Wow- there are so many different tools available to people free of charge. I personally loved the spell with flickr application. Click here to try it out! You can spell anything you want and when you submit it, flickr puts a different picture for each letter- You can click on a specific letter if you want to look for a different display for it. This is very cool...and addicting! I have added my name as spelt my flicker at the top of my blog! This site would be a fun thing for students to play with spelling different words.
I am excited to explore more of these tools as the semester progresses. I know I will use many of them in my classroom!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
SMART Board Lessons
Tonight's class was fun and full of great lessons from SMART Board! The gallery holds unlimited potential as the given lessons can be edited and adapted depending on the needs of the teacher and/or students.
The lesson I demonstrated was about rhyming. I felt this lesson would be a fun, hands-on way for the kids to practice rhyming. Here is the link to this lesson. I did not change the activity, however on one page there was a typo, so I did correct that by editing the text in the text box. This is very easy to do by selecting the text box and then chosing the keyboard and then making your changes. Just be sure to save your edited version!
This lesson met a couple different NETS for students. For the first grade level, this lesson will fulfill NETS #7: Demonstrate the safe and cooperative use of technology (5- Digital Citizenship) #8: Independently apply digital tools and resources to address a variety of tasks and problems.(4,6- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making/ Technology Operations and Concepts) #9: Communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate and accurate
terminology. (6- Technology Operations and Concepts) #10: Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books, simulation software, and Web sites. (6- Technology Operations and Concepts).
These different NETS are fulfilled as the students work together on the SMART Board to create accurate rhymes. In order to participate, students must safely work together and appropriately interact with the SMART Board. To be successful in this activity, students must understand how to use the SMART Board and will therefore be showing technology skills. Students will also use proper terminology to address the activity as well as thier actions to complete the tasks.
This will be a fun educational activity. I would use this lesson after teaching on rhymes and I would make sure the words were words that the kids knew (maybe words off the classroom's Word Wall). To prepare for this lesson, I would go through the lesson activity and make any changes I wanted to make. I would save it to my computer so I would be prepared to open and teach it. I would also find an activty page that I would assign as homework to assess that students can independently see rhymes. We would participate in the lesson as a class. Individuals would be called up to make a match, but input from classmates would be allowed and encouraged. Following this activity, I would assign a one page rhyming worksheet for them to complete as homework. Students would receive a grade based on participation in the activity as well as accuracy on homework page.
I really enjoyed this rhyming lesson. I feel it was a great way to get students active in what is normally a passive subject. SMART Board has provided teachers with some excellent tools and resources through these adaptable lesson plans and templates. These are a great spring board for teachers to then create their own lessons for the SMART Board. I am excited to become more comfortable with this impressive technology so that I can effectively integrate it into my future classroom! I am thankful for this time to get acquainted with it, as we were informed tonight that it takes many teachers about two years until they feel completely comfortable with the SMART Board.
The lesson I demonstrated was about rhyming. I felt this lesson would be a fun, hands-on way for the kids to practice rhyming. Here is the link to this lesson. I did not change the activity, however on one page there was a typo, so I did correct that by editing the text in the text box. This is very easy to do by selecting the text box and then chosing the keyboard and then making your changes. Just be sure to save your edited version!
This lesson met a couple different NETS for students. For the first grade level, this lesson will fulfill NETS #7: Demonstrate the safe and cooperative use of technology (5- Digital Citizenship) #8: Independently apply digital tools and resources to address a variety of tasks and problems.(4,6- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making/ Technology Operations and Concepts) #9: Communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate and accurate
terminology. (6- Technology Operations and Concepts) #10: Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books, simulation software, and Web sites. (6- Technology Operations and Concepts).
These different NETS are fulfilled as the students work together on the SMART Board to create accurate rhymes. In order to participate, students must safely work together and appropriately interact with the SMART Board. To be successful in this activity, students must understand how to use the SMART Board and will therefore be showing technology skills. Students will also use proper terminology to address the activity as well as thier actions to complete the tasks.
This will be a fun educational activity. I would use this lesson after teaching on rhymes and I would make sure the words were words that the kids knew (maybe words off the classroom's Word Wall). To prepare for this lesson, I would go through the lesson activity and make any changes I wanted to make. I would save it to my computer so I would be prepared to open and teach it. I would also find an activty page that I would assign as homework to assess that students can independently see rhymes. We would participate in the lesson as a class. Individuals would be called up to make a match, but input from classmates would be allowed and encouraged. Following this activity, I would assign a one page rhyming worksheet for them to complete as homework. Students would receive a grade based on participation in the activity as well as accuracy on homework page.
I really enjoyed this rhyming lesson. I feel it was a great way to get students active in what is normally a passive subject. SMART Board has provided teachers with some excellent tools and resources through these adaptable lesson plans and templates. These are a great spring board for teachers to then create their own lessons for the SMART Board. I am excited to become more comfortable with this impressive technology so that I can effectively integrate it into my future classroom! I am thankful for this time to get acquainted with it, as we were informed tonight that it takes many teachers about two years until they feel completely comfortable with the SMART Board.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Assignment #3 Blog for Educators
Wow!! There are so many different blogs out there for teachers to use! The resources seem limitless! One of my favorites was Dare to Dream. It is by a teacher in LA. She posts great ideas and tools for educators. One of my favorite posts from here site is about going deeper in education with your students. Click here if you too want to read it!
On her page there is a quote that I loved and therefore feel the need to share! Benjamin Franklind once said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
This is a great quote and I feel it really proves her point that we need to go deeper...We need to involve the students in a learning process if we want them to actually learn!
Like I said, I really enjoyed this blog. There are great links and posts that I think would provide a teacher, of any age group, with ample tools and ideas to get the ball rolling and to find creative ways to integrate technology in the classroom! Through her site, I personally picked up a few new ways to use technology as a means to enhance a lesson so that my students are getting involved and therefore learning!
On her page there is a quote that I loved and therefore feel the need to share! Benjamin Franklind once said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
This is a great quote and I feel it really proves her point that we need to go deeper...We need to involve the students in a learning process if we want them to actually learn!
Like I said, I really enjoyed this blog. There are great links and posts that I think would provide a teacher, of any age group, with ample tools and ideas to get the ball rolling and to find creative ways to integrate technology in the classroom! Through her site, I personally picked up a few new ways to use technology as a means to enhance a lesson so that my students are getting involved and therefore learning!
First Grade
I love first grade!! Even more though, I love my first graders! They are so fun and the entertainment never seems to end :)
I am really enjoying my time in the classroom! I have a very mixed class this semester with some very bright, some slightly behind, some from foreign lands, and some right on track. This experience is priceless!!
Not only is every Thursday morning fun, it is truly a great learning experience for me as I am able to see my cooperating teacher connect with each student. She uses technology in a way that enhances the learning experience and it has been good to see what that looks like in reality!
I am really enjoying my time in the classroom! I have a very mixed class this semester with some very bright, some slightly behind, some from foreign lands, and some right on track. This experience is priceless!!
Not only is every Thursday morning fun, it is truly a great learning experience for me as I am able to see my cooperating teacher connect with each student. She uses technology in a way that enhances the learning experience and it has been good to see what that looks like in reality!
Tech in Ed Class
At the beginning of this semester, I was nervous that I would not know what to do in this class. However, as time has progressed, I have been surprised to see how I am learning new skills regarding tecnhology. Already, my new knowledge has come in handy in my practicum experience.
It is fun to see technology in action in the classroom and to understand how it is a great tool to bridge the gap between students' interests and students' learning!
So long story short, this class has been a good sound board for me to gain new knowledge and ideas that I can see directly impacting a classroom learning experience- even in the first grade!
It is fun to see technology in action in the classroom and to understand how it is a great tool to bridge the gap between students' interests and students' learning!
So long story short, this class has been a good sound board for me to gain new knowledge and ideas that I can see directly impacting a classroom learning experience- even in the first grade!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Interactive Board: MIA
My class does not have an interactive board. However, we have an elmo (or a special overhead machine). The elmo comes in handy every day! The class works through the math workbook using the new contraption. Also, during our science lessons, the elmo enables students all around the room to see detailed experiments.
The elmo is helpful in just about every subject. My teacher said her class will be getting an Active Board next year as she attends special technology in education classes. Therefore, next year an interactive board will not longer be missing in my class, but until then, and I am sure even after it appears, the elmo is enriching the learning experience in my first grade classroom!
The elmo is helpful in just about every subject. My teacher said her class will be getting an Active Board next year as she attends special technology in education classes. Therefore, next year an interactive board will not longer be missing in my class, but until then, and I am sure even after it appears, the elmo is enriching the learning experience in my first grade classroom!
GLAD
One of my first days in the classroom, I was privileged to observe a representative of the GLAD program work with my kids. The woman taught about polar life, as this is the current unit my first graders are studying. There were so many active things that kept the students engaged.
Technology was not a huge part, instead the emphasis was placed on the importance of working as teams. Another aspect of this program is using "signal" words that have corresponding motions for the students to make when the teacher says the specific word. This works great to keep the students tuned in and learning! This was a very fun and active approach to learning. The kids sang songs that captured the information they were covering in clever and catchy tunes that you find yourself singing all day long!
I really enjoyed observing this curriculum and approach. I look forward to implementing some of these ideas to keep my students intrigued and learning!
Technology was not a huge part, instead the emphasis was placed on the importance of working as teams. Another aspect of this program is using "signal" words that have corresponding motions for the students to make when the teacher says the specific word. This works great to keep the students tuned in and learning! This was a very fun and active approach to learning. The kids sang songs that captured the information they were covering in clever and catchy tunes that you find yourself singing all day long!
I really enjoyed observing this curriculum and approach. I look forward to implementing some of these ideas to keep my students intrigued and learning!
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