Blogs in Education

Blogs can and are being used in K – 12 settings by teachers, students as well as parents. They can use them to communicate grades, things to improve or give students prompts, ideas or tips to enhance their thinking about a subject. All-in-all they used as an outside of school means of communication that can help improve thinking of the students as well as keep parents informed.

Today, blogs are impacting classrooms in many ways. They are allowing the exchange of ideas among students and teachers as well as among teachers. Many teachers use these blog sites in order to communicate with other teachers their concerns, ideas and/or processes. Also, blog sites are used to exchange materials and lesson plans.

I feel that this could be a useful tool to communicate to fellow teachers with. Many teachers have great ideas that may work well for your classroom, this way, they can be exchanged! I also, if I were in an older classroom I would use blogs to help give the students ideas about an assignment or use it so that they can see each other’s ideas, just as the teachers are doing. They could also use blogs to exchange ideas during a group project, etc. By having the students comment on each others blogs could help this process by making students read others writing and respond with their feelings. This can also help me find the dispositions of the class in a less invasive way. Another way that I would use blogs is to communicate to the parents of my students. It would be nice to keep them informed on a more regular basis than just conference to conference. This way I can relay positive things that their student is doing well as well as give them suggestions on things they can do at home for that week. However, this idea may not work for some parents due to little access to a computer or time constraints. But in a perfect world, it would be great.

Emerging Technologies

As a future teacher, technology will play a large role in the classroom. Therefore I must be aware of the emerging technologies that I could put to good use.

One of these technologies is the interactive software Kidspiration, which can be ordered at www.inspiration.com. This software was created for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade and has activities for many subjects. A few examples of these activities are filling in charts and Venn Diagrams or you can create a concept map. There are many different options for making these charts and graphs, such as combining text, pictures and spoken words to represent information. Also, it is very user friendly so that a kid would easily be able to use and understand the software.

Another technology that could come as a great use are electronic or “smart” whiteboards. These boards allow you to record and save what you have written on the whiteboard. There is a scanner built in that scans the text and/or pictures and either save them to your desktop or print them out for later use! This way you will never worry about the student who has trouble getting all the information down or the student who was absent. You can just print them off their own copy! These whiteboards can be ordered at http://smarttech.com/.

Another technology is something called Skype. This is a program that allows you to call someone (with Skype as well) anywhere in the world, for free! Another bonus to this program is that if you have a webcam, you can make free video calls as well. As a teacher I think this could be a rewarding program because you could contact schools from other states or countries. This way you could find out about a particular culture from a first hand source and a peer. I think the children would find this a very intriguing and memorable experience. You can order this program at www.skype.com.

Using these emerging technologies, I could greatly improve the productivity, learning experiences and most importantly, fun in the classroom. These would be a great asset to my future class.
Using TeacherWeb could potentially be very effective in teaching a successful class, however, I feel that it has the potential to be very time consuming.

Distance Education

Distance Education
Pros
1. Students receive all they need in order to fully participate in the classes such as a laptop computer with wireless card, printer, funds for internet access and any course materials needed. This helps students who cannot afford these items to be able to still be enrolled in the program.
2. The wide variety of courses and options seem to benefit the students depending on where they would like to go after high school.
3. Homework can be done at “own” pace so this benefits those that have trouble keeping up in a normal high school classroom.
4. For students who have trouble interacting in a classroom environment may find the electronic approach much easier.
5. Those students with special needs will be able to cater a program that fits their needs.

Cons
1. Some students may not be familiar with technology due to lack of contact which can be attributed to financial issues. Because of this students may not be able to follow instructions no matter how simple they may seem.
2. Procrastination may play a huge factor because the student may fall behind and then have to cram or rush to get everything done. This can happen in a regular school setting as well but I feel that in a distance program it could potentially be worse due to the lack of a physical teacher keeping track of them.
3. Student to teacher interaction may lack because often times one cannot tell if something is wrong with a student unless they voice it or (for the quieter ones) if you can see it. Some students may not be able to ask for help, so because the teacher cannot physically see them they may not be able to help.
4. It seems as though much of the progress is tracked by tests and quizzes rather than group projects. This may prove a problem for some students who left the average classroom for this program due to these tests. Although they may
5. With the distance program, students will not be able able to experience a real life classroom, therefore have no actual social interaction.

Integrating Software Applications

My lesson will give an overview of World War II and present specific events such as Pearl Harbor. Also, it will have an emphasis on the United States and their involvement.

The software application that I would use in the classroom would be the ever popular PowerPoint. This software allows you to do presentations with many slides. These slides can contain pictures and text. The students can also make these presentations unique by adding interesting photographs, cool backgrounds and transitions.

As a teacher I would integrate this into my teachings by possibly giving the directions to make a PowerPoint presentation through a PowerPoint or possibly present the lesson’s information through a PowerPoint. I would integrate this into my student’s learning activities by having the students complete a PowerPoint presentation that shows a timeline of either a specific event such as Pearl Harbor or a broad timeline of the entire war. This would demonstrate their knowledge that meets the targets involved by showing a complete timeline that was accurate and contained the information discussed in the classroom.

Integrating Web Resources

My lesson will be an overview of World War II including detailed descriptions of specific events such as Pearl Harbor. There will be an emphasis on the United States and their involvement.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II> This is a great website that has a wide range of information. Also it is nice because it is created by everyone, which would be a great way to motivate my students into wanting to create their own technology based assignments.

<http://www.worldwar-2.net/> This website is very helpful because you can look up specific dates and find the events that occurred during World War II.

<http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm> This website has a broad timeline of World War II with links to many specific events for detailed information.

I would integrate these web resources into my instruction by possibly getting information for my lectures from these websites. As a student learning activity, these websites can be used by having the students explore them in order to help them achieve their final project (Task 3). The students could demonstrate their learning by showing me their ability to use these websites in order to obtain answers to specific questions or the event that occurred on a specific date.

Concept Mapping is Great!

I really like the idea of concept mapping because it can be used for all ages, K-college, to present information and new forms of homework.

One option in concept mapping I would use is a Venn Diagram. I would create one that would compare and contrast two different cultures or countries, for example, Japan and United States in WWII. This way the students can fill in the diagram with the information they find relavent.

One thing I really like about concept mapping is the fact that you can add pictures which can sometimes clarify a point on the map or just make it creative. Which is why I would have the students create a timeline for an event, such as World War II or a more specific event such as Attack on Pearl Harbor. This way they can create their own interpretation of what a timeline should look like and incorporate the information they see fit or what the teacher would like them to include.

Yet another direction I would have the students go is to make concept maps that are attention grabbing formats. One example I saw was about the History of money, that was shaped like a dollar sign! I feel this is another avenue for the students to be create, as well as the teacher in order to ignite interest in the topic (even if it is boring). One idea I thought of was for science lessons: make a concept map in the shape of a tree or flower while having it explain some aspect of nature.

1. Concept mapping activities are engaging to students because they are a new format which often sparks interest. Also, for those students who are more visual learners, this is a great way to help them with new material because it is presented in a format that is best for them. For many students, this introduces a new form of technology they have not been exposed to until now. So even if the students are not entirely fascinated by the subject, they may be so intrigued by the technology that they become engaged regardless of the learning material.

2. By giving the students a creative means of presenting information, one would be amazed at the creative demonstrations of that knowledge. So in order to appeal to all the different types of learners, I would have concept mapping as an option of demonstrating thier knowledge. This would be one option among tests, papers and oral presentations. This way all types of learners would be addressed.

Digital Images in the Classroom

I plan on teaching History in upper grade levels (5-8) and I am always trying to think of new ways to present information in a more interesting format so that my students would better enjoy boring history. I would have my students create a timeline of events within a larger event such as World War II. This way, they have a more creative way to present information which, has the potential to be very boring. I would give them the option to reinact events or get the images from the internet. Either way they are exposed to technology much more than they would have been with a pen and paper history assignment which, is one of my main objectives. I feel that students in this day and age would better respond to technology due to its growing impact on society, therefore integrating it into the classroom could definately have its benefits. Also by placing thier photos into Windows Movie Maker, they have the opportunity to explore a new software. To go into detail about my timeline assignment, I would have the students find pictures depicting an event, then place a short caption and the date underneath and finally to top it off put in some appropriate music. Although my focus is in History, this can be used in other areas of study. One I thought of was Science and the stages of the scientific method. If there was a project involving this method I would have the students document photographically each step and place it in the Movie Maker program. This way instead of writing out what they did for each step, they can show me! I feel this program can make learning more interesting and fun for both the students and me as well!

Chapter 4 Activity

While shopping for a digital camera, we decided that a price limit would be a reasonable constraint. So we looked for cameras that were 300 dollars or less but still looked for a quality device. We looked for several features: the resolution, the size of the preview screen, memory capacity as well as special features. We compared four cameras, these included: the Canon PowerShot SD600, Fuji Finepix S5200, Canon PowerShot A540 and the Sony CyberShot DSC-W70.
The Canon PowerShot SD600 had an average price of $278.76 and had these features:
6 megapixels
2.5 inch LCD
16 MB Storage
Special feature of 5 Movie Modes

The Fuji Finepix S5200 had an average price of #264.19 and had these features:
5.1 megapixels
1.8 inch LCD
16 MB Storage
Special Feature: Movie Mode

The Canon Powershot A540 had an average price of $244.44 and had these features:
5.9 megapixels
2.5 inch LCD
16 MB Storage
Special Feature: Movie Mode

The Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W70 had an average price of 299.95 and had these features:
7.2 megapixels
2.5 inch LCD Screen
58 MB Storage
Special Feature:

Of these cameras that we reviewed, we felt that although the Sony was slightly more expensive, it was worth the extra dough. It held more pictures and had two slots for memory sticks, enabling easy transfer. Also, the main feature that stood out to us was the was the resolution which was at least 1 megapixel bigger than all the other cameras, which would create a better quality picture.

Multiple Intelligences

Of the eight areas of intelligence, my strongest is Kinesthetic. The main characteristics of this intelligence are the ability to understand through physical actions such as dances and body movements, which they respond quickly and absorb well. They also tend to be more coordinated and have acute fine motor skills. They are also task oriented and learn best by doing.

Of these characteristics, the one that describes me best is the aptitude to learn by doing or experiencing. I often learn best when the project is demonstrated or I have the opportunity to try it out for myself. Many who are in the area of intelligence tend to enjoy hands on activities, interaction and enjoy group games and learning actively.

To better help children in this area of intelligence, as a teacher I would have more hands on activities, using objects to demonstrate math problems and ideas, as well as keep the students moving and active throughout the day.

Some objects or technologies that can better help these children learn would include but not be limited to tools such as levers, screws and those used for construction. Also some other items that can be used are those that can be manipulated and/or used to move items such as pulleys.

If I were to use the theory of multiple intelligences, it would help to better the student’s education. It would improve each individual’s ability to learn by presenting information in a format that they can better absorb. Also by using a technique that best fits each student, it makes the student enjoy learning better and make school more fun.

The countdown!

Just to let ya'll know... it's 22 days 'til my 21st Birthday! Watch out!

Week #2

Well it's week #2 in good ol' T&L 445... hope it's as fun as last week was!