I was amazed at how many really good websites I found while doing this. I had heard people talk about "bookmarking" different sites, but now I know how useful this can be. Hope some of these websites will be useful to you!
http://www.delicious.com/fostera5143
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Week 6
There are two things that I would love to try in my classroom. These are the student response systems (clickers) and an ipad. The article I read about clickers was "Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach" (http://www.educause.edu/). It was exciting to see research that shows clickers have the potential to benefit student learning. Students were excited about using the clickers and were actively participating while using the clickers. Teachers could use the feedback from the clickers to gauge how well students understood the material being presented and the feedback was instantaneous. Also, students can respond and participate, but do not have to risk being embarrassed by an incorrect answer. This study did not show any conclusive statistical evidence for clickers improving student learning, but it did show that student's level of interest and participation greatly increased. A large part of any teacher's job is to motivate students to want to learn and I feel clickers are just one way of doing that. As I begin a new science or social studies unit, I would like to use clickers to do a pre-test of what students know (or think they know) and then do a post-test to see how much they learned from the unit. I could evaluate my teaching and my unit based on the feedback from the pre-test and the post-test. With the younger students, we teach students how to poll their classmates and then how to take that information and turn it into a graph. I think students would love using the clickers to "vote" for their favorites and then they could use the information from the clickers to make their graphs. There are so many ways that you could incorporate clickers into your teaching. You could use it to have students study spelling words. For each spelling word, put up four choices and have them pick the one that is spelled correctly. You could give them math problems and have them choose which of the four answers is the correct answer. Divide students up into groups and see which group can answer the most questions correctly as a review for unit tests. They love anything like that that is in a game format. Clickers could make learning so much more interesting than the usual drill and practice we do so often.
I would also love to try using an ipad in my classroom. I was amazed at how many apps are available to use with iphones and ipads. There are so many advantages to using an ipad in the classroom. Information is much more up to date with an ipad than with textbooks and students are much more interested in looking for information on an ipad than they are in a textbook. Students can use an ipad anywhere in the classroom and they can work individually or in groups. Students can not multitask with an ipad because it only operates one app at a time. Reference tools are available as students read to help them understand what they are reading. One of the best websites that I found for ipad apps was called Babble (Babble.com). It divided the apps up into age appropriate (baby, toddler, kids, youth) activities and then it also divided them up into categories of arcade games, educational tools, art & music, books & stories, etc.... There were so many educational apps that I would love to try in my classroom. Cricket magazine has a free app called Ladybug's Bookshelf. This is a free read along app that lets students listen to the story as the app reads it or it highlights the words as the student reads it. Super Why is an app based on the PBS series. It works on sentence completion, rhyming, spelling and missing letters. All of these are important skills that students need to work on in first and second grade. I also liked the Math Board and Math Bingo apps to use with my class for math practice. In second grade, we do a unit on the solar system. Star Walk is a really cool app that has a lot of astronomy information and it looks at the skies and points out planets and constellations. It rotates as you move the pad. There were apps for handwriting, phonics, reading, math, science, social studies. I think the ipad would be such a great tool to have in the classroom.
Reference:
Martyn, M. (2007). Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach.
Educause Quarterly, 30(2). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/
I would also love to try using an ipad in my classroom. I was amazed at how many apps are available to use with iphones and ipads. There are so many advantages to using an ipad in the classroom. Information is much more up to date with an ipad than with textbooks and students are much more interested in looking for information on an ipad than they are in a textbook. Students can use an ipad anywhere in the classroom and they can work individually or in groups. Students can not multitask with an ipad because it only operates one app at a time. Reference tools are available as students read to help them understand what they are reading. One of the best websites that I found for ipad apps was called Babble (Babble.com). It divided the apps up into age appropriate (baby, toddler, kids, youth) activities and then it also divided them up into categories of arcade games, educational tools, art & music, books & stories, etc.... There were so many educational apps that I would love to try in my classroom. Cricket magazine has a free app called Ladybug's Bookshelf. This is a free read along app that lets students listen to the story as the app reads it or it highlights the words as the student reads it. Super Why is an app based on the PBS series. It works on sentence completion, rhyming, spelling and missing letters. All of these are important skills that students need to work on in first and second grade. I also liked the Math Board and Math Bingo apps to use with my class for math practice. In second grade, we do a unit on the solar system. Star Walk is a really cool app that has a lot of astronomy information and it looks at the skies and points out planets and constellations. It rotates as you move the pad. There were apps for handwriting, phonics, reading, math, science, social studies. I think the ipad would be such a great tool to have in the classroom.
Reference:
Martyn, M. (2007). Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach.
Educause Quarterly, 30(2). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/
Friday, July 1, 2011
Week 5 - Web 2.0
I have really enjoyed learning about how to create and how to use blogs. I had read blogs before, but had never thought about using one in my classroom until taking this course. Now I plan to use a blog to communicate with parents about what we are doing in the classroom and to get feedback from parents as well. One of the blogs that I am following on my Google Reader is "What the Teacher Wants" (http://whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com/ ). This blog is full of ideas that teachers can use. It has ideas for phonics lessons, birthday parties, making word folders, reading lists, getting organized tips, tips for using a blog with parents, and many, many more topics. Many of the ideas are geared for K-2, but could be modified for upper grades. I think it would give me some good guidelines for using a blog in my classroom. I would recommend this blog as a wonderful resource for ideas.
Another Web 2.0 tool that I think is great for the classroom is the use of videos to supplement and enhance lessons and teaching. Two of the most popular video sharing communities are YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ ) and Teacher Tube (http://www.teachertube.com/ ). Both of these have videos available on just about any topic you could want. Children today have grown up with educational television shows, DVD's for entertainment and education, video games for entertainment and education. They are submersed with video from a very early age. I think by using the sense of sight and sound in teaching, students are better able to remember or record in their brain what is being taught. Videos definitely target visual and auditory learners. The great thing about YouTube and TeacherTube is that they have videos for all ages and grade levels and they are free. TeacherTube also has activities, lesson ideas, and assessments available to go along with the videos. The videos are easy to embed in a blog, a wiki, or a presentation tool such as Glogster or Prezi. I have included some reading and math videos on my wiki that I think first grade students would really enjoy using to practice letter sounds and counting. I have seen a glog used in a second grade classroom that had songs about the solar system on it. I definitely recommend these two sites for teachers to use in their classrooms.
Another Web 2.0 tool that I think is great for the classroom is the use of videos to supplement and enhance lessons and teaching. Two of the most popular video sharing communities are YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ ) and Teacher Tube (http://www.teachertube.com/ ). Both of these have videos available on just about any topic you could want. Children today have grown up with educational television shows, DVD's for entertainment and education, video games for entertainment and education. They are submersed with video from a very early age. I think by using the sense of sight and sound in teaching, students are better able to remember or record in their brain what is being taught. Videos definitely target visual and auditory learners. The great thing about YouTube and TeacherTube is that they have videos for all ages and grade levels and they are free. TeacherTube also has activities, lesson ideas, and assessments available to go along with the videos. The videos are easy to embed in a blog, a wiki, or a presentation tool such as Glogster or Prezi. I have included some reading and math videos on my wiki that I think first grade students would really enjoy using to practice letter sounds and counting. I have seen a glog used in a second grade classroom that had songs about the solar system on it. I definitely recommend these two sites for teachers to use in their classrooms.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Week 4 - Multimedia
Multimedia is everywhere. Today's students are fed a steady diet of mulitmedia in their daily lives. As classroom teachers, we must be able to include educational multimedia as part of that diet or student's will wither away. There is a huge supply of multimedia resources available to use in instruction. It can be an overwhelming task to determine how to incorporate mulitmedia into your classroom. I think the key is to start at a point that you feel comfortable with and build on this. I was very nervous about starting a blog. I had read many blogs, but had no idea how easy it would be to start one of your own. Now, I would definitely use a blog with my classroom. I found two good examples that I would like to model my blog after. These are Ms. Brown's Grade 2 Class (http://msbrownsgrade2class.blogspot.com ) and Sherry Becker's blog (http://sherrybecker.blogspot.com ). I have added Ms. Brown's blog to my google reader list. I think these are amazing examples of how you can communicate what you are doing in your classroom to parents. You can include pictures, videos, and running commentary of their child's school life. As a parent myself, I would love to see pictures and get updates of what is going on within my son's class. I would include weekly assignments, spelling lists, special activities, test dates. Parents could then respond to me without having to worry about whether or not I got their note.
After seeing the glogs (http://www.glogster.com/ )that most of the class did on their Digital Citizenship project, I would also like to use glogs in my classroom. A colleague of mine told me how she used a glog in her second grade science unit on the solar system. She made a glog about the solar system, the planets, moons, asteroids, etc.... She pulled in some uTube video clips and downloaded some children's songs about the planets. She introduced the glog to her students by putting it on her projector. She teased them by showing them how to use it, but didn't let them see the videos or hear the songs. She then had the glog on her computers for students to use as part of her centers. She also sent the url home with students so that they could pull it up at home. She said they absolutely loved it and begged her to do more glogs. I was excited to hear how I could incorporate this into my classroom.
Another form of multimedia that I would really enjoy using in my classroom is the smartboard. I was able to use these some when I subbed. I know that I have had minimal use and have only seen a small portion of what smartboards are capable of, but it was exciting to think of all the ways that it could be used. The students were very excited about using them. It made lessons interactive. A good source of lessons for the smartboard is www.scholastic.com/interactivewhiteboards.
There are so many amazing kinds of multimedia available to use in classrooms today. Teachers can be creative with their teaching in ways that weren't possible ten years ago. I can not imagine what the next ten years will bring.
After seeing the glogs (http://www.glogster.com/ )that most of the class did on their Digital Citizenship project, I would also like to use glogs in my classroom. A colleague of mine told me how she used a glog in her second grade science unit on the solar system. She made a glog about the solar system, the planets, moons, asteroids, etc.... She pulled in some uTube video clips and downloaded some children's songs about the planets. She introduced the glog to her students by putting it on her projector. She teased them by showing them how to use it, but didn't let them see the videos or hear the songs. She then had the glog on her computers for students to use as part of her centers. She also sent the url home with students so that they could pull it up at home. She said they absolutely loved it and begged her to do more glogs. I was excited to hear how I could incorporate this into my classroom.
Another form of multimedia that I would really enjoy using in my classroom is the smartboard. I was able to use these some when I subbed. I know that I have had minimal use and have only seen a small portion of what smartboards are capable of, but it was exciting to think of all the ways that it could be used. The students were very excited about using them. It made lessons interactive. A good source of lessons for the smartboard is www.scholastic.com/interactivewhiteboards.
There are so many amazing kinds of multimedia available to use in classrooms today. Teachers can be creative with their teaching in ways that weren't possible ten years ago. I can not imagine what the next ten years will bring.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Week 3 - Different Types of Instructional Software
I have known that there is a massive supply of "educational" software and websites available to use in instruction. However, after reading our text, I got a much clearer picture of the kinds of software and how they should be used. The five categories of instructional software are: drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, instructional games, and problem-solving.
The most commonly used is the drill and practice format. This can either be in a flashcard style or in what is known as branching format. The branching format will automatically move students to a higher level after they get so many answers correct or to a lower level after students get so many answers incorrect. The main function of drill and practice is exactly what is says: practice. It should not be used in place of instruction, but as a supplement to instruction. The program that I looked at for this was DreamBox Learning K-2 Math ( http://dreambox.com/). This can be purchased for a school's use or for an individual's use on a home computer. It is $5,000 for a school license and $60 a six month subscription for an individual. It also has the option of a 14-day free trial. I really liked this program because it doesn't have to be downloaded. You just go to the website and log in. It has over 500 activities that you can set to each individual's level. Correct answers are given feedback in a cheerful voice. Wrong answers are given another chance or a hint. The program covers counting, ordering numbers, comparing, addition, subtraction, and mental math strategies. This is a program that I would like to use in my classroom and I will be using with my five year old son.
The next category is tutorial software. It also has two formats: linear and branching. The linear format gives the same instruction to learners regardless of the different capabilities of the learners. The branching format can range in complexity and follows different paths depending on how students respond. I have used Starfall (http://www.starfall.com/) in my classroom. It is an excellent reading tutorial that I used with my lower reading students in first and second grade. It has tutorials on several subjects including the alphabet, left to right progression in reading, vowels, sh- blend, and silent -e. It teaches students how to make words that belong in the same family. It gives students a blue ribbon and verbal praise when they make words correctly. It is very student friendly and students can navigate through the program with ease. The best thing was this was a free program.
Simulation software is used to teach about something or to teach how to do something. I found a three dimensional simulation of the solar system that I would use with my second graders when I taught my unit on the solar system. It is located at http://download.cnet.com/Solar-System-3D-simulator/3000-2054_4-10477538.html This is an iterative simulation because it allows students to look at model of the solar system and they can speed up or slow down the orbits and rotations. It displays the sun, the planets and their orbits, and the moon. The orbits can be tilted and rotated to different angles. It is simple enough to use with second graders, but can be adapted to make it difficult enough to use with a high school physics or astronomy class.
Instructional Game Software ranks high in popularity. This is software that adds a game-like spin or competition to a learning activity. The popular feature is that it has the potential for "winning". It is meant to be entertaining. Tux of Math Command or Tux Math (http://www.tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/) can be downloaded for free. It is a program of free math games. I would use this with my second graders as a reward for doing well on math tests. It is like the old arcade game of asteroids. You are shooting at asteroids, but you can only fire after you answer the math problem correctly. The game speeds up as you go along. There are many instructional games available. Teachers need to be careful to look at software and see if it is meant to be just entertaining or if it really has any instructional/learning value to it.
Last, but not least, is problem-solving software. This kind of software can be used to increase problem-solving skills in general or be used to solve problems in content areas. I found a problem-solving software progam called Gary Gadget: Building Cars. It is available at http://www.amazon.com/ for under ten dollars. Students have to assemble a car. Then they guide their car along different routes on a map. Some routes require students to redesign their car due to obstacles that are in their way. Students must find the parts they need to overcome the obstacles. I have used this program with my son. It is a fun way for him to develop problem-solving skills.
As I said at the beginning, there is a massive supply of "educational" software available. Teachers need to think about the objective that they want to accomplish with the software before they do anything. Then they need to make sure that they have the appropriate kind of software. Is the software to be used as an instructional tool, a supplemental tool or as entertainment? I do feel that I will be more selective and more clear about what I use the different kinds software for now.
The most commonly used is the drill and practice format. This can either be in a flashcard style or in what is known as branching format. The branching format will automatically move students to a higher level after they get so many answers correct or to a lower level after students get so many answers incorrect. The main function of drill and practice is exactly what is says: practice. It should not be used in place of instruction, but as a supplement to instruction. The program that I looked at for this was DreamBox Learning K-2 Math ( http://dreambox.com/). This can be purchased for a school's use or for an individual's use on a home computer. It is $5,000 for a school license and $60 a six month subscription for an individual. It also has the option of a 14-day free trial. I really liked this program because it doesn't have to be downloaded. You just go to the website and log in. It has over 500 activities that you can set to each individual's level. Correct answers are given feedback in a cheerful voice. Wrong answers are given another chance or a hint. The program covers counting, ordering numbers, comparing, addition, subtraction, and mental math strategies. This is a program that I would like to use in my classroom and I will be using with my five year old son.
The next category is tutorial software. It also has two formats: linear and branching. The linear format gives the same instruction to learners regardless of the different capabilities of the learners. The branching format can range in complexity and follows different paths depending on how students respond. I have used Starfall (http://www.starfall.com/) in my classroom. It is an excellent reading tutorial that I used with my lower reading students in first and second grade. It has tutorials on several subjects including the alphabet, left to right progression in reading, vowels, sh- blend, and silent -e. It teaches students how to make words that belong in the same family. It gives students a blue ribbon and verbal praise when they make words correctly. It is very student friendly and students can navigate through the program with ease. The best thing was this was a free program.
Simulation software is used to teach about something or to teach how to do something. I found a three dimensional simulation of the solar system that I would use with my second graders when I taught my unit on the solar system. It is located at http://download.cnet.com/Solar-System-3D-simulator/3000-2054_4-10477538.html This is an iterative simulation because it allows students to look at model of the solar system and they can speed up or slow down the orbits and rotations. It displays the sun, the planets and their orbits, and the moon. The orbits can be tilted and rotated to different angles. It is simple enough to use with second graders, but can be adapted to make it difficult enough to use with a high school physics or astronomy class.
Instructional Game Software ranks high in popularity. This is software that adds a game-like spin or competition to a learning activity. The popular feature is that it has the potential for "winning". It is meant to be entertaining. Tux of Math Command or Tux Math (http://www.tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/) can be downloaded for free. It is a program of free math games. I would use this with my second graders as a reward for doing well on math tests. It is like the old arcade game of asteroids. You are shooting at asteroids, but you can only fire after you answer the math problem correctly. The game speeds up as you go along. There are many instructional games available. Teachers need to be careful to look at software and see if it is meant to be just entertaining or if it really has any instructional/learning value to it.
Last, but not least, is problem-solving software. This kind of software can be used to increase problem-solving skills in general or be used to solve problems in content areas. I found a problem-solving software progam called Gary Gadget: Building Cars. It is available at http://www.amazon.com/ for under ten dollars. Students have to assemble a car. Then they guide their car along different routes on a map. Some routes require students to redesign their car due to obstacles that are in their way. Students must find the parts they need to overcome the obstacles. I have used this program with my son. It is a fun way for him to develop problem-solving skills.
As I said at the beginning, there is a massive supply of "educational" software available. Teachers need to think about the objective that they want to accomplish with the software before they do anything. Then they need to make sure that they have the appropriate kind of software. Is the software to be used as an instructional tool, a supplemental tool or as entertainment? I do feel that I will be more selective and more clear about what I use the different kinds software for now.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Week 2 Blog - Integrating Technology into the Classroom
I chose this video by Marnie Grogan because it seemed to follow along with what I had read in chapters one and two. She talks about learning styles and how we should reflect on those as we integrate technology into our teaching. I thought it was really interesting that she made the comment that learning styles have changed. (I don't know if B.F.Skinner or Robert Gagne would agree with her on that.) I wonder if she meant that how we should teach has changed more than the student's learning styles. Our teaching must become more engaging and interactive. She talks about how we may need to redefine success for our students and to look at what skills they will need to be able to perform in the world today. She then talks about how students should be able to explore and investigate as a part of their learning. Students should share, collaborate and communicate. All of these would fall under the Constructivist Learning Theories. John Dewey felt learning should be hands-on and real-life and Jerome Bruner felt students learned by exploring and discovering for themselves. The Constructivist Learning Theories also realize that group projects or multimedia projects could be used to assess student's knowledge rather than the traditional methods of assessment. I would definitely put Ms. Grogan in the constructivist group. I thought Ms.Grogan's video was interesting and the fact that she is from Australia shows that how we integrate technology into the classroom is not just an issue that the teachers in the United States face.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Introduction
Hello! I would like to introduce myself. Obviously, my name is Amanda Foster. I was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I have lived in Tuscaloosa all of my life except for a one year stint in Huntsville, Alabama. I attended the University of Alabama where I received my bachelor's degree in mathematics. I worked with a research and development company in Huntsville for a year. At that point, I decided to return to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa where I received my masters in Elementary Education. I taught first and second grade with the Tuscaloosa County School System for thirteen years. My husband and I then adopted our son from Guatemala. I have been a stay at home mom for the last five years. I would not trade the time with our son for anything in the world. Unfortunately, I have fallen behind on technology during this time. I am taking this course to renew my teaching certificate. I am VERY afraid of technology, but chose this course because I feel technology is a vital part of teaching now. I hope to return to the classroom in the fall and want to be as ready as possible for the challenges that teachers face. My favorite technology is email and facebook. I look forward to working with all of you in this course.
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