Stephanie Simmons
T&L 445 Sec 3
November 26, 2007
DISTANCE EDUCATION
After exploring most of the virtual school websites, I was able to feel more comfortable with the idea of using technology for teaching at a distance. I was very interested in the websites and I was able to discover 5 pros and 5 cons of having virtual schools. I was able to think deeply about myself using this type of curriculum and I asked myself how I would determine the readiness of students to participate in distance delivery. I also reflected on the idea of using virtual curriculum and I thought about what I needed to do to be able to teach in a virtual school. I enjoyed this activity, for I was able to look beyond the in-school classroom and see the creativity that waits outside and in the technology world!
First, I was able to create an opinion on virtual schools and make a chart of 5 things I thought was beneficial for distance education and 5 things that I thought were not beneficial. I made this list of 5 pros and 5 cons and I would like to start by discussing what I really liked about virtual classrooms.
5 pros:
1) The virtual classrooms allow for flexibility and convenience. Most of these virtual school websites can be used for home school students, so this curriculum is easily assessable and can be done based on the student and parent’s personal schedule. This allows the students and the parents to go at their own pace and feel comfortable with the learning process without rushing.
2) Virtual classrooms are also great because the opportunity to do homeschooling is a positive factor in a parent-child relationship. The parent is able to see the lessons online that the students must complete and this allows the parents to work with their children. This lets the parents be involved in their child’s life and help them grow as a student and as a learner.
3) When students use virtual classrooms, this advances their ability to use technology. Using technology to learn can be a challenging process, so being able to learn through a computer is fascinating. Students are able to become more comfortable with technology which is important for their future since technology is constantly advancing!
4) Virtual classrooms are also great because if a student is completing curriculum through homeschooling, they are positively affecting public schools in the long run. Some virtual websites are free to home school students and the funding comes from the public schools to keep these websites running. The public schools make money off of these websites because a home school student learning through the website supported by the public school is being counted as a student at the public school. The more students in a school, the more money provided for that school. Since the student is actually at home, the school is saving money on heating, food, etc. because of the home school students that are really enrolled in the public school. The money saved can be spent for books and can be used to support these free virtual websites. Basically, home school students are helping public schools in the long run which is great for myself as a teaching depending on a job and salary as a public school employee.
5) Virtual classrooms also allow for fun and creativity. You can do anything with technology these days and there are many ideas that the teachers can use to provide an engaging learning environment. An example of a great idea would be to have an author of a story read their book to the class over the internet. This virtual interaction would be great for the students to relate what they have learned through the computer to outside sources too!
5 cons:
1) Virtual classrooms take A LOT of preparation! As a teacher, you must be able to sit down and prepare ahead of time to have an organized system through the computer. You must be willing to spend time to set up for this learning environment and know that it is very time consuming to prepare for.
2) Another disadvantage of having a virtual classroom is that technology is EXPENSIVE! It would be difficult to make sure that all of your students have access to the cameras, computers, videos, etc. because the cost of everything is expensive. This equipment is not necessarily easy to come by and cannot be expected to be provided in every home.
3) Virtual classrooms require skill and knowledge in the field of technology which can be difficult to have. Myself as a college student, I am still uneasy about technology and it would make me nervous to do all of my school work on a computer. Virtual classrooms require patience and confidence with technology and that is something that not everybody has.
4) Virtual classrooms are not able to provide the comfort and community atmosphere like a classroom inside the school. This is a case for home school students and classes where the teacher is lecturing from a different location (AMS system). This absence of the teacher also does not provide help for those students who struggle and need that eye-to-eye connection to learn. The atmosphere can be an obstacle to overcome and that is why virtual classrooms can be at a disadvantage.
5) Virtual classrooms require dedication and commitment. Students must be willing to work on their assignments on their own time and if a student is not committed then they are more likely to struggle. There is a lot of responsibility put on the students when they are being taught through a virtual classroom and that puts pressure on their successes and failures as a student.
After discussing the pros and cons of virtual classrooms, I would like to discuss how I would determine the readiness of students to participate in distance delivery. To determine this readiness, I would have to recognize the age of my students and their level of responsibility. Since virtual classrooms require dedication and commitment, I must be able to rely on my students to do their assignments based on the distance delivery. I would expect college students to be able to handle the tasks at hand, where I could also rely on students in the elementary schools. In this situation, I would determine the readiness of my elementary students based on the commitment from their parents. I would want to make sure that my students’ parents are able to work with their child at home and help complete all of the assignments given. This takes time for the parents, so I would check with the parents to make sure this arrangement would work with them. I could also determine a student’s readiness for distance delivery based on their ability to work well on his/her own. If a student is responsible, like I said before, the student must be able to work on their own too. I would also determine this readiness by seeing how much a student actually work on homework. If I know that my students work on their homework for many hours, then I know they could complete a distance delivery program. There are many factors in determining the readiness of a student, but it is always important to do what works best for the students.
After discussing the readiness of my students, I would like to discuss my plan as a teacher using virtual curriculum. There are many things that I need to do to be able to teach in a virtual school. I feel that I must have computer experience and be comfortable with technology. I want to have knowledge about the curriculum that my virtual school is using, so this would require practice using technology until I am confident to teach a class. I must also know the material that is being taught through this virtual school and be willing to learn more about the topics provided. I must be patient with the technology and willing to work many hours to prepare for this set-up. Virtual curriculum can be time consuming, so I must be prepared to work on my lesson plans ahead of time and not procrastinate. I would also like to be able to create a classroom community environment if possible, so if there is a way to set-up a comforting environment for this virtual school, I would love to do that! Also, the virtual schools allow for premade virtual websites and in order to prepare for my class, I would have to build onto my website based on the premade components. I would then build my curriculum plan and customize the website space. There is a lot of preparation involved in virtual schools, so as a teacher I must come into the project with an open mind and an attitude that will allow me to teach my students to the best of my ability. This would be a great way to teach students and keep up with the times and technology advances! I look forward to the opportunities that lay ahead of me where I am able to recognize what is expected to be able to teach in a virtual school.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Emerging Technologies
The first emerging technology that I discovered was the Global Virtual Classroom. This is a project that has a collection of free, on line educational activities and resources for open classroom purposes. This emerging technology allows classroom teachers to integrate technology into the classroom by linking different cultures around the world through the computer. The Global Virtual Classroom also allows the classroom to be a part of an “information superhighway,” which can provide the students the opportunity to develop three essential skills: cross-cultural communication, collaboration, and computer skills (http://www.virtualclassroom.org/).
The emerging technology, Global Virtual Classroom, can ultimately impact my teaching and preparation in some shape or form. As a teacher, I will be very accepting to many differences in culture, so whatever my preparation style is, I will just have to be open-minded for all of the different cultures. I will also have to monitor what the internet provides my classroom before we enter onto this “information superhighway.” I can also use this resource to get different views on classroom projects, so by using this emerging technology I can broaden my resources and my knowledge of technology projects. Using the Global Virtual Classroom as a resource will only effect my teaching and preparation positively.
The emerging technology, Global Virtual Classroom, can ultimately impact my future students and how they learn, interact, and engage in classroom activities. My students will be able to think “outside of the box” and be open to new ideas and differences in cultures. This will provide a new outlook for my students, for they will be able to see that there is an entire world out there to get to know. Students will be able to interact within our classroom and outside of it, linking to different cultures in different countries. This gives my students plenty of opportunities to learn more about the world, in which the Global Virtual Classroom will benefit the well being of my students.
The second emerging technology that I discovered was from Google and it was called SketchUp. SketchUp is a software program that allows students to create 3D models to explore new concepts and ideas. This program is useful for architects because it allows them to design buildings and/or work in groups. SketchUp allows students to use this same process, where they can use the software for constructing 3D models of buildings, trees, cars, etc. You can also use SketchUp independently, with Google Earth, or with the 3D Warehouse. Teachers can also use this software to relate to subjects across the curriculum such as geography, social studies, history and industrial technology. SketchUp reinforces mathematical concepts like area and volume, so this emerging technology can broaden knowledge across the curriculum in the classroom (http://www.google.com/educators/p_sketchup.html).
As a teacher, I realized that SketchUp can impact my teaching and preparation in many ways. Since SketchUp allows for many different subjects to coincide, I will be prepared to expand the 3D project to activities across the curriculum. I will then have to be more prepared to connect technology to geography, social studies, history, math, etc. SketchUp will be a great resource to use, but I must allow more time and preparation to use it to the fullest potential across the curriculum.
SketchUp can ultimately impact my future students and how they learn, interact, and engage in classroom activities. My students will be able to create more and more 3D versions of buildings from branching off from their previous work. This allows the students to expand their thinking and go beyond the obvious. My students will also be able to interact among their peers because this can be a team project. My students will also be interested in SketchUp because it is one of those products that is fascinating to students, which easily gets kids learning while having fun at the same time. My future students will be positively effected by SketchUp and I know they would look forward to using this software.
The third emerging technology that I discovered was Picasa. Picasa is a free software download that allows you to find, edit, and share all the pictures on your PC. It has a Web Album feature that lets you upload photos from your computer to the web for sharing with others. Picasa also organizes all of your photos into files that can be easily found. You can use Picasa to make albums and a screensaver to display your photos. Picasa is a great resource to experiment with the computer in a fun and interactive way, relating to all of the students through pictures (http://www.google.com/educators/p_picasa.html).
Picasa can ultimately impact my teaching and preparation in many ways. I feel that this software will be able to create a comforting community atmosphere where pictures can share feelings. This software allows for my students to express themselves through photos, so as a teacher, I will be more lenient so my students can have fun taking pictures. I can also use this project to make a gift for my classroom. Once all of the pictures have been taken and graded, I can make a photo CD for my classroom. Also, I can let my students access this online at home, so they can share it with their parents. Taking pictures can also be related to activities across the curriculum, for students can be creative and complete lesson plans based on any subject. As a teacher, I can be creative with this software, so I will be extra prepared for this assignment and know that this project is for the happiness of my students.
Picasa can also impact my future students and how they learn, interact, and engage in classroom activities. Taking pictures will allow my students to express themselves and be creative. Picasa allows my students to work in groups and learn to use a camera and the computer. They will be able to recognize how technology works together to create fun projects. I would like my students to have fun with this project, just like our Video Project in T&L 445. I hope my students enjoy Picasa because I know I will and I will be excited to see the outcomes of the student pictures.
The emerging technology, Global Virtual Classroom, can ultimately impact my teaching and preparation in some shape or form. As a teacher, I will be very accepting to many differences in culture, so whatever my preparation style is, I will just have to be open-minded for all of the different cultures. I will also have to monitor what the internet provides my classroom before we enter onto this “information superhighway.” I can also use this resource to get different views on classroom projects, so by using this emerging technology I can broaden my resources and my knowledge of technology projects. Using the Global Virtual Classroom as a resource will only effect my teaching and preparation positively.
The emerging technology, Global Virtual Classroom, can ultimately impact my future students and how they learn, interact, and engage in classroom activities. My students will be able to think “outside of the box” and be open to new ideas and differences in cultures. This will provide a new outlook for my students, for they will be able to see that there is an entire world out there to get to know. Students will be able to interact within our classroom and outside of it, linking to different cultures in different countries. This gives my students plenty of opportunities to learn more about the world, in which the Global Virtual Classroom will benefit the well being of my students.
The second emerging technology that I discovered was from Google and it was called SketchUp. SketchUp is a software program that allows students to create 3D models to explore new concepts and ideas. This program is useful for architects because it allows them to design buildings and/or work in groups. SketchUp allows students to use this same process, where they can use the software for constructing 3D models of buildings, trees, cars, etc. You can also use SketchUp independently, with Google Earth, or with the 3D Warehouse. Teachers can also use this software to relate to subjects across the curriculum such as geography, social studies, history and industrial technology. SketchUp reinforces mathematical concepts like area and volume, so this emerging technology can broaden knowledge across the curriculum in the classroom (http://www.google.com/educators/p_sketchup.html).
As a teacher, I realized that SketchUp can impact my teaching and preparation in many ways. Since SketchUp allows for many different subjects to coincide, I will be prepared to expand the 3D project to activities across the curriculum. I will then have to be more prepared to connect technology to geography, social studies, history, math, etc. SketchUp will be a great resource to use, but I must allow more time and preparation to use it to the fullest potential across the curriculum.
SketchUp can ultimately impact my future students and how they learn, interact, and engage in classroom activities. My students will be able to create more and more 3D versions of buildings from branching off from their previous work. This allows the students to expand their thinking and go beyond the obvious. My students will also be able to interact among their peers because this can be a team project. My students will also be interested in SketchUp because it is one of those products that is fascinating to students, which easily gets kids learning while having fun at the same time. My future students will be positively effected by SketchUp and I know they would look forward to using this software.
The third emerging technology that I discovered was Picasa. Picasa is a free software download that allows you to find, edit, and share all the pictures on your PC. It has a Web Album feature that lets you upload photos from your computer to the web for sharing with others. Picasa also organizes all of your photos into files that can be easily found. You can use Picasa to make albums and a screensaver to display your photos. Picasa is a great resource to experiment with the computer in a fun and interactive way, relating to all of the students through pictures (http://www.google.com/educators/p_picasa.html).
Picasa can ultimately impact my teaching and preparation in many ways. I feel that this software will be able to create a comforting community atmosphere where pictures can share feelings. This software allows for my students to express themselves through photos, so as a teacher, I will be more lenient so my students can have fun taking pictures. I can also use this project to make a gift for my classroom. Once all of the pictures have been taken and graded, I can make a photo CD for my classroom. Also, I can let my students access this online at home, so they can share it with their parents. Taking pictures can also be related to activities across the curriculum, for students can be creative and complete lesson plans based on any subject. As a teacher, I can be creative with this software, so I will be extra prepared for this assignment and know that this project is for the happiness of my students.
Picasa can also impact my future students and how they learn, interact, and engage in classroom activities. Taking pictures will allow my students to express themselves and be creative. Picasa allows my students to work in groups and learn to use a camera and the computer. They will be able to recognize how technology works together to create fun projects. I would like my students to have fun with this project, just like our Video Project in T&L 445. I hope my students enjoy Picasa because I know I will and I will be excited to see the outcomes of the student pictures.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
1. How can the use of concept mapping activities engage your students in their learning? Give 2 or 3 specific examples.
In many ways you can use concept mapping activities to engage your students in learning! Concept mapping can be used to organize thoughts, so working with these activities will help the students dig deep to learn. I would use this project to engage my students in learning so they could organize their ideas by using schematic processing. Students can use previous knowledge of the topic to support new information. You can also use concept maps for any type of project! Some specific examples could be assigning students to do a project on the weather, food groups, or animals. For the weather project I would have my students choose a main point and work into specific points. For example, the students could talk about the sun. From the main point there would be branches to similar ideas about the sun that are more complex. The students should branch out their ideas and have at least three sub-topics about the sun. These topics could include what to wear out in the sun, where to go when it is sunny, or what the weather is like when it is sunny. Another idea could be about the food groups. The main idea could be a specific food group where the students must branch out from that idea to make more specific ideas. These ideas could include the types of food in that food group, a favorite food, and how to make a specific food. Another project idea that would allow my students to engage in learning would be about animals. The main topic could be a specific animal and expand from that. It is more exciting for the student to research a specific animal and go into depth about it. If a student were to do their concept map on a bear they could make the bear the main idea and branch out from that to make more specific ideas. These ideas could include habitat, diet, and physical characteristics. All of these ideas are a great start in concept mapping, where the student can easily become engaged when working with this type of activity. Concept mapping allows the students to research and be able to explain their thinking in complex formations. Concept mapping is great and I know I will use it in my classroom!
2. Discuss how concept mapping changes the way your students can demonstrate that they understand a concept or topic you would be teaching.
Concept mapping is a great way to evaluate a student’s understanding of a concept or topic! When the student uses a concept map they are more likely to understand the information because they can organize their information into complex parts. The students have to use deductive reasoning, where they start from a broad topic and work into more specific points. Concept mapping changes the way my students can demonstrate that they understand a concept because it shows that they have thought about their topic thoroughly and have organized it into categories. I could also have my students explain their concept map. They could keep their labels broad and generalized on the map, but then they could present their topic to the class and be more specific. Having students explain their maps to the class will show that they really know the topic I am teaching. I will see that my students understand the material because they are capable of organizing ideas on their map. Concept mapping is a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge, so this will be helpful for me to use in my class for learning and for assessment.
In many ways you can use concept mapping activities to engage your students in learning! Concept mapping can be used to organize thoughts, so working with these activities will help the students dig deep to learn. I would use this project to engage my students in learning so they could organize their ideas by using schematic processing. Students can use previous knowledge of the topic to support new information. You can also use concept maps for any type of project! Some specific examples could be assigning students to do a project on the weather, food groups, or animals. For the weather project I would have my students choose a main point and work into specific points. For example, the students could talk about the sun. From the main point there would be branches to similar ideas about the sun that are more complex. The students should branch out their ideas and have at least three sub-topics about the sun. These topics could include what to wear out in the sun, where to go when it is sunny, or what the weather is like when it is sunny. Another idea could be about the food groups. The main idea could be a specific food group where the students must branch out from that idea to make more specific ideas. These ideas could include the types of food in that food group, a favorite food, and how to make a specific food. Another project idea that would allow my students to engage in learning would be about animals. The main topic could be a specific animal and expand from that. It is more exciting for the student to research a specific animal and go into depth about it. If a student were to do their concept map on a bear they could make the bear the main idea and branch out from that to make more specific ideas. These ideas could include habitat, diet, and physical characteristics. All of these ideas are a great start in concept mapping, where the student can easily become engaged when working with this type of activity. Concept mapping allows the students to research and be able to explain their thinking in complex formations. Concept mapping is great and I know I will use it in my classroom!
2. Discuss how concept mapping changes the way your students can demonstrate that they understand a concept or topic you would be teaching.
Concept mapping is a great way to evaluate a student’s understanding of a concept or topic! When the student uses a concept map they are more likely to understand the information because they can organize their information into complex parts. The students have to use deductive reasoning, where they start from a broad topic and work into more specific points. Concept mapping changes the way my students can demonstrate that they understand a concept because it shows that they have thought about their topic thoroughly and have organized it into categories. I could also have my students explain their concept map. They could keep their labels broad and generalized on the map, but then they could present their topic to the class and be more specific. Having students explain their maps to the class will show that they really know the topic I am teaching. I will see that my students understand the material because they are capable of organizing ideas on their map. Concept mapping is a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge, so this will be helpful for me to use in my class for learning and for assessment.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Teacherweb
How was grading the teacherweb?
Grading teacherweb was really fun! I just enjoyed seeing what my fellow classmates had done! Their ideas were very creative! I loved the web resources page, for there were many links for teachers to use! I thought this was the most beneficial page of the website! I also liked looking at the homepage icons for each page. Each teacherweb had its own personality, and I liked how my classmates put so much time into their projects! It was fun to sit down and enjoy what we had worked so hard on!
Did I find anything interesting?
I found many things to be interesting on these teacherwebs! I liked taking the quizzes that were provided, for I learned fascinating information! I learned about capitals of states and all about mathematics. It was really fun just to see the differences in quiz items and all of the interesting information provided on each page!
Knowing what I know now:
What would I do differently?
I really enjoyed making my teacherweb, so I do not feel that there is much I would do differently with my website. I know I could have spent more time on it, by adding more pictures or links, but I did what was necessary the best I could. I tried hard, and I feel like I made a great teacher web, so there is not much that I would change!
What would I like to see different on teacherweb?
I can not stress how much I like teacherweb. I think it is a great resource to have in your classroom, so I feel teacherweb is great as it is! I would like to have made a wiki on teacherweb, instead of outside of it. That is the only thing that I would have liked to see different on the teacherweb, is to put our actual class lesson within teacherweb!
Grading teacherweb was really fun! I just enjoyed seeing what my fellow classmates had done! Their ideas were very creative! I loved the web resources page, for there were many links for teachers to use! I thought this was the most beneficial page of the website! I also liked looking at the homepage icons for each page. Each teacherweb had its own personality, and I liked how my classmates put so much time into their projects! It was fun to sit down and enjoy what we had worked so hard on!
Did I find anything interesting?
I found many things to be interesting on these teacherwebs! I liked taking the quizzes that were provided, for I learned fascinating information! I learned about capitals of states and all about mathematics. It was really fun just to see the differences in quiz items and all of the interesting information provided on each page!
Knowing what I know now:
What would I do differently?
I really enjoyed making my teacherweb, so I do not feel that there is much I would do differently with my website. I know I could have spent more time on it, by adding more pictures or links, but I did what was necessary the best I could. I tried hard, and I feel like I made a great teacher web, so there is not much that I would change!
What would I like to see different on teacherweb?
I can not stress how much I like teacherweb. I think it is a great resource to have in your classroom, so I feel teacherweb is great as it is! I would like to have made a wiki on teacherweb, instead of outside of it. That is the only thing that I would have liked to see different on the teacherweb, is to put our actual class lesson within teacherweb!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Blogs in Education
1. Discuss your search results and why you feel they were similar or different:
When I searched for “Educational Blogs” on the search engines Google, Yahoo, and MSN, I found similarities and differences among the search results. The number of results for “Educational Blogs” was vastly different among these results. I received 15,500,000 results from the Google search engine, 4,590,000 results from the Yahoo search engine, and 757,050 results from the MSN search engine. There are so many keywords about blogs, so there were differences in the reference websites that showed in each search engine. When I searched Yahoo, I found many results to be about teachers and how they use blogs as a learning community. The websites that were predominant on Yahoo’s search engine were teacher blogs, edblogger praxis, etc. When I searched Google, I found specific websites for weblogs, blogs in education, and Kathy Schrock’s homepage. These results were similar to MSN’s results. MSN provided me with educational blogs, weblogs, and also Kathy Schrock’s homepage. These results had similar keywords as the Google’s search engine. This was a great exercise because I was able to see the differences in results, and how I can use resources to find more than one answer or result.
2. Identify and describe 3 interesting/innovative ways blogs are being used in k-12 classrooms:
Blogs are a great way to communicate within the classroom. They can help with getting ideas out in the open for discussion. The teacher can also post his/her thoughts about the blog topic and provide insight about his/her own experiences. Teachers can look at other blogs for resources and get new ideas for their own classroom. You can also use a blog to post information about your school, which is helpful for other staff members and school districts. You can also use your blog to add links to outside sources that can be helpful for many students, parents, and faculty. There is also no advertising ever, so this is great to keep your learning goals on task. There are many great things you can do with a blog, for you can use blogs as a source to learn how to work with technology. Integrating technology into the classroom is so important, and the blogs provide access to this opportunity. The blogs are for the students to learn and are a great idea to make your classroom interesting and innovative!
3. Describe your search on RSS readers/aggregators and how you might use them in a classroom:
RSS readers are a great way to provide information! They provide news updates that are simple for your computer. These files are read in a program called an aggregator. An aggregator collects news from different websites that can be provided for you. I would use both of these in my classroom to continue the idea of communication! The RSS readers would be great for news headlines, so I think this would be very important in my classroom. Depending on the age of my students, I may want to choose an appropriate aggregator that provides adequate information for the age range. I could post these RSS readers and aggregators to my personal webpage, which would be very appropriate for my teacher web, like the ones we have already made in our T&L445 class. This use of RSS readers and aggregators will help in the process of communication, so not only will my students know what is going on, but so will their parents, staff members, and other visitors to my teacher web. I think the RSS readers and aggregators are a great idea, and I know I could use these resources in my classroom to provide efficient communication skills.
4. Discuss the impact you think blogging and using RSS readers may have on k-12 classrooms:
I think blogging and using RSS readers will have a major impact on the k-12 classroom. You can use these resources for any age, in which will allow the students to become more comfortable with technology. These students will be able to speak freely about their opinions on the blogs and therefore, will allow for discussion and open minds in learning. The RSS readers will allow all of the students to be informed about different updates in the world, in the school, or in our classroom. The impact on these students from blogging and RSS readers will all be beneficial and positive; therefore, I know I will provide these opportunities in my own classroom.
5. Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and RSS readers in education:
Blogs and RSS readers are great because they allow for communication and discussion to occur. These resources allow students to feel openly about their opinions and have the opportunity to see what others have written about the same topic. The blogs and RSS readers are also great because it is an effective place to inform your classroom about upcoming assignments and news in the classroom. RSS readers are great because they give updates that are quick and reliable. There aren’t too many negative points about blogs and RSS readers, but these resources can be difficult for some. If the students are too young for technology, these resources wouldn’t be the best or most effective. It may also be a bad idea for students’ ideas to be posted openly for class discussion. Some students may become intimidated to write how they really feel, or their information could allow for someone to copy ideas or make fun of the person. The blogs and RSS readers seem to have a greater positive effect on learning than negative, so I know I will use these resources in my classroom.
When I searched for “Educational Blogs” on the search engines Google, Yahoo, and MSN, I found similarities and differences among the search results. The number of results for “Educational Blogs” was vastly different among these results. I received 15,500,000 results from the Google search engine, 4,590,000 results from the Yahoo search engine, and 757,050 results from the MSN search engine. There are so many keywords about blogs, so there were differences in the reference websites that showed in each search engine. When I searched Yahoo, I found many results to be about teachers and how they use blogs as a learning community. The websites that were predominant on Yahoo’s search engine were teacher blogs, edblogger praxis, etc. When I searched Google, I found specific websites for weblogs, blogs in education, and Kathy Schrock’s homepage. These results were similar to MSN’s results. MSN provided me with educational blogs, weblogs, and also Kathy Schrock’s homepage. These results had similar keywords as the Google’s search engine. This was a great exercise because I was able to see the differences in results, and how I can use resources to find more than one answer or result.
2. Identify and describe 3 interesting/innovative ways blogs are being used in k-12 classrooms:
Blogs are a great way to communicate within the classroom. They can help with getting ideas out in the open for discussion. The teacher can also post his/her thoughts about the blog topic and provide insight about his/her own experiences. Teachers can look at other blogs for resources and get new ideas for their own classroom. You can also use a blog to post information about your school, which is helpful for other staff members and school districts. You can also use your blog to add links to outside sources that can be helpful for many students, parents, and faculty. There is also no advertising ever, so this is great to keep your learning goals on task. There are many great things you can do with a blog, for you can use blogs as a source to learn how to work with technology. Integrating technology into the classroom is so important, and the blogs provide access to this opportunity. The blogs are for the students to learn and are a great idea to make your classroom interesting and innovative!
3. Describe your search on RSS readers/aggregators and how you might use them in a classroom:
RSS readers are a great way to provide information! They provide news updates that are simple for your computer. These files are read in a program called an aggregator. An aggregator collects news from different websites that can be provided for you. I would use both of these in my classroom to continue the idea of communication! The RSS readers would be great for news headlines, so I think this would be very important in my classroom. Depending on the age of my students, I may want to choose an appropriate aggregator that provides adequate information for the age range. I could post these RSS readers and aggregators to my personal webpage, which would be very appropriate for my teacher web, like the ones we have already made in our T&L445 class. This use of RSS readers and aggregators will help in the process of communication, so not only will my students know what is going on, but so will their parents, staff members, and other visitors to my teacher web. I think the RSS readers and aggregators are a great idea, and I know I could use these resources in my classroom to provide efficient communication skills.
4. Discuss the impact you think blogging and using RSS readers may have on k-12 classrooms:
I think blogging and using RSS readers will have a major impact on the k-12 classroom. You can use these resources for any age, in which will allow the students to become more comfortable with technology. These students will be able to speak freely about their opinions on the blogs and therefore, will allow for discussion and open minds in learning. The RSS readers will allow all of the students to be informed about different updates in the world, in the school, or in our classroom. The impact on these students from blogging and RSS readers will all be beneficial and positive; therefore, I know I will provide these opportunities in my own classroom.
5. Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and RSS readers in education:
Blogs and RSS readers are great because they allow for communication and discussion to occur. These resources allow students to feel openly about their opinions and have the opportunity to see what others have written about the same topic. The blogs and RSS readers are also great because it is an effective place to inform your classroom about upcoming assignments and news in the classroom. RSS readers are great because they give updates that are quick and reliable. There aren’t too many negative points about blogs and RSS readers, but these resources can be difficult for some. If the students are too young for technology, these resources wouldn’t be the best or most effective. It may also be a bad idea for students’ ideas to be posted openly for class discussion. Some students may become intimidated to write how they really feel, or their information could allow for someone to copy ideas or make fun of the person. The blogs and RSS readers seem to have a greater positive effect on learning than negative, so I know I will use these resources in my classroom.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
BLOG on Webquest and Wiki
I found it very beneficial to use a webquest and wiki as a resource for many reasons! After reviewing examples of webquests and wikis and discussing them with my group, I was able to identify items that I missed, how I would do something differently, and how I would apply a webquest/wiki in my classroom.
What I missed: When discussing webquests and wikis with my fellow classmates, we came to a conclusion that webquests/wikis are helpful! We all got the same idea of a webquest and wiki, where we knew they were great resources to look up other lesson plans from teachers. We all decided that webquests/wikis are great locations to organize classroom information and activities, where we can easily post our assignments at this webpage. When we were discussing the webquests I realized that you could also put your grading evaluations, rubrics, and calendars on your page, in which I didn’t recognize this earlier in the assignment. I now have a better understanding of webquests/wikis because of this group discussion.
How I would do something differently: I think webquests/wikis are great! When I was filling out our webquest assignment sheet, I was just scanning though websites and ideas, so now I want to go back through and examine each idea more in depth! I want to take my time and visit as many webquests/wikis to get more and more ideas about lesson plans/units. There is so much information out there, so I want to take my time now and learn as much as I can!
How I would apply a webquest/wiki in my classroom: I think these resources are great to use in your classroom because you can organize all of your assignments online! This allows the students to feel more comfortable with computers and the internet, while learning other subjects at the same time! I have many possible ideas for webquest/wiki activities like doing units on multiplication tables, geology projects of before and after erosion, astronomy/planets/stars/moon, history of Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail, and also the Trail of Tears about the Cherokee Indians. There are many possibilities and I look forward to how I can use this resource in my own classroom!
What I missed: When discussing webquests and wikis with my fellow classmates, we came to a conclusion that webquests/wikis are helpful! We all got the same idea of a webquest and wiki, where we knew they were great resources to look up other lesson plans from teachers. We all decided that webquests/wikis are great locations to organize classroom information and activities, where we can easily post our assignments at this webpage. When we were discussing the webquests I realized that you could also put your grading evaluations, rubrics, and calendars on your page, in which I didn’t recognize this earlier in the assignment. I now have a better understanding of webquests/wikis because of this group discussion.
How I would do something differently: I think webquests/wikis are great! When I was filling out our webquest assignment sheet, I was just scanning though websites and ideas, so now I want to go back through and examine each idea more in depth! I want to take my time and visit as many webquests/wikis to get more and more ideas about lesson plans/units. There is so much information out there, so I want to take my time now and learn as much as I can!
How I would apply a webquest/wiki in my classroom: I think these resources are great to use in your classroom because you can organize all of your assignments online! This allows the students to feel more comfortable with computers and the internet, while learning other subjects at the same time! I have many possible ideas for webquest/wiki activities like doing units on multiplication tables, geology projects of before and after erosion, astronomy/planets/stars/moon, history of Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail, and also the Trail of Tears about the Cherokee Indians. There are many possibilities and I look forward to how I can use this resource in my own classroom!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Learning Theories-Stephanie Simmons
There are many theories about learning! You can begin to understand the learning process by reviewing the behavioral learning theories of operant and classical conditions, the constructivist theories, the cognitive theories of schemas and information processing, the Myers-Briggs cognitive type theory, and finally Gardner‘s multiple intelligence theory. Many of these theories can be related to technology, where I will choose one as an example to create a better understanding about the learning process, while integrating technology to the learning theory.
Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory is one of my favorite learning theories. This theory covers a variety of learning styles; verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential, and musical. As a teacher, you must try to meet each category when teaching a lesson. The lesson may not be able to include every category always, but the category must be met sometime during the unit. When teachers provide a strategy for each category, the teacher is allowing every child the opportunity to learn. There are many multiple intelligences, where each category can be met through the proper teaching methods in a technology class. I will give a few examples of intelligences, while integrating technology to the learning theory. While using technology, the verbal-linguistic category can be met when the computer can talk back to the student. I have personally experienced a program like this in middle school, where the computer program would tell me what words I just typed. This was very helpful in my learning to type and use a computer. Another category that can be met using technology is the mathematical-logical category. You can also easily complete a math project on a computer. In high school calculus, I used graphs on the computer to help me understand my mathematical assignment. This also related to the visual-spatial category because I could see the bell shaped curve and really understand the distributions of calculus. Technology was very helpful in meeting my needs as a visual learner. Another category that technology can fulfill is the musical intelligence. There are many programs on computers that deal with music programs. These assignments can become very creative and will also meet other intelligences like verbal and visual, while working with the musical category. As you can see, there are many learning theories and many intelligences, where integrating technology will not be difficult. Technology can easily be applied to learning theories and I plan to include technology into my lessons as a future teacher.
Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory is one of my favorite learning theories. This theory covers a variety of learning styles; verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential, and musical. As a teacher, you must try to meet each category when teaching a lesson. The lesson may not be able to include every category always, but the category must be met sometime during the unit. When teachers provide a strategy for each category, the teacher is allowing every child the opportunity to learn. There are many multiple intelligences, where each category can be met through the proper teaching methods in a technology class. I will give a few examples of intelligences, while integrating technology to the learning theory. While using technology, the verbal-linguistic category can be met when the computer can talk back to the student. I have personally experienced a program like this in middle school, where the computer program would tell me what words I just typed. This was very helpful in my learning to type and use a computer. Another category that can be met using technology is the mathematical-logical category. You can also easily complete a math project on a computer. In high school calculus, I used graphs on the computer to help me understand my mathematical assignment. This also related to the visual-spatial category because I could see the bell shaped curve and really understand the distributions of calculus. Technology was very helpful in meeting my needs as a visual learner. Another category that technology can fulfill is the musical intelligence. There are many programs on computers that deal with music programs. These assignments can become very creative and will also meet other intelligences like verbal and visual, while working with the musical category. As you can see, there are many learning theories and many intelligences, where integrating technology will not be difficult. Technology can easily be applied to learning theories and I plan to include technology into my lessons as a future teacher.
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