is happening in the classroom from the students' perspectives. I like how it said that it broadens the classroom. It is great for reflection and fun. My wife reads her friend's blog an laughs every time doing it. Blogging is great for education, and all students need to take time to think about what they are learning in class everyday anyway.
A podcast is an audio file which can be downloaded to the Internet or placed on the computer with some sort of audio recording device. A vidcast is an mp4 or video based upload to the Internet. These tools can be used to show many different things on the website. They can be used to help explain what is trying to be shown on the Internet.
So what?
I have not really ever placed content on the Internet in the past. I was introduced to blogging and face book, which I have posted comments on here and there but never really did much of anything else with technology on the web. It is handy to use technology in the classroom to do anything that will make the classroom a better place for the students to learn. With podcasts a teacher could show the information in class on the web for the students who are not there during a class time, or that may have a question with the material explained. Parent would be able to see what is being taught in class. There would be no excuse for the students to not have the homework done.
Now what?
I don't know if I will be using it a lot in my classrooms. I don't know how I feel about children not getting work one because they missed the class time. If they don't take the opportunity to do the things that will get them the grade, then they should not ave parents have the information to get the work done for them. I believe in class participation in some degree. If I were to use podcast and vidcast, I would need to take the time for preparation and I would also need to make sure everything was exactly perfect each and everyday for all the parents to read. I don't know if it would be good to do that everyday, but I surely could do that some days of the year. It would be good to do for special projects that are worked on in class. I will us it some, but even Doc Waters has stopped doing it all the time. Great idea for someone who has all the time in the world, but the lesson plans still have to be created an lives have to be lived.
Video: Why let our students blog
I would like blogging if I could type faster and more efficiently. I like the idea of creating a journal for all the items that have been learned in class. It is hard to find the time to do it in a journal by writing. I guarantee that writing in a book would take much longer for me to get the information on the paper than for me to type it even though I am slow at typing. It is fun to read what is happening in the classroom from the students' perspectives. I like how it said that it broadens the classroom. It is great for reflection and fun. My wife reads her friend's blog an laughs every time doing it. Blogging is great for education, and all students need to take time to think about what they are learning in class everyday anyway.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Webquest 2
What? We are still working on web quest this week. We are doing it as a group depending on the age of students we want to teach. We had a really hard time coming up with the area we wanted to study. We decided to do it on the Ancient Egyptians and how the writings and goings on influenced the way they lived. We decided to have the our students be farmers who are wanting to live in an area of Ancient Egypt. They would be required to take a journey back in time to study writings and ancient Egyptian lifestyles. Having taken the journey and learned about different cities, they will then have the chance to choose witch one of the cities they would want to be a part of. We would have a mock trial to determine which one was the best city and what factors helped them to determine the fact. It is still up in the air how the final project will look, but I think we have a good basis of study that the students will enjoy. I think they will learn a lot about the subject while creating some great learning as well.
So what? I think I may be repetitive about the rest of the blog. I really do enjoy the fact that there is an activity on the web which will engage our students in higher order thinking skills. I believe that a lot of that has been done away with in the schools. I think it will be great with the ever changing technology we are experiencing. Why not combine the two of them and also let the students enjoy learning? I think it will be fun for the students to do something to break up the monotony of everyday learning. It is fun, but it does provide a great learning process for the students to learn.
Now what? I have great ideas for me as a future teacher. I want to incorporate many things in the classroom that I am learning now in school. I want to do all I can with creative arts in the classroom. I want to do all I can with backwards design and primary sources. I am trying to learn how to do these things without really having an understanding of all the things that I will actually be doing in the classroom. I guess I am being a little naive about how it will actually be, but I know that web quest is one thing that will be done in the classroom. I feel it is a great way of presenting material without having to involve a lot of lecture time. It is a way the students will be able to open their minds to a greater learning and have fun doing it. By having my students do web quests I will know that they will learn a great deal more than me talking to them. Having them take a journey through web quests is an excellent source of learning. I will create many for my students of the future, they will have a good time doing them as well.
Video Twitter in the classroom.
I remember when we talked about using twitter in our classroom, I don' know what happened. I didn't quite understand why a teacher would use this method of teaching. I thought that it would be too distracting for a teacher to deal with, but I understand better now that I saw the video. It is just to combine what the students are interested in and the subject being taught. The teacher said it was to get the students engaged in the subjects being taught. I think it is a good idea to use the strengths of the students to get their attention. It is a great way of helping them to understand a subject. Why not use what we have?
So what? I think I may be repetitive about the rest of the blog. I really do enjoy the fact that there is an activity on the web which will engage our students in higher order thinking skills. I believe that a lot of that has been done away with in the schools. I think it will be great with the ever changing technology we are experiencing. Why not combine the two of them and also let the students enjoy learning? I think it will be fun for the students to do something to break up the monotony of everyday learning. It is fun, but it does provide a great learning process for the students to learn.
Now what? I have great ideas for me as a future teacher. I want to incorporate many things in the classroom that I am learning now in school. I want to do all I can with creative arts in the classroom. I want to do all I can with backwards design and primary sources. I am trying to learn how to do these things without really having an understanding of all the things that I will actually be doing in the classroom. I guess I am being a little naive about how it will actually be, but I know that web quest is one thing that will be done in the classroom. I feel it is a great way of presenting material without having to involve a lot of lecture time. It is a way the students will be able to open their minds to a greater learning and have fun doing it. By having my students do web quests I will know that they will learn a great deal more than me talking to them. Having them take a journey through web quests is an excellent source of learning. I will create many for my students of the future, they will have a good time doing them as well.
Video Twitter in the classroom.
I remember when we talked about using twitter in our classroom, I don' know what happened. I didn't quite understand why a teacher would use this method of teaching. I thought that it would be too distracting for a teacher to deal with, but I understand better now that I saw the video. It is just to combine what the students are interested in and the subject being taught. The teacher said it was to get the students engaged in the subjects being taught. I think it is a good idea to use the strengths of the students to get their attention. It is a great way of helping them to understand a subject. Why not use what we have?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Holiday Blog
I was not really sure what to write about this week given we missed classes and are still doing the same assignment. We are working on Web Quest, which is an online activity for students to engage in an explore. It can be a virtual tour through space and time to a series of worksheets and activities on a subject you as the teacher are trying to teach. It is different experience for students to take on during a class and a great way to keep attention while teaching simultaneously. Our group decided to do the sixth grade core about Egyptian civilization and how the writing has evolved and affected us today in our world.
We are excited about the opportunity to take the students back in time to explore the ancient ruins and read the writings on the wall. They will learn to interpret writings and discuss how these writings were important to them and also how they are important to us today; is it possible for these writings to give us information which may aid in our society today? We haven't really got into the assignment much more than thoughts and how we will set everything up. I am excited for the web quest and I hope that I can learn how to do them well so that I can use them in my future classroom. It seems like an awesome way of teaching with strategy in mind, rather than trying to accomplish the same thing day in and day out all the time.
The class is fun and I see many possibilities to learn. I feel I will become a better teacher by just learning how to better my knowledge of technology and it's simple components. For now I will stay away from the hard and complicating items hoping to eventually know what is what and how to do it. Web quest is a great start I think!
Video for this week was Engaged Learning, I was interested in the video because it showed how the world is changing and how we can learn in different ways. I was interested because I wrote a paper recently about the change in average skills and learning in the classroom. Today our students are considered to be failing in our learning if they are not above average. In the past learning meant being able to even read after having a sixth grade education. I am intrigued by how many teachers will not step up to the plate of technology, yet still they teach the same things with same methods and resources as a traditional teacher would have twenty years prior. Technology bings engaged learning; something that students need to have to succeed in our world today.
We are excited about the opportunity to take the students back in time to explore the ancient ruins and read the writings on the wall. They will learn to interpret writings and discuss how these writings were important to them and also how they are important to us today; is it possible for these writings to give us information which may aid in our society today? We haven't really got into the assignment much more than thoughts and how we will set everything up. I am excited for the web quest and I hope that I can learn how to do them well so that I can use them in my future classroom. It seems like an awesome way of teaching with strategy in mind, rather than trying to accomplish the same thing day in and day out all the time.
The class is fun and I see many possibilities to learn. I feel I will become a better teacher by just learning how to better my knowledge of technology and it's simple components. For now I will stay away from the hard and complicating items hoping to eventually know what is what and how to do it. Web quest is a great start I think!
Video for this week was Engaged Learning, I was interested in the video because it showed how the world is changing and how we can learn in different ways. I was interested because I wrote a paper recently about the change in average skills and learning in the classroom. Today our students are considered to be failing in our learning if they are not above average. In the past learning meant being able to even read after having a sixth grade education. I am intrigued by how many teachers will not step up to the plate of technology, yet still they teach the same things with same methods and resources as a traditional teacher would have twenty years prior. Technology bings engaged learning; something that students need to have to succeed in our world today.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Webquest
What is web quest?
Web quest is a learning process that is created to send the students on a journey through some idea on the web that the teacher wants to be taught. We learned that we can create a web quest on the web in many different ways. We are going to do it with PowerPoint. We are assigned to do the project in teams, it will be a fun project to do. It is going to be very educational for those who will be reading it and it will be fun to do.
So what?
I believe the more things a teacher has under his or her belt to aid in the whole process the better. The web quest will be a great tool for the students. It will be fun to see how something I create can help the students to learn. It is not the same way of learning either, if a child can get the same information out of a textbook then how could a web quest not be a good idea. Plus the students can see that I could do something cool on the web that is helping with learning. The parents would be able to view what I have put there as well, they will be impressed that I am using technology in the classroom. I think it is a great idea for the students to have fun, but still be able to learn with deeper thinking skills.
Now what?
I will work to create many different web quests that I could incorporate into the curriculum. I think it is a great idea for the students to interact with some great adventures, and to think the adventures are created by me. I will learn how to implement all these things into my future teaching, by doing so I will be a cut above the rest of the teachers out there. I am glad to be in school and be able to learn many things I didn't know what to do before I started taking classes. I am learning a lot about technology that will aid in the classroom.
Video; Surface Computing
I think of the Tom Cruise movie when he touches the screen and drags items on the screen to another screen. This movie was supposed to be set in the way far future. It is amazing how it is even possible to have the things they do. This just blew my mind. Is it for real? I think that by placing a device on the screen and instantly syncing it by dragging pictures into it could never be possible. I have not seen a device like this in the stores, it said it would be by 2007. It is bizarre how technology can come so far and then what seems to be a movie comes to life for our daily use, Amazing!!
Web quest is a learning process that is created to send the students on a journey through some idea on the web that the teacher wants to be taught. We learned that we can create a web quest on the web in many different ways. We are going to do it with PowerPoint. We are assigned to do the project in teams, it will be a fun project to do. It is going to be very educational for those who will be reading it and it will be fun to do.
So what?
I believe the more things a teacher has under his or her belt to aid in the whole process the better. The web quest will be a great tool for the students. It will be fun to see how something I create can help the students to learn. It is not the same way of learning either, if a child can get the same information out of a textbook then how could a web quest not be a good idea. Plus the students can see that I could do something cool on the web that is helping with learning. The parents would be able to view what I have put there as well, they will be impressed that I am using technology in the classroom. I think it is a great idea for the students to have fun, but still be able to learn with deeper thinking skills.
Now what?
I will work to create many different web quests that I could incorporate into the curriculum. I think it is a great idea for the students to interact with some great adventures, and to think the adventures are created by me. I will learn how to implement all these things into my future teaching, by doing so I will be a cut above the rest of the teachers out there. I am glad to be in school and be able to learn many things I didn't know what to do before I started taking classes. I am learning a lot about technology that will aid in the classroom.
Video; Surface Computing
I think of the Tom Cruise movie when he touches the screen and drags items on the screen to another screen. This movie was supposed to be set in the way far future. It is amazing how it is even possible to have the things they do. This just blew my mind. Is it for real? I think that by placing a device on the screen and instantly syncing it by dragging pictures into it could never be possible. I have not seen a device like this in the stores, it said it would be by 2007. It is bizarre how technology can come so far and then what seems to be a movie comes to life for our daily use, Amazing!!
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