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.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Cyber Bullying: Taking a Stand (Part Two)
It is clear to everyone that cyber bullying must be addressed. We must let our students know that it will not be tolerated. However, some schools have been running into legal problems when they have tried to protect their students. Some schools have taken a stand and disciplined students for cyber bullying. However, because the actions were taken off school grounds and outside of school hours, these schools have been sued for exceeding their authority and for violating the student's First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The schools have lost these lawsuits.
So what can we as parents and teachers do about this? First, I found a recommendation for schools on www.stopcyberbullying.org. They suggested that the schools add a policy in their handbook regarding cyber bullying and the school's ability to discipline the students. Their policy should say that the school has the right to discipline any actions taken outside of school grounds and/or hours if they effect a student's safety and well-being at school in a negative manner. According to the website, this changes the issue from a constitutional issue to a contractual issue, protecting the schools from further lawsuits.
All teachers should be aware of cyber bullying. As a future teacher and as a mother, I believe that we as teachers need to become more educated in the area of cyber bullying. We will not be able to stop it from happening and protect our students from something that we know little to nothing about.
Schools have workshops and classes focused on stopping bullying in the schools. I feel that all teachers and students should have to participate in workshops regarding how to stop cyber bullying. Teachers and students should be aware of the laws regarding this subject. Any teacher wanting to use a tool such as blogs should also go over with their students what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. Also, when we assign our students something that they need to use a technological tool, we need to make sure we are aware of what is going on. I realize we are unable to monitor the student's personal accounts at home. However, we need to make sure we are monitoring any of the tools they are using for the classroom. We need to educate ourselves as well as our students if we plan to make sure the wonderful tools given to us by technology are safely used by all.
Also, we should all be aware of what to do once cyber bullying begins to occur. There are support groups, hotlines, and websites devoted to helping any student who is suffering from cyber bullying or has suffered from it in the past. They teach the students how to deal with being bullied and the proper way to respond to it. Students can report any abuse or bullying to a parent, a teacher, or the service provider. Bullies can lose their ISP or IM accounts because they violated the service agreement.
The most important thing we can do is make sure our students know they need to speak out. This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We need to make sure we are educated about the topics and know how to handle these situations. Then we must make sure our students know what they can do if they see this happening or it happens to them. It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Parents, teachers, and school administrators all must band together to make sure students feel safe and secure at school and that no other teens lose their lives over something that can be prevented.
So what can we as parents and teachers do about this? First, I found a recommendation for schools on www.stopcyberbullying.org. They suggested that the schools add a policy in their handbook regarding cyber bullying and the school's ability to discipline the students. Their policy should say that the school has the right to discipline any actions taken outside of school grounds and/or hours if they effect a student's safety and well-being at school in a negative manner. According to the website, this changes the issue from a constitutional issue to a contractual issue, protecting the schools from further lawsuits.
All teachers should be aware of cyber bullying. As a future teacher and as a mother, I believe that we as teachers need to become more educated in the area of cyber bullying. We will not be able to stop it from happening and protect our students from something that we know little to nothing about.
Schools have workshops and classes focused on stopping bullying in the schools. I feel that all teachers and students should have to participate in workshops regarding how to stop cyber bullying. Teachers and students should be aware of the laws regarding this subject. Any teacher wanting to use a tool such as blogs should also go over with their students what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. Also, when we assign our students something that they need to use a technological tool, we need to make sure we are aware of what is going on. I realize we are unable to monitor the student's personal accounts at home. However, we need to make sure we are monitoring any of the tools they are using for the classroom. We need to educate ourselves as well as our students if we plan to make sure the wonderful tools given to us by technology are safely used by all.
Also, we should all be aware of what to do once cyber bullying begins to occur. There are support groups, hotlines, and websites devoted to helping any student who is suffering from cyber bullying or has suffered from it in the past. They teach the students how to deal with being bullied and the proper way to respond to it. Students can report any abuse or bullying to a parent, a teacher, or the service provider. Bullies can lose their ISP or IM accounts because they violated the service agreement.
The most important thing we can do is make sure our students know they need to speak out. This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We need to make sure we are educated about the topics and know how to handle these situations. Then we must make sure our students know what they can do if they see this happening or it happens to them. It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Parents, teachers, and school administrators all must band together to make sure students feel safe and secure at school and that no other teens lose their lives over something that can be prevented.
Cyber Bullying: A Serious Problem (Part One)
"With great power comes great responsibility." We have all heard this saying. I think it is especially true when it comes to technology and our students. While advances in technology have given teachers and students wonderful tools to use inside and outside the classroom, these same advances also give us a new spin on an old problem~bullying.
Cyber bullying is a new age problem. It became an issue long before adults (teachers and parents alike) knew how to handle it and before the laws had any provisions on how to protect our students and children. Cyber bullying occurs when a minor child (anyone under the age of 18) is "tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another minor child using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones."(www.stopcyberbullying.org)
There are two types of cyberbullying. The first type is direct attacks by the individuals doing the bullying. This includes sending or posting threatening, hateful, or humiliating messages to or about another student, stealing passwords to impersonate the student, sending the student viruses or hacker programs, creating insulting or degrading polls about other classmates, or sending lewd or degrading pictures of another classmate. The second type is cyberbullying by proxy. This is when a bully impersonates them and causes other people to unknowingly punish or bully the victim for something he or she was not responsible for.
Often when cyber bullying begins, it is something done by the bully out of anger to get revenge for an action the other student did to them. However, due to the nature of the web and technology, lots of other students see this as well. Once others begin to join in on this, it spirals out of control very fast. Because the students are unable to see the immediate reaction of the things they post, many do not think about the consequences of their actions until after it is too late. Unless a classmate was threatening death or serious bodily injury to them, cyber bullying is a repeated series of technological communications. So the student has been repeatedly attacked and degraded for a period of time. This is one reason a victim of cyber bullying will often become a cyber bully themselves. They act in retaliation to the hurtful things being done to them and said about them. So the victim one moment can become the bully the next. Another minute later, they could be the victim again.
This is a problem that happens more often than adults know about or would like to admit. According to one set of statistics, 42% of students say they have been bullied online at one time or another. Girls are twice as likely to become both the victim and the bully online. The biggest difference from online bullying to regular bullying is that the victims have no escape from it. The internet is available all the time, everywhere. When a student was bullied in the past, they could go home to get some peace and security. With the availability of the internet, students are now unable to escape from the hurt and emotional damage caused by the bullying.
Cyber bullying has become such a serious problem that it has caused the death of teenagers. Students have killed other classmates as well as themselves over issues with cyber bullying. Our students lives are ending needlessly when the problems of cyber bullying are not addressed properly right away. In serious cases, cyber bullying can become a serious criminal offense. A student could be charged with juvenile delinquency or even with a misdemeanor cyber harassment charge.
Resources used in this blog:
*www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
*www.stopcyberbullying.org
*www.dosomething.org/tipsnadtools/11-fact-about-cyber-bullying
*surfsafety.net/cyberbullying-exec%summary-final.htm
Cyber bullying is a new age problem. It became an issue long before adults (teachers and parents alike) knew how to handle it and before the laws had any provisions on how to protect our students and children. Cyber bullying occurs when a minor child (anyone under the age of 18) is "tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another minor child using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones."(www.stopcyberbullying.org)
There are two types of cyberbullying. The first type is direct attacks by the individuals doing the bullying. This includes sending or posting threatening, hateful, or humiliating messages to or about another student, stealing passwords to impersonate the student, sending the student viruses or hacker programs, creating insulting or degrading polls about other classmates, or sending lewd or degrading pictures of another classmate. The second type is cyberbullying by proxy. This is when a bully impersonates them and causes other people to unknowingly punish or bully the victim for something he or she was not responsible for.
Often when cyber bullying begins, it is something done by the bully out of anger to get revenge for an action the other student did to them. However, due to the nature of the web and technology, lots of other students see this as well. Once others begin to join in on this, it spirals out of control very fast. Because the students are unable to see the immediate reaction of the things they post, many do not think about the consequences of their actions until after it is too late. Unless a classmate was threatening death or serious bodily injury to them, cyber bullying is a repeated series of technological communications. So the student has been repeatedly attacked and degraded for a period of time. This is one reason a victim of cyber bullying will often become a cyber bully themselves. They act in retaliation to the hurtful things being done to them and said about them. So the victim one moment can become the bully the next. Another minute later, they could be the victim again.
This is a problem that happens more often than adults know about or would like to admit. According to one set of statistics, 42% of students say they have been bullied online at one time or another. Girls are twice as likely to become both the victim and the bully online. The biggest difference from online bullying to regular bullying is that the victims have no escape from it. The internet is available all the time, everywhere. When a student was bullied in the past, they could go home to get some peace and security. With the availability of the internet, students are now unable to escape from the hurt and emotional damage caused by the bullying.
Cyber bullying has become such a serious problem that it has caused the death of teenagers. Students have killed other classmates as well as themselves over issues with cyber bullying. Our students lives are ending needlessly when the problems of cyber bullying are not addressed properly right away. In serious cases, cyber bullying can become a serious criminal offense. A student could be charged with juvenile delinquency or even with a misdemeanor cyber harassment charge.
Resources used in this blog:
*www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
*www.stopcyberbullying.org
*www.dosomething.org/tipsnadtools/11-fact-about-cyber-bullying
*surfsafety.net/cyberbullying-exec%summary-final.htm
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
SEDU 183 Reflection
My two favorite tools we used in class is PowerPoint and Google Docs. The PowerPoint presentations were fun to create. It is a good way to share information and teach without making things boring and dry. A lot of the creator's personality can be expressed in the PowerPoint presentations.
I'll use Google Docs in the classroom for group assignments. Everyone has easy assess to it. Also, it is an easy way for me as a teacher to find out which students put forth the effort in each assignment. I found it a convenient way to work as a group in class. Our schedules were all different. I could collaborate with my group at times that were best for me without inconveniencing any other group members. I am juggling classes and schoolwork, along with being a full time homemaker, wife and mother. As a teacher, it is also nice that I can check in on the progress of my students. I can give my input and help with problems so they don't have to wait until class to ask for help.
There are so many tools I didn't know about or know how to use. I have used PowerPoint before this class. However, I didn't know about many other tools we use in class. It is exciting to learn how to use them. I am looking forward to learning new tools to incorporate into teaching that will help make my classroom a fun and informative environment for learning.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
About Me
My name is Amy Stiffler. I am a 28 year old student, wife, and mother of three boys. I am a student at Edinboro University. I am a country girl that's not afraid to get dirty, but I also like to be girly. I enjoy hunting, four wheeling, and being outdoors. I have three dogs~two German shepherds and one beagle. I am passionate about my family and my faith.
I aspire to be a sixth grade teacher. I intend to provide my students with a fun and interesting learning environment. I love working with children and believe they should feel free to express themselves in creative ways that are true to themselves. I am excited to learn all I can about the different ways I can make the students as excited about learning as I am of teaching them. I believe when students are encouraged in a creative and interesting learning environment, they will become more involved and want to learn. We have all had classes we loved to go to because the teacher made things interesting and made us want to learn. We have also had those classes we dreaded because the teacher just talked at us and was very boring. My goal is to make a difference in the lives of my students. I don't just want to teach, I want to inspire my students.
I aspire to be a sixth grade teacher. I intend to provide my students with a fun and interesting learning environment. I love working with children and believe they should feel free to express themselves in creative ways that are true to themselves. I am excited to learn all I can about the different ways I can make the students as excited about learning as I am of teaching them. I believe when students are encouraged in a creative and interesting learning environment, they will become more involved and want to learn. We have all had classes we loved to go to because the teacher made things interesting and made us want to learn. We have also had those classes we dreaded because the teacher just talked at us and was very boring. My goal is to make a difference in the lives of my students. I don't just want to teach, I want to inspire my students.
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