The first day of class, I don't think any of us knew how we would all grow and how the semester would change us. An entire new world was opened up to me that I may not have discovered on my own. We developed friendships that we hope will last a lifetime. We learned tools that we never knew about before but will probably never forget. We were introduced to an entire new teaching style and a whole new way of thinking.
I thought I knew about technology, or at least just enough. It turns out I had no clue. I have been out of high school for ten years, and the school I graduated from had only two computer labs and another lab inside the library. If we wanted to do research, our teachers had to schedule library time. I had no clue about the software and web tools that were provided. However, once I learned about them, I love learning of new tools that I can use when I have my own classroom of students. I only hope they are half as excited as I was to learn about them.
I enjoyed the way Mr. Smith teaches. At first it was a little hard getting used to. We are so used to having teachers talk at us or lecture to us. We were used to being told exactly what to do for our projects and exactly what the teacher was looking for. Then we entered Mr. Smith's class. It was hard at first to understand that he didn't want us to give him what he was looking for, he wanted us to give him what we were looking for. We had to be creative, we had to think, we had to grasp the concept of self teaching. Mr. Smith wanted us to work together, to become involved, and figure things out for ourselves. We didn't have to memorize information that we would completely forget the day after the exam. We had to explore and figure out things for ourselves.
I made great friends in the short semester. I can't tell you how many classes I've taken that at the end of the semester, I really didn't know anyone any better than when the semester started. I had no idea who was in my class unless we decided to converse before class started. Mr. Smith encouraged us to make connections with every student in our class and made it easy for us to do so. We had fun projects, we were able to voice our opinions regardless of who disagreed with them. This was the first class I can honestly say I was very sad to walk out of class the last day.
Mr. Smith has been saying all semester that education needs a transformation. I believe that if we have more teachers like Mr. Smith, that transformation he's been talking about is closer than some of us may think. This was my first education class, and Mr. Smith has set a high standard for my other education instructors.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Museum Box & Go! Animate
MuseumBox: http://www.museumbox.e2bn.org/
A classmate named Cody did a presentation about museum box in our technology class. This seems like a very interesting tool to use in the classroom. This tool is very useful in many ways. It can be used to introduce history and science timelines. It could be used in keeping a log of homework and activities for each day. Students can use them for debates to show the different points of view on many different sides of an issue. I feel students would love to not only use them, but also design one for themselves.
Go! Animate: goanimate.com
Go! Animate was presented to my class by Dashaya. This would be a very good tool for a teacher to present a lesson in small groups or allow students to create their own presentations. It's kind of a fun and light hearted way of having an animated teacher present an issue or lesson, and allowing animated students to ask questions or make comments that the students should be asking. This is a fun way to introduce a topic and open it up for discussion as well.
A classmate named Cody did a presentation about museum box in our technology class. This seems like a very interesting tool to use in the classroom. This tool is very useful in many ways. It can be used to introduce history and science timelines. It could be used in keeping a log of homework and activities for each day. Students can use them for debates to show the different points of view on many different sides of an issue. I feel students would love to not only use them, but also design one for themselves.
Go! Animate: goanimate.com
Go! Animate was presented to my class by Dashaya. This would be a very good tool for a teacher to present a lesson in small groups or allow students to create their own presentations. It's kind of a fun and light hearted way of having an animated teacher present an issue or lesson, and allowing animated students to ask questions or make comments that the students should be asking. This is a fun way to introduce a topic and open it up for discussion as well.
Popplet & Story Jumper
In my technology class for future teachers, fellow students introduced the class to new tools we can use to be interactive with the children in the classroom and involve more technology in our lessons.
Popplet: http://www.popplet.com/
At first glance, popplet looks like a computerized version of the "thinking webs" we were taught to use in our elementary classes while brainstorming for ideas to write a story. However, the student presenting this tool showed us how it could be much more beneficial than just "thinking webs." The amazing thing about technology is that you can own pretty much whatever you create. The student imbedded videos from the internet. You can embedd pictures from either the internet or your own personal pictures. Teachers can even create discussion boards to get students involved in sharing. Overall, it was a creative and very useful tool for any teacher--from basic elementary children all the way to presenting a lesson to high school students.
Story Jumper: http://www.storyjumper.com/
I think story jumper is a great tool for younger students and their parents as well. Students can write their own stories, add their own artwork, and share their work with their parents. This is an amazing way to share children's work and still be economically and environmentally friendly. Parents can also purchase a book containing the work their child did as a keepsake. As a mother, I know how precious these keepsakes and memories are, especially as your children get older.
Popplet: http://www.popplet.com/
At first glance, popplet looks like a computerized version of the "thinking webs" we were taught to use in our elementary classes while brainstorming for ideas to write a story. However, the student presenting this tool showed us how it could be much more beneficial than just "thinking webs." The amazing thing about technology is that you can own pretty much whatever you create. The student imbedded videos from the internet. You can embedd pictures from either the internet or your own personal pictures. Teachers can even create discussion boards to get students involved in sharing. Overall, it was a creative and very useful tool for any teacher--from basic elementary children all the way to presenting a lesson to high school students.
Story Jumper: http://www.storyjumper.com/
I think story jumper is a great tool for younger students and their parents as well. Students can write their own stories, add their own artwork, and share their work with their parents. This is an amazing way to share children's work and still be economically and environmentally friendly. Parents can also purchase a book containing the work their child did as a keepsake. As a mother, I know how precious these keepsakes and memories are, especially as your children get older.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Kidspiration
I recently came across an interesting and fun tools for teachers and parents to use at www.inspiration.com. This web site has three different software tools to choose from. Kidspiration 3 is for children Kindergarten through fifth grade, Inspire Data is for students from fourth grade through 12th grade, and Inspiration 9 is for anyone from sixth grade through adulthood. The software has several tools teachers can use while teaching Reading & Writing, Science, Social Studies, Math, and Critical Thinking. It has lesson plans, videos, and interactive games for the kids to play. The most interesting part that I found was that it has lesson plans and activities specifically designed for children with special needs including ADHA, autism, Asperger's, dyslexia, aphasia, and visual and auditory processing disorders.
Teachers are able to incorporate the lesson plans already created in their own lesson plans to make it their own. The videos, activities and charts give the students hands on activities to learn from. The critical thinking portion helps students develop the problem solving skills they will need in life. This software makes learning very interactive and hands on for the students.
Teachers are able to download free trials of this software. However, it does cost money to purchase it. I have not personally been able to use the software, since I have not purchased it. On the web site, I was able to look at example lesson plans and charts and videos. From what I have seen, it seems well worth the investment for anyone planning on a long career in education.
Teachers are able to incorporate the lesson plans already created in their own lesson plans to make it their own. The videos, activities and charts give the students hands on activities to learn from. The critical thinking portion helps students develop the problem solving skills they will need in life. This software makes learning very interactive and hands on for the students.
Teachers are able to download free trials of this software. However, it does cost money to purchase it. I have not personally been able to use the software, since I have not purchased it. On the web site, I was able to look at example lesson plans and charts and videos. From what I have seen, it seems well worth the investment for anyone planning on a long career in education.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Children Learning "I Can"
This is an amazing video about the children of India becoming empowered. The children were taught in the classroom that they can do things that make a difference. When they got the "I Can" attitude, as she calls it, they began to change India. The first step was teaching them in the classroom. They went from seeing the teacher doing something to being able to do it themselves. They were taught to think for themselves and then be able to solve problems for themselves. They taught their illiterate parents to be able to read and write and they cleaned up India.
This is a very important lesson we as educators can learn from and incorporate into our own classroom teaching. Is it important to teach students facts and events? Of course it is. However, it is more important to teach our children how to use resources, how to think critically, how to ask questions, and how to use what they have learned to solve problems in unique and creative ways. Change comes about with new ideas and new ways of thinking. Providing our children with these tools will empower them to better handle the economical, political, and social problems this country faces. Children that learn to think critically and use innovative problem solving will be able to change America.
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