04/27/09 (blog questions)

What is the greatest advantage to having a blog in this course?

I think that the greatest advantage of having a blog in this course is it allows you the chance to reflect on what we did from the week before. You can share your thoughts and ideas with everyone in the class as well as comment on what other people said. It also allows you to view different opinions and options on things that you may not have thought of before you viewed others blogs. This was a good tool for me because it allowed me to re think about what we talked about or did in the class and remember it. Another advantage of it is we could communicate with one another with questions or answers etc. I think that the blog was a useful tool for this class also because it taught us another useful tool in technology by having us create it right from the beginning. Very big advantage in this course as well as a great tool for other uses in courses and classrooms.

What is the greatest barrier to your successful use of a blog in this course?

I think that the greatest barrier that I had in the blog use is that it sometimes was hard to leave comments on some pages because I couldn't figure out how to leave the comment because it asked you to sign in. But after that obstacle I learned to copy and paste what I was going to say so that in case I lost it I had it saved somehow. Another barrier I found was who was leaving comments. Some people didn't post to the very end of the week which made it very difficult to leave the two comments that I needed to leave. Another barrier that I found was that some people didn't comment on others and I really think that everyone should have their work commented on. Maybe a way to avoid this is assign people to people so every one's work is getting commented on . Other than that I don't have any other barriers I found with using the blog. I enjoyed it!

04/20/09

I thought that the lessons taught in class were really good. I felt that we had a variety of things that were shown to use which gave me many ideas. Its sometimes hard to get up in front of other adults and teach especially when your used to teaching young ones, but I think that everyone did a great job :) It was also interesting to write my technology journal paper 2 because I felt like I learned a lot of neat and different things. I also look back on our readings and discussions and think that we had some really great ones. I am enjoying creating my website but also think that it would be really neat to have like a one credit class or something or training to see all the different things you could do. They can be useful in the classroom, as of many of the other things we have done. Have a nice weekend everyone!

04/13/09

I am glad that we had a chance to learn about twitter, and about rss. I think that they are very useful however I also think people who are on the computers all the time use it a little more than someone that is just on a couple times throughout the day. I try to distance myself from it at times because I find myself on the computer way to much!!! I have been playing around with my website at home and I am gaining confidence in myself the more I play with it. I am finding it useful in designing the website and I hope that I have a chance to show it someday. Well I hope that everyone is enjoying their spring break the weather has been pretty decent for us, a little chilly at times with the wind but just the same at least the sun is shining. I hope everyone has a great week, and see you Monday :)

04/06/09

Overall I thought that the class discussions were very interesting and that we all have differ net views and perspectives on technology and it is interesting to hear all our opinions. The website is going to be very interesting, but I have to say I am a little frustrated at this point because what I did in class is not right, and I can't figure out how to re-do it at home alone. Aggghhh lol Anyways for anyone that knows what they are doing feel free to offer your advice :) I do think it will be great when it's done and I hope that I can know enough about it to keep it going. There is a lot of potential with the websites.

Lesson Plan W. Tech.

Lesson Plan
Title: On a Treasure Hunt
Subject: Social Studies
Time: 45 minutes/1hour
Grade: 2

Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate how maps can be used to locate objects.
Students will also be able to label a map with the cardinal directions.

Standards:
SS3: Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
Performance Indicator SS3.E.1B:
Students draw maps and diagrams that serve as representations of places, physical features, and objects.

Anticipatory Set: I will make a “detailed” map of the school, and together the students and I will follow the map to find the object at the end. I will point out details such as colors, objects, and directions.

Materials:
Crayons/markers/art materials
Computer/s
Screen/Smart board

Procedure:
After we go on our treasure map the kids and I will do a KWL on what they know about maps, and what they would like to know.
Then we will watch the video from curious George.
http://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/video/video_pop.html?clip=interstitials/210B&title=Treasure%20Maps&ar=16:9&filetype=wmv&bandwidth=_hi
Then we will talk about landmarks. What landmarks did we use on our map of the school?
Why do we have maps?
What might we find on maps? Come up with ideas from the kids, and then take out a basic map and see what they can notice.
Then we will watch…

http://www.asset.asu.edu/new/mathactive/lessons/10/interface.swf
(this site is a great way to help students remember the cardinal directions, but can also be interactive)
I will direct this to help show the students what the cardinal directions are.
I will use a smart board to complete some of the activities together. I will also set this site up on the back computers for students to practice during their choice time/free time or center time. (this will depend on how well the students understand the cardinal directions)
Then the students are going to create a map of their own, including the cardinal directions, and landmarks. They may create a map of their choice, but after the make the map, they must write down the directions for someone to follow if they were to use their map.

Closure: I will bring the group together and we will stand up on the carpet facing north. I will give the student directions in which they will turn.

Assessment: I will be collecting their maps and their directions to see if they gave accurate directions, as well as included cardinal directions and landmarks.


This lesson will be used to get children familiar with mapping. I want them to see how important it is when giving directions that they include many descriptive things such as landmarks, cardinal directions etc. I included the first video because it is a great way to get the children interested and excited. The second site I enjoyed because I can have it be interactive as we do the activities together, and I can also set it up on the other computers for students to practice and explore after we look at it as whole group.

03/23/09

I found that Mondays class was very beneficial. I like how we used the smart board and websites as a combination. I am really enjoying the smart board in the school that I am in right now, and think there are so many things that we can learn to do. In the class that I am in during the morning we use it to do all of our calendar activities. They kids love it. Who would have known that counting, and doing the weather would be so engaging and exciting. I am also excited to start learning about how to create a website. I have never done this so it will be a challenge but I think a useful thing to have for the future.

Smart board

Hey guys just wanted to let you know that there are some really neat things to do under the gallery section in the notebook page. If you go under Essentials for educators you can access things like dissecting a frog, you can put together a human heart and make the guy start breathing, and all sorts of neat stuff. One of the tutorials does touch on this, but if you play around with it even more you will find all sorts of neat stuff. Just a little update :)

03/09/09

I think that the tutorials were beneficial that we did on the smart board in class. I also wanted to let people know that I am familiar with it, I do not know a whole lot on it, but if anyone has questions on the basics feel free to get a hold of me. There are a lot of neat things to do with it all the way from lessons to just review games. I think that our conversations on the articles were interesting, and that it is interesting to see all the different things that are going on around us in education. I also enjoyed reading about all the adaptive technologies that people explored in our previous blogs. There are also a lot out there that we aren't to familiar with, but this is how we can learn about them.
I also think that the E-field trips was a great idea, and that we may have to start doing things along this line. It seems with budget cuts being made that field trips is unfortunately one of them that is being cut as well. Just something we need to keep in mind with the schools.

Adaptive Technology

After thinking about what kinds of adaptive technologies are out there, I decided to find one that I could learn about and possibly use some day with visual impaired. The one that I researched was a screen magnifier software using Zoom text 9.1. This software helped people that had low vision. It had two sections, one was the magnifier, and the other was the reader. Under the magnifier they person could zoom text, adjust magnification, adjust colors (background and font), adjust the pointer, font, and cursor, and can help them check for focus. Under each section there were different options depending on what that particular person needed. For example some may want a dark background with light writing font, and another might want a light background with dark font. Then the person also had control over the reader section. This could be turned on so that it would read everything that the person was pointing to, helping them get through each section, or the software program could be set up to read what that person was typing. This program has been upgraded, and keeps improving as it advances, allowing more options for people.
If i had a visual impaired student in my class, I would definitely consider getting this software. I think that having both options for that student is very beneficial and will help them in a classroom. I would have to make sure that my materials were accessible on the computer for that student to access, and I would also need to make sure that this person is comfortable with this software. I do think that as a teacher you need to be aware of how you would use this in a classroom, and I would definitely have this set up for my student to use at anytime they felt it was necessary. I would also have to update this each day for the following day. This would be a lot of work but feel that once you got a handle on the program it would be easy. I also think maybe you could scan things into the computer that you might be using to make it quicker. I would probably use this on a laptop that I would have available to this student, because I would want this student to be able to use this, but also be part of the group. Therefore, having a laptop they could bring it with them where ever they needed. I also think that this might be easier for the other students because you would have the class as a whole group and would not have to divide your attention between the two, which may cause some disruption. My strategies would also change in that if I had a hands on activity, I would have to make sure that student could join along with us. I also think that things in my room would change as well, such as making sure that things were labeled differently so that this person could read/or see these as well. For example I may have to create things in braille or I just may have to adjust the colors for this person. If I was doing a reading lesson I would have to make sure that this was available in text for the program, and the student. The arrangement of my class would have to be set up differently as well. So not only do you have to change your strategies in the classroom, but the entire dynamics of it as well. I will do my best to accommodate any student with any difficulty in my classroom. I found this software program fun to learn about, and also very beneficial for the classroom.

Here is a website that I visited that I learned a lot from and found it interesting to actually see a clip of it being used.

http://www.aisquared.com/

02/23/09

From tonight's class I have a few comments on how I feel about some of the articles. First off I do believe that manipulative's are essential in the classroom. I feel they can be for any subject, and can be many different types of items. They help children get the hands on experience that they need, and it allows the different type of learners to get what they need as well. We can also incorporate technology manipulative's as well, by simply using a computer or smartboard. There are many different things we can do that are out there, it's up to the teacher to be aware of all our options.
I do feel that student's who copy word for word should be corrected, but I do that we need to make sure that we address this issue before, and do things to prevent this from happening. For example make sure we show them the difference between good websites and the ones that are not so good for research. If we take these precautions and do everything we can to prevent this and then it happens I think they should be punished but they should also be asked to redo the paper. They do need to learn from their mistakes as well.
I thought that the topics we talked about Monday night will help us have different views in these subject matters in the classroom.

02/16/09

By reviewing the sites given in last night's class and everyones feedback on how they would incorporate them into their lessons, I think that it was very useful and allowed us to see how others would use games. I think a majority of us agree that we need to incorporate them into lessons for a variety of reasons but that we need to make sure that the teacher still teaches the lesson first. That is crucial to making sure the children are still learning what is needed out of the lesson. I think education games can be useful in the classrooms as long as teachers use them correctly. I enjoyed many of the websites that we used, and think that they can be used in classrooms.

Article 2

So after search for articles that dealt with math, I also decided to investigate further and see if there were any out there that showed tests results not being affected by technology. This was hard to find, because many of the articles said that there was growth.
This next article examined math and reading through a study. In March of this year, the Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences issued its report of a study conducted by Mathematical Policy Research, Inc., on the efficacy of computer software on the teaching
of math and reading. It specifically focused on whether students had higher reading or math test scores when teachers had access to selected software products designed to support learning in reading and math. It was not looking at how it effected students in the whole spectrum, therefore it is important to consider that it is not looking at the other subjects. The study involved 439 teachers in 132 schools and 33 school districts.
They were grouped into four areas: first grade reading, fourth grade reading, sixth grade
math, and algebra (typically in ninth grade).In all of the four studies it showed that the results were "products did not affect test scores by amounts that were statistically different from zero."
They looked at how this was both bad and good news to schools. Bad news because many schools have contributed large amounts of money towards technology, but the good news is they are saying that less expensive, conventional teaching methods seem to be as successful as high-tech methods.

I think that this article backs up how I feel about math and technology. I think that it is a great tool, and should be used in schools. However, I feel that math is a hard subject that can be taught completely on technology. Yes, I feel that it can be implemented and used successfully, but teachers have to know how to do this. I think the results may vary also depending on what type of class you are studying. For example this study was done on a "low poverty" school. You have to think about what kinds of technology they used, and what did they do with it.


Barlow, D. (2007). The Teachers Lounge: Closing in on 2014. The Education Digest, 73(4), 66-69

Article

In this article a women from Baton Rouge, an all girls secondary school, uses technology in the classroom, and has had wonderful results. They used computer monitoring system and tablet PCs. It improved their excitement about math, and also improved their test results. The tablet can be used to monitor the student's comprehension as well as create collaboration between all the students. She can use her tablet to present her power point presentations (lessons), and she can keep notes for students that were absent. It is also useful because it has privacy, so those students that are struggling are not being embarrassed.
I think that it is interesting to see that technology is not something that we have here but that it is used all over in classrooms. I think this would be a great way to present lessons and also have them working hands on. I did take note that this was a secondary school, therefore I do think that it is a little easier to incorporate. Again you have to address the students that you are working with in a way that is most useful to them.

Zuger, S. (2008). Interactive Math Classrooms Adds Up To Success. Technology and Learning, 29(3), 14

Article 1

In this article a group of 70 pre-service teachers participated in training sessions
where they evaluated the features of various pre K-12 mathematics instructional software and websites, and designed technology-based mathematics lessons. The training sessions promoted the pre-service teachers’ awareness of, appreciation for, and confidence in their ability to analyze, select, and craft technology-based mathematics lessons. The teachers were asked to design a lesson plan that incorporated technology into their lessons using the criteria that was suggested.
Findings show that when computers are properly used the can improve student mathematics achievement as well as enhance learning throughout the school. They also state that using technology in the classroom has higher student achievement, self concept,attitude, and teacher-student interaction. Even though studies have shown this improvement and positiveness of using technology, many are finding little teacher use technology because of their lack of training. Throughout the training sessions they also investigated using websites and software that could be incorporated into their math lessons. Some things that the teachers thought were useful were: if they contained manipulative's, visual displays and multiple representations would help with conceptual development, while those that engaged students in real life situations were best used for problem solving and practical applications. So again depending on what the site or software was used for would depend on what they wanted to cover.
After the training sessions they asked for the teachers response's of what they thought was positive or negative about incorporating technology into their math lessons. 94% thought of it as a positive, and the only negative was when they couldn't get it to work successfully. 86% said the viewed software and websites as great tools that can promote best practices and provide great content information. Many were very motivational as well. “Instructional technology can enhance the mathematics learning environment by providing visual demonstrations,interdisciplinary connections, and practical applications,” “Teachers don’t have to hunt for information about math topics,” “Software and websites can readily give teachers the information they need to understand the topics they teach,” and“Instructional technology helps the teacher bring mathematics to life with real-world connections.” 57% of them said that they were now more aware of the use of technology and how it can conceptualize and apply mathematics.
Overall this study was done to help people see that technology is a great tool used to help teach math, but that it does require teachers to have efficient and in depth training of how to do this. It will have a positive result, and has potential to open doors that have not been opened before.

Mistretta, R.M. (2005).Integrating Technology Into The Mathematics Classroom:The Role of Teacher Preparation Programs. The Mathematics Teacher, 15(1), 18-24

Interesting website

So something that I find myself doing very often is searching for websites that are beneficial and that can help give us ideas on some of our lessons. I came across this one particular that I really enjoy so I thought that I would share it with everyone. If at anytime anyone else has some others to offer, I would love to have them as well. Thanks!!

http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/math/time/

02/02/09

Looking at the standards in class helped me understand them some more. I feel that we sometimes look at technology as using it in the classroom, but that we should use it more incorporated into our lessons and activities. I also feel that it is important to remember that we need teachers to try to learn and adapt new technologies into the classroom so that we can set up students for success. I feel that even though these technologies are out teachers are still very important in the process. I particular enjoy using technologies in the classroom, but fine my troubles to be how to use them in my lessons. Some of my questions are: What standard would you consider if any for using book on tape, or songs related to lesson? These are some things that I do use in the classroom but am not sure what standard they fall under. I would also like to get some more ideas so if anyone as some really good sites that have lessons with incorporated technology standards, I would like to explore them.

First Time

So I thought that I would try this for the first time. I am new at this, so it might take me a couple of trys to figure out. I am doing this in purple because it is my favorite color lol. I will put in some pictures for fun, to try that part of the technology.

This is my sister and I. We were in North Carolina on a boat tour.