The Edible Schoolyard is an amazing way to incorporate several subjects into one project. This teacher had the students plant and harvest food. When the food was ready, they were able to cook and eat it as well. This is a great hands on experiment and I love the way it teaches the children material and relates to real life at the same time. Children sometimes have a hard time understanding why they have to learn the material and when they will have to use what they have learned in the real world. This kind of teaching is a great way to help the children understand and comprehend the use it had in society.
A Night in the Global Village is a great way to educate students about other cultures. They were able to see first hand how families in other cultures live and some of the problems they face. This teaches the students that hunger and poverty are more prominent in other countries and just how privileged Americans are. Most of us that are born and raised in America don't really understand the severity of the situations present in other countries. When you are able to experience that, it really makes you appreciate your country.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
iTunes University
Honestly, I had not heard of iTunes university until today. iTunes University is a section of iTunes that provides educational materials from some of the top universities in the U.S. It's easy to use, because you can control how you search. You can search by categories, particular universities, or iTunes search and filter the results to fit you needs. Once you find what you are looking for you can download the material and/or subscribe to receive any new updates.
This is a great way for teachers to incorporate different styles of learning. Also, teachers can send digital lessons to their students, and the students can review the lessons when it's convenient for them. The students just download the lessons to their iPods and can have it with them at all times. This allows students to study more often. Personally, I feel this would help students progress better and have more efficient scores on tests.
This is a great way for teachers to incorporate different styles of learning. Also, teachers can send digital lessons to their students, and the students can review the lessons when it's convenient for them. The students just download the lessons to their iPods and can have it with them at all times. This allows students to study more often. Personally, I feel this would help students progress better and have more efficient scores on tests.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
iPod use in Schools
During my research, I found a site, http://cit.duke.edu/pdf/reports/ipods_initiative_04_05.pdf, about Duke University. According to the site, in 2004, Duke University handed out free iPods to incoming freshmen students. The purpose was to incorporate more technology into instruction. It was a success. The students and teachers loved it. Teachers altered their lesson plans for the use of iPods. Many teachers would have their students do podcasts instead of research papers. This made it more interesting for the students, and they did not dread the assignment.
I also found httl://learninginhand/ipod/indeex.html which is a very useful site for people that are unfamiliar with iPods. The site allows you to either choose iPod Touch or iPod with click wheels, and it is divided into different sections. Each section tells what it can be used for and how to use it. I could definitely use an iPod just to have a dictionary on hand at all times.
I also found httl://learninginhand/ipod/indeex.html which is a very useful site for people that are unfamiliar with iPods. The site allows you to either choose iPod Touch or iPod with click wheels, and it is divided into different sections. Each section tells what it can be used for and how to use it. I could definitely use an iPod just to have a dictionary on hand at all times.
Dr. Christie's Website
Dr. Alice Christie has developed a wonderful website for educators. The website is located at www.alicechristie.org. I encourage all teachers to check this website out. This site is easily accessible and well organized. The site is divided into various tabs for easy maneuverability.
A few things that interested me as a future educator included Educational Technology and Google Earth. I think Google Earth is a great tool for the classroom. You can explore any area you are studying in your classroom. Another topic on her site involved internet safety. This is also very important when dealing with young children. It is very important to educate students and parents about the dangers of internet use and what precautions teachers and parents can do to protect the students.
A few things that interested me as a future educator included Educational Technology and Google Earth. I think Google Earth is a great tool for the classroom. You can explore any area you are studying in your classroom. Another topic on her site involved internet safety. This is also very important when dealing with young children. It is very important to educate students and parents about the dangers of internet use and what precautions teachers and parents can do to protect the students.
Wikipedia
I have always been told that Wikipedia is not a reliable source. I have even had instructors that have forbid the use of Wikipedia on research papers. After reading the articles, I personally will not use Wikipedia. Virgil Griffith invented a Wikipedia scanner that can tell whether or not information has been changed. The scanner can tell who, when, and what information was changed and can even trace it back to the computer the change was made on. It is also able to distinguish if any information has been deleted. The scanner helps Wikipedia become a more reliable source, but in my opinion, it is just to much work. When you are doing research, it is always important to get information from a variety of sources to insure the information is accurate, but not many people want to waste their time with a source that is known to be unreliable.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was an amazing man. He was a professor at MIT and his philosophy was to have fun in everything you do. He was both inspirational and motivational all in one. He was so loved by his students that they would have to stand in line on registration day just to get in his class.
Pausch started "Building Virtual Worlds", which was a project-based curriculum. His students had so much fun completing the activities that they actually did not realize the projects were hard work. This experience allowed students to become experienced, and most students received contracts with companies while awaiting graduation.
In Pausch's last lecture, "Achieving Childhood Dreams", he used family photo's, class video's, graphs, charts, and various other props. I perceived this lecture as sort of a tribute to his life and accomplishments. He spoke of John Snoddy who said, "Wait long enough and people will surprise you." I really like this quote as it refers to your students, because sometimes the ones you think are hopeless, are the ones that impress you the most. Pausch also said, "You can get more out of not achieving a dream, then you can if you do achieve it." The journey is the most important part.
My favorite comment was when Pausch referred to schooling as "Edutainment". I believe it is extremely important for teachers to make education interesting and entertaining in order for students to truly learn. Randy Pausch died from pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2008. All future educators should view his last lecture.
Pausch started "Building Virtual Worlds", which was a project-based curriculum. His students had so much fun completing the activities that they actually did not realize the projects were hard work. This experience allowed students to become experienced, and most students received contracts with companies while awaiting graduation.
In Pausch's last lecture, "Achieving Childhood Dreams", he used family photo's, class video's, graphs, charts, and various other props. I perceived this lecture as sort of a tribute to his life and accomplishments. He spoke of John Snoddy who said, "Wait long enough and people will surprise you." I really like this quote as it refers to your students, because sometimes the ones you think are hopeless, are the ones that impress you the most. Pausch also said, "You can get more out of not achieving a dream, then you can if you do achieve it." The journey is the most important part.
My favorite comment was when Pausch referred to schooling as "Edutainment". I believe it is extremely important for teachers to make education interesting and entertaining in order for students to truly learn. Randy Pausch died from pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2008. All future educators should view his last lecture.
Best of Fischbowl 2007/A Formula for Sucess
I chose February's post "A Formula for Success". In this post, he described math and the way we teach math to our students. Basically, he said we teach math as an isolated subject and only focus on the application of math. He also provided an example quiz on the quadratic formula.
I agree with his theory, because that is exactly how I learn math. I just simply memorize it for the test and forget it as soon as I walk out the door. I definitely agree that it is more important for the student to be able to describe the process and how they obtained that answer then actually getting the right answer.
I agree with his theory, because that is exactly how I learn math. I just simply memorize it for the test and forget it as soon as I walk out the door. I definitely agree that it is more important for the student to be able to describe the process and how they obtained that answer then actually getting the right answer.
Podcasts from Last Semester
The first podcast I listened to was Useful Websites for the Elementary Teacher. The group spoke loud and clear enough for the audience to understand what they were discussing. The podcast was kinda dull, because they did not have conversation between one another. Each one basically took turns talking about a website. Even though the websites were useful, I had trouble really tuning in to the podcast.
I also listened to Facebook as an Educational Tool. This podcast was in question/answer format. I found this one by far more interesting than the first. The podcast was very informative and a bit persuasive. I liked the fact that the speakers interacted with one another. I will definitely consider doing this type of podcast with our topic.
I also listened to Facebook as an Educational Tool. This podcast was in question/answer format. I found this one by far more interesting than the first. The podcast was very informative and a bit persuasive. I liked the fact that the speakers interacted with one another. I will definitely consider doing this type of podcast with our topic.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Best of Fischbowl 2007
Karl Fisch created a post called "Is It Okay to be a Technology Illiterate Teacher?". He was merely responding to a similar post made by Terry Freeman in which he proposed having a set of technology standards for teachers. Fisch's post was nominated as "The Most Influential Post of 2007" and won a EduBlog Award.
I completely agree with both men. Teachers should definitely be up to date on the latest technology. We are in a position where we must teach students everything there is to know, and if we aren't knowledgeable in the subject, then what good will we really do. I would consider myself slightly technology illiterate, but I am trying to learn more and more everyday.
I completely agree with both men. Teachers should definitely be up to date on the latest technology. We are in a position where we must teach students everything there is to know, and if we aren't knowledgeable in the subject, then what good will we really do. I would consider myself slightly technology illiterate, but I am trying to learn more and more everyday.
Podcasts
I had a hard time learning how to work iTunes, but I think the problem was mostly my Internet service provider. Once I finally got things going, I was able to listen to several podcasts. I think this will be a great tool to use with my future students.
SmartBoard Lessons was actual teachers communicating with other teachers. They discussed current teaching issues and new teaching requirements. They also discussed the misuse of smartboard, but they used a positive approach to it. KidCast were broadcasts in the actual classroom. A few of the podcasts had kids doing the speaking. An interesting topic was how they discussed incorporating podcasts into the curriculum. EdTech Talk focused on technology, news, and resources in education. They encouraged blogging and podcasts. Also, they requested speakers from other parts of the world to participate.
This Week in Photography was really interesting. They focus on recent photo's seen in the news, magazines, and TV. The speakers are discussing the photo's among one another. The one I listened to was about President Obama and what it was like for the photographers at the inauguration.
I did not care to much for MacBreak Weekly because it was mainly about Macintosh computers and accessories. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment. I will definitely be exploring more podcasts, and I will use this when I begin teaching.
SmartBoard Lessons was actual teachers communicating with other teachers. They discussed current teaching issues and new teaching requirements. They also discussed the misuse of smartboard, but they used a positive approach to it. KidCast were broadcasts in the actual classroom. A few of the podcasts had kids doing the speaking. An interesting topic was how they discussed incorporating podcasts into the curriculum. EdTech Talk focused on technology, news, and resources in education. They encouraged blogging and podcasts. Also, they requested speakers from other parts of the world to participate.
This Week in Photography was really interesting. They focus on recent photo's seen in the news, magazines, and TV. The speakers are discussing the photo's among one another. The one I listened to was about President Obama and what it was like for the photographers at the inauguration.
I did not care to much for MacBreak Weekly because it was mainly about Macintosh computers and accessories. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment. I will definitely be exploring more podcasts, and I will use this when I begin teaching.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
International Class Blogs
In Canada, Ms. Kreul's class were discussing "A Room with a View", and they took this picture to represent what it would look like. Ms. Kreul asked her students to describe what they saw. On Ms. Kreul's class blog, she describes the activities in the classroom and provides photo's. She also has links to the class newsletter, supply lists, and a calendar. Currently, she has a poll on her blog asking who will win the Super Bowl, Steelers or Cardinals. She plans to incorporate the results in math class.
In New Zealand, Jody Hayes' class of year five and six, which includes students ages 9 to 11, uses blogmeister as her blog source. She uses the blog to keep her parents informed about the activities and current events going on in her classroom. She also provides brief information about herself. This picture was taken of toffee used to simulate different types of rock formation.
School's Using Class Blogs
In 2005, Goochland County Schools began encouraging the use of class blogs by teachers. Now, every teacher has his/her own class blog. The schools encourage parents to use the blogs to continue the learning process beyond the school day. They also ask parents to leave comments and have conversations with each other about the activities listed on the blog. This is a picture of Mrs. Alvis' Kindergarten class after they made reindeer ears as a Christmas project.
School Blog Use Continued
The Weber School District currently uses blogs for all of its faculty. Each teacher has his/her own class blog that students and parents can view current events, assignments, pictures, etc. This is very helpful in keeping parents involved. Students that miss a day can also use the blog to find out what work needs to be made up. This picture is of Mr. Ludlow's 6th grade class at Hopper Elementary School. This picture was on his class blog and it includes students that received reading awards for summer reading. Mr. Ludlow also posts U-Tube video's of class discussions and activities. I think that would be great incentive for the children to be on thier best behavior and to be attentive in class, because they know their parents can view the video's and see their behavior on the class blog.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Fisch Bowl Video
I visited http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html. This is a very informative video that discusses how rapidly technology is advancing and how our students are not being prepared in the classroom. The video begins with the fact that every 8 seconds, 34 babies are born. Also pointed out were the number of college graduates in the U.S in 2006 (1.3 million). Most of the other countries in the world encourage their students to learn other languages, with China being the #1 English speaking country as a second language. It is estimated that children born in 2006 will have had 10 to 14 by the age of 38. One in three of these children will not make it passed the 5th grade. On the up side, 70% of four year old children have used a computer.
Some other interesting facts were that the internet became increasingly popular in 1995. One in every eight married couples met online. If the number of Myspace users were a country, they would be the 8th largest in the world. They predicted within 15 years, the computer would be more advanced than the entire human race. I found this video very informative. I sat there with my mouth wide open during 90% of the video. I encourage everyone to check it out. The message I perceived from the video is that all people involved in education should do everything they can to incorporate technology into everyday learning, encourage students to learn a second language and go to college, and teach the students to maintain a job for a significant period of time instead of moving from job to job.
Some other interesting facts were that the internet became increasingly popular in 1995. One in every eight married couples met online. If the number of Myspace users were a country, they would be the 8th largest in the world. They predicted within 15 years, the computer would be more advanced than the entire human race. I found this video very informative. I sat there with my mouth wide open during 90% of the video. I encourage everyone to check it out. The message I perceived from the video is that all people involved in education should do everything they can to incorporate technology into everyday learning, encourage students to learn a second language and go to college, and teach the students to maintain a job for a significant period of time instead of moving from job to job.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
ACCESS
Access is Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Students Statewide. This website offers perks for teachers, students, and even parents. Students can take advanced placement courses through Access that may not be offered in their school. Also, students can get early admission into college and take college courses while still in high school. This a great tool to get a jump start on a college education. Parents are able to view what courses are taught and other options that are available to their children. Teachers can use the interactive classroom option to have video conferences and other unique learning experiences. Under the distance learning tab, teachers can view job opportunities that are available to them. Access can be explored at http://accessdlstate.al.us/.
I plan to use Access for the interactive classroom on a regular basis. This will give my students the opportunity to see first hand what we are discussing in class without the cost and headache of a field trip. Most schools only allow one or two field trips per year, and this will be a great substitute. I may also be interested in teaching a few distance learning classes once I get my masters.
I plan to use Access for the interactive classroom on a regular basis. This will give my students the opportunity to see first hand what we are discussing in class without the cost and headache of a field trip. Most schools only allow one or two field trips per year, and this will be a great substitute. I may also be interested in teaching a few distance learning classes once I get my masters.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
ALEX
ALEX, The Alabama Learning Exchange, is an amazing tool for new and veteran teachers. The website, http://alex.state.al.us, can also be used by students, as well as administrators. This website provides teachers with a multitude of resources. The site is broken down into tabs for easier access. Teachers can search by subject and grade level, locate current standards, and view sample lesson plans. The tab for professional workspace allows teachers to store and submit lesson plans and teacher web pages. There is also a tab for ACCESS, Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide. ACCESS is a distance learning site that allows high school students to take college classes. This allows students to get a head start on their college education.
As a future educator, I am truly impressed by ALEX. This site will be very helpful to me as a new teacher. I will definitely refer to this site for lesson plan examples and to search various activities. I would like to teach high school in the future, and I will encourage my students to take college courses, and ACCESS makes that possible. I plan to teach in Mississippi, so I'm not sure if Mississippi has a similar website. If not, I will refer to ALEX. I encourage everyone to check out ALEX.
As a future educator, I am truly impressed by ALEX. This site will be very helpful to me as a new teacher. I will definitely refer to this site for lesson plan examples and to search various activities. I would like to teach high school in the future, and I will encourage my students to take college courses, and ACCESS makes that possible. I plan to teach in Mississippi, so I'm not sure if Mississippi has a similar website. If not, I will refer to ALEX. I encourage everyone to check out ALEX.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A Little Info About Me!!
I'm 25 years old. I've been married for 7 years and have 3 children. Natalie just turned 7, Kynsea is 4, and Jathen is 2. So as you can see I stay pretty busy. I live in Hurley, MS. I graduated from George County High School in 2001 and have been going to college on and off since then. Sometimes it feels like I am a professional student! Fortunately, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My expected graduation date is Dec 2010. I can't wait. I worked for Singing River Headstart teaching preschoolers for a few years, but my classes conflicted this year, and I could not juggle both, because I would never see my family. Now, I play the part of Supermom!! It's tough but definitely worth every minute!!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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