Tuesday, July 24, 2007
5. Think about this Course
Where do I begin? I will be honest. While signing up for college classes, I was excited to learn that there were no TESTS in this course! I thought..."woo-hoo this is going to be easy." However, after reading the syllabus and seeing all the words I didn't know what they meant--it was a bit overwhelming. I will say that it probably wouldn't have been quite so jam-packed and overwhelming if it hadn't been for a summer class. I did learn a lot, although I wasn't sure I was going to be able to.
One of the most interesting assignments I thought was the interview a teacher assignment. Not only were we able to talk freely with someone we felt comfortable with, we were also learning. It was interesting for me to hear my high school friend talk about her job and what she liked about technology, etc. It was also good to know how different her school is now than our school was in high school or other schools that I am aware of. It's amazing to note how each different school is on a different level in terms of technology.
Web 2.0 was a link that I came to enjoy. At first I was hesitant because it felt like a lot to keep track of and I was nervous I would miss something and not get a grade. But after I learned that this class wasn't to stuck on the "grade" more so the "exploration," I calmed down. Web 2.0 was nice because we were able to easily interate with others. I found it odd that this past weekend my dad told me that he liked my Rain Forest Lesson Plan. How weird that he was a "teacher from the trenches" and was able to look at my work!!
Social bookmarking was also good to know. I didn't know about del.icio.us before and really didn't know what social bookmarking was all about. After learning about it and setting up my own del.icio.us site, I realize that it will be helpful to me as a continued student and also as a teacher one day. I like the concept of being able to share your bookmarking site as well.
I'm still undecided about the podcasts. I didn't know what podcasts were before, so learning about them was helpful. However, I'm still not convinced that I like the whole learning via podcast theory. I really have a hard time focusing and it's difficult for me to try to listen and know what's going on. The concept of being able to listen to a podcast while doing dishes is awesome, but it simply doesn't work for me. BUT...the idea of being able to reach THOUSANDS of people at a time via the podcast is unreal!!!
Quia was also an assignment that I learned from. It was fun to be able to go into the site and create a quiz or an assignment for students. Using Quia really gave us an idea as to what teachers go through in terms of standards & etc. when dealing with a lesson plan. Lesson plans are going to be hard work and with sources such as Quia, I think they can be made a little easier and user friendly.
One of the most interesting assignments I thought was the interview a teacher assignment. Not only were we able to talk freely with someone we felt comfortable with, we were also learning. It was interesting for me to hear my high school friend talk about her job and what she liked about technology, etc. It was also good to know how different her school is now than our school was in high school or other schools that I am aware of. It's amazing to note how each different school is on a different level in terms of technology.
Web 2.0 was a link that I came to enjoy. At first I was hesitant because it felt like a lot to keep track of and I was nervous I would miss something and not get a grade. But after I learned that this class wasn't to stuck on the "grade" more so the "exploration," I calmed down. Web 2.0 was nice because we were able to easily interate with others. I found it odd that this past weekend my dad told me that he liked my Rain Forest Lesson Plan. How weird that he was a "teacher from the trenches" and was able to look at my work!!
Social bookmarking was also good to know. I didn't know about del.icio.us before and really didn't know what social bookmarking was all about. After learning about it and setting up my own del.icio.us site, I realize that it will be helpful to me as a continued student and also as a teacher one day. I like the concept of being able to share your bookmarking site as well.
I'm still undecided about the podcasts. I didn't know what podcasts were before, so learning about them was helpful. However, I'm still not convinced that I like the whole learning via podcast theory. I really have a hard time focusing and it's difficult for me to try to listen and know what's going on. The concept of being able to listen to a podcast while doing dishes is awesome, but it simply doesn't work for me. BUT...the idea of being able to reach THOUSANDS of people at a time via the podcast is unreal!!!
Quia was also an assignment that I learned from. It was fun to be able to go into the site and create a quiz or an assignment for students. Using Quia really gave us an idea as to what teachers go through in terms of standards & etc. when dealing with a lesson plan. Lesson plans are going to be hard work and with sources such as Quia, I think they can be made a little easier and user friendly.
4. Edutopia
Harrison Central High School
The most interesting tool I thought this school used was the "EClicks" in the American History classroom. Not only are students able to review for tests in this game type situation, the teacher is also able to actually print off which students missed which questions & etc. What an awesome tool for teachers to have. Not only is it helping students learn, but it's also not putting students in the "hot spot" so that if they miss the question they look dumb in front of the whole class. Awesome!
Mary Scroggs Elementary School
The most interesting tool I found this school to use was the Tech @ Home Program. This program is designed for students who are on the free lunch program to receive a free computer and low cost internet. What a great way to reach out to less fortunate students! The teachers at Mart Scroggs Elementary School felt that technology was great because it not only cut down on paperwork, but also they were positive that information was getting to the parents via the computer instead of relying on a student to take a letter home in the book bag. Also, the parents thought it was good because they could easily track their child's progress and contact a teacher via e-mail instead of trying to track them down on the phone. Tech @ Home...what a great program!
A Product of Learning
This school district uses Project Based Curriculum. The fact that stood out to me is the fact that 60% of the students in this school qualify for free or reduced lunches. This tells me that the students come from fairly "poor" homes and it surprised me at the opportunities they were still given in terms of technology. The school does cooperate with local businesses to help them in their projects. For example, the business will donate products and in turn the students will help the business with a task, such as CD covers. My question though, where else does the money come from?
Leading with Laptops
I found this video interesting because I have also heard my dad talk about how he has incorporated laptops into his school (Little River) as well. Each student has a laptop and the curriculum is based on that theory. Teachers had to be trained with how to teach the information and how to present the information to the students. The teachers like the laptops because the students are able to teach themselves by obtaining info by using google. I think that this could be a great idea, but I want to know who funds this???
Home Visits
Due to this school district having 140 suspensions in one year and the parents feeling intimidated by the school and the teachers, this school designed the Home Visit Program. Teachers visit the home of students twice a year to ask questions (how long have you lived in the area?; how many children do you have?; where did you move here from?; what do you want from me as a teacher?) and also to give the parents an update on their child. The teachers were first trained on how to deal with parents and different situations that might come up. I think this is a great concept and something I had never thought of before due to being in a small town. Here everyone knows everyone else, but I think it could still be used in a small town to maybe really get to know the family and not just what you hear around town.
Curry School of Education
The problem was that graduating college students knew the content area that they were going to teach, but were unsure on how to actually teach it. In the Curry School of Education, students start observing at the Sophomore level and after that gain more exposure until student teaching. Classroom management is as important as the actual lesson, because if the classroom is not being managed successfully, the lesson won't matter because they won't learn.
After Katrina
1,800 people died....715 schools were shut down. Hurricane Education Leadership Project (HELP) as designed to help schools as something like this will happen again (if it be a tornado, another hurricane, an earthquake, etc.) what will do we do when it happens? It was sad to watch the video to see all the destruction and to hear the students say that they just have to take it a day at a time because they don't know what tomorrow will bring.
The most interesting tool I thought this school used was the "EClicks" in the American History classroom. Not only are students able to review for tests in this game type situation, the teacher is also able to actually print off which students missed which questions & etc. What an awesome tool for teachers to have. Not only is it helping students learn, but it's also not putting students in the "hot spot" so that if they miss the question they look dumb in front of the whole class. Awesome!
Mary Scroggs Elementary School
The most interesting tool I found this school to use was the Tech @ Home Program. This program is designed for students who are on the free lunch program to receive a free computer and low cost internet. What a great way to reach out to less fortunate students! The teachers at Mart Scroggs Elementary School felt that technology was great because it not only cut down on paperwork, but also they were positive that information was getting to the parents via the computer instead of relying on a student to take a letter home in the book bag. Also, the parents thought it was good because they could easily track their child's progress and contact a teacher via e-mail instead of trying to track them down on the phone. Tech @ Home...what a great program!
A Product of Learning
This school district uses Project Based Curriculum. The fact that stood out to me is the fact that 60% of the students in this school qualify for free or reduced lunches. This tells me that the students come from fairly "poor" homes and it surprised me at the opportunities they were still given in terms of technology. The school does cooperate with local businesses to help them in their projects. For example, the business will donate products and in turn the students will help the business with a task, such as CD covers. My question though, where else does the money come from?
Leading with Laptops
I found this video interesting because I have also heard my dad talk about how he has incorporated laptops into his school (Little River) as well. Each student has a laptop and the curriculum is based on that theory. Teachers had to be trained with how to teach the information and how to present the information to the students. The teachers like the laptops because the students are able to teach themselves by obtaining info by using google. I think that this could be a great idea, but I want to know who funds this???
Home Visits
Due to this school district having 140 suspensions in one year and the parents feeling intimidated by the school and the teachers, this school designed the Home Visit Program. Teachers visit the home of students twice a year to ask questions (how long have you lived in the area?; how many children do you have?; where did you move here from?; what do you want from me as a teacher?) and also to give the parents an update on their child. The teachers were first trained on how to deal with parents and different situations that might come up. I think this is a great concept and something I had never thought of before due to being in a small town. Here everyone knows everyone else, but I think it could still be used in a small town to maybe really get to know the family and not just what you hear around town.
Curry School of Education
The problem was that graduating college students knew the content area that they were going to teach, but were unsure on how to actually teach it. In the Curry School of Education, students start observing at the Sophomore level and after that gain more exposure until student teaching. Classroom management is as important as the actual lesson, because if the classroom is not being managed successfully, the lesson won't matter because they won't learn.
After Katrina
1,800 people died....715 schools were shut down. Hurricane Education Leadership Project (HELP) as designed to help schools as something like this will happen again (if it be a tornado, another hurricane, an earthquake, etc.) what will do we do when it happens? It was sad to watch the video to see all the destruction and to hear the students say that they just have to take it a day at a time because they don't know what tomorrow will bring.
3. ALTEC: Innovative Technologies to Improve Teaching and Learning
http://altec.org/index.php
Wow! So much information on this!!! There was so much to explore and learn, the possibilities seemed endless. Tools that I enjoyed exploring were in the Arcademic Skill Builders section. Mainly the word frog, word invasion, verb viper and alien addition. I also thought the classroom architect was useful and interesting, although it is not something that a teacher would probably use on a daily basis. How fun to be able to rearrange your classroom to the best of the ability to help your students learn....and what an easy way to switch stuff around to see if it would work! The teacher I shared this site with is my friend Jill Nech. Jill teaches middle school Health & PE in Hugoton, KS. We talked and she thought the tool she would most use in her teaching would the Assign-A-Day. She said that all of her students have access to computers at the school and most of them have access at home. We talked about how this was just a new version of an Assignment Notebook type of system.
Wow! So much information on this!!! There was so much to explore and learn, the possibilities seemed endless. Tools that I enjoyed exploring were in the Arcademic Skill Builders section. Mainly the word frog, word invasion, verb viper and alien addition. I also thought the classroom architect was useful and interesting, although it is not something that a teacher would probably use on a daily basis. How fun to be able to rearrange your classroom to the best of the ability to help your students learn....and what an easy way to switch stuff around to see if it would work! The teacher I shared this site with is my friend Jill Nech. Jill teaches middle school Health & PE in Hugoton, KS. We talked and she thought the tool she would most use in her teaching would the Assign-A-Day. She said that all of her students have access to computers at the school and most of them have access at home. We talked about how this was just a new version of an Assignment Notebook type of system.
2. Apple Learning Interchange Reflection
http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/
Playgrounds Around the World
My World + Your World = One World:
This was the grade (k-3) and content area that I explored. It gave an overview and description of an excample of an assignment a teacher could use with this site. I thought it was really interesting. However, I was not all that comfortable searching the site. I thought it was a little hard to move around and not all that user friendly. Not that it was bad--just not as user friendly as other sites have been that we have used in this class before. Also, I'm not sure that I like having to become a user. I know that it was free & harmless, but I don't see the point.
I shared this with a good friend of mine, April Kohrs. April teaches second grade in the Kansas City area. She was not familiar with this site before, but she is very into technology (her husband more so than she is.) I told her about the different assignments you could explore & etc. We were actually on the phone while we were exploring, so that was fun. She said that she would save it to her computer & possibly use it this upcoming year!
Playgrounds Around the World
My World + Your World = One World:
This was the grade (k-3) and content area that I explored. It gave an overview and description of an excample of an assignment a teacher could use with this site. I thought it was really interesting. However, I was not all that comfortable searching the site. I thought it was a little hard to move around and not all that user friendly. Not that it was bad--just not as user friendly as other sites have been that we have used in this class before. Also, I'm not sure that I like having to become a user. I know that it was free & harmless, but I don't see the point.
I shared this with a good friend of mine, April Kohrs. April teaches second grade in the Kansas City area. She was not familiar with this site before, but she is very into technology (her husband more so than she is.) I told her about the different assignments you could explore & etc. We were actually on the phone while we were exploring, so that was fun. She said that she would save it to her computer & possibly use it this upcoming year!
1. Articles
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-01-07-schools-lag-in-tech_x.htm
This article surprised me with the fact that chilren ages 2-5 are now starting to use computers. I had no idea children started using computers that young! Part of me feels that is a good thing, the younger the easier to learn. But at the same time, I have concerns about parenting & etc. It could be a good thing, but it could also be potentially dangerous. I would hate to see a 3 year old being stuck in front of a computer & not interacted with on a personal level from mom & dad.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/edlite-default.html
Secretary of Education Dr. Rod Paige noted, “Indeed, education is the only business still debating the usefulness of technology. Schools remain unchanged for the most part despite numerous reforms and increased investments in computers and networks. The way we organize schools and provide instruction is essentially the same as it was when our Founding Fathers went to school. Put another way, we still educate our students based on an agricultural timetable, in an industrial setting, but tell students they live in a digital age.” This quote I found the most interesting. He has a very valid point and I have to agree. However, I have to wonder, does it depend on where the school is? I would say that here in Kensington, the demands for technology would be less than a big school in Kansas City--but that could be a cop out. Students in small schools may need to learn about technology as much as students in bigger schools, as we are living in the same world and same society that is so focused on technology and advancing in terms of technology.
http://cnets.iste.org/
I feel the NETS project is a great thing. Students need programs such as this in order to move ahead in the technological world in which we live. I feel that if teachers and citizens in general don't listen to the wake-up call we are all going to be "left behind" in terms of technology. I have had my doubts about technology and I will admit that it is scary, but bottom line is that it is necessary and everyone needs to be able to use it and succeed.
http://www.edutopia.org/1270
We're sorry, the page you have requested has moved or is no longer available.
This article surprised me with the fact that chilren ages 2-5 are now starting to use computers. I had no idea children started using computers that young! Part of me feels that is a good thing, the younger the easier to learn. But at the same time, I have concerns about parenting & etc. It could be a good thing, but it could also be potentially dangerous. I would hate to see a 3 year old being stuck in front of a computer & not interacted with on a personal level from mom & dad.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/edlite-default.html
Secretary of Education Dr. Rod Paige noted, “Indeed, education is the only business still debating the usefulness of technology. Schools remain unchanged for the most part despite numerous reforms and increased investments in computers and networks. The way we organize schools and provide instruction is essentially the same as it was when our Founding Fathers went to school. Put another way, we still educate our students based on an agricultural timetable, in an industrial setting, but tell students they live in a digital age.” This quote I found the most interesting. He has a very valid point and I have to agree. However, I have to wonder, does it depend on where the school is? I would say that here in Kensington, the demands for technology would be less than a big school in Kansas City--but that could be a cop out. Students in small schools may need to learn about technology as much as students in bigger schools, as we are living in the same world and same society that is so focused on technology and advancing in terms of technology.
http://cnets.iste.org/
I feel the NETS project is a great thing. Students need programs such as this in order to move ahead in the technological world in which we live. I feel that if teachers and citizens in general don't listen to the wake-up call we are all going to be "left behind" in terms of technology. I have had my doubts about technology and I will admit that it is scary, but bottom line is that it is necessary and everyone needs to be able to use it and succeed.
http://www.edutopia.org/1270
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