Blog #6

I found a website from Brennen Elementary School. This website had many links that directed users to teacher's own pages. The picture above is just one of many examples listed on this website. This one is Ms. Andrew's 5th grade class page, which was filled with many things. First of all, there are announcements which are directed to the parents. They inform the parents of what the students will be learning and working on this week, which is The Roaring 20's, the Great Depression, and World War II. Below it are resources listed for the parents to look at. Also listed is a weekly calendar, the teacher's room number, and a link to her email.

With our society and technology today, it is so hard to not use technology. So much of the curriculum and what we do in class is revolved around technology, whether it be a computer, a smart board, or even an iPad. In my opinion, it is crazy how much schooling is dependent on technology. In my personal classroom, I will definitely use Word Office, like mentioned in the podcast. Not only today do I use it, but I could also see myself creating documents or test/assignments on there. In addition, I plan to incorporate blogging in my classroom. From my experience in this class, I feel like blogging and writing out my thoughts each week have helped my learning. Lastly, I will try to be as clear and organize as possible. I would create my own website, which would include all of the homework I assign and any other documents or rubrics my students need. This will help all of them know what to do and stay on top of their work. 

After completing the assignment, the Web Evaluation Wiki, I have gained a lot of knowledge about websites. First of all, there are many websites out there that are not reliable. I also learned how to use PBworks to create a webpage. I found this a little confusing at first, but as I continued to use it, I finally got the hang of it. I liked how simple it was to use and how straight forward. Some programs that I have used are so difficult but this website was not. I also really liked the fact that the user can invite others so that everyone can collaborate on a work. This would be a great program in the classroom for any group projects. Next time, I could use more options on my work. Because this was my first time using it, I used the bare minimum of the options that were given. 

Blog Post #5

In my opinion, I believe Web 2.0 technologies are very important in the classroom. In particular, I think Youtube and blogging would be very effective in the classroom and learning. On a personal note, when I am studying, sometimes I will useYoutube to help me understand a concept better and it really does help me. On the other hand, I do not think social media is all that useful in the classroom. I know with me, a lot of the time I get distracted and do other things I shouldn't be doing if I have social media. The podcasts mentions that twitter and blogs can help the student learn. I agree because in this class, we blog a lot and I feel like I have learned from it. Some equipment that is necessary for these tools would be a computer of course, a keyboard, a monitor, and a mouse. In addition, you would also need wifi to be able to connect.The periphery equipment needed would be a speaker so that students can hear and a whiteboard projector to show the class videos from Youtube

One interesting web 2.0 tool is scribd. Scribd is digital library and e-book, audiobook and comic book subscription service that includes one million titles. This tool could be very useful in the classroom for multiple reasons. One, teachers can use this to assign reading assignments to their students. Also, it is a great way for students to be able to read. In addition, this web 2.0 tool is an app that can be used on the iPad. I know for me, when I was in high school, we used iPads. This could be very effective because it allows a student to be able to read instead of having an actual hard copy book. 

Even though there are many upsides to Scribd, there are some downsides. Personally, I understand and grasp things better if I have a hard copy book. This allows me to annotate and to make any notes that I need to within the book itself. With Scribd, it's all online or on the iPad so there's no way to really make notes. On the other hand, the upside is that all the books have audio recordings. So, instead of physically reading the words, someone can just say them for you. This can be helpful to audio listeners. 

https://www.scribd.com

 After completing the Concept Mapping assignment, I learned many new things. My partner and I used a program called Webspiration. I am a visual learner and most of what was on Webspiration is visually based. I learned how to creat and rearrange shapes in way that is easy to understand. It was a little difficult for me to rearrange the shapes in order and to make it look like it made sense. Next time I can improve my concept map by making it more easy to understand. Now that I know how to utilize the different options, I feel like the next time I do it, it will be much more easy to read and organized. I could see myself using this in my future for my classes and to be more organized. (not yet done with concept map)

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Blog post #4

MAFS.1.MD.2- How to tell and write time
http://www.abcya.com/telling_time.htm
Classification tool: Educational games
I choose a standard under Mathematics for Grade 1. This specific standard addresses how the student can learn how to tell and write time. I would use this classification tool listed above in my classroom to enhance the learning of how to properly tell time. In the game, the student is a given a time and must set the clock right to the specific time. From there, there's a "check" button where the student can see if the answer they put down is correct. I would use this in my classroom because it's a great way for the student to become more confident and understand what they are doing. Not only is it beneficial to the student, but also fun and interactive!

After listening to the podcast, I have realized that I do not follow the ABCDT method. Instead, if I had a project or was googling something, I would simply type in what I needed to know and use the first link or picture that came up. After taking this class and learning about the copyright laws, I realized I have been doing it wrong this whole time. I found that the ABCDT acronym is very useful and helpful in using other people's works. I never really paid any attention to who the work or picture is owned by and never really cited my sources. One specific topic mentioned in the podcast, whichI realized I do not do as well, is checking the stability of the website. In other words, double check the sites to make sure they are appropriate to show your students. 

Here is what the acronym stands for:

Author: Credentials?

Bias: Resource neutral?

Content: Accurate & Current?

Design: Clear?

Technical Elements: Function properly? 

After completing the web hunt assignment, I learned how useful and how incredible the internet was. On the Internet, there is about every possible thing you can find, from online shopping, to facts, to learning methods. There is literally a website for about everything. It has so many resources and so many different outlets. 

Here are some web hunt challenges I created....

1. You want to teach your students how to learn the alphabet. Are there any online educational games to do so?

2. You want to teach your students how to do simple addition. Are there any online educational games that students can use to learn addition in a fun and entertaining way? 

Blog Prompt 3

The ELA technology standard that I feel most prepared to teach with my existing knowledge is probably RHST.7, 6-12. Because of high school and some of the things we had to learn, I am very familiar with using charts, graphs, photographs, videos, maps, and research data on technology. Also I am very good at knowing when to include these things in a document. From my schooling, using visual interparetions helped me a lot with understanding certain skills. The standard I feel less prepared to use and wish for more preparation would be L.5-  determining the meaning of unknown and multi-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful work parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate. I have always had a difficult time including context clues in my writing. I also have a difficult time analyzing things. In other words, it's hard for me to go in depth and explain something.

Based on chapter 9, some software and applications I would like to use with my students are email, discussion groups and graphics. I like email because it's a way to connect to your students and your teachers when they are not in the classroom and if you need to get a hold of them. Discussion groups are great because it is a way for all students to read each other's work and comment on it. Lastly, I personally think graphics are a great way for visual learners to understand things. I would definitely use these in my classroom. If I were to be teaching a class of first graders, there are obviously some technology that I would not use because they would not know how to work it. A teacher must use technology in a way for the student to understand. For example, I would use graphics for younger children, because all they have to do is look at it. Another example is I would use email and discussion groups for older grades, like 7th or 8th grade.

After creating the newsletter, I have realized that I actually know a lot more than I thought I did. I knew how to insert the border, how to use word art, how to insert bullets and numbering and how to insert pictures into the document. On the other hand, I learned how to add a hyperlink and how to properly form a newsletter that made sense and was clear to the readers. I really like my border and the way I created the visual part of my newsletter. I have always been creative and designing this newsletter was actually really fun. The only part I do not like that much are the articles themselves. I was not quite sure what to write about. I even googled examples of newsletters but I still feel like the topics are just strange. How to improve it next time is possibly looking more into what teachers write about in their newsletters, or even asking a teacher some topics I could write about. After creating this newsletter, I have learned that writing to parents at home really help the communication between the teacher and the parent. Some parents simply send their children to school and hear nothing about what actually is going on. In my future career, I will definitely be communicating with parents because I think it is important for parents to know what children are learning and participating in everyday.

**have not finished newsletter, will insert picture of it when it is completed.