Blog Wordle

Take Away Message 4/14/14

 

                            Take Away Message 4/14/14

 

In an ideal classroom, if each of my students had a smart phone, I could see the benefits of using the voice thread. I think having each student create their own video on what life is like from them in the Bronx would be pretty cool. It seems like another teacher had done that and some of the videos showed the students culture aswell as important landmarks in the Bronx. I'm going to be honest, I don't think I will be using it in my classroom. The resources are just not there for my students and I don't feel it would be interactive enough. I wasn't that crazy about it.

I do think that the power points that we looked at tonight in class were really awesome. I'm happy that I now know how to hyperlink to pages to guide students through a presentation smoother. I also think that students respond really well with it from my own personal experience in the classroom.

 Another topic of conversation this evening was the "email 101" course. I think all students should take the course we created this evening! It would outline HOW and WHY emails should be written the way they are. It will not only help them gear up for college, but get them ready for the real world. They will not only have to communicate with their boss but also with their co-workers and having the experience from a young age will benefit them greatly.

Blog 6 - Chapter 8&9

              During my read of chapter 8, the focus was mostly on the teacher/student communication via blogs or wikis. One of the key areas that stuck out to me was the use of "instant messaging" for student/ teacher contact. Personally, I like the idea of a blog or wiki way more than an instant message. I feel that students today would not seperate "friend" talk with "teacher" talk when using instant messaging. While it would be a fast way to contact, I think sticking with emails or discussion boards would be better for both parties.
             This chapter also discussed the importance of teaching interactively. There are so many ways to keep the thoughts moving in the students minds after class. An example would be to post a discussion board topic or post suggested further readings on a specific topic online. I agree that students would benefit from the extra time and thought on their own and open up more of a broad understanding of the subject matter.
                Chapter 9 spoke about using POWER POINT. I use powerpoint for many of my lessons. I create my lessons in a more interactive way by posting my questions or charts onto the smart board. It is a simple program to use and many teacher programs with lessons that you can download using it. As the chapter discussed, it is way more visual for the children.
                 Using video in the classroom is another way to bring visuals into learning. Watching video clips or educational movies can enrich the text book in ways that simple "lessons" could not. I also really liked the idea of the "concept books." The concept books are great especially for ELL students. Using digital photographs in concept books are a great way to enrich topics.
Class Questions:
1) Does your school offer you/ Would you ever push to get the backings of a digital camera for your students? This way they can create their own movies or find their own visuals?
2) Brain Pop Jr. is a video page that I constantly use to enrich my lessons, does anyone know of another page like this one that is just as good?
3) What is your opinion of Movie making by students, in the lower grades, to help enrich their learning? 

Take Away Message 4/7/14

 

 

              I haven't thought about my E-portfolio since I created it as a means to conclude student teaching 2 years ago. I never used it on a job interview. It just didn't seem as important as the physical portfolio I had made to bring on interviews with me. Tonight, I am thinking a little differently about my E-Portfolio. My teaching philosophy is so different than two years ago because I have grown and experienced a day to day classroom. I have set new goals for myself as an educator and what better way to show this progress than to have it displayed on an E-Portfolio.

 

             We also discussed using it as a sense of reflection. I actually think this would be an important part of your online identy because it would show your growth and it would show that you took the time to reflect. This under the new teacher evaluation would be considered "Highly Effective". I'm excited to update my portfolio and share my new views on education.

3/31/14 Take Away Message

It was great to watch examples of the movies that we are going to have to create for our group project. I feel that my group and I picked a really important topic, Internet Saftey. This topic is extremely important more than ever because social media is growing faster every year. Most kids don't understand the power the internet can have on their lives in a good way or in a bad way. Showing the negativity that can come from putting too much on the internet is a lesson better taught in class through a video than learned the hard way in real life. Our video will be geared towards high school students. We picked this age group because these are the kids who are most likely to take risks online without realizing their consequences.

 

Among the other groups in our class, I felt that a lot of great important issues such as manners and health can all be taught in a more interactive way than on paper. These videos should be exciting to watch and students should be excited to learn from.

Chapter 7 - Blog 5

        I have used Google Earth myself a time or two, but I never would have thought to use it in my classroom before reading this chapter and our discussion last class. Giving children the opportunity to take virtual tours across a variety of content. Even using English, to explore where the author was from or where a story takes place. I'm actually going to put it into place this week. We are reading a book about different types of Community Homes. What better way to show them a variety of communities than by virtually taking them there! 
              The part of Chapter 7 on Intelligent tutoring systems really stuck out to me. I depend on programs such as these ITS programs to give me feedback on what my students are understanding and what they are not. The program with GO MATH that my school uses breaks down exactly what standards my students have mastered and automatically gives them more focus questions on the standards they are struggling to master. It's really helpful for me because when you have 30 students, it's hard to pinpoint exactly who needs what at what time. This just makes my job a lot easier. 
         This chapter also discussed GAMES and learning. After last week's Mind Craft conversation, I asked my students how many of them played it. I was shocked. In their desks were books on this game, that taught them new strategies to win. THEY ALL PLAY IT. I thought last week that the game had no educational value, but I have to admit that I liked that my students have 300 page books on strategies. It required actual reading and thought to act these plans out. 

Questions: 
1) What do you think of the violence in Mind Craft or other popular games? Would you ever use it in your classroom or would the violence trump anything they could learn from it?
2) Has anyone USED a video game in your classroom as a part of a program or learning tool? If so, Which and why?
3) The programs I use in my school are all pre-chosen. Do any teacher in the class have the option to order whichever you would like? 

Take Away Message 3/24/14

The connection or lack there of between video games and learning was spoken about tonight in class. The love for video games is no uncommon among children. Every show and tell item that gets brought into my classroom is some type of game. How can we as educators marry the two into a productive learning tool?

The idea of Mind Craft this evening didn't sit well with me. I didn't really find the educational aspect of it besides being able to build things. If there was more thought being put into it, maybe math or some sort of reading tasks mixed it, I could see it being educational. I think specifically of my students and how they would just think it was "fun". There would be no rigor and in a country that is pushing common core standards with higher order thinking and all these new platforms for students to reach, I would not see a fit for Mind Craft in my classroom.

 There are games out there that can be fun for the children and educational. Yeah, they might "smell like school" as in the man in the video tonight said, but the kids ARE in school and that is what we do in school, we learn. My school has a math program that is fun and the kids beg to use it. There are ways to mix in the "fun" but there is also a need for a set structure and framework for our students that they need to understand to be successful individuals.