How comfortable are you with technology? Matthew Koehler describes Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as a form of knowledge that goes beyond the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge of the teacher (Koehler, 2009). It is an understanding that emerges from an interaction of all of these elements. TPCK involves representation of concepts using pedagogical techniques that rely on technology in constructive ways (Koehler & Mishra, 2008). Web 2.0 tools are the second-generation Internet technologies that promote collaboration. Some examples include
social networking, video broadcasting, social messaging (Chat features), photo sharing (such as
Flickr ), Wikis, and
Google Apps . Describe a situation where you will use
Web 2.0 tools to effectively teach a concept using the Integrated Curriculum (science plus other content areas). How will your philosophy of teaching and learning with technology affect your use of technology in the classroom? How could you use Web 2.0 tools in your current field placement classroom? (Reference: Peters, et. al, Science in Elementary Education, page 56).
Post your responses here [Note: for longer postings, break them into two and post a first and second part if you exceed the 500 word per posting limit]:
38 comments:
Because I have grown up in a generation where technology has took off and continues to become a large part of my generation’s life, I feel as though I am, for the most part, comfortable with any type of technology. However, I am the first to admit that I might not know everything or a lot of the beneficial tools or programs, but I am willing to learn and can pick things up pretty quickly.
As I was looking around at different Web 2.0 tools, I was truly amazed at all the great resources these websites and tools provided for teachers. It wasn’t hard for me to think of ways I could integrate these tools into my lessons as a future teacher:
Science: I went to visit the EcoKids website and fell in love with it. There are so many games and activities that students can take over so many topics in Science. While exploring, I played a game under “Energy” to see how energy efficient I was, and I had to remember I needed to get back to writing this reflection. If I, a 22 year old woman enjoyed this, I know students will.
Math: Using Gizmos in Math would be a great way to solidify students’ understanding of new or hard material. My first thought was to use this tool for fractions and shapes/angles. The Gizmos demo talked about a new way for children to look at fractions – by using modern art. I think this would be a great way to integrate math and art in one lesson. Also, I really liked how Gizmos talked about shapes and angles. Students can change the number of sides/angles and immediately see the difference in shapes. Students’ ability to see math concepts being created through a tool that they are already infatuated with truly engages students in their learning. I also saw some ways students can become more familiar with their multiplication facts. This comes at a great time because I am actually going to tutor six students on this particular topic this week in my field experience school. This is definitely something I am going to talk to my mentor teacher about and hopefully use.
2nd part of my reflection...
English Language Arts: I could use Google Earth to give my students a visual of the setting of a book they are learning about. In my LTEC class at UNT, our professor gave us this example using a Curious George book. In this particular book, Curious George went all over Chicago visiting museums, zoos, restaurants, etc. To make the book’s adventures come to life, we were able to create a “book walk” of all the places that were mentioned in the book using Google Earth. So instead of just reading about Lincoln Park, the class was able to actually see the real thing. Although this is an example using a young children’s book, the concept is still applicable to any genre at any grade level.
Social Studies: Expanding on the activity idea I had for English Language Arts, I could use Google Earth for the same purpose during one of my Social Studies lessons. For example, right now my fourth grade students are learning about European explorers who made an impact on Texas. One way for my students to get a grasp on how far these explorers traveled would be to create an “Explorer Tour” (where students see the actual places and distances the explorer traveled) through Google Earth. On Monday, I’m going to see if my mentor teacher would let me make this for one of her lessons because I think a whole lesson could be put into perspective this way.
Finally, my philosophy of education has always been one of hands-on learning and doing things that may take a longer time to prepare for, but in the long run, help my students learn in the best, and most creative way. I view technology is one way that I can very comfortably provide my students with some wonderful hands-on, creative lessons and activities to further their education.
Having worked for Plano ISD for 5 years in the technology department, I am very comfortable with technology. I was in charge of maintaining and troubleshooting technology for the school as well as providing staff trainings on how to integrate technology in their classrooms.
The Web 2.0 tools are so amazing and I have saved it to my favorites. It’s a resource with many other resources on ways to integrate technology in the classroom. I really enjoyed looking through them and would like to share what I have found and how I would use them in my classroom.
Language Arts: The World of Teaching website would be a great resource for Language Arts. This website provides many different PowerPoint’s that you can use in the classroom to teach different concepts. You could also set up PowerPoint’s for students to use during their stations. When working at a preschool I help make PowerPoint’s with the Speech Language Pathologist Teacher. The PowerPoint’s had words on them with a picture and then she recorded herself saying the word. The students would listen to it during one of their centers.
Math: The Explore Learning website would be a great resource for Math. This website provides many different math concepts such as geometry, number & operations, and measurement. The Fraction, Decimal, and Percent Gizmo allows students to Model and compare fractions, decimals, and percents using area models. This would be good with students to use during their math stations. It allows them to learn by using technology.
Science: The Yuckiest Site on the Internet science website would be fun students. This website has nasty things that have to do with science such as why we have earwax, pimples, and stinky breath. Although it may not be an appropriate site when the principal walks in, it gets students excited about science. On a serious note it also has facts about worms and roaches in which students can learn about.
Social Studies: The Google Earth website is a great resource for Social Studies. One of the things that I really found interesting was that when using Google Earth you can go back into history to see what an area may have looked like in the past. Just a couple weeks ago in my 3rd grade class we were learning about what Plano may have looked like in the past. This would have been a great site to pull up and see and to show the students.
I plan on sharing these great resources with my mentor teacher and hopefully she will be able to use them in her classroom. I would also like to incorporate one of the resources in my lesson plans that I have to make and teach during PDS I.
As a future teacher I will use technology daily in my classroom. One of things that I mentioned in my philosophy of teaching essay was that, “Teaching is like having a tool box. There are certain tools you will you use with one class and there are some you won’t use, but it is always good to have them”. Technology is one of the things that will go in the tool box that I will always use in the classroom and will encourage my students to use it as well. I think that students really benefit from it and it allows them to learn in a different way. They also need to know how to effectively use it to better help them in the future.
I am still getting used too all the technology coming out. Being in a world full of technology can take your breath away sometimes. I wouldn't say that I am horrible with technology but I am still working on it. I am understanding that as a teacher using technology in classrooms is a very important tool to have and also most of your communication will be through computers.
When I looked into web 3.0 tools I was really astonished by all the great resources and tools that I could use in my future classroom. This cite provides excellent tools, activities, lessons that you can create and much more. some of tools that I saw that could be useful was for science, Echo kids.com. This is a very interactive environmental cite. This is for children, families and educators, from Canada and around the world. You could use many different games and activities for children to learn from the environment.
A social studies cite would be Google earth, I love this cite because you can truly let the students see in 3D their world,history, homes, streets and where they live, also other places around the world.
A great math cite would be Gizomes, it has games and activities that features fractions, decimals, multiplication, patterns, sorting, all kinds of different math lessons and much more. Learning math has always been hard for me and I remember in elementary school that every time we got to use the computers for math I was extremely excited because I understood it better that way.Many children will find this beneficial for them and also the teachers.
For language Arts I think that you can use many different websites and use it for writing about it, making power points, having oral reading and talking about it. Having the students use vocabulary words that they are learning and pick them out in texts, write about what they saw and learned or for younger grades, draw what they learned.
I believe using technology in the classroom will be very beneficial and rewarding for the students and for the teacher. Having technology in the classrooms brings,engagement,interaction, learning different styles, visual and much more. As a future educator I will use technology in my classroom at various times, such as math workshops, writing stations etc. Furthermore alot of testing in done by computer know so students will be more involved with technology.
In my current field placement I will suggest to my teacher the website 2.0 for integrating it to the classroom. I could also use this website as a resource for one of my lesson plans and present it to my field placement classroom.
Technology is becoming more and more common to use in the classroom. The digital learning website "Web 2.0 Science Tools" is a great site that offers many different types of technology that teachers can use to engage their students. One tool in particular that I would use in my classroom is the "Google Earth" tool.
Google Earth is a technology that can be used for many grades and in many different ways. A particular situation where I might use Google Earth is by teaching different landforms that form all over the earth. Google Earth allows you to view regions all over the world at a distance, and see these places even closer as you zoom in to one area. The students will be intrigued with the idea of seeing actual images of earth just as adults are intrigued with this technology. We can bring in prior knowledge by looking up places that students have been before and observing what landforms can be seen from Google Earth.
The philosophy of teaching that I believe in ensures that students are engaged, teach to all types of learners, and use prior knowledge to build on while teaching new concepts. The use of technology encourages my philosophy because it is hands-on materials. Technology has become a part of our every day lives and affects everyone in this day in age. Technology can be used for visual learners to see images, for auditory learners to hear sound and music, and for the kinesthetic learners to discover new concepts hands on with a computer or other type of technology. These are just a few examples of technology in the classroom that correlates with my philosophy of teaching.
In my current field placement we are actually learning about mountains, plateaus, and valleys. It would make an interesting lesson to show images to the classroom by typing in a famous mountain, observing desert area, and much more. To go along with this idea, the computer can be used as a technology to find pictures of these landforms and show them to students in a power point. I would have the students use their prior knowledge to try to guess what the images are before telling the students the answer.
The use of technology could also be used in the other main content areas. You can view pictures of art or even listen to music pieces from our history that would integrate both music/art and social studies in one lesson. There are many teacher websites now that help students visually observe how to solve math problems. For language arts, teachers can use the internet to locate a poem or pieces of work for students to view and form a lesson off of this. There are even student-friendly videos on the web now that teach concepts for English class. These are just a few ways I will integrate technology into the different content areas.
As a future educator, I feel that technology is going to play an important role in my future classroom. As the years go by, more and more of everything is converting to computers, and all the different types of technology. Even though I am still learning about it, I feel that the more I learn, the more I can teach to my students about how the real world will be like they join in themselves.
On the Web 2.0 website I entered the EcoKids browser. It offers fun information about certain topics from different environments in many interactive ways. There is a section on ‘Waste’ on the website. If I were doing a unit lesson on this topic this website would be a good resource to go to for engaging the students. There are a few games and activities that go along with this topic. For example, one of the games is titled, “Don’t Throw it Away, Have A Garage Sale.” It can show the students how not to waste items and also incorporate recycling. For English language arts, I would have them write a story about a time they had a garage sell, or had been to a garage sell, or what they would sell if they had a garage sell. To incorporate math, to go along with the theme, I could give groups of student’s different scenarios of items in a garage sell with price tags on them. They would then make a math problem using the different objects and numbers.
There is also a section on this website where students can enter contests. I think this is amazing, especially for GT students who need extra work to keep them busy. It is neat how they are not just competing with the students in their classroom, but others across the world as well. There is also a section for blogging. I think blogging is awesome because it gets students excited to write. It is much more fun than putting a pencil to paper. They are able to use the Internet as a resource to get their thoughts out there. This can also be a way to incorporate writing into a science lesson.
Teaching with technology is a great way to retain their attention. Technology is continuously growing more through each generation. Students who are familiar with it enjoy doing work online, and they are more likely to stay motivated. Students who do not receive this knowledge of technology at home, bringing it into the classroom gets them exposed to it and expands their learning.
In my current classroom I am in, my mentor teacher loves science. He is an amazing teacher and is very engaging. There are a few students who still seem disinterested and unmotivated. I feel as this website would increase their attention and interest them by playing these games and doing the activities.
PART TWO:
To narrow in on something we are currently working with would be to use the Virtual Body site. The students are able to take a tour through the body and could write about all the parts and describe them in their Language Arts spiral working on the vocabulary words. It came to my attention during their MAP testing many of them had to ask for my pronunciation of multiple words that went with the body systems and parts. I feel this website would help them visualize the systems, understand the vocabulary and hopefully recognize it when they view the words again. My philosophy of teaching and learning with technology will affect the use of technology in my classroom because if I was comfortable using it then I would try to find ways around having the students use it in their curriculum. After reviewing my philosophy of education that I wrote just last year, I do not see it changing much with the use of technology. I have stated over and over that I am strictly in the classroom to help the children achieve their goals, to learn the curriculum and life skills they need to know at their individual levels. Therefore I think that the use of technology will be greatly used in my classroom, with the times we are living in now everyone is very much accustom to using technology and different devices to learn information. I will make sure to keep up with the youth of the class and understand the tools before instructing the students to work with them. The first week I started observations at my school we had a technology meeting after school to review the new devices they received for the classrooms. I have noticed how important it is to use these new devices in the classroom because it really helps to get the students involved, interacting and excited to learn. My mentor teacher has done a wonderful job with introducing the technology to the students. However, introducing these Web 2.0 tools might go over the tops of this fourth grade classes heads. Some of the students would be able to work with a few of the websites well others would not be able to understand at all. The mentor teachers are currently organizing the students based on their MAP testing scores and I feel that in the advanced higher level class would be able to use more of these sites for positive learning. I will introduce this to my mentor teacher if she has not already seen it and get more feedback on her experienced opinion.
PART 1:
Growing up in the generation I did, I find myself being quite comfortable with technology. I feel that I am very knowledgeable when it comes to technology and different programs and websites there are available for both personal use, as well as for the classroom. In regards to how comfortable I am with the use of technology in the classroom, I would say that it is growing on me more and more actually being in the classroom. Students today know so much more about technology than I did at their age, and some of them probably know more than me now! I think that the use of Internet games for stations is a very effective and engaging tool for students, but I also think that we as teachers can take it a step further for use of research, papers, presentations, and creating diagrams. Technology can be incorporated into science in more than one ways, it can be used to spark an investigation, it can generate graphs, and can help reinforce students learning. Technology can be used in all areas of the curriculum, for example: in science, students can use the internet to research and learn about different types of local flowers, the students could then take notes on each flower and their average height. The teacher could then hold an investigation where the students go on a “neighborhood walk” to find these flowers and take data on each flower’s height. The student can then return to the classroom, go back to the technology and use their data found on the Internet and outside to create a bar graph of average and actual heights of each flower. The creation of these bar graphs is incorporating mathematics into the lesson. After the graphs have been made, conclude the lesson with the students writing a short report of their findings and some possible reasons for their conclusion, this incorporates language arts making it a technology integrated curriculum lesson plan. For an extension, students could use the program, Paint, to draw their own pictures of the different type of pictures tying to use accurate representations of their heights, integrating the arts.
PART 2:
I think that since I am used to technology and all it has to offer, and also am aware of the benefits it brings to the classroom, will result in me using technology much more in my own classroom. My philosophy of teaching is most similar to the social development theory from Piaget. Although technology could be viewed as a tool for individual use, I think there are many types of ways to use technology within group projects, as well as the use of pen pals from all over the world. This could broaden their social development and knowledge past their own classroom environment. Overall, I plan to incorporate technology into my future classroom as much as possible. To start now, I could introduce the use of technology to my classroom I am currently observing, past online games and practice. I am working with students this Friday on landforms. The lesson plan currently involves the students creating a 3D representation of the 8 different landforms through salt-dough, similar to play-doh. I could then use technology to have students create an online graphic organizer! This website, http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/, has many different options for graphic organizers for each subject. The graphic organizer, a graphic map, helps students to organize different items under one subject, title the item, give a description, and add clip art. The students in my second grade class I currently am in would love getting to use the computers, and it could reinforce their understanding of each landform and what they look like.
Part 1: I am very comfortable with technology. Technology has been positively enforced by my teachers growing up and also in my private pastimes. I enjoy putting a sort of technology in every lesson I have created. I feel that it is a useful tool for the students to connect with visually. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge involves representation of concepts using pedagogical techniques that rely on technology in constructive ways. I feel that it is important to understand ways to use technology in cross curricular settings.
After browsing through the Web 2.0 tools, I could see myself using these resources often. I really enjoyed the link given for http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/games_activities/index.cfm. I found an interactive activity that would provide the use of science and math through a garage sale. The children are to raise $50 to build a tree house so you price items and then sale to a high bidder. This is also science because it goes along with preserving and recycling resources. They also had interactive climate protectors where you click on different resources to keep the carbon dioxide at healthy levels. This also incorporates math by reading the thermometer and keeping it at low numbers. The link http://earth.google.com could be used to demonstrate points of history. On this map you are able to point out locations of important events while also being able to show a real picture. I looked up my house and I was able to actually see my horse in the backyard. http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/virtual.php is a way to use technology for field trips and labs. Some districts cannot field trip as often as others due to budget restrictions. This website allows for the students to still see the benefit of going. All of these can be incorporated into language arts by having the students reflect on what they learned through writing. We have heard over and over again about the importance of educators reflecting so they can learn and change if necessary. So far I have found it pretty beneficial. This can apply to the students as well. If they can restate what they learned or still need more help on it may trigger the appropriate actions. This is also a private way for the students to reflect to the teacher without the whole class knowing whether they understood the material or not.
Part 2: I have always believed that technology in the classroom is important. I want to be able to set up my students for success in ways that is engaging for them. I have not had much experience with the smart boards in the classrooms but I have seen less expensive versions that promote the same type of learning. Simply having a projector in the room and walking through an interactive video together as a class can be beneficial. I could see these links being a great tool to use as an engager or during center exploration time. My current placement is a self-contained instructional program for students in special education. I could see the lower level interactive videos being beneficial in this class. Most of the students are really engaged when it comes to technology. After direct instruction time they can earn computer time if they were on task. Most of these I feel they may need some assistance with to do it correctly but I can not wait to bring some of these links to them on Monday.
My personal philosophy of teaching is that all students should be taught to be self-advocates. Their education will make them productive members of society, who advocate for social justice for themselves and others. In my classroom, technology will be a tool to help students navigate the social world and achieve agency. It will be a means for them to communicate with others and to understand their world.
Assistive technology is already being used by many students with special needs. Two students in our classroom make use of electronic devices (see http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/vplus/) called alternative augmentative communication devices, or AACs, that we refer to as their “voices”. My mentor teacher uses a class iPad, donated by a class parent, to provide literacy instruction and as a reinforcing activity. Other people with disabilities use iPads and iPhones to help them with communication, as well as academics (see http://www.apple.com/education/special-education/#literacy). This summer, I met a Deaf person who used her Smart Phone as a notepad to communicate with hearing people. Even people with severe disabilities (see http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/2010/06/ipossibilities-for-those-with.html) can benefit from technology in the classroom.
In my current field placement, the students have communication difficulties resulting from developmental delays such as autism and Down syndrome. Most of their activities take place in a language-rich classroom. They receive one-on-one instruction in Language Arts, and group instruction in Math and the Integrated Curriculum, according to the district’s Alternative Curriculum. Currently, the students are learning about their five senses and how they use those to learn about the world around them. Last week, they learned about the sense of smell, and this week they are exploring the world through their senses of sight.
To integrate technology into the students’ Integrated Curriculum and Language Arts instruction, students could dictate or write a story about a motivating topic. One student, who I’ll call Shay, is particularly interested in robots and magic, for this week, at least. He could dictate a story to an adult using the prompt, “I went on a walk. On my walk, my eyes saw…” Shay would then fill in the blank with what he saw, which would almost certainly be a robot or magician. Shay could illustrate the story using paint software, such as Tux Paint or Microsoft Paint. Alternatively, Shay or an adult could use a digital camera to take pictures of what Shay actually saw on his walk, and use them to illustrate his story. An adult could then use Google Docs (https://docs.google.com/View?id=ddv49vkt_9xf7ftm) to help Shay publish his story. To integrate Math into this activity, Shay could use numerals in his drawing to represent how many items his eyes saw on his walk, or the number of steps it took him to walk from one item to the next. He could also retell the story using sequencing language: “First, I saw a… Second, I saw a…” Having Shay draw which items he saw on a simplified map would integrate Social Studies into this activity, and provide practice in mapping skills.
Although the students in my classroom may have developmental delays, they enjoy engaging academic activities as much as neurotypical students. When the teacher is able to make activities personal for each student, it is very motivating for them. It’s such a thrill to see these children enjoying learning and engaging with others as much as they can! I think that technology can enhance the educational experience of students receiving Special Education services.
One excellent Web 2.0 tool I would use to teach an integrated lesson is blogging. I found a great website that is educationally friendly and would be great to use in the classroom: http://edublogs.org/. This website is safe for classroom teaching and learning in that there is no adult content allowed and no exposure to other blogs.
The reason I chose blogging as a web 2.0 tool I would use is because there are so many great things that can be done on it. For an integrated science lesson, I would put students into groups of 3 and have them research an assigned topic. For example, if we are learning about mammals, I would give one group lions, another group elephants, etc. A great site for student research is askkids.com because it is safe for children. The groups would research and collaborate to create a blog post that shares information they have found through videos, podcasts, text, reflections, etc. By using the blog, other groups would have the opportunity to get online and read about the mammals that the other children researched and comment on their post. This is a great way for children to become engaged in their learning and collaborate with the rest of their class. It is also a great way to allow children to work from home if they’re able and to allow parents to see what their children are doing in the classroom.
Not only will the children be using the Internet to research, they will also be using technology to collaborate and present their information. This method of teaching doesn’t just incorporate science, but it also integrates social studies because the children are collaborating and researching where animals are from around the world. Through this, they will be looking at online maps. Language Arts is incorporated through typing blogs and reflecting on their learning, as well as responding to other children’s posts. The children will also be reading about the animals. Math will be incorporated because the students will be looking at statistics about the animal, such as how far birds migrate in the winter, or how fast the animal can run, etc. Art and music is also incorporated because the children can post pictures they’ve made and add their favorite music to the blog.
My philosophy of teaching and learning with technology is that technology is a very real part of our current culture and way of living. It can serve many real, positive benefits and teaching opportunities in the classroom, and I feel that it is important to expose children to it since they will be using it the rest of their lives. I feel that a teacher who does not use technology in the classroom is harming her students more than helping them, because she is keeping them from a plethora of information and experiences. Seeing that this is my view of technology, I feel that I will use technology in the classroom often. I feel that technology makes it easier to be creative and create great projects for students to collaborate with one another. I plan to use research projects, blogs, online games, etc. in my future classroom.
The children often do stations in the third grade classroom I am observing. I would use blogging (web 2.0 tool) in my current field placement classroom to engage students. They often do IC (social studies and science) and LA (Language Arts) in stations. I can tell that often the children become bored with just writing the stations on a piece of paper, or even on a foldable. I think that blogging would be a great way to excite the children about their learning. They could have online reflection journals to write about each station. By having a time for the children to read one another’s reflections, the children would have an opportunity to learn from one another. Also, blogging is a way for children to present what they have learned in their stations in a more creative way. For instance, they can create newspapers, magazine covers, movies, etc. to post on their blogs.
I know that I was always very excited about technology in the classroom when I was growing up, and it was so limited then. I can’t wait to embrace technology in my own classroom. I feel that researching and blogging will give students a good understanding of what the nature of science is all about. They will be asking questions, gathering information, and sharing their research with others. This is a great way for them to be scientists. My philosophy of education strongly supports engaging children in real life learning so that they will become life long learners. Teaching through blogging will be a great tool to develop young, collaborative, high thinking minds that continue on the journey of learning and sharing with those around them.
Part 1:
Maria Tronconi
EDEE 4330.003
Reflection #2
Knowing that our generation is highly influenced by technology, I have taken the time to become more familiar with innovative online activities and new forms of technology. I feel pretty comfortable using technology in my lessons, however there is still room for improvement and even more learning. The wonderful thing about technology is that there is always a new product being released to enhance engagement in the classroom and appeal to different learning styles. Since part of my philosophy of education includes the belief that students learn best with experience and by constructing their own knowledge, I think that web 2.0 tools are bound to be helpful because students can play interactive games, conduct research and navigate the web themselves. I would use web quests in my classroom for a specific topic or even a thematic unit because it demonstrates how ideas connect and provides many examples for visual and auditory learners. In my classroom, I would use web 2.0 tools such as an online poll that students can respond to with answers to opinion based questions or fact based questions. I like this because it promotes participation and still keeps the answers anonymous, but provides a representation of the thoughts of students and their peers. I found one tool called VoiceThread that uses M/5 commenting which is full presence communication. With this, students are getting the whole effect of commentary that they cannot achieve solely through text. Using VoiceThread, students can voice record their comments to each other’s work or statements they have, but it will deliver it with full emotion and phrasing that cannot be done with just text. Art can be displayed with artists explaining their process or meaning. Social studies timelines can be shown because of the ability to click to the next page while still explaining an event from the previous slide or quickly moving to the next. Math problems can be solved because you can “write” with the mouse and it shows up as you make each stroke as if you were writing with a pencil on paper. The wonderful thing about this tool is you can format it to present information at your favored pace and stress the important features of your lesson. In science, a teacher could post directions to an at home science experiment. Since VoiceThread provides the opportunity to include voice recordings along with visuals, the teacher could be as explicit as needed when explaining the directions. From what I’ve been exposed to, this web 2.0 tool is about as close as it can get to delivering instruction right there in the classroom. Once students conduct their experiment, they can post their findings and their response to what they’ve learned and even comment on each other’s posts.
Part 2:
In my current field placement, I have already witnessed use of web 2.0 when the morning announcements come on because they are broadcasted live from the Principal’s office to our computers in the classroom and we present them in large view to the class. The combination of audio and video helps create a connection, especially during the Pledge of Allegiance and relaying information about the rest of the day’s activities.
Technology is something that is used everyday in the classroom. Teachers need to be comfortable with using different types of technology throughout all of their curriculums, because it is becoming more readily available and apparent. There are so many different ways to incorporate technology in your classroom. I have seen teachers use PowerPoint, You Tube, and other interactive websites. Integrating technology in to curriculum gives the students another type of exposure to what they are currently learning.
Videos are a wonderful thing for teachers to use to implement a more concrete experience for students because they are able to actually see and hear what is going on. School House Rocks videos have always aided me in my learning because they reviewed what I was learning in school, and they also had tunes and mnemonics that made it easier for me to remember certain concepts. School House Rocks has videos that teachers can use in social studies, mathematics, and language arts.
Another useful type of technology for teachers to use in their classroom is Windows Office Communicator. Windows Office Communicator is an instant messaging (IM) application that you can download to your computer, form contact groups, and add students to those groups to talk about different assignments. Teachers would have to use their classroom computers and help the students to install and setup the windows communicator group for each student to use. Teachers could use this application during any sort of curriculum because it is a way for the students to ask questions and receive assistance from each other while the teacher is able to monitor the students IM questions and answers going on from her computer. For example, if you assign students to work on a project in groups, research in groups, or find information in their texts, they can instant message each other and receive instant feedback from either the teacher or their peers for tips and assistance on what to do next. This would prevent students from wandering around in the classroom, talking over each other, or the teacher having to walk from group to group to assist them and answer questions. Windows Office Communicator creates an easy to use and almost instant understanding environment for students to learn in.
Web 2.0 is helpful in my current placement because I am observing in a fifth grade classroom and the students often become bored with different activities. When the teacher uses web 2.0, they become engaged and perk up. Children are constantly using different types of web 2.0 tools outside of school today, so it is vital for teachers to implement them in their classroom so students can make the connections between curriculum and their lives outside of school. In order for students to absorb what they are learning, they need to be able to make personal connections and Web 2.0 tools can make that a little easier
My philosophy of teaching is to have an open, inclusive environment. By implementing web 2.0 in your classroom, your students will have the ability to ask questions without feeling threatened, while also being involved in an interactive classroom.
I grew up with a computer in my home so I feel that this put me ahead of others. I also grew up in the generation when technology really gained momentum. I am very familiar and comfortable with technology. Although there is some technology in the classroom now that i don't know how to use but I know are easy to learn. I love to learn new ways to use technology in the classroom because it really makes things more interesting. I see how important technology can be in a classroom and how much it can benefit your students. When I looked at the "Web 2.0 tools" I was surprised to see all the neat websites and interactive activities. Also i noticed how a lot of these were made for the children to work through by themselves or with a partner. The site that caught my eye was kidsastronomy.com. This website is about our solar system and the different planets. It really goes into detail with pictures and descriptions for the students which could benefit your struggling readers. The site is very easy to navigate which is good for the ELL's you may have in your classroom. If I were to do a lesson on the solar system this website would definitely be in my plans. I would go through the website with the students on the projector to model for them how to navigate the site. Then i would send them in partners to go to the computer and research one of the planets, the sun, or the moon. I would have them make a poster about their planet. To include literacy the students would draw their planet and write a few facts about it on their poster. When they were done I would have them present then line up in order from the sun. This way they are using their math skills as well.
POST TWO:
My philosophy of teaching supports interactive learning. So technology is one of the best resources for interactive learning. Technology can also reach all learning styles as well. I have observed many ways that technology has benefited students and how much its included in most children's everyday lives. So with this information I will make sure that I use all kinds of technology to teach my students. There are also students who may not be exposed to technology at home so in the classroom is where they will gain this knowledge. That knowledge will be very important for them to have and develop on. I could definitely use many of the Web 2.0 websites and tools in my third grade classroom. The students in my elementary school who are low in math do math lessons on the computer everyday. Then she also uses the computers to keep the PACE students in the class challenged. For example they may do a powerpoint instead of drawing a picture. So technology is very beneficial to classrooms today. I believe that we as teachers need to make sure we are keeping up with the new ideas. These will really benefit our teaching and our students learning. These web 2.0 tools can all around give you so many resources so that you can make sure all your students are reaching their potential.
• Language Arts: I especially like the StoryJumper, where students can create and discover stories. With different tools to write and illustrate stories I think students can have fun while practicing/building their skills. You choose the type of the story you want to make, then you’ll see the story creator tool on your way. You can start from scratch or you can get a beginning to create your story. There are 7 steps introduced to writing for this online engagement that I feel the students in my classroom now would love to do during stations. This also gives them a chance to explore creating and publishing multiple works. Included are several templates and tutorial options.
• Social Studies: It was difficult to find one specifically for this subject so I would build off my Science lesson and have students after reviewing the website and practicing the problems to relate these aspects to everyday life and break it down to the regions of Texas and the different resources used in the region. By creating a web for the regions filled with information relating to the resources they use. Then the students will come up to the board and list the similarities and differences.
These activities relate to my philosophy of teaching by incorporating and emphasizing hands on learning through technology and other interactive activities. This creates an opportunity for individual discovery and construction of knowledge to occur. As the teacher my role is to guide, providing access to information rather than acting as the primary source of information, the students' search for knowledge is met as they learn to find answers to their questions through hands on manipulative. For students to construct knowledge, they need the opportunity to discover for themselves and practice skills in authentic situations which can be demonstrated through these activities.
In my future classroom, I can use video broadcasting to have the students interview writers of a book that we are reading the classroom. I think this is so neat because students are constantly curious about many aspects of writing and they can connect with what they are learning about writing and reading to what the author is saying. It is also important to make connections with a name on a book and a face. I believe you can adapt any Web 2.0 to any content area if done creatively. Web 2.0 relates to my teaching philosophy because I strive to be creative and innovative in my teachings. I will be constantly looking for new and improve ways to do so. I believe that Web 2.0 is a way to achieve that part of my philosophy. Since I am observing an ESL pull out program during my first rotation I, Web 2.0 is highly useful in this program. Photo sharing on Flicker would be a neat way to see the different ways individuals live across the world. It would help with students in the ESL program that are curious about where other students are from. For example, there is two Hispanic girls and a brother and sister from Korea in one group and they are both curious about each other’s lives outside of school and where each other are from.
Throughout my life technology has grown so much that I do my best to keep up with it. While I may not know eveything about what is offered, I am at least very sufficient in the technology I use and am always willing to learn new techniques or have new resources. I would much rather learn it, if need be, with my students, than use the excuse of not knowing and never introduce them to that material.
I feel that technology is something that needs to start being incorporated into the classroom more naturally. It is such an important part of our day to day lives, that students need to be exposed to as much of this type stuff as possible. The more things that are taught to help prepare them for the real world, the better. I really like activities where students have the opportunity to be creative and make their voice heard/style noticed, while being academically enriching. Situations that can involve Web 2.0 tools are everywhere. For my first graders, there are tons of activities that are interactive that are good for exploring and enriching the knowledge they have gained from other experiences in the classroom, or for even introducing the topic. Such activities allow for the opportunity of presnting topics concretely that otherwise may not have been. Students that have never been able to travel can use activities to start their background knowledge, that would not ever exist without such internet tools.
When I get to my fifth graders, I think it would be fun to let them create their own Wikispace that has links for each class and can be their working portfolio. It is also a great way to invite parents to get involved and also allows them to views their child's work digitally from home. Students can keep their science journals and observations in a key section, while utilizing the site to manage their other subjects. This is a great way to introduce anecdotal records for an experiment or project they may be completing in or outside of school. Having such records online makes it easier for the teacher to view the work without taking away their observation notebook. It still allows the student to continue working since they do not have to wait for the teacher to find time to read their notes.
There are so many different tools that can be utilized throughout the classroom that it is difficult to choose what I could implement with my first grade students. It is even more difficult to choose technology that is workable for a first grader to do independently, or even in small groups. With that being said, I did find some really good sites that have amazing things for both the students and for the teacher. My favorite resource so far is sciencenetlinks.com. It provides lesson plans that follow national standards and fit into stste standards as well. Each lesson plan has activity ideas, evaluations, and technology all incorporated. I find this resourceful because it has a variety of lessons that can be pulled based on what is being taught in the classroom. It also has benchmarks and the links for all of the online virtual activites for the students to use. The activites have a wide a wide variety as to what is required in each one, allowing for options in academic and ability levels. I feel that I am very purposeful in making sure technology is included when it can be within the classroom. It is my job to prepare my students for the next grade and for what may lay ahead of them in life. I want them to have as many opportunities as I can provide them with new and exciting things in and outside the classroom. I believe that is what will make my students successful.
I feel more and more comfortable using technology when I am able to freely explore the different technological devices and resources available to me. For me, using technology is still a learning process and although I am not as tech savvy as some of my peers I still understand the importance of using technology as a learning tool. As pre-service teachers we learn that the use of technology can provide meaningful learning experiences in the classroom. The Web 2.0 tools has a tremendous about of activities and games that are great resources for science and other content areas as well. After exploring what this web tool had to offer I was grateful to add yet another wonderful teaching resource to my collection.
Science: After exploring the EcoKids I decided to choose the activities and games that focused on waste and what we can do to remain environmental friendly. Many people do not realize how much waste they contribute to the environment and I believe children should be aware of this issue and what they can do to protect the environment. I would use the “I Don’t Want to Clean My Room and the “Great Garbage Caper” activities on Web 2.0 to help my students understand what to recycle and how to reduce the amount of garbage found in the school. The students will be able to make connections with cleaning their room and the garbage found in the lunchroom, classroom, and on the playground at their schools. I think these are great activities to implement in the classroom because it not only covers environmental concepts for science but I could also integrate social studies with this activity with problem-solving.
Math: For math I could implement the “Pattern Flip” activity from Gizmos as an independent practice for those that struggled with patterns in math. This interactive play allows students to find the shape in a pattern, predict where you will find the next shape in the pattern, and identify the repeating pattern. Practicing predicting what will happen next is something that can be useful in all of the content areas.
Language Arts: In Language Arts I can use the scientific literacy activities on Freeze Ray to help students construct sentences and explanations based on key ideas in science. In these activities students can drag down facts from this online resource and link the term “because” to help them form an explanation of their thinking. These students can than discuss their vocabulary words during “science talk”.
The other half of my reflection...
Social Studies: I could use Google earth to teach bird’s eye view and maps for the integrated curriculum of science and social studies to the first graders in my field placement. I recently was able to show a few students Google maps and Google earth in a center and they could not believe the…this small group of students were truly amazed at the idea of using a map in a different way. Before I even mentioned Google earth the students were so excited to even get the chance to log on that it seemed as if anything I introduced would have engaged them. I could use Web 2.0 tools as an educational resource to teach Google earth lessons to the whole class and give other students the chance to explore. I could implement the “Where I am from” lesson found on this website by allowing them to locate their place of birth, school, home, and community. I would modify this lesson for my first graders by focusing more on the geography and positional words aspects of the lessons to make it more age-appropriate.
I definitely encourage the use of technology in the classroom because I have seen first-hand how actively engaged students are when they are able to use these different resources. My philosophy of teaching and learning with technology will affect the use of technology in my classroom in a positive way when I create lessons that include some sort of technology. My educational philosophy supports the use of technology because I believe that as a teacher I should provide opportunities in the classroom that allow students to explore and make connections to real-world issues and experiences. I have learned that giving students the opportunity to explore different forms of technology will not only help them build on their creativity but it will also help them learn concepts across disciplines in an interactive way.
I feel that I have always been some what technologically savvy and becaue of that I will be comfortable to use it in my classroom and in my lessons. I have already begun to use our smart board in the classroom and I can tell that the students really enjoy it and get more involved in the lesson when it is used.
Science
Freezeray.com
I liked this website because it used graphic organizers that allow labels to be dropped onto a specific are of a diagram and if the answer is right then it will stay and if the answer is wrong then the label will bounce back to it's original place. I like this graphic organizer because it would be a great way to activate the students prior knowledge, determine their prior knowledge, and to assess the knowledge they gained from the various science topics pertaining to phisics, chemistry, and biology. I think that this would be easy to implement in my classroom because we have smart boards in our classroom and this is compatible with them.
Social Studies
Google Earth
I thought this was a great technology tool to use in the classroom because it is a new was to look at the world map instead of using a globe. I felt that this would be a great tool to use in my classroom with the lesson plans that were just taught in class. The students were learning about the various regions of Texas and the different Native Amercan tribes that inhabited them. With this google map the teacher could have easily highlighted and concentrated on these areas.
Math
Kent.skoool.co.uk
I felt that this was a great tool to use when teaching a math lesson because this website had several interactive lessons that focused on many topics related to math, such as, division, factors, multiples and so on. I really think that I will use this website when I teach on Monday to my students because they are really struggling with the concepts of factors and multiples. I feel that this website could be really helpful to my students because they are using manipulatives and visuals to reinforce what they are learning about math and this is good because it will be helpful to all types of learners.
Language Arts
Yucky.discovery.com/flash/
I think this website would be great for students to use in their free write journal beucase this site offers facts about topics that are not normally discussed in class. Right now my students are focusing on preparing for the STAAR test and expository text since they will be writing one. I think that this would be a welcomed topic to write about instead of the usual mundane prompt that they see day after day. Every topic on this site envokes some emotion from the children and I think that is important to encourage free write.
Technology is always growing and advancing. The students we will be teaching have had technology be a part of them since they were born. Toys are more advanced, books are now available through digital e-books, and finding research through books is a thing of the past. Technology is a part of our life and it is here to stay. As future teachers it is important to incorporate technology in our classroom. With the resources available to us, it makes teaching easier and more effective. Activities that one thought may not be possible, can be done virtually now. There are websites dedicated to help children with math, online story reads and even virtual dissections all possible with technology.
Technology is a part of science, so it should be easily incorporated throughout the course. Technology allows a greater grasp of concepts and helps eliminate boundaries. According to the NSTA “Creativity is a vital, yet personal, ingredient in the production of scientific knowledge”(NSTA Board of Directors, 2000) . Technology is allowing us to be more creative everyday. There are multitudes of ways now to present knowledge, learn something, or even communicate now, all through the use of technology. It just makes sense to incorporate technology in all parts of curriculum to have a more well-balanced and interactive approach to learning.
It can allow children to perform to their full potential. My teaching philosophy is very focused on scaffolding and helping all children succeed. Technology allows us to do that. Through Web 2.0 tools there are more resources that can allow children to participate. It allows those visual, hands on, and auditory to get a chance to activity learn.
Technology is becoming a bigger part of our lives everyday and it will play an even bigger role in our future. Part of teaching involves teaching them the content knowledge, but in todays world it is important for teachers to teach students how to access and interpret information themselves. Helping students learn how to use technology to access information also plays into the nature of science because it is allowing the students to discover things on their own. When you help a student learn how they can access information to solve a problem you are teaching them way more than you would be if you just lecture to them day in and day out. An important aspect of this part of teaching is helping students learn how to use technology. My teaching philosophy relies on having fun while learning so incorporating technology is important to me. Having grown up in the technology age I feel very comfortable using technology both in and out of the classroom. I am active in social networking such as Facebook and I believe there is some use for this site in education, by using Facebook groups you can easily distribute information to large groups of people very quickly. I think the Google apps are also very useful in education because they are linked together in one easy location for students to access. As far as using web 2.0 sites in the classroom I already have experience with this because the social studies lesson I taught this week required the use of Google Earth. Along with Google Earth we also used the computer to access photo slideshows of landforms and to access a video about landforms. Using technology with students, especially 5th graders, is a great way to help keep their attention because often they are very interested and used to using technology. The web 2.0 technology is great because it is interactive in ways that web 1.0 wasn’t and that allows the students to dig even deeper into their area of study. While web 2.0 sites can be used in all subjects I think they really work the best for science and social studies where I believe it is important for students to actually see what is going on. This is particularly useful when working on science because you can’t perform some experiments in class. I also would like to incorporate web 2.0 sites when teaching social studies because students often find history boring and when you are able to make history interactive it helps to get the students more interested. As I said earlier I have already used web 2.0 technologies in my field placement when teaching a social studies lesson about landforms. I will try to incorporate these technologies into future lessons because I found that the students really enjoyed using the technology because it is a change up from their usual work.
One thing that I would really like to do in the classroom would be to set my class up with pen pals from other countries in the world via a safe and secure website made just for kids. I think the students would really enjoy the opportunity to talk with students from other parts of the world and learn about their culture as well as what school is like for students in other countries. One site I found that I browsed through and thought looked like a good option was the ePals global community. This website allows students from around the world to connect and share their learning experiences. I enjoyed looking through the sites in order to do this reflection because it opened my eyes to new things that I didn’t know were out there. I am looking forward to getting into the classroom and using the web 2.0 technology even more than we already do in my current field placement.
I feel, as a future teacher, that I am comfortable with the technology that is present today. With the technology world constantly ever changing I think it is important for all teachers to keep up with these changes and learn how to implement them into the classroom. Especially in my field of special education, technology is so important and apart of students with disabilities everyday lives, or at least should be. I recently watched a documentary called Wretches and Jaberers, which is about two adult males with Autism that traveled the world and were self-advocates about using communication technology to share their story about living with Autism.
A way that you can effectively teach a concept using Integrated Technology in Science is by using YouTube to engage your students in learning about the moon. To engage your students about learning about the moon you can show them Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. When we just talk about the first man on the moon and its’ importance, we usually just describe it without giving the students a real live visual in which you would get from an actually video of Armstrong’s steps. Also when showing this video they can see the environment of the moon that includes: the weightlessness (gravity), the atmosphere (why he is wearing a helmet), the surface (what the ground looks like), etc. Introducing questions after the video about what they saw, would strike up investigations and collecting data from the video to draw conclusions about the moon and start into your lesson.
Another way that you can effectively teach a concept using Integrated Technology in a content area would be in English by Skyping with an author. After reading several books from a specific author you can have your students generate question that they would like to ask the author about their books or how they wrote. For example your student could generate questions such as; how they created specific characters in their books, how do they think of these ideas for their books, how did the author get into writing, etc. Next you, the teacher, would contact the author and ask about Skyping and maybe give them a list of the questions that the students generated or maybe the author would allow each student ask one question. Then you would get your class together and have a day planned where you Skype the author for them to ask their questions. Finally, the students would write in the journal about what they liked about Skyping the author and what they learned about writing and how they could use some of the techniques they learned to implement in their future writing.
Since I have a positive outlook on using technology for teaching and learning in the classroom, I feel that it will make me more apt to keep up with our evolving technology world and how to implement these changes in the classroom. I feel that technology helps the more student-based learning process, and the students can explore and find answers to problems by themselves. For instance I found a website that I can use in my Active Learning Classroom where we accommodate students with severe and profound disabilities, which is Proloquo2go. This is an app for an iPad, iTouch, or iPhone and you can get more information from their website: http://www.proloquo2go.com/ . The Proloquo2go app is for students to communicate with its sentence generator, category maker, picture to word symbols, etc. With all these capabilities in Proloquo2go, the students in my classroom would be able to communicate to the teacher how they feel, what they want, or where they want to go. By introducing and teaching student how to use this app is essential, but after the basics of teaching fine motor skills and how to generate their own sentences the students, the students could do it on their own. This would be able to open a whole new door and level of communication for the students make their own decisions from a wider range of choices.
PART 1
In my generation I have seen technology go from having cell phones that didn’t have text messaging and were the size of my head to smartphones that provide you access to anything and everything. It’s amazing to see how the use of technology has increased over the past decade and will continue throughout my life. To me understanding technology is vital for all active members in society, especially educators. Modern schools have reconstructed their learning objectives and materials to include the use of technology. In fact, the Texas curriculum designed for k-12 dedicates an entire chapter to Technology Applications and an entire standard of the INTASC requires teachers to have knowledge of effective communication and use of technologies. With the understanding that technology is continually changing it is essential for educators to stay updated with innovative technologies. I also believe that teachers are responsible to create opportunities for every student to meet his or her full learning potential. Thus, teachers are responsible for designing instruction to meet each student’s unique needs. After researching and browsing through several websites I would consider technology as a perfect tool and resource to support learners of all levels of the spectrum. I also believe that collaboration in the classroom is crucial, especially for students to reach their full potential. I have observed my mentor teachers methods for differentiating the curriculum and the learning environment to enhance the learning experiences for all students. The classroom contains a wide range of abilities and what I noticed most was their ability to achieve their learning goals with the help of their classmates. After reading the article about social networking I realized the benefits of incorporating the use of blogs and networking websites in the classroom to enrich the students learning experiences. For example, blogs can stimulate student thinking, which could help struggling students. Or students that are advanced could join more challenging blogs and networks with other students with similar capabilities.
PART 2
After researching and browsing through several websites, I would consider technology as a perfect tool and resource to support learners on all levels of the spectrum. When viewing the websites I noticed several that were aligned with the curriculum being taught in my field experience classroom. One website that I came across was called, “EcoKids”. This site provides games, activities, contests and blogs that accommodate all grade levels. All the activities within the site are science based with all content areas integrated within, including language arts, social studies, math, music, and technology. I discovered several activities that could be implemented in my 1st grade classroom for the reason that it corresponds with the curriculum and objectives for the grade. The first was a game called “Lady Bug Breakdown” and in this game students are to recognize color patterns, which is an algebraic concept that students in my field experience classroom are currently learning. It also provides facts and information on about ladybugs and other insects, which falls under the 1st grade objective of understanding organisms and the environment. Students obtain information by reading captions about insects throughout the game. This aspect of the game covers several language arts objectives for 1st graders. Lady Bug Breakdown can be modified for English language learners by choosing the voice activating option, which allows students to listen to the facts while following along with the text. This could also be used as a differentiation technique for students struggling with reading. Another integrated activity on the EcoKids website that I believe would be beneficial in my classroom is called “Errand Run”. This activity links several content areas but most obviously social studies and environmental science. It allows students to use a map and create a route that creates the least amount of pollution. This activity also correlates to what the students are learning in the classroom, which is about different types of maps and how they are used. This activity would be a perfect extension to a map lesson. To incorporate a language art TEK I would have the students explore other types of media about pollution. I found The National Geographic Website (http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids) to be perfect for exploring different video clips, pictures, and activities that will further their understanding of pollution. After researching how technology can be successfully implemented into the curriculum, I wonder if there are websites to create and design your own activities? This would be great because you can design activities that can be used as assessments and that correlate with the exact learning objectives for the particular content being taught.
I am not very comfortable with technology but I am willing to learn and will definitely integrate this aspect into my lessons. Most of these were easy to use and had a lot of great lesson plans, ideas, and websites that were fun to navigate. My favorite site is the ExploreeLearning, with nothing to install it is ideal for in the classroom and for the students at home. Since I am student teaching in fourth grade I referenced lessons to use for all subjects grades 4-6.
| • Science: I went to visit Gizmos, with over 450 interactive online simulations. I really loved the options for teachers, all of which incorporated technology whether it is an online game or another site to search. This site referenced topics like, earth and space science, life science, physical science, measurement skills and nature of science. I looked at earth and space science under environmental issues. Here I played a game that addressed energy conservations. Students will find out how electrical current is generated and how living things get energy to move and grow. They will be tracing the path of energy and see how energy is converted from one form to another. I could incorporate this lesson in my classroom now by having the students review these activities and create their own poster illustrating what they have learned.
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| • Math: Using Gizmos in Math was also beneficial, with options for number and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis and probability. I think these activities are instructionally fun opportunities for students to visualize and experiment with math. My favorite activity that could be related right now at my school is the No Alien Left Behind activity to help with dividing with remainders. I think using visuals to explain and practice math will benefit every learning style in the class. My students have been recently introduced to division and I think this activity would be good a good interactive practice opportunity.
My philosophy of teaching states that every individual has the ability to learn and achieve knowledge; no matter what difficulties the child might face on a daily basis. I believe that technology is the new way of learning and discovering. I believe that each lesson that is taught in the classroom should include technology, in some form or fashion. Technology is an amazing tool that we have as educators now. We should take advantage of such a tool and use it constantly.
My philosophy of teaching has a direct correlation between technology and things that I will introduce my students too. There are so many programs and tools that are available to us online. The internet can be a learning tool due to all the games that are loaded onto it. This could be integrated into any subject area by maybe even having the students research an educational game and have them share their ideas to their classmates.
In relation to my philosophy of teaching, I can certainly say that each individual has the ability to learn and now they are doing sensational things with the I pad. There has been tons of research on the I pad and children that suffer from autism. This piece of technological equipment can have the students show their abilities to the teacher without even having to say a word. The reason this could be so wonderful in my classroom is because I will be working with students with special needs and anything that I can do to have them stay on task; and be able to have them have the ability to ‘show what they know’ to me could be an integration into my classroom on a daily basis.
Learning and discovering the website 2.0 was a wonderful experience because I have used it several times already. There are things for students to do all different subjects ranging from easy to harder level of games.
This could be a great tool for each of the curriculums. I could use this in Science: by sharing the Google Earth website. There are tons of different worksheets and information the students could explore on. For Math, this was an amazing tool for the learning of fractions because the site is virtual students could better understand how fractions work. In terms of Language Arts, there are writing, spelling, and letter games ready to load, free of charge! This is an excellent tool for Social Studies as well because of the Pioneer Game. I researched this game and actually played it myself before writing this reflection.
I could truly integrate technology into my classroom at all points of the day. Even if it is not using the internet or computer we have the ‘Elmo,’ projector screens, clickers to the projection screens. Technology is all around us. We need to explore our tools as new teachers.
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