blog 12

The topic that I found most interesting was about the internet and web based learning. Many of my classmates had good insight about what the future of web-based learning has in store for us and how they would use it in their own classroom. I also enjoyed the ways in which they plan on controlling the kids from venturing from what they are supposed to be doing.
I would like to learn more about the use of projectors and smart boards in the classroom. I think that both can be very beneficial to interactive learning and will help the students that are more visual learners that auditory learners. There is so much that you can do with regards to a projector and would make learning more wide-scale.
Ways in which I will achieve my future educational technology-related goals include continuing to keep up with the new technology coming out. It is important to be up to speed especially when your job is to teach other on the latest releases. I hope to teach in a school that is well enough funded to provide the tools needed to achieve my technology related goals, but if not there are many ways to improvise.

blog 11

My use of twitter was very limited this semester. I learned how to set up an account and how to follow others but I found that using e-mail or the blogging website was substantially easier. It was not forced upon us to check out twitter account often therefore it was pretty far in the back of my mind.
I highly doubt I will use twitter in the future. Very few of my friends have twitter accounts mainly because we are comfortable with facebook and e-mail as means of communication. As a teacher it will not be necessary to have a twitter account and I feel that you can find out all the information found on twitter elsewhere.
Twitter could be useful as an educational tool with older students. Middle and high school students could follow each other and the teacher could post assignments or links to assignments or helpful videos. Kids could easily work together on projects without being physically together to share the information they found. As an elementary teacher though I can not see myself using twitter for educational purposes.

Blog 10

http://www.flickr.com/
The 2.0 website that I chose to review is called flickr. It is a photo sharing website where you can upload, explore, create your own photos and keep in touch with other photo sharers. You can share your own photos or explore others.
I can be used instead of searching on google, or instead of having to take your own photos. It seems extremely easy to navigate around the site. It has earned recognition from many top ten reviews such as http://photo-sharing-services-review.toptenreviews.com/flickr-review.html. It is said to be very popular because of its simplicity and large community of users.
I think this site would be used often in K-12 classes. If kids learned the benefits of searching this site rather than google images they could enhance their work tremendously and stand out with uniqueness. Teachers can use it for sharing photos they have found that pertains to the material being taught or by having their students upload pictures for a specific topic or project.

BLOG # 9

A web-based resource that would be useful for me in teaching my first grade students is a website that I found called http://www.education.com/activity/first-grade/. It includes every subject area (writing, math, science, social studies, etc.) and even has games, arts a crafts and recipes. Not only does it have helpful tools for first grade, but it has something for all grades, up to high school. A really helpful feature is the Education A-Z tool. It literally has any question that you would ever need answered.
One activity that I found that I would absolutely use in my classroom is making a dream journal. This would help the students with recollection, creating stories and practicing their writing skills. This activity does not require many materials and is gender friendly. There are many other activities that I can see myself doing with my students in the future.
Excel is a wonderful feature to use as a gradebook, to keep parents information organized and to organize survey results. I don’t quite know how I would incorporate Excel into my first grade classroom curriculum because I don’t believe the students will be knowledgeable enough on the computer to tackle it. Even in the book, there was no examples of ways to use Excel with first graders.

BLOG # 8

I think that my Jeopardy power point game is a fun, interactive game for kids of all ages. It is visually and intellectually pleasing and has a bright and sunny disposition. I wrote to the standard grage level, I have a main menu in which the user chooses the category to play, and I followed the rules in regards to design.

I would incorporate non-computer audio-visual technologies into my classroom by constantly playing music from ipods or CD players that is astatically pleasing to the ear and would encourage quite time for the kids to focus. You can also put CD’s or ipods into a computer but when on the web, there is so much more to do with music. Pandora is great along with imeem and other websites designed for you to be able to create your own stations.

I learned a ton from last weeks class many with relation to power point and hyperlinking. I thought that learning how to create games such as jeopardy, or a story book was fun and very useful. I can see the kids really getting into the game and learning at the same time. I can now teach the kids how to create their own games which I could not before.

Blog 1

Computers are an important part of the educational experience because it opens your eyes to places and experience you might not have the resources to see otherwise. I also believe that the internet is the fastest and easiest way to conduct research. Using computers and letting the students explore on their own will emphasize the lesson you are intending to teach. The critical concerns about computer use in classrooms are the children being so easily able to get off task. The will have the urge to do anything but what they are supposed to. I do agree with the issues brought up in chapter one, especially the point where it talks about the appropriateness of technology use. I also agree with the part that explains how computers can enhance assessment and evaluation of a child’s work and progress.
When I become a teacher I plan on using technology whenever I can. I hope to be working with young kids between the ages of 5-8 so the expanse at which I can use is limited. I will be able to incorporate computers by using visual models, playing games to enhance their understanding of the subject matter, and by teaching them early on about the proper uses of technology so they will have those skills the rest of their lives. I hope to learn how to gear the use of technology to young children.
When I graduate from Florida State (hopefully in May of 2011) I hope to move to a city and student teach for a summer. When the summer is over I plan on going back and getting my masters in a special area such as reading or educational leadership. After my masters program is complete I hope to move back to the town the I have lives in for much of my life and teach first or second graders, because I think they are the age that I will have the biggest impact and I have also found that they are the most behaved.

BLOG 7

Using presentation software, such as power point in a classroom is extremely beneficial. A good number of children learn better with visual tools rather than just being lectured. The biggest advantages include the interactive aspect. Student can interact with other classmates by working together on projects, and they can also interact with the material, rather than just reading or hearing it. It is a much easier way to organize your ideas and outline in 3-D. The only disadvantage I can see to using presentation software in the classroom is repetition.
Power point can be used to first introduce a subject matter. The specific topic or chapter can be outlined and followed as you continue to dig deeper into the material. Next the teacher can assign each child or a group of children a subtopic to research. The students can organize their findings and present them to the rest of the class using a power point; once they have been taught the basics of the program.
A topic related to educational technology that is of interest to me would be the growing use of computers in the classroom and the diminishing use of books and the library. Though I feel that computers are what will push us forward in the future, I believe that children should still know how to go into a library and research using books. To me the internet is just too easy.

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Blog # 6

I think that web 2.0 technologies can be beneficial for children in grades K-12 but need to be used with caution. I would use them but the children would need to understand that the information found in these sites may not always be accurate and that further research should be done to back up the facts found. I would be very skeptical of the interaction that can go on on these sights, especially when children are involved. I like the fact that the children can be involved and even make their own sites with their findings.
As said before, I would warn the students that the information on Wikipedia is not always accurate. I would encourage them to use Wikipedia but also back their findings up with other credible sources. Wikipedia was only constructed 6 years ago, when there are other sites with much more credibility and accuracy.
Learning how to construct a wikispace will be helpful in my teaching career because I can get my students involved and more knowledgeable about different applications available on the web. I can use the wiki to post assignments, grades, links, and helpful videos. I can also share information with my co workers that are wiki savvy.

Pots # 4 & 5

Post # 4
The concepts presented in chapter 7 are all very good attributes to the classroom. Using outlines, idea maps, flow charts, etc. will help the children understand sequences and see an idea more clearly. These components would be useful in the areas of reading, science and social studies. Programs that are ideal for the use of these tolls include imagination, power point, and even Microsoft word.
I would encourage my student to use outlines, idea maps and storyboard skills because the majority of children have difficulty with reading comprehension. When you input something like an outline it is easier to trace back the steps of what you just read. This can be a helpful tool for children of any age or intelligence level. By utilizing outlines and such you are expanding the child’s ability to think deeper than the surface.
I believe that the skills I acquired with regards to the Inspiration software will assist me in my teaching career tremendously. I plan on teaching somewhere between kindergarten and 2nd grade so by using the Inspiration software and creating visual aids, the kids will better be able to grasp the concepts of the lessons. When you implement more than one style of learning (visual, audio, and kinesthetic) you are able to reach out to the entire group, and not just a few students.

Post # 5
The internet is an abundance of information that can be used for educational purposes. I believe that the internet is a wonderful tool, but should not be used solely for any research project. Now a day’s a good portion of children have never step foot in a library. I understand that the same information can be retrieved from the internet but it seems too easy. Also at the age I plan to teach they will not properly be able to navigate through the internet.
Other ways that I, as a teacher would use web-based learning resources to support student learning would be to do the research myself and present it to the class. With the age of the children that I plan to teach I could also find educational websites in which the children could play games, and not realize they are being taught a lesson. Finding movies, or cartoons on the days specific lesson would keep the children entertained and interested in the material.
With children ages 5-8 you have very little problems with inappropriate use of the internet because they are just too young to know what they are getting into. When I use technology in my classroom in the future it will be completely teacher monitored and they will have little room to go off on their own and explore. With older children, however, I can see the concerns with letting children use technology in a school setting. As long as the teachers are keeping a close eye on students and having only a few children work on computers at a time, I don’t see there being much of a problem.

Blog # 3

I would construct a lesson plan based around exploration. I would first read a story about a character that explores an unknown location. I would then have my 3rd or 4th grade class have a discussion about a place that they have always dreamed of visiting. To incorporate technology I would have the children explore the internet and try and learn as much as possible about their destination. The children will each have a computer or take turns using computers and find as much information to turn into a presentation as possible. The children could use MS Word to create word are or clip art, they could use power point, or they could use inspiration to create charts of their findings.
www.Health.com This website would not be for the use of children as it has some explicit topics. The design of the site has good visuals that correspond to the text. There is little animation but a rotating list of articles is present. It is organized well with the subheadings at the top but very clutters with advertisements. The text seems to be justified correctly and there is a common font and font color used throughout. There is intractability with a quiz at the bottom of the page and helpful tools such as a recipe finder and symptom checker. I would have to say that there is a lot of superfluous items, as the page is jumbled with advertisements and useless words. Lastly I think that it has a clear target audience and is overall a good website for the health conscious.
Throughout your educational career and even when just browsing the internet, you come across pieces of interesting information that you want to hold onto. But you need to remember that someone else had written these words that you are in a way stealing. In the majority of my classes we have had to cite our posts with the author’s name, year published, and page number or website domain. A lot of teachers have integrated the use of websites to verify that the work being submitted is legitimate and not copies. It is important to always cite the work that you are teaching or having your students locate, so teaching children how to cite properly right of the bat will hopefully take care of any persisting issues.

Blog # 2

Throughout school we utilize computers as a means of exploration and learning. We used MS word to create documents to write papers, create headings and present our findings. It is important for students to learn the proper uses of MS word in order to move forward in school. Technology use in the classroom is growing and students must know the at least the minimum in order to keep up. Teachers use MS word daily to create printouts and visual tools, to create exams, and much more.
In chapter 9 they discussed the real reason for using a word processor to teach content and skills. The benefits are the speed of the act being done as opposed to doing it with a pen and paper. The chapter outlines the creating of a newspaper as a tool for high level analysis. I believe this is a helpful tool to teach children and will implement this in my own classroom. Other skills listed in the chapter as helpful tools to use in a classroom is bullets and numbered lists, making links to the internet, importing information, and spell checks. A lesson plan on the proper usage of MS word would be beneficial to the students in learning computers.
So far in this class I have learned many helpful tools that I plan on using in my classroom. I have learned how to create a newsletter that looks phenomenal. I have learned to create mail databases as an efficient was to send out mass letters to parents. I have also learned how to save documents that can be opened by any other teacher, faculty member, parent, or student. The tools I have learned in this class so far I will take with me and use often.

Ms paint practice

Blog Post #0

Prior Experience Using Technology
My prior experience with technology is fairly limited. I was required to take a computers class back in high school but it was mainly focused on typing. I feel I am well knowledge in Microsoft Word, using websites and facebook but that is pretty much it. I don't know how to use excell or power point and have never attempted twitter. I am skilled in itunes but am not familiar with any other mac applications because I have never owned one.


What I hope to Learn in This Class
I hope to learn a great deal from this class. I hope to become more comfortable with using the internet to do research for school purposes. I am looking forward to learning how to properly utilize all of the microsoft office applications including powerpoint, excell, and access. I hope to be able to use what I learn in this class to enhance my teaching abilities and broaden children's horizons so that they can live up to their full potential.

What I learned About my Learning Style Based on the Learning Style Questionnaire Results
The Learning Style questionnaire taught me that I am an active learner. This means that I retain information better when I am in an active learning setting. I like to be involved in hands on learning instead of just sitting through a lecture. It also helps me to be involved with others in order ot understand the information better. By speaking outloud or teaching the information, I am more able to learn it myself. The questionnaire also taught me that I am a sensing learner. I am better with facts and am more practical and careful than intuitive learners. According the the test I am a visual learner and do better when I am showed pictures and charts. Overall I think the test was pretty accurate and depicted the best way for me to learn. Understanding peoples learning styles will assist you in being a better teacher and make the students feel more like individuals.

fsu

Playing with a picture image

He's hot!

Embedding a video