Exit Slip 2/25

Today was a short class! I was in charge of doing the what we did in class wiki. This was an interesting experience and it definitely made me pay close attention in class, since during Katie and Rachel's presentation I learned that I have ADD. I also learned by doing this that I need to learn how to pick and choose information. I have a tendency to think everything is important and so on the wiki I wrote a lot of stuff down.
Rachel and Katie did a good job with the presentation, they made the chapter more relatable.
We have some work to do this week and I am a little nervous about the inquiry question project, but hopefully I can get a better handle on it.
I really liked Carlee and Tricia's contemporary issues presentations, I think that they were interesting and well presented and that they are issues that we will have to deal with.

Modeling with Technology: SEE it to Believe it!

The first thing that I do when I read chapters in a text book is flip through and look at the headings and pictures to s get a general gist of what the chapter is going to be about. I must admit that when I looked at the pictures in this chapter I felt a little bit scared. They started out easy enough with concept maps, no problem! I know what those are, but then there was the super crazy picture of the sun, that picture made me nervous to find out what this chapter was really about it.
After reading the chapter I think that it’s amazing to think about how far things have come, who would have thought that we could be making these crazy looking models on our computers and projecting them for tour classroom to see? I love the idea of using concept maps in the classroom; I think that it is a great way for the whole class to be involved in something together. I also think that these concept maps are more engaging on the computer for students because you can make them as big and complex as you want or your conversation allows. Students then get the chance to look at a final product on the computer and marvel and physically see what they learned.
My thinking about using these kinds of programs in my classroom has definitely changed. I can see myself using a concept map program in my classroom to talk about subjects we are learning in class in anything from reading to science. Some of the more complex programs I don’t see myself using in my classroom, but I can see how they can be used and helpful in other classrooms.

Reflecting on Our Prezientation

Overall I felt that Kelsey and I put quite a bit of effort in preparing for our presentation. We wanted to make sure that we were comfortable with the material we were presenting and that we could give our classmates as many useful tools and resources as possible. I also wanted to make sure that everyone was interested in our presentation, that it was visually pleasing and easy to understand. Kelsey and I liked the layout of Glogster a lot and how it looked like a scrapbook page, but we also liked the way Prezi moved. Our challenge was to find something that worked with both. I figured out a way to make our Prezi look like Glogster, which we were excited about. We then planned what each of us was going to talk about and what things we could incorporate with each to make it interesting and to give our classmates some helpful things to use in their classrooms. In the end I am glad that we took time to really make our presentation one that we liked, that fit into the chapter, and that would keep everyone engaged. I think we accomplished all of these.

There are a few things that I think make presenting to our peers valuable. The first thing is that it helps us to learn the information. It’s one thing to read the chapters and post about them, but a completely different thing to have to teach them to others. It requires that we know the information and really look into it and examine it. I think that this made us excited about things too because we had to go and explore and find things to present. I also think that is helps to get peer feedback after a presentation. It was helpful to hear what they had to say about the way we presented. I think that since they were the ones being given the information it was good to hear what they had to say. I also think that it is helpful to see the chapter presented in a different way every time and from a different prospective, this is a unique and valuable experience for us to be able to receive and give!

Presenting this chapter has definitely made me think about future teaching. It has made me realize how prepared you have to be with your information so you don’t get nervous and forget what you are talking about and also you have to be prepared for the things you can’t prepare for. It has also showed me how using different kinds of technologies can be useful and keep things interesting for students. It also made me realize how often I say the word “umm”. I have even noticed it in conversation, it’s something I hopefully can break myself of!

Lots of New Information... as usual 2/18

Today we earned a lot, which is the norm for this class.
Kelsey and I did our presentation which went well, I was pleased with the way our presentation turned out. I hope that everyone learned something new and that they will be able to use some of the resources and tools that we presented.
Jeff then presented us with some resources that would also go along with Chapter 4 on writing. There were some really good resources and ones that I bookmarked on delicious and will use later when I teach. Kelly, Christine, and Sarah showed us some cool tools that we can use in our classroom. I liked their presentations and the information that they presented us with.
Erica and Katie talked about some issues that can be encountered when it comes to technology. These are important things that we should remember when we become educators. Cyberbullying and Obesity are issues that I think all of us have thought of and Katie and Erica presented us with some tools that will help us to tackle these issues.
Overall we were given a lot of great resources today and thanks to Delicious I will be able to go back and use them in my future classroom.

Chapter 4 Prezientation

Please click on the link below to view our presentation of Chapter 4:

Chapter 4



Click on this link for our presentation on presentations:

SlideRocket

Technology Supports Writing

I really enjoyed this chapter because it was involved writing, which is something that I enjoy doing and also because it relates to other subject areas in school. I like using technology in the classroom and I think it is something that is inevitable, so this chapter showed how integrating technology is a way to make those other subject areas more useful, more effective, and more interesting for students.
I think that concept maps are a good way for students to see connections in reading, writing, and really just about anything in any subject. We did a concept map in our science class this semester and I thought it was a good way to get us thinking about what we had read and a good way to have us share our ideas. I liked the part in the chapter that talked about using PowerPoint. I think that is has it’s uses, but that is also has it’s downfalls and I am glad that the book talked about those downfalls so that teachers can be aware of them and address them with students or maybe use other programs.
I thought that Kidscribe was an interesting web site. I think that it is important for students to publish their work and have other students read it, with today’s technology this is becoming increasingly easier to do. I think that as teachers we should take advantage of this and websites like Kidscribe. It can also be a way for parents to read students’ work at home.
I think that this chapter was interesting and provided me with a foundation and ideas for using technology with creative writing. I think as a student I would have loved to see work that I wrote on the internet. I get excited about my learning log being on the internet. While books are still god things to make as a class, it can be even more rewarding to share their book with other students at other schools and in turn see what they are learning and writing about. I definitely will use technologies in my classroom to help support writing.

Clear as Mud

Today's class there was a lot of information. The chapter on exploring other technologies was very interesting and eye opening. I liked that we learned about different programs to use in the classroom. I think that we get stuck in a rut and we only think about using computer software programs or educational programs. The programs we saw today during the presentation were necessarily made to be educational, but if used and developed the correct way could definitely be educational. Like I said in my earlier post on this chapter, I think that it is important to learn about new games and programs so that we can connect with students and make information relevant.
We also talked about our Scratch projects. I like this project and it's fun to play around on it. I like having those "aha" moments when I finally get it to do what I want or when i find something new. I feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of information that came with the project, but I will definitely be using the how to video. I hope that by watching the video and just tinkering a little bit I can learn what I need to know for my project. Hopefully I will go from Clear as mud to clear as glass.

Experimenting with Technologies

This chapter was interesting because it talked about different programs available, how to use them, and what kind of students they will affect or help. There were a lot of programs that I had never heard of and I found them to be very interesting. I liked that it talked about using these programs in different subjects. I think that this helps teachers to know that first there are a lot of programs that offer different activities for a subject and second that programs can be used for all subjects.

The program that interested me the most was the simulation program. I think that this technology is intriguing because it can let you do things that you wouldn’t necessarily get to do, even if it is only simulated. I remember in high school doing a dissection through a simulation. It was different because we got to do it on different animals and we still got to see the main idea. I think that these programs are good alternatives for schools that might not be able to afford some activities, like dissection. By using these simulations students are still able to have that learning experience. I also remember playing the computer game, SIMS. It never occurred to me until a saw it in this chapter, that this was a simulation as well.

This chapter definitely changed the way I view technology in teaching. I never knew there were so many technologies out there that can assist students in learning. These programs are a good way to supplement a lesson. It also helps to make a connection with students. Since these students are very connected to technology, they will be able to use the kind of programs in this chapter to help them understand and practice a lesson taught to them in class.