Lesson 16 Reflection

Our final blog brings much sadness and great joy!!! This semester has been a great experience for me. I have learned a lot throughout the semester. I learned so many new technologies to use in the classroom. I have learned that students enjoy using technology in the classroom. They feel that they are older adults if they are using technology. Since the world is changing so much with the new technology the students need to know how to use the technology for the appropriate reason. When we did the WebQuest the students enjoyed learning about the Civil War that way. Since they were able to go on a virtual tour. They were not just reading out of a text book.

Video:
Do you believe in me?
I loved the video, I thought it was very inspiring! To have a 10 year old talk in front of 20,000 people was amazing. I think that so many of the teachers there were greatly impacted from listening to the boy. I think it is so true that students need everyone to believe in them. If so many people believed in one person that one person could do so much. Every teacher needs to hear that speech because they will truly see how much they have an impact on each of the students!

Week 15 Reflection

I was having problems to get the other ways working. They were not letting me create and publish a post using the other ways.

Week 14 Reflection

There is not a day that goes by that someone is not using some type of technology. We live in a world now today that could not survive without technology. For some reason lately I wonder what the future would be like. I think that there can't be anymore technology invented and then I remind myself what it was like for my parents. I think technology is the great. I use my cell phone constantly and wonder how people ever survived without a cell phone.
Throughout my teaching experience it was amazing to see how the students know how to use so many different types of technology. The students were only 5th and 6th graders but they still had a facebook account. All the computers in the school were Apples. Whenever a teacher would have problems with her computer the students would all help her fix it. They are so much more technological advanced than I ever was. It just amazes me at the amount of knowledge they have with technology.

Week 13 Reflection

I learned today when using technology that things could go wrong. We were using our webquest today to teach one of our lessons in the field experience. However, when the students went into the computer lab to access the webquest, the school denied access to the webquest site. We ended up having the students come back to the classroom and we had to work through the webquest all together on the projector in the classroom. Thankfully I had put the webquest onto my jump drive. I was very sad they weren't able to work individually on the activity. It ended up working out ok though we did different virtual tours, so the students enjoyed that.

Week 12 Reflection

This past week in my field experience I was able to use a good amount of technology. I had to research some subjects from my computer on the internet. Through the internet I was able to learn many things, I also watched a few short videos to help me learn more about a certain subject. In the class itself we used the projector screen a few times to show certain items to the students. We worked on our webquest in making sure it already for our lesson. Through preparing my different lessons I have found that it is very important to have the various technologies that we have. It makes the process of finding different sources faster with the different technologies.

Week 10 reflection

This week we were able to work on our webquests! We have been doing it on slavery. We each have been finding many different websites to use on the webquest. We wanted to have this webquest have the students learn many things about slavery. They are to find out how the slaves were treated, how they escaped and their everyday living. They will adenture through many different activites. One of which takes the student on a virtual tour of the plantation they would have lived on. Through out the webquest they will have to be gathering the different information to create a poster. Once they create the poster from the research they gathered off the webquest they will present it to the class.

Week 9 Reflection

Reflection week 8

We just finished with our PDPs. And with our PDPs we had to watch many videos and read articles on different topics of technology. We then had to take a survey on how we felt that we knew the different areas of technology. I feel like I know a lot about how to use the different technologies but I still was not sure about a lot of the information. I am not sure about all the different rules and regulations when it comes to using technology in the classroom. In class today we were a little confused about what we were doing. So we all tried to figure out what we needed to turn in together.

Video- Did you know 3.0
This video is very interesting because it has all these up to date facts. It really makes you think about all these things going on around you that you might not have known before. It helps you to see how many people actually have a computer and use the internet. I feel like I am very fortunate for having all the technologies I have. It makes me realize how not everyone has all the latest technologies.

Strengths & Weaknesses

My weak areas were dealing with the equity, ethics, legal, and human issues concerning use of computers and technology. I have heard of the different issues, but do not know them in full detail. I am unsure of all the guidelines. I would be able to learn more about these guidelines by doing some research online. I could also attend a few workshops on this information. My next weak area is the video conferencing such as the Iowa Communications Network. I know what video conferencing is, but I have not used it before. I have not had any experiences where I needed to use it. I would like to use video conferencing more. I think we would be able to conduct more meetings. My last area of weakness is using databases to collect, organize, and analyze data and produce meaningful reports. I know how to do all those things, but going into big detail I'm not sure how to use it all fully.

My strong areas are using the multimedia computer system. I am very good at using the different technologies on the computer. I am very savvy at using the computer. I know how to operate basic and discipline-specific equipment. I am great at involving all the technologies with my different projects I present. Students learn better by seeing things visually. They need to have things that catch their attention and keep their focus in their learning process. I am able to incorporate a lot of technology into my teaching.

If I am not an expert in the certain areas I will use different tools to help become better in those areas. I can go to different workshops to learn more about it. I can also learn about the different areas online at different websites. There are so many tools on the internet that can teach you all the things you would need to know. My goals would be to completely up to date on all the new technologies. I hope to also be able to know all the certain rules and regulations regarding the different technologies. It is so important to use technology in teaching to help your students be able to focus better. They will enjoy their learning if they have something visually appealing to their eye.

My Beliefs

I feel that technology in the classroom can be used for the good. More and more students are learning better from hands on use. They are able to more fully understand what it is that they are learning. We however need to be careful that we do not let the students take advantage of the technology. We need to be aware that technology has many malfunctions and that we cannot handicap ourselves with it. We need to still be able to know how to do everything the "old fashion way." I used to hate how our math teachers used to make us show all our work even when we had a calculator that could do the work.

With that we need to make sure our students know the reason of knowing things the "old fashion way" but also know how to use all the technology to their advantage. I think that if all the technology is coming out to everyone and all our students are using them, we should take advantage of teaching how to use the technology properly. We can help to have our students enjoy everything they are learning and want to be at school. With the new technologies the students would hate to miss school because they would be missing out on all the fun in learning. They would be like elementary students again and hate missing school because of all the fun activities they would be doing.

Lessons Learned

I learned a great deal from these articles and videos. It was all very interesting to me because of all the new technology that is coming about. It is crazy to me to think of all the new technologies out there that I am still not aware of. It's weird to learn that even living in the United States we still have not gotten all the new technologies that are being used all over the country. I especially learned a lot from Harrison High school. It was so interesting to see that at that high school all the new technology they are using. Just by using a TV they are playing a game while studying for a test with the e-file game. The students are thoroughly enjoying going to school now. They are no longer wanting to miss school.

The shorthand is becoming more and more popular. Not only are teens using it but adults are when talking to teens and various work meetings. Each generation is coming out with their own shorthand. They are upgrading the old shorthand with the new shorthand. My only concern with that is that people are really forgetting how to properly write. In their school papers they are using shorthand. They are also forgetting how to verbal communicate with one another because they have now turned to all the technology to communicate.

Week 6 Reflection

We are still in the process of our digital story. It is coming along very nicely. I am very happy at how well it is turning out. I think that these are going to be great tools to use when teaching. And I hope to be able to use this digital story when I am doing my field experience. We are working great together getting this project done. We each take a different part to work on. I have been working on editing the video clip from Remember the Titans. It is a great learning process because I am having to figure out how to convert it into the right format to use on our digital story. I think that has been one of the hardest parts. I am still trying to figure out what the right format is. I might just have to download it onto youtube and then convert it back using zamzar.

Week 5-Reflection

This week in class was very helpful for us to work on our digital story. We were able to ask question on how to use movie maker. I worked on editing a movie clip we are going to use for our story. It was fun learning how to use imovie. I'm learning a lot of new uses of technology that will help in my future class. I will be able to use these digital stories for my future class. I'm enjoying doing ours on the battle of Gettysburg. We were able to put all of our pictures together for our story and get the timing right on it.

Videos-
The Did you know video was amazing to me. I thought it was so interesting all the facts it showed. I learned a lot from this short 8 minutes video clip. It made me really think of how I need to help my future students be able to prepare for the time they will live in. It helped me to learn about what is happening in the world today around me every second of the day.

A Vision of Students today- I did not like this movie as much as the others because it moved to fast and the information was cool, but not something I really enjoyed. As a college student I feel like I already knew all those facts because of my own life. But I did learn some interesting facts about the students around the world and what they face with money problems and other challenges.

Week 4- Reflection

In class we learned about digital stories. I thought at first when we were asked what it was that I knew what it was. But I was very wrong. Its awesome that it is telling a story by narrating it and using videos. While the show it playing you can also have pictures showing what is happening. This is great for a teacher because this would be a great project to have the older students do and help them learn the material and have fun while learning. They will be able to learn the material and then show it to the class so that the rest of the class can learn about the certain topic as well.
I can use this as a teacher because this will help to teach new material to my students. It will mix up my way of teaching so that they don't get bored from learning new material the same way. I could use it as teaching new material, emotional past history, uplifting events or anything.
By using the digital stories you could also show this easily to other students or parents. You could keep it forever and put it up whenever you need to use it again.

Video
I really enjoyed this video on the NASA. It was a really emotional video I felt because I saw all the men that have died from working in helping to better our world. It was very interesting to me the amount of men and women who died. I had no idea that there was that many who died. I learned a lot from that video and I know that if I still learned a lot about NASA I know that the students would learn a lot from the video. They would be able to see the amount of people who were killed, its not the same as seeing a list of the people as it would be from seeing what they look like.

Week 3- Technology #2

Skeleton
By clicking on the word above it will take you to the website.

My objective for this tool would be to also teach the 5th graders about the body, but this time it will be about the bones in your body. I will teach the students first about their internal organs with the digestive tract and work my way out. I will make sure that each student is familiar with each of the bones and where they all go. For their individual assessment I will have them play a game for me (that is found on the same website under skeleton). While they play this game they have to put the skeleton body back together by placing the bones in the correct place.
Since this is a virtual tour it will help the students remember what they learn. The students tend to get bored if they continue to learn through discussions and lectures. This web site will help to change the lesson up. They will be able to stay focused because it has music, pictures and is narrated.
While at the web page I personally have learned a lot. I always wondered about how many bones I had in my body. It was very interesting to find out that I have 22 bones in my skull, and my backbone has 26 bones. However, some people have more and some people have less. I feel that one of the most important things I want the students to learn is about healthy bones. That is one of the biggest problems the schools are facing today is students with healthy bodies. It tells you the ways to have healthy bones by exercising. It tells how the different parts of your body need the different types of vitamins.
All teachers should use this virtual tour when teaching students about the human body. Most teachers would use posters, but posters are not as good as a virtual tour. The best thing would be if each student had their own computer and could go through the tour at their own pace. They each teacher can assess the student by having them play the game on the web page.

Week 3- Technology #1

Digestive Tract
By clicking on the word above it will take you to the web page.

My objective for this tool would be to teach the 5th graders about the digestive tract and how it works. I want them to be able to learn the different parts by actually seeing what they look like. For their assessment I will have them draw different diagrams of the body and label each part giving the definition of what it does.
They will use this virtual tour web page as their main learning tool of the digestive tract. This is an amazing website that will grab the students attention. Anything that has movement with the students will help to catch their attention. This virtual tour walks them through all of the steps of the tract. It shows what happens when you eat food and also what happens when you just think about food. Not only does it show the pictures but it also tells you about the process. You are able to control this tour as well. So if you need more time on a certain page you are able to stay there and read the information. Then if you need to go back or forward a couple pages you are able to click through the different pages. You are not stuck in a show where you cannot control your pace. With this website it would be good to go at a slow pace on each page and use other sources to give more details on the certain parts.
I personally learned a lot from this webpage. I learned that the small intestine is comprised of three parts: the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. That was very interesting to me because I just thought that the small intestine was just a long tube. I also learned that it is the most important absorbing organ of the digestive tract. The second thing I learned was about the large intestine, like the small intestine I didn’t know that it was comprised of different things. I was really surprised when I learned that they were made up of different parts.

Week 3 Reflection

In class this week we learned a lot about using different technologies and information. We got online and went to You Tube and Teach Tube. From there we copied the url of a video and then learned how to convert the video using Zamzar. Zamzar is going to help when we need to use different videos we find from the Internet in our classroom. I used to not know how to download videos from the Internet. Whenever I would be doing a presentation I would find cool teaching videos online, but was not sure how to download them. Knowing how to use Zamzar will help so much.
As a teacher it is important to use inspirational videos and technology. This will help to get the students excited about learning and change up your teaching techniques. It is also great to use different simulations, like the one found on National Geographic’s. That will help the students to actually visualize what they are learning.

Week 2- Using technology

As a 'teacher' I will use technology to my advantage. With the world growing so fast and all the new technologies we need to use them in teaching. The students are going to either be trying to sneakily use them in my class or want to use them. So it would be best if I figured out the best way to incorporate them into my lessons. Students learn more if they are not bored and if they are having fun learning. With all the new technologies the students would actually be enjoying what they are learning.
I will use these tools also when it comes to communicating with my students and teachers. Most students will have accesses to a computer or if not they are able to use the library. I would first find out if my students have computers. And then if they all do I would not have a problem communicating with them that way. I would make a class website for them to find out all the information there on what is due and what they should be doing. They will be able to see a calendar as well so they might see any upcoming activities. Most parents like to be aware at all times what is going on in their child's class. This will be the best way that they can know all the time what is going on. They will also help their child make sure they get their homework done. The parents will also be able to communicate with me through email. I will use that as my primary source to get a hold of me, and I will make sure that I'm constantly checking my email. Unless they have a more urgent problem then I will have them call my phone.
I have to be very careful however with the tools I use in my classroom that the students don't take advantage of them. I have to carefully watch them when they are working on the computer and make sure they are not just surfing the web and using other websites that are not appropriate for class.

Videos: I really like the video about the fractions. It made me laugh because I had never seen a rap made into a fraction song. While watching it I thought that it was pretty cool and that the students would actually enjoy watching that and learning from it since the older students are into music. And they say that you learn things better by using music to help you remember it. I even felt like I learned how to do fractions better!
The second video was a good information video I felt. It helped to teach me about all of the new technologies that are out there that I need to take advantage of. The way they edited though I felt like I was getting into a trans with all the flashy color. I found that my eyes kept zoning in on the words. I thought that if I made a video using those flashy colors and music that I would be able to have my students pay attention. I would make the video so that it would teach them things with the core we are doing.

Reflection #1-Ideal Classroom

My ideal classroom would be perfect in every way! You would walk into my classroom and it would be so colorful. Not to overwhelming or cluttered. You would feel at peace when you walked in. There would be faint music playing that would calm you. All of my students would walk in and all their problems from the world would leave them. No matter their mood for the day, when they walk into my class they would have a smile on their face and be so happy to be there. I would have parents that would always be volunteering in my class. The parents would be so helpful and always want to help in any way they could. We would be spoiled to have a parent every day to help us. My colleagues would have the same out look on teaching and would be so helpful in whatever I would need. We would all work together so well.
Some of my teaching techniques would be to include everyone in everything. I would encourage interaction will almost everything I teach. This way I could keep all of my students involved and listening.
The technologies I would use would be computers and music. I would make sure that everyone knew how to use a computer. And the proper way to do everything on the computer. I would make sure they need appropriate sites to be on. With music their have been so many studies showing how classical music helps with learning. So I would make sure that I incorporate music into my lessons.
I would teach all subjects to my class. And all my students would love all of the subjects. I would make it so that all the subjects I teach are enjoyable for every student. I will have it so that they love to learn new things and want to learn as much as they can.
My class goals would be to have student wanting to learn new things. I want to constantly see the light bulb go off in their head. I want them to be asking a million questions and get so that they can be teaching each other. I want them to see tests as not something they hate or fear, but to see them as a way to make sure they are learning as much as they can and to help assess themselves.
My biggest thing I hope to teach is the love to learn new things. I hope to teach my students that it is not always about the grade they get, but what they take from the class. I hope to teach to always love to learn as much as possible. I hope they would leave my class always wanting to learn more and to continue feeling that way throughout their life!