I am such a HUGE fan of integrating technology!! I have learned so many cool ways to enhance my lesson plans! My favorite would probably be the photo stories! At my current placement we are getting ready to put our research on immigration into narrative diaries by using photo stories! The students were super excited about this technology and CAN'T wait to use it!!!
I feel so much more confident in incorporating technology in my lessons! I feel that I now know how to actually use the technology in order to enhance the lesson, not just for the mere fact of having technology in them!! I know understand the use of wikis, blogs, pod casting, photo stories, and much much more!!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Choose your tool
Dear Dr. Finch,
I am very excited because I have learned of a new tool in my technology class that could be integrated into our content and curriculum in the classroom. Students love using technology and really enjoy having the freedoms to research on the web. There are times when google can be an iffy tool but students want to be independent and look stuff up on their own. The tool that I have learned and researched about would be awesome for the students that still want freedom to explore but are being guided at the same time. The tool is called Trailfire.
Trailfire can be used to guide students without them being restricted to just one site. The site is used to guide people and in this case our students to relevant information on the web. For example if I wanted my students to research on immigration. If I were to give the students free rein most of the students would choose to google "immigration". With this tool, I can find reliable, relevant websites that provide the information that I am really looking for and tag these sites for my students. This allows students to sift through information that I have given but they still have the freedom to choose what site they will use but with the suggestions of myself.
I think that this tool would be very beneficial for all students in the school. Many times students have a hard time deciphering whether information is reliable or not. I believe that some students feel that all information on the web is reliable but in reality it is not. I would love to share my knowledge of this new tool with the other teachers in our building. This tool could enhance the learning of students and teachers in all content areas if used appropriately.
Thanks,
Michelle
I am very excited because I have learned of a new tool in my technology class that could be integrated into our content and curriculum in the classroom. Students love using technology and really enjoy having the freedoms to research on the web. There are times when google can be an iffy tool but students want to be independent and look stuff up on their own. The tool that I have learned and researched about would be awesome for the students that still want freedom to explore but are being guided at the same time. The tool is called Trailfire.
Trailfire can be used to guide students without them being restricted to just one site. The site is used to guide people and in this case our students to relevant information on the web. For example if I wanted my students to research on immigration. If I were to give the students free rein most of the students would choose to google "immigration". With this tool, I can find reliable, relevant websites that provide the information that I am really looking for and tag these sites for my students. This allows students to sift through information that I have given but they still have the freedom to choose what site they will use but with the suggestions of myself.
I think that this tool would be very beneficial for all students in the school. Many times students have a hard time deciphering whether information is reliable or not. I believe that some students feel that all information on the web is reliable but in reality it is not. I would love to share my knowledge of this new tool with the other teachers in our building. This tool could enhance the learning of students and teachers in all content areas if used appropriately.
Thanks,
Michelle
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Podcasts
I'm very excited about using podcast!! As I was reading the chapter on podcast...I found myself oohhing and awwing at some of the great ideas!! I am currently in a 5th grade classroom and social studies is our main emphasis. The students LOVE using technology and what better way to get them engaged than having their own radio station!! I defiantly want to try doing a podcast out before implementing it into the classroom but I can't wait to bring the idea up to my mentor teacher!! The students could do mock interviews, update us on our current studies and really be creative in their studies!!! So far I'm really liking the ideas of podcast!!
Digital Story :o)
I really enjoyed doing the digital stories in class!! I am actually working in a fifth grade class and the teacher is very technology savvy. The students LOVE doing digital stories...the first day I was in the class ALL of them wanted to show me the many different stories they had created!! After I used Windows Movie Maker...I decided to try downloading the digital story maker from online. I LOVE LOVE LOVE digital story maker SO much better than windows movie maker. It is so much easier to record your voice and just easier over all!! I am really looking forward to incorporating digital storytelling in my own class and in the class now!! It's a very engaging way to enhance students learning!!! I linked my digital story on here...feel free to watch...:-)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Flickr Project
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35096101@N08/sets/72157613294024981/
RD-04-2.0.5Students will identify and explain the sequence of activities needed to carry out a procedure.
RD-04-2.0.5Students will identify and explain the sequence of activities needed to carry out a procedure.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Adopt and Adapt...Will educators see the importance of technology in the classroom?
"An important question is, how many of these new ways will ever be integrated into our instruction -- or even understood by educators?"
As I read the article, Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom, many thoughts were running through my head. The quote above is talking about the "new ways" in reference to the integration of technology in the classroom. As I was reading, first I reflected on past experiences in field placements and in my current student teaching placement and how technology is used in each of those situations. Then, I reflected on the technology that I have seen used by educators and how well those educators knew how to use the technology provided. Overall, I can say that with the technology that has been provided to educators, MOST is not being used in effective ways and MANY teachers spend MOST of their time trying to figure out how the technology works.
"...it is crucial for educators to learn to listen, to observe, to ask, and to try all the new methods their students have already figured out, and do so regularly."
Can technology be implemented and integrated in our daily instruction? Yes, educators have to be open to learn NEW ways to teach and address their students needs in the classroom in NEW ways. Motivating students is essential in teaching, in order to motivate students, you have to first know what motivates them. It is obvious that technology is a HUGE influence in students lives. Students are apart of technology just as much as they are apart of this world. I strongly believe that technology can be that link to motivation that many educators are in search of. While all of this sounds so easy to implement, I know it's not. That's why you have to go back to the quote above and know that educators are going to have to LEARN, ASK QUESTIONS, and try their best to stay with or AHEAD of what students already know about technology.
"So, let's not just adopt technology into our schools. Let's adapt it, push it, pull it, iterate with it, experiment with it, test it, and redo it, until we reach the point where we and our kids truly feel we've done our very best."
I know that as a new teacher, I want to provide my students with what's current and fresh. I want my students to be motivated by ALL lessons and LEARN as much as possible. In order to achieve this goal, I will have to stay "with it" as an educator and be willing to LEARN all the "new ways" of learning and teaching that are out there for my students! I believe that technology should be adopted and adapted by ALL educators.
As I read the article, Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom, many thoughts were running through my head. The quote above is talking about the "new ways" in reference to the integration of technology in the classroom. As I was reading, first I reflected on past experiences in field placements and in my current student teaching placement and how technology is used in each of those situations. Then, I reflected on the technology that I have seen used by educators and how well those educators knew how to use the technology provided. Overall, I can say that with the technology that has been provided to educators, MOST is not being used in effective ways and MANY teachers spend MOST of their time trying to figure out how the technology works.
"...it is crucial for educators to learn to listen, to observe, to ask, and to try all the new methods their students have already figured out, and do so regularly."
Can technology be implemented and integrated in our daily instruction? Yes, educators have to be open to learn NEW ways to teach and address their students needs in the classroom in NEW ways. Motivating students is essential in teaching, in order to motivate students, you have to first know what motivates them. It is obvious that technology is a HUGE influence in students lives. Students are apart of technology just as much as they are apart of this world. I strongly believe that technology can be that link to motivation that many educators are in search of. While all of this sounds so easy to implement, I know it's not. That's why you have to go back to the quote above and know that educators are going to have to LEARN, ASK QUESTIONS, and try their best to stay with or AHEAD of what students already know about technology.
"So, let's not just adopt technology into our schools. Let's adapt it, push it, pull it, iterate with it, experiment with it, test it, and redo it, until we reach the point where we and our kids truly feel we've done our very best."
I know that as a new teacher, I want to provide my students with what's current and fresh. I want my students to be motivated by ALL lessons and LEARN as much as possible. In order to achieve this goal, I will have to stay "with it" as an educator and be willing to LEARN all the "new ways" of learning and teaching that are out there for my students! I believe that technology should be adopted and adapted by ALL educators.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Should blogging be apart of your classroom?
Blogging is somewhat knew to me. I really had never heard of a blog or blogging until this past semester where I had to first create my own blog. In my college class, we used the blog to build community within our class and respond to different readings each week. It was actually a pretty effective way to communicate with my peers I wouldn't normally have talked to in the classroom. As a college student I found it pretty interesting to see everyone opinion's on different texts we had read and how differently everyone thoughts were. The blog was a way that everyone could have a voice, state their opinion and feel very apart of the class.
While I liked having a blog for my college class, at first I didn't know if I completely liked the idea of blogging with elementary students. The reason I was a little hesitant at first was mainly the safety issue. The blog is very public and out there for anyone to read. I at first felt that parents and many school authorities would not like the idea of putting students at any risk. But as I was reading, my opinion of blogs in the classroom began to change...
Like I said before, blogging is very new to me. As I was reading in our text this week, I began to learn more about ways that you can protect students and the class on the blog. Of course I would have to teach students the do's and don'ts of blogging and it may even require meeting with the parents/school officials to teach them of the safety measures to take when blogging. By teaching the students/teachers/parents/school authorities to be responsible bloggers and monitoring the site often, blogging could be a safe way for students to express their thoughts in a new and creative way.
I am really beginning to see how beneficial blogging could be to the classroom. Students would have the freedom to blog from home/school, whenever they wanted with questions and comments on their learning. It could also be a way to build community, just as it was in my college class. Teaching students to read/respond to classmates thoughts/opinion will only prepare them more for the real world and life.
I am excited to learn how to bring blogs to the classroom!
While I liked having a blog for my college class, at first I didn't know if I completely liked the idea of blogging with elementary students. The reason I was a little hesitant at first was mainly the safety issue. The blog is very public and out there for anyone to read. I at first felt that parents and many school authorities would not like the idea of putting students at any risk. But as I was reading, my opinion of blogs in the classroom began to change...
Like I said before, blogging is very new to me. As I was reading in our text this week, I began to learn more about ways that you can protect students and the class on the blog. Of course I would have to teach students the do's and don'ts of blogging and it may even require meeting with the parents/school officials to teach them of the safety measures to take when blogging. By teaching the students/teachers/parents/school authorities to be responsible bloggers and monitoring the site often, blogging could be a safe way for students to express their thoughts in a new and creative way.
I am really beginning to see how beneficial blogging could be to the classroom. Students would have the freedom to blog from home/school, whenever they wanted with questions and comments on their learning. It could also be a way to build community, just as it was in my college class. Teaching students to read/respond to classmates thoughts/opinion will only prepare them more for the real world and life.
I am excited to learn how to bring blogs to the classroom!
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