The first person's blog who I looked at was Tabitha's. One thing that I really like that she including was bringing the iPod into the classroom. I have noticed this in some of my own classes. Many students, particularly if they are giving presentations or teaching a lesson will bring music in as part of their project. It used to be that they would have to find a CD player, or bring in their laptop, and now with iPods they can just bring in them in with speakers. This makes it much easier to play the song you want with less bulky equipment.
The second person whose blog I looked at is Sarah. I love the idea of using secondlife.com! I've never even heard of this before, but it sounds like a really entertaining way to learn more about life and becoming part of a community. I think that this is something that student's would become really excited about, and would help get students into the real world, even though it is a virtual world. :)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Emerging Technologies.
One emerging technology that I believe will make a significant impact on education is Sketch-Up, on which more information can be found on www.google.com/educators. Sketch-Up is a digital tool that where students can design things such as houses, solar systems, etc. The website discusses how the technology has been a useful tool for students with autism because of their general visual/spatial intelligence. What I really like about Sketch-Up, though, is that it would also be great for students who do not have autism. This would be especially true for students who have a strong interest in architecture and design.
I could incorporate the use of Sketch-Up in my own future classroom. One thing that would be interesting to do would be to have students design any kind of house and then write a corresponding story about who would live in the house. This would be a great way to reach the students how are visually and spatially gifted. I can see how students would become very interested in this type of assignment because they are not just writing a boring essay, but bringing their own thoughts and ideas out in a creative manner.
Another emerging technology that I believe will make a great impact on education is iLife ’08. More information on this tool can be found at www.apple.com/education/k12. iLife ‘08 merges the following tools to help create high quality digital projects: iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. This technology is quickly becoming incorporated into the lesson plans of many teachers. The website says that teachers are using this technology as a way to enliven lessons as well as teach students important skills of the 21st Century (2007).
iLife ’08 could have an impact on my own teaching I could use it in my own lesson plans. For instance, I could have the class do digital videos (such as the ones we are doing in our technology class). This would be an engaging assignment for students who enjoy working with technology, as well as though who just enjoy working with fun programs. In this day and age, technology is imperative, so this would help to broaden the knowledge of students.
The third emerging technology that I feel will have a substantial impact on education, especially in English classrooms, is Weekly Reader Online. This feature allows students to use Google Docs to submit their written pieces and have their peers edit them. This tool is used mainly for the revision process that accompanies writing, and would be perfect for my classroom.
Being an English teacher I will need to help teach students how to make revisions to their own, as well as other people’s writing. This tool would have an impact on my teaching because I would be able to help guide my students in their editing process. This would have an impact on students because they would be able to become familiar with group work as well as editing skills. While I would be able to guide my students and have them develop this skill in other ways as well, I think that using Weekly Reader Online would allow for students to get into the text more and make revisions straight into the text as opposed to marking up papers with pens or pencils. The organization of thoughts and revisions would be much more legible on a computer than if someone were to handwrite little notes on the papers. More information can be found about this tool at http://www.google.com/educators/weeklyreader.html and http://www.weeklyreader.com/googledocs/.
I could incorporate the use of Sketch-Up in my own future classroom. One thing that would be interesting to do would be to have students design any kind of house and then write a corresponding story about who would live in the house. This would be a great way to reach the students how are visually and spatially gifted. I can see how students would become very interested in this type of assignment because they are not just writing a boring essay, but bringing their own thoughts and ideas out in a creative manner.
Another emerging technology that I believe will make a great impact on education is iLife ’08. More information on this tool can be found at www.apple.com/education/k12. iLife ‘08 merges the following tools to help create high quality digital projects: iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. This technology is quickly becoming incorporated into the lesson plans of many teachers. The website says that teachers are using this technology as a way to enliven lessons as well as teach students important skills of the 21st Century (2007).
iLife ’08 could have an impact on my own teaching I could use it in my own lesson plans. For instance, I could have the class do digital videos (such as the ones we are doing in our technology class). This would be an engaging assignment for students who enjoy working with technology, as well as though who just enjoy working with fun programs. In this day and age, technology is imperative, so this would help to broaden the knowledge of students.
The third emerging technology that I feel will have a substantial impact on education, especially in English classrooms, is Weekly Reader Online. This feature allows students to use Google Docs to submit their written pieces and have their peers edit them. This tool is used mainly for the revision process that accompanies writing, and would be perfect for my classroom.
Being an English teacher I will need to help teach students how to make revisions to their own, as well as other people’s writing. This tool would have an impact on my teaching because I would be able to help guide my students in their editing process. This would have an impact on students because they would be able to become familiar with group work as well as editing skills. While I would be able to guide my students and have them develop this skill in other ways as well, I think that using Weekly Reader Online would allow for students to get into the text more and make revisions straight into the text as opposed to marking up papers with pens or pencils. The organization of thoughts and revisions would be much more legible on a computer than if someone were to handwrite little notes on the papers. More information can be found about this tool at http://www.google.com/educators/weeklyreader.html and http://www.weeklyreader.com/googledocs/.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Distance Education
The idea of having a virtual school, or distance education, is an interesting one, but is it a good idea? As with most things, there are pros and cons of going to school on-line. With distance education, students are provided with the opportunity to have personalized instruction. Obviously, not all students are going to do equally well in all subject areas and with online education they can have one-on-one interaction with an instructor. This would help them to get instruction that is more tailored to their needs.
Another thing that would be good for students is that mentors and instructors are readily available. With regular schooling, this is not always the case. For instance, when school is out for the day and teachers and students go home, it is difficult to get a hold of teachers with any questions one might have. Some teachers allow you to call them at home, while others ask you to email them, but neither of these options compare to having an instructor or mentor constantly online waiting to answer any questions.
With distance education, all learning materials are provided for the students, including books, laptops, and printers. For students who would otherwise not be able to afford this equipment, this provides them with the opportunity to have it in their home. I did not find anything about paying tuition for these distance education courses, so I would assume that it is free education.
This type of education is a wonderful opportunity for students to get acquainted with technology that they may not otherwise get a chance to work with. Regular schooling does not always provide these same types of opportunities, at least not to the same extent. Technology is a major part of our society and is an important thing for students to be able to work with.
In public schools, all students take the same general classes. They must take certain Math, English, Social Studies, and History classes. While they may take extra classes in these areas or other electives, the schooling is not personalized to their interests. However, with distance education you can take courses specific to your interest area, allowing students more career-related education as opposed to general education.
Cons to distance education are:
*You couldn’t really test for knowledge because they could surf the internet for answers and then you wouldn’t know if they knew the material or if they just found it online.
*You couldn’t communicate with peers face-to-face, which means that you probably wouldn’t develop the same kind of friendships, you wouldn’t get the same social experience.
*Even though there are due dates, you do not have a teacher monitoring your progress, so you are on your own (which could also be good for some people).
*Some people may be too lazy to go to school, and use this as an excuse not to.
*Not a very large variety of learning experiences. Everything is online, testing, and assignment submission.
For some students it would be easier to determine their readiness to distance education than for others. Obviously, if a student was very responsible about getting their assignments in on time, they would appear to be ready for managing themselves for an online class. It would be more difficult to determine a student’s readiness if they often misbehaved and ignored teacher instruction. It would seem that they would not be ready to be have the responsibility of keeping themselves on track. However, it may be better for them because then they would be their own authority and do the assignments at their own pace. It is just really hard to say. You would probably just have to let the students test it out, and see how it goes.
To be able to teach an online school a teacher would need to have a broad understanding of technology. They would also need to learn how to make connections with their students since they would not have the face-to-face relationships that most teachers have with students.
Another thing that would be good for students is that mentors and instructors are readily available. With regular schooling, this is not always the case. For instance, when school is out for the day and teachers and students go home, it is difficult to get a hold of teachers with any questions one might have. Some teachers allow you to call them at home, while others ask you to email them, but neither of these options compare to having an instructor or mentor constantly online waiting to answer any questions.
With distance education, all learning materials are provided for the students, including books, laptops, and printers. For students who would otherwise not be able to afford this equipment, this provides them with the opportunity to have it in their home. I did not find anything about paying tuition for these distance education courses, so I would assume that it is free education.
This type of education is a wonderful opportunity for students to get acquainted with technology that they may not otherwise get a chance to work with. Regular schooling does not always provide these same types of opportunities, at least not to the same extent. Technology is a major part of our society and is an important thing for students to be able to work with.
In public schools, all students take the same general classes. They must take certain Math, English, Social Studies, and History classes. While they may take extra classes in these areas or other electives, the schooling is not personalized to their interests. However, with distance education you can take courses specific to your interest area, allowing students more career-related education as opposed to general education.
Cons to distance education are:
*You couldn’t really test for knowledge because they could surf the internet for answers and then you wouldn’t know if they knew the material or if they just found it online.
*You couldn’t communicate with peers face-to-face, which means that you probably wouldn’t develop the same kind of friendships, you wouldn’t get the same social experience.
*Even though there are due dates, you do not have a teacher monitoring your progress, so you are on your own (which could also be good for some people).
*Some people may be too lazy to go to school, and use this as an excuse not to.
*Not a very large variety of learning experiences. Everything is online, testing, and assignment submission.
For some students it would be easier to determine their readiness to distance education than for others. Obviously, if a student was very responsible about getting their assignments in on time, they would appear to be ready for managing themselves for an online class. It would be more difficult to determine a student’s readiness if they often misbehaved and ignored teacher instruction. It would seem that they would not be ready to be have the responsibility of keeping themselves on track. However, it may be better for them because then they would be their own authority and do the assignments at their own pace. It is just really hard to say. You would probably just have to let the students test it out, and see how it goes.
To be able to teach an online school a teacher would need to have a broad understanding of technology. They would also need to learn how to make connections with their students since they would not have the face-to-face relationships that most teachers have with students.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Responses to Teacher Webs
The first teacher web I looked at was Ruchell's. I think that she did a very good job and obviously put a lot of time into. I especially enjoyed reading her "About Me" page because her personality shines through in it. I think if I were to give her any suggestions, I would just ask if there was any way to make the homework page a little more organized. While it is filled with a lot of good content, it is slightly confusing because of the spacing.
The second teacher web I looked at was Bob's. His "About Me" page was also really good. I loved the kitten picture, it was so cute! I like reading at the "About Me" pages because it's just fun to see what people think is important enough to put on it. I also think that he did a good job picking out some interesting web resources, and the descriptions of them were really in depth. My only critique for him is to come up with some of his own homework assignments because I think that he would come up with some good ones.
The second teacher web I looked at was Bob's. His "About Me" page was also really good. I loved the kitten picture, it was so cute! I like reading at the "About Me" pages because it's just fun to see what people think is important enough to put on it. I also think that he did a good job picking out some interesting web resources, and the descriptions of them were really in depth. My only critique for him is to come up with some of his own homework assignments because I think that he would come up with some good ones.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Blogs in Education
1) The search engines I used were Google, AskJeeves, and Dogpile. Many of the same blogging websites came up in all three engines such as: educational.blogs.com/, www.epals.com/schoolblogs, and www.21classes.com. These are just a few examples, but there were many others that showed up on all three, or at least two of the search engines. Dogpile had the least amount of results. While Google had 17 million results when I typed in "educational blogs," AskJeeves had about 4.8 million, and Dogpile only showed 86 results! My guess as to why this is, is that Google is probably the MAIN search engine, and it shows anything and everything that has these words in it, while the others, particularly Dogpile only came up with the major blog sites.
2)Blogs are very versatile and are currently being used for many reasons. Some people use them for creative expression. When I looked at some people's blogs, I noticed that they had posted some poems they have written or some videos they have created. Others use blogs strictly for professional and educational purposes. For teachers, blogs are an easy way to get information out to students and their families. Instead of sending things home with your students to have their parents sign, you could communicate information to parents on blogs so it is more likely that they will actually end up with the information. Not only that, but teachers can post blogs letting the parents know what exactly is going on in their child's class. Another thing a teacher could use a blog for is to organize and post a lesson plan. If they wanted to use videos, short stories, pictures, etc., they could have it all on a blog so that they could easily access it during class. Then, if you didn't complete a lesson that day, students could go on-line either at home or at a library, and access the remainder of the lesson plan. This would also be a good way to review for a test.
3) I found out that the purpose of RSS readers or aggregators is to scan and read many websites to help you find information very quickly. They instantly access news you need. They provide news-feeds so that you can find up-to-date information without having to spend a lot of time searching for something that could be useful. This is something that ANY teacher could use in ANY classroom. For me, since my subject area is English, I could have news feeds on any topic that is being covered in class, and bring in a real-life example to connect the book we are reading to the world around us. Another thing I could do in my classroom is, if we were having a lesson on censorship, I could get any up-to-the-minute information that is happening in the world of censorship. There are endless possibilities, really!
4) I think that blogging is currently having, and will continue to have a major impact on classrooms. Teachers are using technology more and more because of its convenience and accessibility. Blogs in particular are SO EASY to use. Even people who have never created blogs before (such as myself) seem to be able to pick it up very quickly. It is also a great way for students to relay information to their teachers, so turning in assignments has become much easier. There is no need to send something in an email as an attachment, which can sometimes take forever to download. Instead, all you do is hit the publish button, and your work appears for anyone to see.
5) The pros and cons are really quite simple to see. The pros would be (as I just stated) that blogging is a fairly simple thing to do. It allows people to publish their work instantaneously with just the touch of a button, and is easy for a teacher to have access to. Another pro is that it gives students a taste of technology which has become a major staple in our society. However, there are also some cons to keep in mind. Not all students will have access to a computer, so assigning blogs for them to post outside of the classroom, can result in a sticky situation. Even though there are libraries that have Internet available, transportation or other issues may be an issue. Another con is the issue of privacy. Since blogs are generally available for public viewing, anyone and everyone could be accessing your work. While problems with this could be avoided by setting privacy settings and not sharing personal information, some students (or their parents) still may not feel comfortable putting their work on the Internet.
2)Blogs are very versatile and are currently being used for many reasons. Some people use them for creative expression. When I looked at some people's blogs, I noticed that they had posted some poems they have written or some videos they have created. Others use blogs strictly for professional and educational purposes. For teachers, blogs are an easy way to get information out to students and their families. Instead of sending things home with your students to have their parents sign, you could communicate information to parents on blogs so it is more likely that they will actually end up with the information. Not only that, but teachers can post blogs letting the parents know what exactly is going on in their child's class. Another thing a teacher could use a blog for is to organize and post a lesson plan. If they wanted to use videos, short stories, pictures, etc., they could have it all on a blog so that they could easily access it during class. Then, if you didn't complete a lesson that day, students could go on-line either at home or at a library, and access the remainder of the lesson plan. This would also be a good way to review for a test.
3) I found out that the purpose of RSS readers or aggregators is to scan and read many websites to help you find information very quickly. They instantly access news you need. They provide news-feeds so that you can find up-to-date information without having to spend a lot of time searching for something that could be useful. This is something that ANY teacher could use in ANY classroom. For me, since my subject area is English, I could have news feeds on any topic that is being covered in class, and bring in a real-life example to connect the book we are reading to the world around us. Another thing I could do in my classroom is, if we were having a lesson on censorship, I could get any up-to-the-minute information that is happening in the world of censorship. There are endless possibilities, really!
4) I think that blogging is currently having, and will continue to have a major impact on classrooms. Teachers are using technology more and more because of its convenience and accessibility. Blogs in particular are SO EASY to use. Even people who have never created blogs before (such as myself) seem to be able to pick it up very quickly. It is also a great way for students to relay information to their teachers, so turning in assignments has become much easier. There is no need to send something in an email as an attachment, which can sometimes take forever to download. Instead, all you do is hit the publish button, and your work appears for anyone to see.
5) The pros and cons are really quite simple to see. The pros would be (as I just stated) that blogging is a fairly simple thing to do. It allows people to publish their work instantaneously with just the touch of a button, and is easy for a teacher to have access to. Another pro is that it gives students a taste of technology which has become a major staple in our society. However, there are also some cons to keep in mind. Not all students will have access to a computer, so assigning blogs for them to post outside of the classroom, can result in a sticky situation. Even though there are libraries that have Internet available, transportation or other issues may be an issue. Another con is the issue of privacy. Since blogs are generally available for public viewing, anyone and everyone could be accessing your work. While problems with this could be avoided by setting privacy settings and not sharing personal information, some students (or their parents) still may not feel comfortable putting their work on the Internet.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Learning Styles
I went to http://www.teachnology.com/currenttrends/learningstyles.html in order to analyze what learning style I am. The website asked questions that were not just an analysis of what I think I am, but asked actual questions in order to figure out my learning style. What I mean by this is that instead of asking “Do you enjoy reading for fun?” or “Are you good at logic problems?” it actually asked me to DO logic problems, math problems, and linguistic problems. I felt as though it was a fairly accurate reading of my abilities, since I do not just answer “yeah, I do feel like I am good at math or good at spelling”, or, “no, I suck at logic problems.”
By taking this online assessment, I “learned” that I am linguistic, which is good since I am planning on teaching English! The results of my test said that I have a gift for expressing myself. This is something that I have always known about myself, although I know that there are times when I cannot express my ideas for the life of me (I kind of feel like that right now!). In my personal and professional relationships, I can generally explain what I mean with little effort. One part I did not agree with, however, was when it says that I can make a very persuasive argument. Rarely do I feel as though I present a very strong argument, and I don’t ever feel like I am very persuasive.
I also found out that I am a kinesthetic learner. This was more of a surprise to me, because I don’t really feel as though I need to get “hands-on” experience to understand something. But I think that the reason the test said that I am is because I am athletic and like to be active. However, I guess I do retain more information when I am having fun, such as when I act out a play instead of just reading it on my own.
A good way for me to incorporate my own learning style into my teaching would to create a very interactive classroom, where students are able to speak often as well as be active. If we are doing a unit on a play then we can read it aloud and then find a way to act it out. When I was doing my three-week practicum for T&L 317, one class I observed was finishing up an unit on Shakespeare. The class was broken down into different groups (one for each act), and were to modify the act using current-day dialect and bringing out the most important theme of that particular act. I really enjoyed watching these interpretations of the play because it was a good way for the teacher to evaluate the students on how well they understand it, as well as a good way for the students to gain stronger understanding and application. This also was something that went along well with my learning types because they were very active and manipulated the language to get their point across.
I know that not every person is the same when it comes to learning styles, and it is important to incorporate different styles into different lessons, so that I will be able to reach every student. What works best for me may not be effective for any of my students, but the likelihood is that I will reach everyone at some point or another, as long as I am switching up the lesson plans and activities.
By taking this online assessment, I “learned” that I am linguistic, which is good since I am planning on teaching English! The results of my test said that I have a gift for expressing myself. This is something that I have always known about myself, although I know that there are times when I cannot express my ideas for the life of me (I kind of feel like that right now!). In my personal and professional relationships, I can generally explain what I mean with little effort. One part I did not agree with, however, was when it says that I can make a very persuasive argument. Rarely do I feel as though I present a very strong argument, and I don’t ever feel like I am very persuasive.
I also found out that I am a kinesthetic learner. This was more of a surprise to me, because I don’t really feel as though I need to get “hands-on” experience to understand something. But I think that the reason the test said that I am is because I am athletic and like to be active. However, I guess I do retain more information when I am having fun, such as when I act out a play instead of just reading it on my own.
A good way for me to incorporate my own learning style into my teaching would to create a very interactive classroom, where students are able to speak often as well as be active. If we are doing a unit on a play then we can read it aloud and then find a way to act it out. When I was doing my three-week practicum for T&L 317, one class I observed was finishing up an unit on Shakespeare. The class was broken down into different groups (one for each act), and were to modify the act using current-day dialect and bringing out the most important theme of that particular act. I really enjoyed watching these interpretations of the play because it was a good way for the teacher to evaluate the students on how well they understand it, as well as a good way for the students to gain stronger understanding and application. This also was something that went along well with my learning types because they were very active and manipulated the language to get their point across.
I know that not every person is the same when it comes to learning styles, and it is important to incorporate different styles into different lessons, so that I will be able to reach every student. What works best for me may not be effective for any of my students, but the likelihood is that I will reach everyone at some point or another, as long as I am switching up the lesson plans and activities.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
My First Post
Welcome to my blog! I'm not really sure what it is I'm supposed to say, so I'll just say HI to anyone who decides to read this!
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