As we prepare to have our last class, I want to take the time to reflect on the class. First of all, I think the class is a must for new teachers. Technology is ever changing and we need to be able to keep up or we will be left out.
The things I found most helpful were the lessons on PowerPoint, the websites, the webquests and online classroom tools. I do think this class could be more of a hybrid class though. Maybe we come every other week? Just a thought. Another thing I might do is split the class up to an elementary informational tech class and a secondary informational tech class. While we are all teachers using the same technologies, there is a big difference in the way we use said technologies.
Over all, I really enjoyed the class. Thank-you for all you do. :)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Non-linear power point
This was BY FAR my favorite thing we did all semester. I had a blast putting the presentation together. I will actually be using this to teach my 7th, 8th and 9th graders about the different holidays. Power Points, in my opinion, have the potential to be one of our most valuable assets.
Creating the Power Point was was pretty easy. I actually had to scale it back to keep it at 20 minutes. I could've turned it into a two class lesson! I will be forever grateful for learning how to do a power point in such a way to keep it visually engaging and relevant. Thank-you!
Creating the Power Point was was pretty easy. I actually had to scale it back to keep it at 20 minutes. I could've turned it into a two class lesson! I will be forever grateful for learning how to do a power point in such a way to keep it visually engaging and relevant. Thank-you!
Podcasts
Before I start, I have to confess, I really didn't know what a podcast was. It sounded to technical to me. I didn't think I could ever make one. Turns out I can. And it was easy!
I worked with Katie and we created a 30 second podcast about an app we found to learn a new language. We had some funky Latin music to open and close it out. It's so cool to be able to adjust the length, have it play over, and take out any pauses. I think I might have my students learn how to do this so they can create their own!
I worked with Katie and we created a 30 second podcast about an app we found to learn a new language. We had some funky Latin music to open and close it out. It's so cool to be able to adjust the length, have it play over, and take out any pauses. I think I might have my students learn how to do this so they can create their own!
Monday, December 9, 2013
SMARTboard
I have to say, I aboslutely adore the SMARTboard. I love how it can be used in any and I do mean any subject in the school setting. I made a SMARTnotebook presentation with a Hallaoween theme. It was significantly easier than I had anticipated. As an older student, I appreicate the ease of use of this software. As I have been observing in my classrooms, I noticed all of the teachers utilize the SMARTboard in one capacity of another, from math to social studies. What is your favorite feature of the SMARTboard?
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Online calssroom tools
We recently researched and found 40 websites that would be useful for teachers. I thought at first it was going to be impossible to find 40 different websites to fit our content area or related to teaching for that matter. I'm glad to say I was wrong. It was super easy. The hard part was narrowing it down! Here's a few of my favorites:
iCivics.org - this is a great site to play games, read articles, watch clips, etc on all things related to civics.
This would be a great tool in any upper level high school government or sociology class.
The Avalon Project - this is a great site for documents relating to all things social studies.
And my personal favorite - teachinghistory.org - this is a site dedicated to history teachers. We can share ideas, lesson plans, etc.
If you know of any more, please let me know!
iCivics.org - this is a great site to play games, read articles, watch clips, etc on all things related to civics.
This would be a great tool in any upper level high school government or sociology class.
The Avalon Project - this is a great site for documents relating to all things social studies.
And my personal favorite - teachinghistory.org - this is a site dedicated to history teachers. We can share ideas, lesson plans, etc.
If you know of any more, please let me know!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Audacity
Today we made pod casts. I had never done one before and it was pretty fun! Katie and I did not wan to do anything in our content area so we chose a completely different topic. It was neat to see how a little script turned into a 35 second podcast about an app to learn a foreign language. I will use pod casting a lot more now that I know what to do.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Ipad Apps
Today I worked with Katie and found some really great apps for the iPads. First is Stack the States. You have to answer questions about the 50 states and then stack them (the states drop down in their actual shape) up to cross the finish line so to speak. Once completed, you earn a state to add to your map. This is a great app for geography and state knowledge.
Another app that was great was Number Lines. There is a super cute frog that helps kids learn their addition, subtraction and skip counting. I actually can't wait to get this home to my son to practice his math facts.
Apps in the classroom are great tools to help the more often than not "plugged in" student stay engaged and have fun.
Another app that was great was Number Lines. There is a super cute frog that helps kids learn their addition, subtraction and skip counting. I actually can't wait to get this home to my son to practice his math facts.
Apps in the classroom are great tools to help the more often than not "plugged in" student stay engaged and have fun.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Excel
I haven't used Excel much in the past for things other than basic lists. I was surprised to learn all the things Excel does! I made a time line of my life (a basic one with only 6 dates on it to get the feel of it) and thought how useful this will be as a social studies teacher. We love time lines...
I am excited to play around with Excel some more. Grade bookkeeping will be a breeze! I will never miss track of an assignment as long as I enter it properly. This will also be helpful to my students to see if and exactly what they are missing. There will be no questions.
I'd like to thank John Walkenbach of PC World, for the article "Who Knew Excel Could Do That? Ten Top Tips" was super informative. I actually printed it off to keep it for future reference. I suggest everyone hop on Excel and play around. You never know what you'll find.
I am excited to play around with Excel some more. Grade bookkeeping will be a breeze! I will never miss track of an assignment as long as I enter it properly. This will also be helpful to my students to see if and exactly what they are missing. There will be no questions.
I'd like to thank John Walkenbach of PC World, for the article "Who Knew Excel Could Do That? Ten Top Tips" was super informative. I actually printed it off to keep it for future reference. I suggest everyone hop on Excel and play around. You never know what you'll find.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
As I was researching Cyberbullying for my paper, I was stunned at how many people actually think there isn't a problem. I don't understand how it isn't an epidemic. Just this morning I saw on the news 2 of the girls who bullied the 12 year old in Florida are being criminally charged after one girl posted on her Facebook account that it was her that did the bullying and the girl killed herself. She finished it with "IDGAF <3". How does a 12 or 14 year old NOT care about being so mean that another girl took her own life to get away from constant mental torture???? I'm simply baffled.
Parents are the best defense against cyberbullying and bullying in general. In my opinion, parents are to removed from their kids lives. Not all parents obviously, but I have seen time after time at my school, kids not willing to work hard and just expect things handed to them. Then when they don't get the expected outcome, they throw a raging tantrum. The real world is going to be a harsh reality if that's how they act in the job setting.
The internet and social media do have some very positive advantages and I'm not saying that kids should be offline until they are 35 (although that's a thought for my own kids) I'm saying it's ok to have limits. I would be HORRIFIED if my child ever did anything like that. I have all passwords to all sites and the main passwords to the phone. We try and live by the Golden Rule and if a problem arises I say "how would you feel if that happened to you?" And we discuss anything they might see at school. I have a very open relationship with my children as their mother, NOT their friend. They have enough friends.
Parents are the best defense against cyberbullying and bullying in general. In my opinion, parents are to removed from their kids lives. Not all parents obviously, but I have seen time after time at my school, kids not willing to work hard and just expect things handed to them. Then when they don't get the expected outcome, they throw a raging tantrum. The real world is going to be a harsh reality if that's how they act in the job setting.
The internet and social media do have some very positive advantages and I'm not saying that kids should be offline until they are 35 (although that's a thought for my own kids) I'm saying it's ok to have limits. I would be HORRIFIED if my child ever did anything like that. I have all passwords to all sites and the main passwords to the phone. We try and live by the Golden Rule and if a problem arises I say "how would you feel if that happened to you?" And we discuss anything they might see at school. I have a very open relationship with my children as their mother, NOT their friend. They have enough friends.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
F.A.T. City
I truly enjoyed the video, "How Difficult Can This Be?", about the way the learning disabled child perceives the world and the struggles they have to go through every single day. I don't know that I can pick just one part to talk about.
I appreciated the way the participants were put into the LD (learning disabled) child's shoes. I laughed when they were forced to think quick with a teacher impatiently waiting for them. But it's not really funny to the LD child. They have a hard time processing things and to impatiently wait for them causes anxiety in the child. Sarcasm is also no fun for a LD student. They need encouragement and understanding.
I can relate to the dysnomia. I have it AT LEAST 2-3 times a day. I can't imagine having it 50-100 times a day. We as educators need to recognize that the child isn't trying to be difficult. The legitimately cannot think of the correct word.
I am not learning disabled, but I am left-handed. I understand the frustrations of not getting something correct the first time. I had to have my Uncle, who is also left handed, teach me how to tie my shoes because my parents just weren't making sense when they tried to show me. I tend to do things "backwards" to right handed people. But too me, the way right handed people do things is backwards. I am forever getting ink, marker, pencil, etc., on the outside of my left hand from writing. Notebooks are set up backwards to me and I would make them upside down, but then the pockets are upside down and things would fall out. The computer mouse is backwards to me too. And although there is a way to set it for left handed people, most left handed people I know have adapted to the mouse being on the right.
LD children need patience and understanding. I prefer think of them as alternative learners. They CAN learn, it's just different than the "average" Joe.
I appreciated the way the participants were put into the LD (learning disabled) child's shoes. I laughed when they were forced to think quick with a teacher impatiently waiting for them. But it's not really funny to the LD child. They have a hard time processing things and to impatiently wait for them causes anxiety in the child. Sarcasm is also no fun for a LD student. They need encouragement and understanding.
I can relate to the dysnomia. I have it AT LEAST 2-3 times a day. I can't imagine having it 50-100 times a day. We as educators need to recognize that the child isn't trying to be difficult. The legitimately cannot think of the correct word.
I am not learning disabled, but I am left-handed. I understand the frustrations of not getting something correct the first time. I had to have my Uncle, who is also left handed, teach me how to tie my shoes because my parents just weren't making sense when they tried to show me. I tend to do things "backwards" to right handed people. But too me, the way right handed people do things is backwards. I am forever getting ink, marker, pencil, etc., on the outside of my left hand from writing. Notebooks are set up backwards to me and I would make them upside down, but then the pockets are upside down and things would fall out. The computer mouse is backwards to me too. And although there is a way to set it for left handed people, most left handed people I know have adapted to the mouse being on the right.
LD children need patience and understanding. I prefer think of them as alternative learners. They CAN learn, it's just different than the "average" Joe.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
When using technology for the visual learner, there are a few things we must remember that this type of learner associates pictures and/or symbols with a given topic. Using today's technology, such as Smartboard activities, webbquests and powerpoint presentations can be very helpful for the visual learner.
I think graphic organizers are an excellent tool for the classroom, especially if they are brightly colored and informational. In class today, we played around on Inspiration 9, which was a great experience. I was able to create an organizer that I hope to use in one of my classes in the future.
I think graphic organizers are an excellent tool for the classroom, especially if they are brightly colored and informational. In class today, we played around on Inspiration 9, which was a great experience. I was able to create an organizer that I hope to use in one of my classes in the future.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
To Quest or not to Quest?
Webquests are a tool utilized by many teachers in order for their students to have an
interactive, hands on session with a given topic. While I haven't created a webquest before, I have completed one and found it to be quite entertaining. Webquests are relavent to students and educators for many reasons. They can be a fun way to learn and students will more than likely engage at a higher level. Educators will be appealing to a wide variety of learners while keeping students engaged in both hands on and cognative ways.
I know there are some educators out there who do not like to use technology in the classroom. They are stuck in their "old school" ways. Creating a webquest can be time consuming and if a teacher already has a set plan for a unit, they may not want to change it.
Personally, I think webquests are worth the work. Webquests can provide for an interesting lesson with the power of the Web behind it. Once completed, the webquest can be utilized over and over. We have to keep checking our sources to make sure they are up-to-date, but that can be done quickly. I look forward to creating my first one soon!
interactive, hands on session with a given topic. While I haven't created a webquest before, I have completed one and found it to be quite entertaining. Webquests are relavent to students and educators for many reasons. They can be a fun way to learn and students will more than likely engage at a higher level. Educators will be appealing to a wide variety of learners while keeping students engaged in both hands on and cognative ways.
I know there are some educators out there who do not like to use technology in the classroom. They are stuck in their "old school" ways. Creating a webquest can be time consuming and if a teacher already has a set plan for a unit, they may not want to change it.
Personally, I think webquests are worth the work. Webquests can provide for an interesting lesson with the power of the Web behind it. Once completed, the webquest can be utilized over and over. We have to keep checking our sources to make sure they are up-to-date, but that can be done quickly. I look forward to creating my first one soon!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Social Media and Technology in the Classroom
Social media and technology have become an important and controversial part of the education world. Students today come into the classroom with more knowledge of technology as well as more physical technology than at any time before. Some in the world of education are completely against the use of technology and/or social media. Others have no problem with it whatsoever.
In my school, almost all of the students have a smart phone, a Facebook account, a twitter account and/or an Instagram account. They Snapchat and they text. They text A LOT. Their knowledge of technology at 15 years old is double that of mine at 37.
I firmly believe technology should be used in the classroom. It will be a vital part of our students lives for years to come and we need to embrace it as well teach them how to use it properly. The same goes for social media. It's not going anywhere and our students must learn to be respectful of their peers. They must learn to think before they hit that post button. It is an essential skill to think before we speak, or in this case, post. They need to learn to re-read and edit before they send an email. Students need to have an appreciation of how their words will affect the recipient of those words. It is our job as educators to teach these skills.
In my school, almost all of the students have a smart phone, a Facebook account, a twitter account and/or an Instagram account. They Snapchat and they text. They text A LOT. Their knowledge of technology at 15 years old is double that of mine at 37.
I firmly believe technology should be used in the classroom. It will be a vital part of our students lives for years to come and we need to embrace it as well teach them how to use it properly. The same goes for social media. It's not going anywhere and our students must learn to be respectful of their peers. They must learn to think before they hit that post button. It is an essential skill to think before we speak, or in this case, post. They need to learn to re-read and edit before they send an email. Students need to have an appreciation of how their words will affect the recipient of those words. It is our job as educators to teach these skills.
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