What?
This week we focused on putting together our presentations for a certain core curriculum. We used picassa to edit our pictures and transfer them. We organized the presentation through google.
So What?
It was actually a good experience going out and taking pictures for this assignment and using our creativity to decide how to get the information across to the students. It is interesting that as a teacher you really have to think on their level. Everything needs to be simplified yet interesting in order to catch and keep attention. Google and Picassa allow color and art and so many visual aspects to be apart of the teaching process.
I am becoming more and more accustom to working the google in that it is convenient to be able to work with many people at once. We were able to all place our pictures when we had the time and even at time were able to all meet up at the same time and chat while doing the assignment. I find it very professional that google is able to update the presentation as we go, so I can be watching their changes and ideas as they go and we can all give feedback. This has been a good tool in my other classes on campus. Many students don't know about this option.
Now What?
What a wonderful tool this will be to have in the classroom. We have been learning so many ways to include all the children in my exceptional students class. My teacher discussed that many children do not understand directions or a subject unless they see a visual. This technology gives us another option then projection machine and poster board.
I love that the students can be involved in this as well. They can go out and take pictures, they can work together at home or at the library along with their parents. This brings me to my next point of involving the parents in their children's lives and homework. Most parents don't want children unsupervised on the computer or using a digital camera, so with this assignment it is necessary that they become more involved in helping their child. For some children this may be a first time that a parent has helped with homework, for others it may be nothing new. This is a great tool!
Video:
This was a very funny video. I love when comedians use silly reality. The opinion I agree with the most is the one where he said that some people put every single word that they are going to say on the power point. This causes not only a dull monotone voice, but you lose the crowd because there is no eye contact and interaction. The next thing that struck me is the fact that many people have very different opinions on colors that should be together. Bright colors on bright colors confuses the eye and a lot of times it does not look the same projected on the big screen as it did on your computer. I have had many professors and friends apologize because the color looked so much bolder on their screen. This is a very funny funny man!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
What?
We are learning about how to use cameras in the classroom. We searched the internet for information on how they can be incorporated. Then we set out to do our own photo assignment. We took pictures in an effort to teach a certain core curriculum (our group chose Living and nonliving organisms for 3rd grade)
So what?
This is my kind of assignment. I enjoy working with visual things and doing hands on projects. It will be fun for me to be creative and think of objects that others may not have thought of. This process will allow me to become better prepared to edit, upload and work with pictures on the computer. It will also help me to learn patience because I am sure that not everything will run smoothly in transferring my pictures. I also find it nice that in todays world there is easy access to cameras and most people have one of there own. This means that my group can work together on the project but also have the option to take our individual cameras and explore by ourself.
I am glad that we are doing this activity now so that I can begin getting ideas for the future. Each activity that we do broadens my mind to the thousands of resources out there to help me be a good teacher. Photographs are looked at and used every single day, in magazines, picture books, on billboards, etc. I relate to them and so will my future students.
Now What?
I am excited to implement this into my future classroom. It is wonderful that most schools now have equipment that can be rented or borrowed by the students in order to complete assignments. I can use photography to do seating charts and memorize my students faces. We can use photos to discuss a subject, such as taking pictures of clouds when we discuss the different types. The students can use photos to present thing about themselves.
This assignment opened my eyes to a whole other way to teach visually. In the article we read about young students we learned that using pictures allows them to express themselves even while they are at an age where reading and writing don't come naturally. It is an activity that everyone can be involved in, whether they read fast or slow or can add 5+6 doesn't matter. I hope to use all of the technology we learn about over my teaching years.
Video Reflection:
I loved the top 10 things you don't learn about teaching in college. My mom is a teacher at the moment and often time we talk about how the most difficult child is never sick of absent. I guess that is to always keep us on our toes. I have also heard many many teachers say that they would rather go in and suffer through the day sick then get a sub. They say that all the work of making lesson plans for that teacher and getting the class caught back up and in control the next time is so much harder. My roommate is an El Ed major as well and we talked about how constantly you have to be differentiating instruction to keep the kids entertained and also to meet each child's learning needs. We discussed that teachers often don't get the credit or name it deserves; many people thinking we just go hang out with children all day.
We are learning about how to use cameras in the classroom. We searched the internet for information on how they can be incorporated. Then we set out to do our own photo assignment. We took pictures in an effort to teach a certain core curriculum (our group chose Living and nonliving organisms for 3rd grade)
So what?
This is my kind of assignment. I enjoy working with visual things and doing hands on projects. It will be fun for me to be creative and think of objects that others may not have thought of. This process will allow me to become better prepared to edit, upload and work with pictures on the computer. It will also help me to learn patience because I am sure that not everything will run smoothly in transferring my pictures. I also find it nice that in todays world there is easy access to cameras and most people have one of there own. This means that my group can work together on the project but also have the option to take our individual cameras and explore by ourself.
I am glad that we are doing this activity now so that I can begin getting ideas for the future. Each activity that we do broadens my mind to the thousands of resources out there to help me be a good teacher. Photographs are looked at and used every single day, in magazines, picture books, on billboards, etc. I relate to them and so will my future students.
Now What?
I am excited to implement this into my future classroom. It is wonderful that most schools now have equipment that can be rented or borrowed by the students in order to complete assignments. I can use photography to do seating charts and memorize my students faces. We can use photos to discuss a subject, such as taking pictures of clouds when we discuss the different types. The students can use photos to present thing about themselves.
This assignment opened my eyes to a whole other way to teach visually. In the article we read about young students we learned that using pictures allows them to express themselves even while they are at an age where reading and writing don't come naturally. It is an activity that everyone can be involved in, whether they read fast or slow or can add 5+6 doesn't matter. I hope to use all of the technology we learn about over my teaching years.
Video Reflection:
I loved the top 10 things you don't learn about teaching in college. My mom is a teacher at the moment and often time we talk about how the most difficult child is never sick of absent. I guess that is to always keep us on our toes. I have also heard many many teachers say that they would rather go in and suffer through the day sick then get a sub. They say that all the work of making lesson plans for that teacher and getting the class caught back up and in control the next time is so much harder. My roommate is an El Ed major as well and we talked about how constantly you have to be differentiating instruction to keep the kids entertained and also to meet each child's learning needs. We discussed that teachers often don't get the credit or name it deserves; many people thinking we just go hang out with children all day.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Internet Safety
The Internet in Education
The internet can be both wonderful and scary for everyone. As teachers and students we can use the internet for so many wonderful things. We can quickly have large amounts of information on any subject we want to learn about, but not all of it may be accurate. We must train our eyes to be able to recognize professional or scam websites. Things I would do to evaluate a site would be to look at the URL (that is the numbers and letters after the http: in the white bar up top). If we see a persons name or a ~ or % sign, these are good indicators of websites that might give false information. Looking at the domain will help as well, meaning is it a .com webpage which isn't very reliable or is it .org or .edu that is much more reliable? I would also make sure to take the information that I get and compare it with other similar sites. You can look and see if the site looks professionally designed or if some random person slopped it together? This you can do by looking at the pictures and checking the links on the site to see if you can move through quickly. Definitely find out more about the author of the site; is it a professor of a University that is writing information that he has researched or is it a 17 year old kid who was just playing around on the internet?
The internet is also helpful because it allows us to keep in touch with friends and coworkers. We can chat with and email them and work together on projects with them. This allows us to have good communication, to hear other peoples creative ideas and to keep in touch. Along with these good things there are also things we must watch out for. People form everywhere can access our email and send us mail that may be disturbing or can even damage our computer. We can also meet some very interesting people on chat rooms that may not be safe. Make sure to never give information to anyone you do not know and trust. It is also a good idea to change your passwords often so that others wont be able to find it out.
The internet however should not be over used. Kids like to move around, they want to see and feel things for themselves. We may have tons of information on the internet but so does a good library. There may be constructive games on the internet but board games in the classroom allow you to interact and get to know your classmates. We can email a close friend or get information from a colleague but it can also be done by speak face to face.
There are so many resources for educators on the internet, games such as math or spelling activities, typing assessments, there are lesson plans and sites meant for organizing all the information you collect. Today more then ever media is a great tool for teaching. Once we know how to work safely on the internet we can have access to all these wonderful things.
Movie Review:
The video went through a lot of the same things that stuck out to me as I did the internet webquest. These are very important facts to consider whenever search for or doing things on the internet. At times it was hard for me to read some of the words. At one point they had the words very large rolling across the screen and I got bored and dizzy watching. I liked the visuals and was reminded again that children of every age are using the internet. They are being exposed to it younger and younger which means that sooner in their life they could come across something that may make them uncomfortable. I think that internet safety should be encouraged to all parents. They need to know where their children are spending time on the internet.
The internet can be both wonderful and scary for everyone. As teachers and students we can use the internet for so many wonderful things. We can quickly have large amounts of information on any subject we want to learn about, but not all of it may be accurate. We must train our eyes to be able to recognize professional or scam websites. Things I would do to evaluate a site would be to look at the URL (that is the numbers and letters after the http: in the white bar up top). If we see a persons name or a ~ or % sign, these are good indicators of websites that might give false information. Looking at the domain will help as well, meaning is it a .com webpage which isn't very reliable or is it .org or .edu that is much more reliable? I would also make sure to take the information that I get and compare it with other similar sites. You can look and see if the site looks professionally designed or if some random person slopped it together? This you can do by looking at the pictures and checking the links on the site to see if you can move through quickly. Definitely find out more about the author of the site; is it a professor of a University that is writing information that he has researched or is it a 17 year old kid who was just playing around on the internet?
The internet is also helpful because it allows us to keep in touch with friends and coworkers. We can chat with and email them and work together on projects with them. This allows us to have good communication, to hear other peoples creative ideas and to keep in touch. Along with these good things there are also things we must watch out for. People form everywhere can access our email and send us mail that may be disturbing or can even damage our computer. We can also meet some very interesting people on chat rooms that may not be safe. Make sure to never give information to anyone you do not know and trust. It is also a good idea to change your passwords often so that others wont be able to find it out.
The internet however should not be over used. Kids like to move around, they want to see and feel things for themselves. We may have tons of information on the internet but so does a good library. There may be constructive games on the internet but board games in the classroom allow you to interact and get to know your classmates. We can email a close friend or get information from a colleague but it can also be done by speak face to face.
There are so many resources for educators on the internet, games such as math or spelling activities, typing assessments, there are lesson plans and sites meant for organizing all the information you collect. Today more then ever media is a great tool for teaching. Once we know how to work safely on the internet we can have access to all these wonderful things.
Movie Review:
The video went through a lot of the same things that stuck out to me as I did the internet webquest. These are very important facts to consider whenever search for or doing things on the internet. At times it was hard for me to read some of the words. At one point they had the words very large rolling across the screen and I got bored and dizzy watching. I liked the visuals and was reminded again that children of every age are using the internet. They are being exposed to it younger and younger which means that sooner in their life they could come across something that may make them uncomfortable. I think that internet safety should be encouraged to all parents. They need to know where their children are spending time on the internet.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Video Reflection (going along with UEN Reflection below)
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?
One thing that stuck out to me was when he said that degrees aren't worth anything anymore. He mentioned how before if you had a degree then you had a job, but today it is very different. My friends and I have discussed this recently, in todays world you need much more then a 4 year college degree to get a good job. Also less and less people are having an opportunity to work within the subject that they majored in at school. People are trying to find work in anything and anywhere, which can be another means of killing creativity.
I also enjoyed the story that he told of the girl, Juilian Lynn, who could not sit still in a normal classroom. Lucky for her the specialist put her in the dance school. She became famous for her ability to dance and perform beautiful solos. I think it is true that many would have diagnosed her with ADHD and put her on medication. We cannot look past the "gift of imagination". There are going to be more and more difficulties with the way children learn today. Trying to keep in mind the learning pattern of every student will be more than a large task for teachers. More and more time is going to need to be spent thinking about and experimenting with ways to help children progress and reach their dreams. I hope to never be a teacher that is quick to label a child with a learning disability but to put myself in each of their shoes and try to understand the meaning behind their actions. I myself, being a hands on learner, know the difficulty and stress that comes to a student when everything is by the book.
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?
One thing that stuck out to me was when he said that degrees aren't worth anything anymore. He mentioned how before if you had a degree then you had a job, but today it is very different. My friends and I have discussed this recently, in todays world you need much more then a 4 year college degree to get a good job. Also less and less people are having an opportunity to work within the subject that they majored in at school. People are trying to find work in anything and anywhere, which can be another means of killing creativity.
I also enjoyed the story that he told of the girl, Juilian Lynn, who could not sit still in a normal classroom. Lucky for her the specialist put her in the dance school. She became famous for her ability to dance and perform beautiful solos. I think it is true that many would have diagnosed her with ADHD and put her on medication. We cannot look past the "gift of imagination". There are going to be more and more difficulties with the way children learn today. Trying to keep in mind the learning pattern of every student will be more than a large task for teachers. More and more time is going to need to be spent thinking about and experimenting with ways to help children progress and reach their dreams. I hope to never be a teacher that is quick to label a child with a learning disability but to put myself in each of their shoes and try to understand the meaning behind their actions. I myself, being a hands on learner, know the difficulty and stress that comes to a student when everything is by the book.
How/ Why I will use UEN in my classroom:
How/ Why I will use UEN in my classroom:
I love the resources it has for me to better my skills as teacher. I like that I can take classes and that they are easily accessible. I really enjoy the layout of the core curriculum; how it is all there at your finger tips and yet is broken down into the specific category you are planning for. I know that as a beginning teacher the sample lesson plans will be such a help to get ideas for how to get started as a teacher. As I learn more and create my own plans hopefully I can do the same and share them with other teachers. Having my UEN page will help me stay organized so that I can spend more time focusing on the students. I think something I will benefit by is the articles found in teacher feature, to hear the success and ideas of other
I have really come to enjoy the resources found on UEN. I think all of it at once can be confusing but as I give detailed directions to my students (as did this assignment) that a lot of great things can come from UEN.
I love the resources it has for me to better my skills as teacher. I like that I can take classes and that they are easily accessible. I really enjoy the layout of the core curriculum; how it is all there at your finger tips and yet is broken down into the specific category you are planning for. I know that as a beginning teacher the sample lesson plans will be such a help to get ideas for how to get started as a teacher. As I learn more and create my own plans hopefully I can do the same and share them with other teachers. Having my UEN page will help me stay organized so that I can spend more time focusing on the students. I think something I will benefit by is the articles found in teacher feature, to hear the success and ideas of other teachers will encourage me to do more in my classroom.
As for my students, I love the interactives that are provided for them and the different links and references they can have fun with. For instance, I can give them an assignment to go home or to a library and watch a specific Bill Nye video to prepare them for a project.
I will also be sure to point out to them the homework help tool, they can get ideas and steps for reading, math, or even science fair projects. Other links that are great are the current events; as my students read from kids CNN or Time Magazine it will help them see the importance of keeping up with what is going on in the world today. I can use these tabs to have them search for specific articles (along with SIRS in pioneer library) which they can later do reports on in class.
In my opinion music has a great impact on people, I think that the right kind of music can change the mood and increase capacity to learn. I will use soundzabounds probably many times throughout the year, but particularly in a lesson to help them see the effect it does have on them. By playing different genres of music we can then discuss how it makes us feel and act.
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