Teachers don't always know every detail about a project that they are going to have their students do, so there are a number of resources like AOL@School.com and Britannica Online Encyclopedia that teachers AND students can go to for more information about a particular topic.
Students can also use AOL@School.com for studying various subject areas and learning good study habits. There are websites that I have listed under this category that have spelling lists that students can use in their writing or if there are words that students are unsure of how to pronounce; these sites will pronounce the word for them. I have also included Merriam-Webster Dictionary for times when students or teachers don't know what a word means or how to use a word in the correct context.
This category has references that students and teachers can use easily. These particular sites are also very simple to use in structure. Kids will not be confused about how to use these references, especially if they are at all in tune with the technology of the time.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Classroom Management Tips and Resource Sites
Throughout the past few weeks that I have visited Endeavour Elementary, I have noticed that there are students that simply don't work well with one another, or if there are students that do get along, it can effect their work progress in the classroom. There are other elements of a classroom environment that can be distracting to students or characteristics of the classroom that aren't engaging at all. This category has a variety of websites like Youth C.H.G, and Kims Korner 4 Teacher Talk, that give ideas to teachers about how to solve problems with classroom control, organization, discipline, and classroom decor. The one site I particularly like is Pro Teacher. This site is great for new teachers!
The ideas that other teachers have chosen to give to this site on morning routines, or bulletin boards, etc. make new teachers feel less stressed and confident in the way they are going to structure their classrooms.
I know that I will be referring to this site a lot over the next few years!
The ideas that other teachers have chosen to give to this site on morning routines, or bulletin boards, etc. make new teachers feel less stressed and confident in the way they are going to structure their classrooms.
I know that I will be referring to this site a lot over the next few years!
Websites with Fun and Effective Activities for Grade Schoolers
Whoo Hoo! There were so many fun sites to look at when I decided to have a category that included links to websites that have ideas, programs, or worksheets with fun activities for grade schoolers. I believe that if there is a fun and creative way to get students involved without losing the educational value of a particular subject area or lesson, then why not use it! Well, these websites have numerous ways to engage children's minds, and imaginations so that students don't become complacent or bored in the classroom environment.
My favorite site that has great creative ideas but also incorporates technology into the lesson is Host Classroom Game Shows with Power Point. There was an example given by a teacher who had her students play a game called "Who wants to be a Winner!?" She describes how she hosts the game in her classroom and I've attached it below [Teach net contributor, Kathie Anderson (3rd grade teacher, Sioux City, Iowa)];
I type questions from the most recent story we are working on for shared reading in our third grade class. I cut the questions apart and put them in a small box. Then we play "Who Wants to be a Winner!"
I divide the class into two teams. Each team gets three options, each of which can only be used once during the game. I write the three options on the board. When the team uses an option, it is erased. The options which the team can use are: pass, ask a friend on their team or ask the whole class.
To start the game, I pick a number. The team which chooses a number closest to mine, gets to start first. The first player on the team chooses a question question from the box without looking at the question. The player then reads the question and decides if s/he knows the answer. If the player does not know the answer, s/he may pick an option. If the child passes, the player whose turn it is next, can have a chance at answering the question. If the pass option is used, it is then erased and cannot be used again by that team.
When all the options are used by a team, the players must try to answer their own question even if they don't know it. When all the questions are gone, the game is over. The teams get one point for each question and the team with the most points win. Of course you must ask the player, "Is that your final answer?" The kids love this game!
I would love to play this game with students in a classroom. I think that many students would enjoy it and it would create a fun, interactive environment.
This is just one of the many creative ideas that these websites provide teachers with!
My favorite site that has great creative ideas but also incorporates technology into the lesson is Host Classroom Game Shows with Power Point. There was an example given by a teacher who had her students play a game called "Who wants to be a Winner!?" She describes how she hosts the game in her classroom and I've attached it below [Teach net contributor, Kathie Anderson (3rd grade teacher, Sioux City, Iowa)];
I type questions from the most recent story we are working on for shared reading in our third grade class. I cut the questions apart and put them in a small box. Then we play "Who Wants to be a Winner!"
I divide the class into two teams. Each team gets three options, each of which can only be used once during the game. I write the three options on the board. When the team uses an option, it is erased. The options which the team can use are: pass, ask a friend on their team or ask the whole class.
To start the game, I pick a number. The team which chooses a number closest to mine, gets to start first. The first player on the team chooses a question question from the box without looking at the question. The player then reads the question and decides if s/he knows the answer. If the player does not know the answer, s/he may pick an option. If the child passes, the player whose turn it is next, can have a chance at answering the question. If the pass option is used, it is then erased and cannot be used again by that team.
When all the options are used by a team, the players must try to answer their own question even if they don't know it. When all the questions are gone, the game is over. The teams get one point for each question and the team with the most points win. Of course you must ask the player, "Is that your final answer?" The kids love this game!
I would love to play this game with students in a classroom. I think that many students would enjoy it and it would create a fun, interactive environment.
This is just one of the many creative ideas that these websites provide teachers with!
Elementary Teacher Supplies Online
There are so many neat posters, markers, colored pencils, paper, books, worksheets, puzzles, games, and the list goes on and on, for elementary teachers to add to their classroom. Many teachers like to purchase these items on their own so that they can keep them. There is also a budget that is given to each teacher at the beginning of the year that allows teachers to buy new creative "tid bits" for their classrooms.
After looking through a number of sites that sell educational posters, and many other things that teachers can add to their curriculum or walls. I have chosen Beyond the Blackboard, One-Stop Teacher Shop, and PreK-12 Teacher Supplies as three places that I will go to spice up my classroom.
One aspect of each of these sites that I really enjoyed, was that you could choose the grade level and subject area to narrow down your search for new supplies. There are also a number of organizational materials that teachers can purchase to keep important documents safe, as well as notebooks that have directions on how to create a template for designing lesson activities or field trip forms, etc. There are also books that you can purchase that already have these forms and templates made for you, that you can simply copy and fill out. Teachers can purchase any type of sticker, post-it, or labels too. Kids love stickers and here teachers can buy them cheap. These are also great additions to art projects, journals, or for correcting papers.
I think that being organized is very important and makes things a whole lot easier; so I thought these characteristics of an easily accessible website were great for teachers.
After looking through a number of sites that sell educational posters, and many other things that teachers can add to their curriculum or walls. I have chosen Beyond the Blackboard, One-Stop Teacher Shop, and PreK-12 Teacher Supplies as three places that I will go to spice up my classroom.
One aspect of each of these sites that I really enjoyed, was that you could choose the grade level and subject area to narrow down your search for new supplies. There are also a number of organizational materials that teachers can purchase to keep important documents safe, as well as notebooks that have directions on how to create a template for designing lesson activities or field trip forms, etc. There are also books that you can purchase that already have these forms and templates made for you, that you can simply copy and fill out. Teachers can purchase any type of sticker, post-it, or labels too. Kids love stickers and here teachers can buy them cheap. These are also great additions to art projects, journals, or for correcting papers.
I think that being organized is very important and makes things a whole lot easier; so I thought these characteristics of an easily accessible website were great for teachers.
Teaching Standards for Classrooms/Grade Levels
As future teachers, we have all been introduced to the basics of lesson planning. The classes that we are taking here at Northwest Univeristy are preparing us for the challenge to be organized and on task as educators.
This particular tab consists of two websites that teachers use on a daily basis to assure that the lessons/lectures that they are planning for their students meet the requirements of the state learning objectives, etc. The Online Grade Level Resources Home and the Washington EALR's GLE's and Educational Technology websites are easy to understand and retrieve information from. I know that just over the past few weeks I have become very familiar with these websites and I will continue to make reference to them so that I have a purposeful direction with the lesson plans that I will be making in the near future.
I have chosen to add this to my blog to make access to these sites easier and quicker.
This particular tab consists of two websites that teachers use on a daily basis to assure that the lessons/lectures that they are planning for their students meet the requirements of the state learning objectives, etc. The Online Grade Level Resources Home and the Washington EALR's GLE's and Educational Technology websites are easy to understand and retrieve information from. I know that just over the past few weeks I have become very familiar with these websites and I will continue to make reference to them so that I have a purposeful direction with the lesson plans that I will be making in the near future.
I have chosen to add this to my blog to make access to these sites easier and quicker.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom
Web 2.0 has so many sub-contents that can be very useful in the classroom. One in particular was Google Earth. As a class we looked at some of the ways that you could engage students in a geography or social studies lesson with this program.
It is fun to see how close of a picture the satellites were able to get of your own home or of a school. I think that elementary students would really be intrigued by some of the things you can do with Google Earth. Another great way that Web 2,0 allows you, as a teacher, to become more communicative with your students and their families is with the Calender option.
This program allows you to create a calendar with events or activities that are scheduled to happen throughout the course of a year. This could be very useful for teachers to organize events ahead of time so that parents and students as well as other teachers, can be aware of what is going on in the classroom
It is fun to see how close of a picture the satellites were able to get of your own home or of a school. I think that elementary students would really be intrigued by some of the things you can do with Google Earth. Another great way that Web 2,0 allows you, as a teacher, to become more communicative with your students and their families is with the Calender option.
This program allows you to create a calendar with events or activities that are scheduled to happen throughout the course of a year. This could be very useful for teachers to organize events ahead of time so that parents and students as well as other teachers, can be aware of what is going on in the classroom
Monday, September 24, 2007
SMART Board (WOW!)
The SMART Board has so much to offer. There are so many different characteristics that you are able to add to the learning environment. I think that for me to fully understand and enjoy technology; I need to interact with all the neat things that it can do, just like we were able to do in our last class. Knowing that I am not up to date with a lot of the technology that is out there today, I really thought that having the opportunity to get to know the SMART Board in a comfortable environment with others who are also new to the program, was comforting and fun.
I also feel that the time that we were given was an ample enough amount that the process of "how to" do the engaging additions to the SMART Board did not simply go through one ear and out the other, the information stuck and I am actually learning a lot. I hope that the neat ideas that are introduced to us in Technology in Education can be incorporated into my lessons when I begin my teaching career.
I also feel that the time that we were given was an ample enough amount that the process of "how to" do the engaging additions to the SMART Board did not simply go through one ear and out the other, the information stuck and I am actually learning a lot. I hope that the neat ideas that are introduced to us in Technology in Education can be incorporated into my lessons when I begin my teaching career.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Autumn 2006: Interactive Educator What I learned...
http://downloads.smarttech.com/media/education/pdf/ieAutumn06.pdf
- You can use the SMART Board for any subject; just need to be creative
- Students will be engaged more if the material being introduced is new, fun, and exciting
- There will always be some students that don't respond well to new technology or new material in general; need to be able to make exceptions for those students
- It's always good to introduce the new technology before jumping into a lesson using the new technology.
- When I first heard about the SMART Board I automatically assumed that it would be a great tool to use in the classroom for students who were visual learners, but students who were more hands-on tactical learners; it may not be the best idea. After reading this article I can see that once you are familiar enough with the technology this advancement can be used to teach the visual and the tactical.
- You can use the SMART Board for any subject; just need to be creative
- Students will be engaged more if the material being introduced is new, fun, and exciting
- There will always be some students that don't respond well to new technology or new material in general; need to be able to make exceptions for those students
- It's always good to introduce the new technology before jumping into a lesson using the new technology.
- When I first heard about the SMART Board I automatically assumed that it would be a great tool to use in the classroom for students who were visual learners, but students who were more hands-on tactical learners; it may not be the best idea. After reading this article I can see that once you are familiar enough with the technology this advancement can be used to teach the visual and the tactical.
Reflection: Creating Web Page
"To ERRR is human, but to really mess things up you need a computer!"
To be completely honest, this assignment was very overwhelming and frustrating for me. It seemed that I would follow the instructions to a "T" and still have difficulties getting to where many of my other classmates were getting. Once I was able to really set some quality time aside with my computer,and my cell phone so that I could call my little brother, outside of class I began understanding all of the perks to being able to post blogs correctly and create layouts and other fun things on my web page. I didn't realize that there were so many options and choices that you had to personalize your web page. When I began to understand how to create and add elements to my page , this was more fun for me.
I have learned so much already about what I can do with technology to make my teaching environment more user friendly and I think that this class will get me to where I need to be technologically, so that I can continue to use technology to my advantage in education in general.
School Website-- Endeavour Elementary
Endeavour Elementary has a web site that consists of a very simple layout. I think that this is a positive characteristic that allows parents and students to find the information they are looking for quickly.
On the other hand, however, there are very few teachers that have a web page for their class.
It is obvious that the teachers have alternative ways of updating their personal classroom information and keeping their students and parents up to date with the events and other activities that are going on in the classroom.
Before we were assigned to look at our cooperating schools web page and look at it from an outsiders point of view, I was put into the position to revert to the web to find information about my cooperating teacher and general information about when classes began etc. I found myself going around in circles for quite some time before I was able to find the information that I needed. So, I think it is important to create a page that is not only something that someone who is connected with the school can use, but also someone who wants to be connected with the school or simply get information about the school and its programs.
On the other hand, however, there are very few teachers that have a web page for their class.
It is obvious that the teachers have alternative ways of updating their personal classroom information and keeping their students and parents up to date with the events and other activities that are going on in the classroom.
Before we were assigned to look at our cooperating schools web page and look at it from an outsiders point of view, I was put into the position to revert to the web to find information about my cooperating teacher and general information about when classes began etc. I found myself going around in circles for quite some time before I was able to find the information that I needed. So, I think it is important to create a page that is not only something that someone who is connected with the school can use, but also someone who wants to be connected with the school or simply get information about the school and its programs.
Technology Standards (In Class)
Technology standards I need to work on...
- Being aware of who my audience is when creating my website. For example, I will be applying for any teaching position from kindergarten to the 8th grade.
- Using more than one search engine when searching for something on the web.
- Being up to date with what technology can be used for. (Or at least know my options for using technology to create a project etc...)
- Being aware of who my audience is when creating my website. For example, I will be applying for any teaching position from kindergarten to the 8th grade.
- Using more than one search engine when searching for something on the web.
- Being up to date with what technology can be used for. (Or at least know my options for using technology to create a project etc...)
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Article:"Engage Me or Enrage Me
When I was through reading this article, the first question I asked myself was "What kind of student was/am I? I quickly realized that I set high standards for myself and always have. This put me into the number one category of students. Although I may not always reach those high standards, I strive to.
It was interesting to me to be reminded that children "back then" didn't need people or technology to entertain them or encourage them to learn or do something. I know my mother has always told me this growing up. She would say, "if you're having someone over, don't expect me to have a list of things to keep you entertained. There are plenty of activities to do outside or in your room."
I feel that I have gained the majority of the knowledge I have form what Prensky referred to as the "old curriculum, " and I think that this way of learning engaged me more than any video game would. However, after reading this article I am better aware of the increase of technology as an everyday action for the younger generations as well as the fact that in many cases, these technologically advanced gaming systems and other programs are engaging to students now.
It was interesting to me to be reminded that children "back then" didn't need people or technology to entertain them or encourage them to learn or do something. I know my mother has always told me this growing up. She would say, "if you're having someone over, don't expect me to have a list of things to keep you entertained. There are plenty of activities to do outside or in your room."
I feel that I have gained the majority of the knowledge I have form what Prensky referred to as the "old curriculum, " and I think that this way of learning engaged me more than any video game would. However, after reading this article I am better aware of the increase of technology as an everyday action for the younger generations as well as the fact that in many cases, these technologically advanced gaming systems and other programs are engaging to students now.
Why I want to be a teacher?
I desire to become a teacher for multiple reasons. I think the two most important reasons are simply because of my personal life experiences that I have had in working with young people as well as the challenges that I have overcome as God has led me on this path to become an educator. I have had the experience and opportunity to carry out many teaching roles and in every situation I learn something new, and I love that too.
As for my thoughts on the role of technology in education, technology is always changing. As teachers, I don't think that it is ever going to be possible for us to keep our students updated on what is really out there in technology. However, because it is becoming the way of the world, it is important to give them the foundations of basic technology so that may function successfully in those environments. In my case, I think that my students will be teaching me new things that i can do with the technology that is being renovated today.
As for my thoughts on the role of technology in education, technology is always changing. As teachers, I don't think that it is ever going to be possible for us to keep our students updated on what is really out there in technology. However, because it is becoming the way of the world, it is important to give them the foundations of basic technology so that may function successfully in those environments. In my case, I think that my students will be teaching me new things that i can do with the technology that is being renovated today.
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