The end.

Wow. This semester has flown by. I don't know if you remember...maybe you should go back to my first post. Go ahead...I'll give you a second.

There was a lot I didn't know, right? Well, I have learned so much in this technology class. I mean, I couldn't even blog before this class and look at me now!

It looks like I am going to survive in the technological world and maybe it'll even make me a better teacher! That's the plan, anyway :)

I have learned how to blog, use wikis, use an interactive white board, create a website and make digital stories! Can't stop me now.

This has been a great semester. Really great folks. Great teacher. Easy going atmosphere. I was happy to go to class and see what else I could figure out on the computer.

Look out, world! A new teacher is entering the workforce...and she's stronger than ever!

Wiki Walk Through

I think wikis are a great tool for teachers. There are so many ways to use them in the educational setting. From activities to collaboration, they are a great way to reach all your students, share information, and collaborate with each other. This is a great way for my students to learn, and a great way for me to learn from them!

A great thing about wikis, is that they can be in K-12 classrooms. You can accommodate any age group and really reach out with so many tools. Another cool thing is that each person that has permission to the site has the capability to change content that is on the page. This creates an openness for a really neat environment conducive to learning.

 I plan to use wikis in my classroom for whole class activities and assignments. I may not utilize right away, however, as I get comfortable teaching my content I plan to get creative and utilize tools just like these to make learning versatile in my classroom.

 
This website also mentions using wikis as a communication tool for parents. Excellent idea! I feel blogs would be just as great too. However, wikis may give parents a sense of contribution if they can collaborate with their children's teachers. Genius.


Wikis have my support. As a teacher. As a parent. As a student. Yes, I am all of these. Collaboration is always a good thing, and I think teaching our students this concept is very powerful. Two minds are better than one.

Digital Storytelling

I was assigned to do a critique of the website Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. What a neat website! It has a lot of useful information and the website itself is easy to navigate. The cool thing, to me, was that there was a digital story for just about any subject out there! So anyone could find something interesting on this website. 

One thing that is especially neat for us "mediocre techies," is that there are several "how-to's" and information on the various softwares that one would use to make a digital storyboard. So much info! There is no excuse that we cannot learn these amazing tools and share our knowledge with the world. This is great for the teacher, the beginner, the student or just anyone that wants to create something fun.

There are also articles regarding digital storytelling all over the world. A particularly interesting article was a health related issue. Digital storytelling is being used globally to share stories of different people and educating on reproductive health issues. UNICEF is also joining forces as utilizing digital storytelling to share in developing countries. The ways this technology are being used are endless!

There are so many tools on this website and I would recommend to everyone! 

" The cooperative learning process of debate, discussion, and reflection that students engage in as they work together to storyboard, shoot, and edit their digital stories is critical to the learning process. "

-Mark Standley

IWB. How you be?

Interactive white boards are a huge tool for teachers to use. The only thing is….you've got to know how to use them to get effective results... LEARNING! The overall conclusion on the effective use of interactive white boards is inconclusive. There are so many benefits to using them, however, there were only effects on the higher achieving students. And do we care about our lower achievers? OF COURSE! The main issue is the lack of proficiency from the teachers. It results in uses other than ways that really benefit the students and, ultimately, results in classroom management issues according to Blanche O'Bannon.
I feel that we, as teachers, can really utilize this awesome tool to our advantage. With the right training, we can make it happen. We are well on our way to evoking learning in ALL our students among all types of achievers.

 

 

 

 

Using interactive white boards to assist in the science classroom

 

 As a science teacher, there are so many ways that I will be able to utilize interactive white boards, such as the promethean board. In the picture above, the instructor illustrates the flow of blood through the heart. By using the interactive white board, he is able to show his students step by step. This is exceptionally helpful for visual learners. Students could also return demonstrations to show what they learned. This is a great informal assessment to be done during class time. 

I hope that my future classroom has smart board, such as the promethean board, so that I can utilize these cool teaching tools. I feel that even though the research isn't completely conclusive NOW, it is where the future of education is headed, and has a lot of potential of really expanding our students' minds.

Movin' on up!

Man, have a I learned a bunch. There are so many tools at my disposal that I did not even know where possible by ME. I have successfully started and maintained a blog, started a website, created wikis, and just recently became familiar with Picasa photo sharing and Google Drive. There are so many great ways to use all of these things. Now--I'm getting eager to learn the Promethean board. It is so crazy cool, and I know there are a ton of ways to incorporate it into my science lessons! I'm sure my post on the Promethean will be very exciting :) 

Stay tuned...

 

Blog the Blog.

So, this is the cutest blog ever. It is Ms. Cassidy's Classroom Blog. Ms. Cassidy's classroom of 6 year olds are sharing their learning experience with the world, and I love it. I am, currently, observing in a fourth grade classroom and I am having a blast. I think they would also enjoy blogging about what they learn and create. Here are some examples of how Ms. Cassidy uses the blog to share what the class is doing. Here the student's are reading to others through video! Another neat way to implement technology in the classroom.

She also has an individual blog for each student! I love this idea. Some are videos of their work with audio of the child talking about it. This is a great way for student's to learn safe and educational ways to use blogging and, also, a great way for parents' to see what their kids are learning at school. It's a very neat way to collect the student's work in an online portfolio, if you will. 

This is definitely something I will keep in mind for my future classroom! I would love being able to see my child's work on a blog, as a parent. I can tell the whole class really gets into it as well. Such a great learning tool. She also has some great ideas for helping student's learn in the classroom. Not only would I love to use blogging as a tool, but also some of the great ideas she shares, as well. Thumbs up, Ms. Cassidy!

I give it a thumb's up!

National Geographic Kids.

I would highly recommend this website to anyone: student, teacher or parent. The National Geographic KIDS site really appealed to a younger audience while still providing great learning opportunities. This would be very useful in research papers, educational games, and study tools.

I love the videos that they show and I would love to use these in the classroom as well as recommend games for younger children or even my own son! I feel it's reputable without being "stuffy," which is excellent in education!

Great Expectations...

Honestly...before this class, I had never blogged, wiki'd (is that a word?), or built a webpage. This is super cool to me. I want to upgrade from "mediocre techie" to "can't stop me now" techie by the time I finish this class. Classrooms are full of technology that I didn't use when I was in school. That makes me sound so old. A specific example of what I want to be proficient in, is the Promethean board. I can think of numerous ways to incorporate this into my science classroom! Hopefully, I will be up to speed in my classroom and can use these "techie" tools to be on my students level technologically. I want learning to be fun, and let's face it...technology is the future. It's important that, as teachers, we aren't falling behind our students.