http://www.visuwords.com/?word=tired
This site is a really interactive and aesthetically pleasing thesaurus. I think that this website could be really useful for students who are writing an essay or a poem and often times get in the routine of using the same words and repeating words throughout the assignment. The website allows students to type a word in and from that word creates a chart that has many words that are similar to, the opposite of, related to or is kind of like and provides a color coordinated web of word types and similarity to the original word. I definitely think that this site could be useful in the classroom and really help students expand their vocabulary and understand the English language better. I can definitely see myself using this tool in the classroom and I really hope that teachers show this to students because this is a skill that is not thoroughly developed in the classroom.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Projects
As a PLN we created this list of great opportunities that technology provides.
Technology Projects as a Teacher
1. Create online games (ex: jeopardy, who wants to be a millionaire, word search...)
2. Voice thread for speeches and projects
3. Art Project with Big Huge Labs
4. Create Smart Board Lesson
5. Create XtraNormal Video for first day of school
6. Create googlesite for classroom (parents and studets)
7. Create News Letter on GoogleDocs
8. Create Wiki to collaborate with other teachers/groups
9. Create digital photo story to share about family/life
10. Create Wordle for art project
11. Create StoryBird for young students
12. Create online cartoons for newsletters
13. Digital Video Project
Possible Future Projects
1. Create Digital Video Story to tell class about yourself
2. Create a vioce thread to show your understanding of new spanish vocab
3. Create XtraNormal video of favorite thing you learned in history yesterday
4. Create Mosaic of your favorite animals
5. Create News Lettter of everything we learned in the week to send home to your parents
6. Create a Wikispace with 5 partners about dinosaurs
7. Create a MixBook Album about internet safety
8. Create a jeopardy game about addition and subraction
9. Create a crossword puzzle of this weeks spelling words
10. Create a Google Earth Tour of our favorite place to visit or wish to visit
Technology Projects as a Teacher
1. Create online games (ex: jeopardy, who wants to be a millionaire, word search...)
2. Voice thread for speeches and projects
3. Art Project with Big Huge Labs
4. Create Smart Board Lesson
5. Create XtraNormal Video for first day of school
6. Create googlesite for classroom (parents and studets)
7. Create News Letter on GoogleDocs
8. Create Wiki to collaborate with other teachers/groups
9. Create digital photo story to share about family/life
10. Create Wordle for art project
11. Create StoryBird for young students
12. Create online cartoons for newsletters
13. Digital Video Project
Possible Future Projects
1. Create Digital Video Story to tell class about yourself
2. Create a vioce thread to show your understanding of new spanish vocab
3. Create XtraNormal video of favorite thing you learned in history yesterday
4. Create Mosaic of your favorite animals
5. Create News Lettter of everything we learned in the week to send home to your parents
6. Create a Wikispace with 5 partners about dinosaurs
7. Create a MixBook Album about internet safety
8. Create a jeopardy game about addition and subraction
9. Create a crossword puzzle of this weeks spelling words
10. Create a Google Earth Tour of our favorite place to visit or wish to visit
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Final Essay
How do we inspire others to change? Should we? Does the way that we teach need changing? Are students the same or are they changing? What do we want for ourselves and our own children?
I think that to inspire people to change one must go through change themselves. It is hard to inspire change when one cannot understand and relate. I think that change can be good or bad, but when change is evolved through the process of education, it is almost always positive. I want to challenge the notion that a teacher serves to just provide information. Teachers have not lost their power to motivate and inspire. If teachers just stood in front of the class and read from the textbook, than students would have no need to go to class. To be an educator, means to inspire further learning, to challenge ideas and to motivate individuals. The teachers that I remember, and that I aspire to be are not the ones that taught me the most about the civil war or the periodic table, but the teachers who were able to provide me with the resources and tools to be self sufficient and independent. I think it is important to train students how to think, how to problem solve, how critically analyze and how to remain mentally agile, rather than teaching them what to know. Simply put: I want to learn how to become a teacher, rather than an informer.
I truly believe that with the technological advances, students are changing and so are teachers. We are forced to adapt to our surroundings and when we are surrounded by endless amounts of resources and technological tools, change is inevitable. When I talk to my parents about their school experience, it is very different from mine. They did not even have computers and in today’s classroom it is strange not to have one. With the presence of technology we are provided with so many more opportunities to integrate different activities and lesson plans into the curriculum. Teachers adapt their lesson plans to include technology because they allow for interactive and fun curriculum. Students have changed their ways of studying and can now use sites such as quizlet and text2mindmap to develop brainstorming and studying habits.
I want my children to be in a classroom where technology is used to enhance the curriculum; however, I also want my children to learn that there is a world outside of technology. I think that “real-life” skills can be developed through the use of technology but I truly believe that there are a lot of skills that cannot be taught through wikipedia or blogger. I think that in a perfect world there would be a balance. An equilibrium between technology and the classic classroom must be developed. I think that technology and the classic classroom setting are both great but as is true in all aspects of life; everything is good, in moderation. Technology is a great and beneficial tool for the classroom that helps and promotes interaction but this tool is only good when used effectively and does not take over the classroom and the student’s lives. Like so many other professions, teaching faces the threat of being replaced by a search bar in a web browser, but not if we can work with the technology to form a better and stronger learning experience.
I think that to inspire people to change one must go through change themselves. It is hard to inspire change when one cannot understand and relate. I think that change can be good or bad, but when change is evolved through the process of education, it is almost always positive. I want to challenge the notion that a teacher serves to just provide information. Teachers have not lost their power to motivate and inspire. If teachers just stood in front of the class and read from the textbook, than students would have no need to go to class. To be an educator, means to inspire further learning, to challenge ideas and to motivate individuals. The teachers that I remember, and that I aspire to be are not the ones that taught me the most about the civil war or the periodic table, but the teachers who were able to provide me with the resources and tools to be self sufficient and independent. I think it is important to train students how to think, how to problem solve, how critically analyze and how to remain mentally agile, rather than teaching them what to know. Simply put: I want to learn how to become a teacher, rather than an informer.
I truly believe that with the technological advances, students are changing and so are teachers. We are forced to adapt to our surroundings and when we are surrounded by endless amounts of resources and technological tools, change is inevitable. When I talk to my parents about their school experience, it is very different from mine. They did not even have computers and in today’s classroom it is strange not to have one. With the presence of technology we are provided with so many more opportunities to integrate different activities and lesson plans into the curriculum. Teachers adapt their lesson plans to include technology because they allow for interactive and fun curriculum. Students have changed their ways of studying and can now use sites such as quizlet and text2mindmap to develop brainstorming and studying habits.
I want my children to be in a classroom where technology is used to enhance the curriculum; however, I also want my children to learn that there is a world outside of technology. I think that “real-life” skills can be developed through the use of technology but I truly believe that there are a lot of skills that cannot be taught through wikipedia or blogger. I think that in a perfect world there would be a balance. An equilibrium between technology and the classic classroom must be developed. I think that technology and the classic classroom setting are both great but as is true in all aspects of life; everything is good, in moderation. Technology is a great and beneficial tool for the classroom that helps and promotes interaction but this tool is only good when used effectively and does not take over the classroom and the student’s lives. Like so many other professions, teaching faces the threat of being replaced by a search bar in a web browser, but not if we can work with the technology to form a better and stronger learning experience.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tech Newsletter
As a PLN we created a Technology Newsletter that explains how we can use technology in the classroom and the different tools that we believe are most effective. I think that this is a great tool to use to put on a website for parents to understand what is going on in the classroom and a great way to open up the communication with parents. It was fun to express the beneficial tools in the classroom in a creative and fun way.
Podcast
This was my first time creating a podcast and I found it very interesting. It is hard to hear my own voice; however, I think that it could be effective in the classroom. For example if you are sick and you have a substitute it would be helpful to have a podcast reminding the students of the class rules and the announcements so that they recognize that everything still applies even if you are not there. I think that students could also utilize this tool for interviews or book reports or speeches. It helps students recognize the importance of dictation and language. For younger kids and spelling lessons if you create a podcast it helps the kids with pronunciation not just spelling. I think this is a great way to incorporate the importance of language and communication.
Wikispace
http://jenmeadows.wikispaces.com/
As a PLN we created a wikispace based on the topic of technology in the classroom. I think that this was an awesome opportunity to share information in an organized yet intertwined way. I think that this tool could definitely be used in the classroom. I do not think that wikispaces would be effective in younger classrooms; however, I do believe that highschool and Jr. Highschool students could use this website as a way to have a group report on the same topic but different aspects (Science-DNA,Respitory,etc.) This was a very quick and easy way to form a report with a group of people.
As a PLN we created a wikispace based on the topic of technology in the classroom. I think that this was an awesome opportunity to share information in an organized yet intertwined way. I think that this tool could definitely be used in the classroom. I do not think that wikispaces would be effective in younger classrooms; however, I do believe that highschool and Jr. Highschool students could use this website as a way to have a group report on the same topic but different aspects (Science-DNA,Respitory,etc.) This was a very quick and easy way to form a report with a group of people.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Mixbook
Mixbook was a really fun opportunity to put together my memories from the year in a fun and creative way. I think that this tool could be used in the classroom and would be really beneficial for students, especially for an end of the year project and a way for perhaps the class as a whole to create a scrapbook with each student contributing a page. This is a great way for students to demonstrate creativity without artistic ability.
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