Friday, May 1, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Journal #10
Shein, Esther (October 2008). Making History. The Journal, Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23394
This article is about one teacher from a school in Pennsylvania using the technology of today to teach about the history of yesterday. She integrated the use of podcasts and other audio files to teach her students about WWII. The teacher gave her students days to utilize sources from the internet, library, and other outlets to create a newscast (or ‘oldcast’, as she called it), about events that actually took place in the past. Each group of students would play different roles reporting the information. She would implement these podcast lessons near the end of the school year so that while the students were worried about tests and finals in their other classes, in hers they could be creative and use different outlets to express themselves. This idea has encouraged other teachers to think outside the textbook and utilize new technological advancements that can help make learning fun again.
How effective will the use of technology in classrooms be?
What is so great about the advancements in technology being used in the classrooms are that teachers don’t have to strictly teach by the text book anymore, and can be creative themselves. Using podcasts, the internet, powerpoints, or other tools allows students to take control of their own products, progress and creativity.
How can technology in the classrooms help the classroom community?
By working together for podcasts and in groups for many of these assignments, students can learn from each other as well as individually, and grow as a community.
This article is about one teacher from a school in Pennsylvania using the technology of today to teach about the history of yesterday. She integrated the use of podcasts and other audio files to teach her students about WWII. The teacher gave her students days to utilize sources from the internet, library, and other outlets to create a newscast (or ‘oldcast’, as she called it), about events that actually took place in the past. Each group of students would play different roles reporting the information. She would implement these podcast lessons near the end of the school year so that while the students were worried about tests and finals in their other classes, in hers they could be creative and use different outlets to express themselves. This idea has encouraged other teachers to think outside the textbook and utilize new technological advancements that can help make learning fun again.
How effective will the use of technology in classrooms be?
What is so great about the advancements in technology being used in the classrooms are that teachers don’t have to strictly teach by the text book anymore, and can be creative themselves. Using podcasts, the internet, powerpoints, or other tools allows students to take control of their own products, progress and creativity.
How can technology in the classrooms help the classroom community?
By working together for podcasts and in groups for many of these assignments, students can learn from each other as well as individually, and grow as a community.
Journal # 9
Reynard, Ruth (October 2008). Avoiding the 5 most common mistakes in using bogs with Students. The Journal, Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23434
The article is simply about how to use blogs in the classroom environment, and five rules on how they can be ineffective. The five rules are 1) ineffective contextualization. The writer of the article stresses the importance of clear and concise context within which the blog is being used. If it isn’t clear for the students, then they will find the idea confusing and ultimately reject the idea of the blog. The second rule is unclear learning outcomes, which the writer describes as if the teacher is unclear as to what the outcome of the process will be, then the potential of the blog tool may not be maximized. The numbero three rule is misuse of the environment: the writer describes what blogs are NOT, reaffirming that they are self-posts from individual students, and if the teacher or student forgets the intended goal, then all hope is lost. The fourth rule is illusive grading practices, which the writer adds that blog grading rubrics should be very clear, because blogs aren’t as simple to grade as a test. There aren’t always correct or incorrect answers when grading a blog, so the write says to be clear of what you want as a teacher. The final fifth rule is inadequate time allocation, which the writer means as giving the students enough time! Let them maximize the use of their blog, and since it is a self-post, to give them weeks, months, or even the whole semester.
How would a blog help the classroom community?
A blog would help the classroom unite by allowing fellow students to log on to their friend’s blogs, make comments, and read what each other has to say. This would form an online network of the classroom, allowing students to interact outside the classroom.
Are there any other negatives of blogs in a classroom?
Some of the negative could be cyber-bullying and simply writing inappropriate things about other people, but nothing that wouldn’t be said or written if it was in the classroom.
The article is simply about how to use blogs in the classroom environment, and five rules on how they can be ineffective. The five rules are 1) ineffective contextualization. The writer of the article stresses the importance of clear and concise context within which the blog is being used. If it isn’t clear for the students, then they will find the idea confusing and ultimately reject the idea of the blog. The second rule is unclear learning outcomes, which the writer describes as if the teacher is unclear as to what the outcome of the process will be, then the potential of the blog tool may not be maximized. The numbero three rule is misuse of the environment: the writer describes what blogs are NOT, reaffirming that they are self-posts from individual students, and if the teacher or student forgets the intended goal, then all hope is lost. The fourth rule is illusive grading practices, which the writer adds that blog grading rubrics should be very clear, because blogs aren’t as simple to grade as a test. There aren’t always correct or incorrect answers when grading a blog, so the write says to be clear of what you want as a teacher. The final fifth rule is inadequate time allocation, which the writer means as giving the students enough time! Let them maximize the use of their blog, and since it is a self-post, to give them weeks, months, or even the whole semester.
How would a blog help the classroom community?
A blog would help the classroom unite by allowing fellow students to log on to their friend’s blogs, make comments, and read what each other has to say. This would form an online network of the classroom, allowing students to interact outside the classroom.
Are there any other negatives of blogs in a classroom?
Some of the negative could be cyber-bullying and simply writing inappropriate things about other people, but nothing that wouldn’t be said or written if it was in the classroom.
Journal #8
Curtis, Diane (2002, October, 1). A '"fantastic super" use of technology: Closing the digital divide. Edutopia, Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www.edutopia.org/fantastic-super-use-technology
The “Fantastic super” article I read was about how Mary Scroggs Elementary School is implementing tons of new technology into its classrooms and curriculum. The article described plenty of technological tools that the school uses and that it was able to afford them due to a grant. Some of the tech-tools are using the Internet, wireless laptops, computers in every classroom, Inspiration and HyperStudio, all in a kindergarten through 5th grade setting. One way the technology is helping is by getting parents involved. The school has a web page for every classroom so that teachers can make daily or weekly newsletters, informing student’s parents of what exactly is happening in the school. Also, the school stresses the use of email, but not just between teachers, peers, and the principal, but with parents as well. By using emails, it allows an informal setting for teachers and parents to communicate about anything from how well their student is doing in the class to what the curriculum might be in the next coming months.
What would be the pros and cons of a classroom web page?
I think the biggest pros are keeping kids and parents informed. Parents can check on curriculum and their kid’s grades, and also keep the teachers accountable. I think a con may be if you get an overly aggressive parent, they may be too controlling and the web page would be an outlet for them to use against the teacher.
What would be the most fun kind of technology used in the classroom?
I think the most fun would be the quizzes/polls on a classroom blog. Although they would not necessarily be used for teaching something, they would serve the classroom community better, so that every student has a chance at being involved and voicing their own opinion.
The “Fantastic super” article I read was about how Mary Scroggs Elementary School is implementing tons of new technology into its classrooms and curriculum. The article described plenty of technological tools that the school uses and that it was able to afford them due to a grant. Some of the tech-tools are using the Internet, wireless laptops, computers in every classroom, Inspiration and HyperStudio, all in a kindergarten through 5th grade setting. One way the technology is helping is by getting parents involved. The school has a web page for every classroom so that teachers can make daily or weekly newsletters, informing student’s parents of what exactly is happening in the school. Also, the school stresses the use of email, but not just between teachers, peers, and the principal, but with parents as well. By using emails, it allows an informal setting for teachers and parents to communicate about anything from how well their student is doing in the class to what the curriculum might be in the next coming months.
What would be the pros and cons of a classroom web page?
I think the biggest pros are keeping kids and parents informed. Parents can check on curriculum and their kid’s grades, and also keep the teachers accountable. I think a con may be if you get an overly aggressive parent, they may be too controlling and the web page would be an outlet for them to use against the teacher.
What would be the most fun kind of technology used in the classroom?
I think the most fun would be the quizzes/polls on a classroom blog. Although they would not necessarily be used for teaching something, they would serve the classroom community better, so that every student has a chance at being involved and voicing their own opinion.
Journal # 7: Gooooogle Earth
Google Earth is the coolest thing to happen to cartography since they found out the earth was round! It is such an interesting tool that you could get lost for hours in. What Google Earth is, is a program that lets you explore the entire globe in a 3 dimensional way. You can use your mouse to view the entire globe, then zoom in and out of the maps and take closer looks at the earth from a view as if you were a bird! The photos come from an actual satellite camera, so it’s the real deal! The discussion I read was about using Google Earth to teach math in middle school classrooms. The person posting talks about how they used place marks, created paths, and measured with the rulers on Google Earth in order to teach mathematic skills. They talked about measuring someone’s house to a famous city, like Paris, and figuring out how many miles it was. Also, the poster writes about how Google Earth can be implemented to teach geography (obviously) and even branched off on more creative lessons where their 8th grade students played the role of the Coast Guard and had to conduct search and rescue operations! It wasn’t just geography, but science, because the teacher gave them wind conditions, ocean currents, and other parameters to devise a search plan. The students are learning without it seeming boring, and the teachers continue to be more and more creative!
Journal #6
Inspiration
1. I did not like inspiration! I’m sorry, but I found it confusing, and wasn’t sure as to what the purpose of this spider-webbed cluster was for. I found the program to be easy to use, but don’t see why it wouldn’t be easier to simply write everything on a piece of paper, rather than draggin and clicking, typing and scrolling. I didn’t like it.
2. How could I incorporate this software into my classroom? I guess by showing what a digital brainstorm would look like, as opposed to a messy one drawn by hand. I guess I could see young students using inspiration to write out their ideas, though I reaffirm it would be easier on a piece of paper.
3. I did not use the Atomic Learning, but instead learned from trial and error (and believe me, there were a lot of errors!). I messed up a lot, but learned from my mistakes, and in the end, I basically understood how to use the program. It isn’t a difficult program to learn exactly, after you get over the question of what you’re using it for (which I still don’t really understand what the point of inspiration is for).
iMovie
1. At first I was very apprehensive at the thought of using iMovie. I was never very good with techno-tools or other widgets, gadgets, or whatever you wanna call them. But once I spent a few minutes exploring the iMovie features, I found it was actually very easy to use! And once I quickly realized that it wasn’t just simple, but fun, I was eager to experiment and learn more about it. I think it is a very beneficial and fun way for teachers to teach and students to learn, and I think students would love it just as much as the teachers!
2. I think it would be easy to incorporate the iMovie feature into the classroom to make mini-documentaries, lesson plans, or just teach a specific topic in a fun way. I was always making movies with my friends when I was younger, and I think as a teacher utilizing the iMovie feature would be another outlet for creative teaching.
3. I learned how to use the program of iMovie first off from listening to the instructor, Jeff. But after his demonstration, he let us experiment, which is the best way to learn! I simply began clicking here and there and seeing what different buttons would do. I learned pretty quickly the basics, though if I wanted to become an expert I think I’d need a more in-depth tutorial. But Apple does make iMovie so easy so that anyone, from teacher to student, can learn quickly ad thoroughly.
1. I did not like inspiration! I’m sorry, but I found it confusing, and wasn’t sure as to what the purpose of this spider-webbed cluster was for. I found the program to be easy to use, but don’t see why it wouldn’t be easier to simply write everything on a piece of paper, rather than draggin and clicking, typing and scrolling. I didn’t like it.
2. How could I incorporate this software into my classroom? I guess by showing what a digital brainstorm would look like, as opposed to a messy one drawn by hand. I guess I could see young students using inspiration to write out their ideas, though I reaffirm it would be easier on a piece of paper.
3. I did not use the Atomic Learning, but instead learned from trial and error (and believe me, there were a lot of errors!). I messed up a lot, but learned from my mistakes, and in the end, I basically understood how to use the program. It isn’t a difficult program to learn exactly, after you get over the question of what you’re using it for (which I still don’t really understand what the point of inspiration is for).
iMovie
1. At first I was very apprehensive at the thought of using iMovie. I was never very good with techno-tools or other widgets, gadgets, or whatever you wanna call them. But once I spent a few minutes exploring the iMovie features, I found it was actually very easy to use! And once I quickly realized that it wasn’t just simple, but fun, I was eager to experiment and learn more about it. I think it is a very beneficial and fun way for teachers to teach and students to learn, and I think students would love it just as much as the teachers!
2. I think it would be easy to incorporate the iMovie feature into the classroom to make mini-documentaries, lesson plans, or just teach a specific topic in a fun way. I was always making movies with my friends when I was younger, and I think as a teacher utilizing the iMovie feature would be another outlet for creative teaching.
3. I learned how to use the program of iMovie first off from listening to the instructor, Jeff. But after his demonstration, he let us experiment, which is the best way to learn! I simply began clicking here and there and seeing what different buttons would do. I learned pretty quickly the basics, though if I wanted to become an expert I think I’d need a more in-depth tutorial. But Apple does make iMovie so easy so that anyone, from teacher to student, can learn quickly ad thoroughly.
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