I can see clearly now that I am Visualizing with Technologies!

When I first read the chapter title, Visualizing with Technologies, I immediately thought about computers and calculators and graphs. After reading further though I realized that I use some of the things that apply as these visualizing technologies I have used before and didn't even know it! Things like cell phones and digital cameras... who would have thought! I like how this chapter talks about things that we use all the time and our students will definitely be informed on how to use these tools and much more. I think that video has become a major part of our students' cultures. Teachers are using video more and more to help students see and understand concepts in a way that is different and much more interesting than reading and seeing it in textbooks. Programs such as youtube, teachertube, and brainpop are making it even more easy for teachers to access visual aids for teaching lessons. This is a big change even from when I was a student, we watched videos sometimes and most of the time they were old and outdated, now students have the chance to view interesting videos and even make them themselves. These tools are useful to our students and I know that I will implement the use of these things in my future classroom.

Exit Slip 3/25

Today's lesson was about using simulations. I think that this was an interesting chapter and I liked the websites that were presented to us. I think that simulations are a good way to have students interacting in their work and doing things that wouldn't normally be done in the classroom. I got really distracted by the Science Simulations website, I like the way it was organized and I think it would be interesting for students to see some of the simulations that they presented.
Tiffany showed us a cool tool, simbaloo, that I thought was really neat. I like the idea of having a page for your class and bookmarking things for them. I think this would be a good way to have students learn information and contribute information to the whole class.
I really liked Kathleen's Contemporary issue that she talked about today, I liked that it was a global issue. It made us aware of the issues that go beyond the classroom ad the country and that some of these issues can affect our multicultural students.
We also learned how to use Garage Band today. I liked this program a lot and might try to convince my friend to let me use his Mac so I can use this program. I liked all of the sound effects and so I might need to change my topic so that I can add more of those.
We then talked in groups about our stop animation project that we will be working on next week. Ours is going to be funny and I am looking forward to learning a new computer skill.
In all it was a good class, we learned a lot, even a new word... Construtonism!

Exit Slip 3/18

Today we talked about Chapter 7 which was about Communicating with technology. Kathleen and Loren did a really good job of talking and discussing the ideas in this chapter. We were given some valuable resources that I will definitely try to utilize in my classroom.
We learned about some cool tools from Tricia, Loren, and Katherine, those will also be useful int eh future. I liked Christine's contemporary issues discussion, I think that it brought a lot of different perspective to something that we don't always think about using as a teaching resource. Sarah also talked about Tweeting in her issues discussion and I think that this was also a very different approach to something that our students will be using in the future and something that, as future educators, we can use to our benefits. I also talked about a contemporary issue, Kelsey said I talked really fast, but honestly I was making a conscience effort to talk slower.
We learned how to do a podcast today and I think that this project is going to be fun and interesting. I am excited to think of a topic and to work on it and hopefully learn enough to use it in the future.

Taking Pen Pals to a New Level

I remember when I was in grade school how absolutely awesome I thought it was whenever we were given the chance to have a pen pal. Getting to talk to a person in a different place, with different friends, maybe experienced different seasons, or even lived in a different country, was something that I thought was fascinating. Back in those days we used pen and paper though and I can also remember waiting and waiting to hear back from my far away friend. After reading this chapter I can again feel the excitement of getting to talk to someone far away, but with technology I can get a response the next day! I think that it is important for students to get to discuss things with other kids and see a world outside of their own and with technology this is becoming more and more common place. In my classroom someday I hope to be able to let my students talk to other students in different towns, states, or countries and using technology will make my childhood excitement even more exciting for my students.
I also think that discussion boards are a great resource for classrooms. I think that this allows students that are a little nervous about speaking in class to have a chance to voice their opinions and ideas on a subject. Blogs are another way for students, teachers, and parents stay connected. Teachers can post about what was done that day, what's coming up, assignments, etc. Parents can have discussions and students can comment on what they learned so the teacher can get a better feel about how the lesson went.
Of course there are always things to consider when using technology in the classroom. Not all students have access to computers and may be left out of discussions, discussing also wouldn't necessarily be an effective plan for younger students. Also, when using pen pals teachers need to make sure it is through a school or trusted organization so that they know who exactly the students are talking to. I think that the pros far outweigh the cons in using technology to communicate in the classroom though and I hope to be able to use these tools in my future classroom.

3/4/10 Exit Slip... Spring Break here we come!

I peeked over at Kelsey's exit slip as I was writing mine and I am going to echo her statement, "Today was hard to focus because after today, it's spring break!!" Today was a little difficult because we all already have one foot on the beach so to speak.

Having said all that, we still learned a lot today and we gained a lot of useful information. Tricia and Katherine did their presentation on Chapter 6, which was all about learning communities and technology. I think that this chapter provided a lot of good resources that I will definitely use in my classroom. They did a really good job at presenting a lot of information!

I liked all of the cool tools presentations, they were interesting and I deliscioused all of the tools so that I can find them later! We had good talks about some issues that we might have in our future classrooms like sex on TV, these issues are good things to bring to our attention because they are real issues that we will have to deal with! It has made me see how much we are expected to teach our students.

We also were introduced into stop animation. I think this looks like a cool project, but I think it also looks like a challenge. Katie, Kelsey, and I are all going to to be thinking about a funny topic to do for our PSA, it's going to be awesome, look forward to it :)

Well that's all I ca focus for right now since I am already thinking about being in Key Largo for the week! YAY! Spring Break 2010!!! :)

Communities Beyond the Classroom

This chapter was about community building with technologies which I feel as though is something that is a relatively new concept. When I was in school we didn't have the means to communicate instantaneously or through computers at all and now students, teachers, and parents can all communicate though computers on a regular basis. My favorite quote from the book,"the internet enables communities to move beyond geographical boundaries and provides a vehicle for people around the world to interact and learn together," I think really shows the full potential to which we can stretch the idea of making use of the technology that we have. I think that students can learn a lot from these kinds of experiences and that as teachers we should offer them to students as often as we can.
I also liked the knowledge forums. I think that this is a unique way for students to show what they know and simultaneously learn from their peers. I also liked the fact that it is web based so that students can access their forum from anywhere. It also requires them to research their own topic of inquiry which helps them to learn the subject matter more.
I think that I will use many of these tools in my classroom. I find them to be not only a good way for students to learn (and in different ways than lecture and worksheets) but it also helps them to build social skills and communicate with others. These are important skills and in a changing world linked to technology it is important for them to be able to know the way to communicate on the internet as well.