The End is Near!

Wow! This semester is coming to an end already.  I have so much work to do this last week.  I can't believe all of our papers are due and finals are a few days away.  This has been a crazy semester.  I am glad that it is almost over and we all can enjoy our summer vacation.  I learned a lot about technology in this class.  I thought I wasnt going to be able to figure out how to use a lot of the programs that we used but I was able to do it all and have fun with it.  I feel like I have a lot of new websites and tools now that I can use in my own classroom some day.  I also was able to learn about a lot of cool new sites that I can use for myself as well.  I feel that I have come a long way with how much I know and can do with new technologies.  After doing research and practice using new programs I feel much more confident using the computer and that I can do so much more with technology now that I know so much more about it.  Im also glad that I had a chance to take an online course incase I ever have to take one again.  Blogging has been a lot of fun too.  I hope that I posted some helpful websites and good information for everyone to use.  I hope everyone has a great summer!

V-trips: What a great idea!

I love V-trips.  I was able to find a lot of them online.   I think they are a great tool to use in the classroom.  Schools are limited in the amount of field trips they can go on.  I think that students learn a lot by actually experiencing things that they are learning about.   V-trips are a great way for students to get a chance to visit places they cant really go to.  A lot of the V-trips have a lot of interesting infromation and graphics that make it feel like you are actually there.  It's a great way for students to learn by doing hands on activities.  They are good to introduce a topic or end one.  I definitely will use them in my classroom.  I think they are wonderful and that students really could benefit a lot from them.  

Field work Lesson

I did a really cute lesson for field work that I figured I can share with everyone.  The class is learning about bats this week.  I work with preschoolers and we are talking about birds this week.  I had the little ones draw a picture of what they would want to do if they could fly.  We talked about characteristics of birds and why we cant fly.  They had a good time with it.  So when the teacher told me that her students were learning about bats I remembered the lesson I did with the preschoolers. The classroom Im doing my fieldwork in is K-2 special education room.  I started off by asking them What they know about bats?  They really knew a lot and were very excited to share all about it with me.  Then I asked them what we have in common with bats?  We also talked about why we are different and how bats and birds can fly and we cant.  I then asked them to think about what they would want to do or where they would want to go if they could fly.  They colored a picture and then wrote one sentence about their picture.  I had them use fun sticky letters to put their name on it.  I wanted them to stay focused and have fun with the activity.  They really seemed to like it and enjoy the activity.  I made a class book with all of their pictures and showed them all the wonderful creations that all of them had designed.  

Using games to teach

Students have a hard time sitting still all day at school.  I think its important for teachers to incorporate games into their lessons.  I am working on my social interactive lesson plan for my methods class and we had this smartboard assignment so figured it was a good time to blog about games in the classroom.  I think this is a great idea to keep kids involved in lessons.  Students usually enjoy helping their friends too.  There are a lot of great games out there that involve the students in groups and really get them thinking.   They have a chance to learn from their peers and help them at the same time.   It breaks up the long day for students and keeps them motivated.  Games are a great fun way for students to learn.   I found a really cool hollywood squares game online for older students.  For those of you teaching middle or high school this is  a great tool to use.  I definitely will use games when I have my own classroom.  

Social Networking

Parents and teachers have to keep a close eye on students.  There are a lot of social networking websites out there that can be very dangerous.  They could be a lot of fun for kids but only if they are used safely and with adult supervision.  I dont think its important for teachers to use social networking in the classroom.  There are too many risks.  If students are using these websites inappropriately at school the teacher and the school can get in big trouble for that.  I just dont think its worth it.  There are plenty of other ways that the teachers can incoporate technology into their lessons.  I use facebook and I'm still always very cautious.  You never know what people are doing on all those websites.  I understand that some kids just want to talk with their friends and do all the other fun things the site has to offer but its very important to be safe when doing so.  

Podcasts, Podcasts, Podcasts!

I think podcasts are a great tool to use in the classroom. They can be used for so many different things. They are easy to make and great for students to use. How many times are students doing their homework and they get stuck on a question? Teachers cant be with their students all the time but podcasts can help. By creating a podcast about a topic that you just went over in class and assigned homework on you will be helping your students. Students can refer to the podcast if they are having trouble with their homework. Podcasts can also be used to introduce a topic. What better way is there to get students ready for a new topic? Teachers can make a podcast on a brief introduction to a new topic so students can get a head start. They can have a chance to look over the material and come up with any questions they may have and then ask them in class the next day. Podcasts can also be used to create reminders for parents and students. Parents are very busy and they may forget to sign off on homework or permission slips. Podcasts are a great tool for them as well. They dont have to be long so parents would only have to take out a few minutes and listen to them quickly and keep up on everything that is going on with their children at school. Also students have a lot going on and a great deal of work to keep up with so podcasts are a great way to remind them what they have due. I would definitely use podcasts in my classroom some day.

WebQuests

I really enjoyed making my own WebQuest. I had a lot of fun researching WebQuests and getting ideas from ones that I found. I think students can learn alot from looking at WebQuests and have a good time while doing so. I had fun designing my own and adding a lot of clipart and colors to make it look entertaining for kids. I was really impressed with Quest Garden. It is a great program to use to create WebQuests. I thought it was going to be a lot harder to do. This program took me through all the steps. There is a lot of work and information that needs to be put into the WebQuest but the process was easy to follow. The hardest part was taking the topic and information and making up a creative problem or story for the students to follow. I wanted to make mine interesting so that children would really want to keep going and see what happens next. I think its important to organize the information so that students can understand. I tried to include a lot of colorful pictures and great links that they can explore and learn more about the topic that I chose.