I think these are really cool programs.
I love the templates on Kidspiration, already set up for different subjects and how they can transfer between templates. It's very neat and clean, colorful and creative, and it makes it easy to plug in information. Lora's project demonstrates how user-friendly it is, how kindergartners can build so many neat pages. Plus this can be used for any number of subject areas for all kinds of projects: charts, posters, journals, etc.
I love the templates on Inspiration, too. I was really excited to discover the rapid fire tool. :) The note organizer is cool, but I think Microsoft OneNote is more conducive to the things I would use it for.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Technology Project Plan Proposal
I think a class blog is a helpful tool that is effective on several levels:
~It's something students connect to and can access anywhere.
~It's a convenient way to communicate with parents about class happenings, projects, etc.
I know when I was checking out perspective classes to observe, I researched the teacher's blog to determine whether or not I wanted to observe his/her class. Since I don't really blog, I think it would be good to build that avenue of my technological development. I plan on developing a blog on www.webs.com. Since I don't currently have a class of my own, I will build a website that blogs my previous teaching experiences.
For my second piece of software, I'd like to make a Windows Movie Maker film and post it to my blog. I think Movie Maker is a program that, if I familiarize myself with it, could be very useful for documenting class activities and incorporating into projects. I might use other supporting technological devices such as the flip video, depending on the route I take. However, I will again most likely document past teaching experiences as material for this project unless other more suitable material comes to mind.
UPDATE:
So far things are going alright. I'm focusing on building my website on celebrating diversity and culture and highlighting that with my travels to Brazil and California this past year. I plan to include applications to subjects such as English, Social Studies, Science, Art, Technology, or whatever comes up. On my website I plan to include a list of resources and websites that connect my trips to the subjects and so on. My movie will be focused more on my trip to Brazil, just because that's the material I have on hand. It's has cultural exposures, explanations, and educational features.
So yeah, nothing too crazy. I've had a little trouble figuring out how to save on Windows Movie Player, but I figured it out. Also timing is a little weird, but it just takes time to work out the kinks. It was difficult to build a website based off of something that doesn't exist yet, so that's why I shifted my focus a little.
~It's something students connect to and can access anywhere.
~It's a convenient way to communicate with parents about class happenings, projects, etc.
I know when I was checking out perspective classes to observe, I researched the teacher's blog to determine whether or not I wanted to observe his/her class. Since I don't really blog, I think it would be good to build that avenue of my technological development. I plan on developing a blog on www.webs.com. Since I don't currently have a class of my own, I will build a website that blogs my previous teaching experiences.
For my second piece of software, I'd like to make a Windows Movie Maker film and post it to my blog. I think Movie Maker is a program that, if I familiarize myself with it, could be very useful for documenting class activities and incorporating into projects. I might use other supporting technological devices such as the flip video, depending on the route I take. However, I will again most likely document past teaching experiences as material for this project unless other more suitable material comes to mind.
UPDATE:
So far things are going alright. I'm focusing on building my website on celebrating diversity and culture and highlighting that with my travels to Brazil and California this past year. I plan to include applications to subjects such as English, Social Studies, Science, Art, Technology, or whatever comes up. On my website I plan to include a list of resources and websites that connect my trips to the subjects and so on. My movie will be focused more on my trip to Brazil, just because that's the material I have on hand. It's has cultural exposures, explanations, and educational features.
So yeah, nothing too crazy. I've had a little trouble figuring out how to save on Windows Movie Player, but I figured it out. Also timing is a little weird, but it just takes time to work out the kinks. It was difficult to build a website based off of something that doesn't exist yet, so that's why I shifted my focus a little.
Caught on Video
Caught on Video was a very interesting article. From the very beginning, the idea that video changes doctor's visits was interesting. It really does communicate so much more clearly to the many visual and non-auditory learners who want to understand what is going on. "Videos just get the job done so much better than mere words."
I love the flip video. It's amazingly user-friendly, and there are so many possibilities for use in the classroom. One of the older, non-techy professors was interested and impressed with the flip video. Whether for student use or class documentation, the possibilities are virtually endless. I did become slightly enamored with the idea of sending a video explanation home to parents to explain instead of relying on the written word or the words from a student (which can often be muddy at best). Videos show so much more that can be hard to explain otherwise.
I love the flip video. It's amazingly user-friendly, and there are so many possibilities for use in the classroom. One of the older, non-techy professors was interested and impressed with the flip video. Whether for student use or class documentation, the possibilities are virtually endless. I did become slightly enamored with the idea of sending a video explanation home to parents to explain instead of relying on the written word or the words from a student (which can often be muddy at best). Videos show so much more that can be hard to explain otherwise.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Reflection #5
These past few semesters, my professors have been increasingly been incorporating technology. More profs are using the document camera, Discovery, PowerPoint, clickers, etc. However at the same time there have been more and more instances of technological failure. I wonder--are we going to learn how to use the document camera? What about when things go wrong? How can we learn to "put on the face of the technician" and fix it? I don't know how we can learn that, especially since we have to learn what it should do before we learn how to correct what it shouldn't do. I guess it's like learning to drive: you should learn how to drive one that works before you learn to drive one that...has special needs. I am interesting in learning how to fix things when they go haywire, to know why things work and not just how they work. I'm having fun in this class, I like the workshop aspect to it. I'm learning skills that I can put to use right away and continue to build on and develop.
Reflection #4
I don't know how I feel about the current trend in technology. Don't get me wrong, I totally think it is something that should be taught and incorporated into the classroom--to a degree.
At the church I intern at, the children's pastor started recording his lesson introductions onto a DVD to play during the service. He remarked to me one time about how that gets all the kids focused in like nothing else. Very handy.
But what about the effects of too much screen time? I mean, it hasn't been around all that long yet, but what if the current trend is just a little off-balanced toward a focus on technology that isn't healthy?
I think there's something to be said for teachers who get their kids involved in other ways along with technology. Instead of having kids make a PowerPoint presentation on what kinds of items the colonial people used, why not try making some examples?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for PowerPoint, blogs, SMARTBoards, and teaching children to use technology appropriately, responsibly, and fluently. I just think that, being the vanguard of new teachers in this generation, it's important to maintain balance in our stance and style, to become relevant and effective while always opening doors to the many possibilities life affords.
At the church I intern at, the children's pastor started recording his lesson introductions onto a DVD to play during the service. He remarked to me one time about how that gets all the kids focused in like nothing else. Very handy.
But what about the effects of too much screen time? I mean, it hasn't been around all that long yet, but what if the current trend is just a little off-balanced toward a focus on technology that isn't healthy?
I think there's something to be said for teachers who get their kids involved in other ways along with technology. Instead of having kids make a PowerPoint presentation on what kinds of items the colonial people used, why not try making some examples?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for PowerPoint, blogs, SMARTBoards, and teaching children to use technology appropriately, responsibly, and fluently. I just think that, being the vanguard of new teachers in this generation, it's important to maintain balance in our stance and style, to become relevant and effective while always opening doors to the many possibilities life affords.
Reflection #3
About a year ago, I was working at the church I intern at and doing childcare for kids between 3rd-6th grade. There was this 9 year old boy who came and would talk about the most random things, from interesting facts to his 16 year old sister. He was comparing me to his sister one time and asked me if I had a boyfriend. I told him I didn't, and he was shocked. He began to recover and asked me if I had an IPod. I told him I did not. His eyes bulged out in disbelief, "So let me get this straight: you're 19, you don't have a boyfriend, and you don't have an IPod?!" Apparently according to this kid I had never lived. After all, what is life if you must go without the essential life necessity of an IPod?
Reflection #2
The other night my aunt came by to come hang out with me. She met me in the Aerie after class on Tuesday and remarked at how different things were, though she attended Northwest less than 10 years ago! She remarked about the girls sitting in the chair doing their homework on laptops. Email was a brand new thing when she was in college. They didn't have the internet to help with papers, research, or to network with friends. Life was approached very differently, and that wasn't that long ago! Technology is evolving like crazy. It's always fascinating to ponder where it will go next.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Assignment #3
My SMARTBoard presentation: homonym baseball
I am so excited I learned how to link! Lol. Okay, on with the particulars.
This activity covers the following NETS for students:
4.c) students get to analyze the data presented on the board to solve the problem.
6.a) students have to learn how to use and interact with the SMARTBoard.
This activity meets the following NETS-T (for teachers):
1.b) students can engage in real issues that they otherwise couldn't interact with on the same level.
2.a) by using the SMARTBoard, teachers using digital tools to promote learning.
2.c) the SMARTBoard helps engage more learners, both digital and kinesthetic.
I think the SMARTBoard (or any other brand of interactive board) will be a useful tool in the classroom. It has the potential to improve learning by actively engaging students in the learning experience. The SMARTBoard reaches visual and kinesthetic learners--students who have a difficult time gaining everything from a lecture alone--with a lot of the interactive activities, games, images, and sound effects.
Also, the SMARTBoard programs are resources that are continually updated. Programs uploaded by teachers around the world for grades and subjects across the board right at your finger tips. An equipped teacher has a better chance at improving the learning experience for her students.
Another thing is the SMARTBoard is capable of actions that create far more options for teaching. It is fast and accurate (definitely more so than my own freehand. It would help with teaching fraction, hey?) and has many of the characteristics of PowerPoint and of writing on the white board. I think also as this technology advances it will be even more user-friendly, less clunky, and less (or more) touchy. Technology is always changing, but the sooner we get up to speed the easier it will be to adapt to new programs and new ways of doing things.
On a personal note, to Professor Sorenson and classmates, I hope you all have a fabulous spring break! Get some rest, make some memories, and I'll see y'all when we get back! ;) Take care!!
I am so excited I learned how to link! Lol. Okay, on with the particulars.
This activity covers the following NETS for students:
4.c) students get to analyze the data presented on the board to solve the problem.
6.a) students have to learn how to use and interact with the SMARTBoard.
This activity meets the following NETS-T (for teachers):
1.b) students can engage in real issues that they otherwise couldn't interact with on the same level.
2.a) by using the SMARTBoard, teachers using digital tools to promote learning.
2.c) the SMARTBoard helps engage more learners, both digital and kinesthetic.
I think the SMARTBoard (or any other brand of interactive board) will be a useful tool in the classroom. It has the potential to improve learning by actively engaging students in the learning experience. The SMARTBoard reaches visual and kinesthetic learners--students who have a difficult time gaining everything from a lecture alone--with a lot of the interactive activities, games, images, and sound effects.
Also, the SMARTBoard programs are resources that are continually updated. Programs uploaded by teachers around the world for grades and subjects across the board right at your finger tips. An equipped teacher has a better chance at improving the learning experience for her students.
Another thing is the SMARTBoard is capable of actions that create far more options for teaching. It is fast and accurate (definitely more so than my own freehand. It would help with teaching fraction, hey?) and has many of the characteristics of PowerPoint and of writing on the white board. I think also as this technology advances it will be even more user-friendly, less clunky, and less (or more) touchy. Technology is always changing, but the sooner we get up to speed the easier it will be to adapt to new programs and new ways of doing things.
On a personal note, to Professor Sorenson and classmates, I hope you all have a fabulous spring break! Get some rest, make some memories, and I'll see y'all when we get back! ;) Take care!!
Reflection #1
Earlier in the semester, I had the opportunity to observe a local kindergarten class. Toward the end of the day the teacher got the class to line up at the door for computer lab.
We didn't have computers in the classroom until I was in about 2nd grade and we had a workshop learning how to make an art production and save it on a floppy disk. I assumed that the kindergarten class would be doing something along the same lines. Instead, computer lab was actually a reading workshop.
Each child was logged into a reading program that worked on phonics and whole language experience (first phonics then whole language, depending on their level). Each child was able to work on their own reading level. I saw levels ranging from 7 to 39.
Afterward I interviewed the teacher and asked her how she likes teaching reading through a computer program. She acknowledged the advantage of having children working from their individual reading levels, but at the same time she said that the computer program itself was not sufficient. She stressed the importance of pulling the children aside to monitor their reading out of books. Some times they can excel in the computer program, but have to be pulled back because they did not gain the reading comprehension they were supposed to learn. To me, this reinforces the idea that technology is a helpful tool but cannot replace the role of an active and involved tool-wielder.
We didn't have computers in the classroom until I was in about 2nd grade and we had a workshop learning how to make an art production and save it on a floppy disk. I assumed that the kindergarten class would be doing something along the same lines. Instead, computer lab was actually a reading workshop.
Each child was logged into a reading program that worked on phonics and whole language experience (first phonics then whole language, depending on their level). Each child was able to work on their own reading level. I saw levels ranging from 7 to 39.
Afterward I interviewed the teacher and asked her how she likes teaching reading through a computer program. She acknowledged the advantage of having children working from their individual reading levels, but at the same time she said that the computer program itself was not sufficient. She stressed the importance of pulling the children aside to monitor their reading out of books. Some times they can excel in the computer program, but have to be pulled back because they did not gain the reading comprehension they were supposed to learn. To me, this reinforces the idea that technology is a helpful tool but cannot replace the role of an active and involved tool-wielder.
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