End of Term Reflection

Have your opinions about technology integration in education changed since the beginning of the term? Why or why not?
-Yes, I have found so many more uses on the internet that I never knew about. I think technology is an under utilized entity in the classrooms and should be taken advantage of. Technology is  great thing and can help improve ways things are taught in classrooms. Technology can be used outside of the classroom to help communicate with parents which I think is something all teachers should do. My opinion has definitely become more positive.

Identify one or more programs/web apps introduced this term you believe you'll use in your future classroom. Why will you use these programs/apps?
-I love the blog application. I plan on using this for communication with other teachers and parents. I want to create a class blog to show what is happening in the classroom with posting daily pictures. I will have helpful link for students and parents. I will also post all assignments on the blog so there is never any confusion about what is due.  Print Page in IE

Children in Technology

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Animoto

Happy Birthday
-This is a link to a video I made using Animoto, it is just a pratice video so it has no reason behind it. Print Page in IE

Wordle

My Wordle
These are key words from an article we read on Nov. 11, 2010. Print Page in IE

Integrating Websites into the Classroom

National Geographic Activities Page

-This site is kind of deceiving, I thought by clicking on the activities I would be able to do them or interact with them on the website but all you get are instructions. This site can be used for any age because you can modify the activities for the right age group which is a cool feature. Overall I was unimpressed by this site.

What are two ways the site could be used in the classroom?
-Two ways can be as a group project to learn about geography or as an individual project to learn about geography. The activities involve research about geography and different knowledge needed to complete each activity.   

How could the site be used to extend learning opportunities beyond the classroom? 
-The site can be used to plan a trip maybe on something that they found enjoyable like they could go on a tour and learn more about the Lewis and Clark expedition by actually going.  Print Page in IE

Exploring Project Based Learning

Hiking the Appalachian Trails

1. I chose this project out of the six we were presented with because I thought it had a clear outline for what was to be done and it had a definite end. I think that it is important for students to know what is expected of them and where they should be ending up with a finished product. I like that involved a lot of research about climate, traveling, saftey, and much more. I also like that it incorporated math because of mileage count and budget. It also made the students plan everything out which will help them both in the classroom and outside of the classroom in the future.


2.I think this project hits all levels on Bloom's Taxonomy pyramid. That is one reason why I chose this project. The students must use their personal judgment from their research to determine the kind of climate they will be faced with as well as the kinds of things they need to take into account for safety precautions. Because they have not actually participated in this hike before they must use their creative thinking skills to plan and put together a trip that would actually work. They must break each aspect of the hike down to ensure they have everything covered; food, safety, time, lodging, transportation,  and clothing, this involves their critical thinking skills to insure nothing goes wrong. They will have to apply their new knowledge that they have obtained through research to put their plan into action. They will have to understand all the information that they have obtained in order to actually plan and understand everything. They have to be able to describe and explain why they planned what they planned and how and why they think it will work.

3. The only thing that I think needs to be done to this project is to give the students a time line so they know if they are moving at the right pace. Otherwise, I think this is a very well laid out and thought out project and it will be easily understood by the students. Print Page in IE

Reading Response 2

How do quality telecollaborative projects develop students’ critical thinking skills (the highest levels on the Bloom’s Taxonomy pyramid)? Provide specific examples and reference both articles from your Oct. 12th reading assignment in your answer.

Penn State Article
In the Penn State article it discussed how to have students work together and what works bests. The author said that the students are able to pull from other people's strengths and abilities. This also allows them to also learn their own strengths and weaknesses and what they need to work on to better their critical thinking abilities. Collaborative work allows them to learn how to work in groups, how to trust others, how to delegate, and how to negotiate with others which can all be found on Bloom's Pyramid. It also teaches the students how to deal with conflicts and solve problems which is under the application block on the pyramid. 


In Bloom's Taxonomy Pyramid different levels of learning and comprehension are described. These six levels can be used to help organize collaborative groups. When a teacher place children at different levels on the pyramid in the same groups they are able to help each other with their skill and help one another develop a skill that they have not mastered yet. By using this pyramid to form groups the students are forced to figure out the best way to complete the assignment, this uses their critical thinking skills. By being able to interact with others on different levels of the cognitive skills they are forced to bring their knowledge up to the other levels increasing their critical thinking ability. Print Page in IE

2nd Grade Newsletter Print Page in IE

Tech: Past, Present, and Future

1) TECH PAST

• Briefly describe your previous experiences with computers in the classroom during your own K-12 education.
• We began having computer time in about 3rd grade and throughout elementary and middle school, we would use games to get us accustomed to the computers, we also learned how to type and do minimal searches. One of my favorite games was Oregon Trail because it was but it still taught us how to type and to think. In High School we had our school website where we got all our class info and where all the homework was posted. I used InDesign, photo-shop, and various other programs in high school for the school paper and journalism. We had to take typing classes freshman year. We would also have some random classes on how to properly search using different search engines like Google and the library cite.  My senior year we had to create a Wiki cite.

2) TECH PRESENT

• Describe your current ideas for integrating technology into your future classroom (indicate grade level and/or content area). Specify the purpose(s) of the technology and how the students and/or you will use it.
• My specific use in a 4th grade classroom would be to enhance their typing ability and to teach them to use the internet properly. I will offer them more educational options other than games. I will show videos to demonstrate different things such as science projects and other demonstrations. I will use special typing games so the children can learn to type properly and effectively while still having fun. I will also show them how to use search engines to teach them the proper way to effectively search for something. 

3) TECH FUTURE

• Based on the assigned readings (for Sept. 30th) and your own experiences, what do you anticipate being most challenging about using technology in the classroom?
• The most challenging thing will most likely be how rapidly technology is changing and not being able to keep up with the up-to-date information and know how. I am worried that some students will have more advanced knowledge then me on certain technological aspects. I think this because in high school most of the students knew more about the computers and smart boards than the teachers knew. I am also concerned that there will not be enough access to computers for my students either in or out of the classroom. In the article by CITEd they discussed that technology cannot be effectively used if it is not readily available. Also because I plan on teaching in underprivileged schools in Los Angeles I am concerned there will not be adequate computers.

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Avatars in Education

Avatars can be used to keep children interested in the material and to present the material in a new and different way. Print Page in IE