Technology has become such a huge part of the world today. As humans we rely on it to accomplish so many things. When I sit back and think about how many times I use it in a day, it shocks me. I also realize however that it would be very hard to live without it.
I would not be able to communicate quickly with my family and friends I do not get to see very often and it would make doing something like this blog impossible. Technology makes everything much easier, even though technology too has its glitches its great to have around.
During my EDU315 class I have learned so much about technology and cannot wait to build off of what I have learned. I will now be able to use technology confidently with in my classroom and as a result will be teaching it to the students as well.
When I look around a I cannot believe at how big of a part technology plays in my life, but I am very happy it is here.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wii in the Classroom
This week in my classroom it was really exciting because the kids got to have their AR party. What this meant is all the kids in the classroom had read books and scored good grades on the tests they took following those books. What was exciting was that during this party the students got to use all sorts of different types of technology.
Some children chose to get on laptops and play games and create storybirds. I even sat with some of the children and watched them create all sorts of different storybirds. It was really exciting to watch them do this because storybirds was something we were learning about on a college level, so to watch them create them so easily at the 4th grade level was fascinating.
Also in the classroom was a Wii, all the students had a chance to participate and play this sort of technology as well. It was exciting to see this in a classroom because a lot of teachers do not even bother with technology when they do not have to do it. However, my host teacher does a fantastic job at introducing the children to a different types of technology on a daily basis.
Some children chose to get on laptops and play games and create storybirds. I even sat with some of the children and watched them create all sorts of different storybirds. It was really exciting to watch them do this because storybirds was something we were learning about on a college level, so to watch them create them so easily at the 4th grade level was fascinating.
Also in the classroom was a Wii, all the students had a chance to participate and play this sort of technology as well. It was exciting to see this in a classroom because a lot of teachers do not even bother with technology when they do not have to do it. However, my host teacher does a fantastic job at introducing the children to a different types of technology on a daily basis.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Piedmont Students Getting Citywide Wireless
In this article on eschool learning it talks about how a school is working extremely hard to get wireless internet for the whole town. This school has already worked hard in getting each of their students a mac laptop but it is time to take it a step further and make it so each of the children are able to access internet in their own homes.
This would be a huge step for these students because no more would they be limited to only using internet within the classroom. The teachers would finally be able to assign internet related project outside of the classroom to enhance the students technology skills even more. Also the internet at home is important because the students will be able to explore on safe websites and teach themselves about the internet as well.
In doing this the students would really be able to make their internet skills even stronger by working on them outside of the classroom and then bringing what they learn into the classroom. Also in getting internet for the whole city it is going to set the younger generations to become very familiar with the internet even before they enter a classroom.
This is going to be a huge step for the town and as a further teacher it is a great to see schools working at providing home internet for their students.
This would be a huge step for these students because no more would they be limited to only using internet within the classroom. The teachers would finally be able to assign internet related project outside of the classroom to enhance the students technology skills even more. Also the internet at home is important because the students will be able to explore on safe websites and teach themselves about the internet as well.
In doing this the students would really be able to make their internet skills even stronger by working on them outside of the classroom and then bringing what they learn into the classroom. Also in getting internet for the whole city it is going to set the younger generations to become very familiar with the internet even before they enter a classroom.
This is going to be a huge step for the town and as a further teacher it is a great to see schools working at providing home internet for their students.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Ways Schools are Teaching Internet Safety
Internet safety for students is so important now with all thats going on with cyber bullying. When using the internet students need to know how to navigate around and ensure they are not getting into trouble while using the internet.
One teacher talks about how when he has the students go on the internet for his class it is required by them to first watch several videos on how to be safe while on the internet. In doing this the students can be sure to avoid situations like cyber bullying and use the internet how it is suppose to be used. This teacher states that he is teaching internet safety within the curriculum that way the children are constantly learning about how to be safe on the internet.
Another teacher uses analogy's relating to the internet that way students are more likely to remember what she is saying. For instance on of her analogy's relating to the internet was about Little Red Riding Hood. Using this she says that just like Little Red Riding Hood the internet is not always what it seems to be and children need to be careful while they are on it. Children need to understand that bad things can happen on the internet and they need to be prepared if something does go wrong while they are using the internet.
It is so important the students start to learn about internet safety especially when they are using it at such young ages!
One teacher talks about how when he has the students go on the internet for his class it is required by them to first watch several videos on how to be safe while on the internet. In doing this the students can be sure to avoid situations like cyber bullying and use the internet how it is suppose to be used. This teacher states that he is teaching internet safety within the curriculum that way the children are constantly learning about how to be safe on the internet.
Another teacher uses analogy's relating to the internet that way students are more likely to remember what she is saying. For instance on of her analogy's relating to the internet was about Little Red Riding Hood. Using this she says that just like Little Red Riding Hood the internet is not always what it seems to be and children need to be careful while they are on it. Children need to understand that bad things can happen on the internet and they need to be prepared if something does go wrong while they are using the internet.
It is so important the students start to learn about internet safety especially when they are using it at such young ages!
Friday, November 4, 2011
US school kids showing slight improvement in math
This was a very interesting article to read. This article was about how children in fourth and eighth grade are showing some slight improvements in math yet how far the children are from achieving the no child left behind status.
Even though there were improvements in math, which is great, by 2014 all the children were suppose to be at the no child left behind status. The article states not in a single group of academics is there more children above mastery then below on the state testing.
This is alarming because in 2 years the no child left behind stated that the children were going to be where they need to be academically yet more then half the children in each subject are below the mastery level. This shows that the United States still has such a long way to go in just 2 years.
Its great that the children are improving but they are improving at such a slow rate that they are most likely not going to be at the level they should in 2 years.
Even though there were improvements in math, which is great, by 2014 all the children were suppose to be at the no child left behind status. The article states not in a single group of academics is there more children above mastery then below on the state testing.
This is alarming because in 2 years the no child left behind stated that the children were going to be where they need to be academically yet more then half the children in each subject are below the mastery level. This shows that the United States still has such a long way to go in just 2 years.
Its great that the children are improving but they are improving at such a slow rate that they are most likely not going to be at the level they should in 2 years.
SMARTboard in the Classroom
I know I have mentioned before that my host teacher has a SMARTboard but every week I am able to witness something new he is using it for.
Not only does he do his mathster Vakkas movie productions on the SMARTboard but he also deisplays things like the daily schedule and lessons for other subjects.
Just this past time during a social studies lesson my host teacher listed some vocabulary words the students would be reading about in their chapter. Before reading the chapter the students got into groups and talked with the group about what these words meant. After the students came up with what they though the right definition for the word was all the groups went and wrote their thoughts up on the SMARTboard.
After doing this the students read the chapter and then got back into their groups to talk about the correct definitions of these words based on what they read. This was interesting because my host teacher then wrote the right definitions up on the SMARTboard and so the children were able to see what they thought the definition was and the actual definition and they were able to see how close they were in their guesses.
The children were really interested in seeing the before and after definitions and this is what the SMARTboard allowed them to do!
Not only does he do his mathster Vakkas movie productions on the SMARTboard but he also deisplays things like the daily schedule and lessons for other subjects.
Just this past time during a social studies lesson my host teacher listed some vocabulary words the students would be reading about in their chapter. Before reading the chapter the students got into groups and talked with the group about what these words meant. After the students came up with what they though the right definition for the word was all the groups went and wrote their thoughts up on the SMARTboard.
After doing this the students read the chapter and then got back into their groups to talk about the correct definitions of these words based on what they read. This was interesting because my host teacher then wrote the right definitions up on the SMARTboard and so the children were able to see what they thought the definition was and the actual definition and they were able to see how close they were in their guesses.
The children were really interested in seeing the before and after definitions and this is what the SMARTboard allowed them to do!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Teaching Resources
Rubistar would certainly be a very helpful teaching resource. We learned about this in class today and now whenever I need to make a rubric I am going to go to this site. It a very easy way to make a rubric for any lesson. It gives you the whole outline and you can even save it and come back to making it later.
So instead of sitting and starting from scratch this resource gives you and entire outline and makes creating a rubric much easier on the teacher.
We also learned many more resources in this class. One being about the states. The website gave you a picture of a map and then a picture of a state. It was your job to take the picture of the state and move it to the spot on the map where you thought the state went. This would be a really neat resource to use for the children after just teaching about the states, because it allows the students to extend on their knowledge of what they just learned about the states!
So instead of sitting and starting from scratch this resource gives you and entire outline and makes creating a rubric much easier on the teacher.
We also learned many more resources in this class. One being about the states. The website gave you a picture of a map and then a picture of a state. It was your job to take the picture of the state and move it to the spot on the map where you thought the state went. This would be a really neat resource to use for the children after just teaching about the states, because it allows the students to extend on their knowledge of what they just learned about the states!
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