Assignement #3- Tool Box

MY TOOLBOX

I found my sources for my toolbox by searching on google and choosing sites that looked like they could be helpful for teachers and students.

I have a section that is teacher resources that teachers can go to to get ideas for lesson plans and activities, or ways to turn homework in online.  Then there is a section for students to go to.  The student website has games and websites they can go to to look up information and do math activities and online activities to keep their minds active and engaged.

I will use my toolbox if I am ever having a hard time thinking of something fun and engaging to do in my class, and since I made it a blog, it will be easy for me to send other teachers there by giving them a link to the page.  Other teachers could also comment on it, leaving ideas for more websites that have been helpful for them.

http://hoodamath.com/games/ I like this site, because even though it is one that the students will use, it is a way I can incorporate fun math learning in the classroom by using technology.  So when students have free time or are working independently I can set up this website and the kids could play math games. I think this will help with classroom management for certain students, and it will make learning fun.

http://www.lessonplans.ws/ This website looks like it could be very helpful in finding lesson plans that can be long and short.  It doesn't have a large amount of lesson plans for each subject, but if I needed to find something to do last minute, maybe for a sub or something, I could send them a link to this website, and it is mapped out so that they would easily be able to follow what it says.

http://abcteach.com/ This website looks very helpful.  The first thing I noticed on it is that it has a section dedicated to activities that can be done using an interactive whiteboard.  Along with this it also has activities that can be done in the classroom and helpful tips and resources teachers can go to for ESL students and special needs students.  This seems like a very helpful website that I could use in the future as a teacher.

Tool Box

My Tool Box Link

Assignment #10- week 10

Questions for NU Educators Panel:
1. My friend said it's harder to get hired with a Masters degree (because that means they have to pay you more) is this true? And do you think it is better to receive a Masters after getting a teaching position or before?
2. What piece of technology is most beneficial to middle school students?
3. What does the Educators Panel do?

Assignment #9- week 9

Bob Spankle's blog made some good points.  It showed me great ways to use video in the classroom.  I liked the idea of taping the students questions at the beginning of the unit, and then having them answer their own questions at the end of the unit.  I also never really thought of taping students while they do work in class and then emailing it to their parents, this could be a great way to encourage students.  He had some really great ideas for video taping, in reality, it may be difficult to actually tape students all the time or have time to sort out the videos and email them to each parent, but to do something like this every once in a while could be very encouraging for students.

Assignment #8- week 8

I looked at Cascade View Elementary's website, it is where I used to go to school and where my mom currently teaches.  I think that the website is set up very conveniently, there is a side menu that gives you options of what you want to look at.  The website is simple and is very easy to navigate through.  The main page introduces the school in a short summary, and it gives a link that goes straight to all of the teachers email addresses so that parents can contact teachers easily.  If I could add two things to the website, it would be a link to a page with photos of the students and activities that the school has done, and I would also add a link that could connect to specific class websites if the teachers have one, that way a parent could go to the schools website to find everything they may be searching for.

Technology Project Plan

I am going to create a class website or blog for my technology project. My students can go to the website to find homework assignments. The blog/website will also have pictures of my class throughout the year so that parents can look at them and see what their child has been doing. I will see if I can put a Storybird on the website as an example of a project my class will be doing. The website will also have a basic schedule of what is going on in class. I will also have a letter for the parents to introduce myself and give them my contact information.

Comments

Rich

Jessica

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Jordan

George

Assignment #7- Week 7

Newton High School Blog

I liked this blog because it was a PE classes blog.  It was a fun website to view because it had pictures of the students doing their activities with a little explanation about what the class had been up to lately.  It seemed like a great source for parents to look at so they get a feel of what their child is doing in PE and it also was a place where the teacher could give out helpful information, such as how the lockers should be used during class.  The blog itself is fairly simple, it has the date on each blog entry, pictures and links to different discussions.  It seems like a great place for students to look back and see all the fun things they had done in class.  This was an example of the type of blog I would want to keep if I had one.  A blog that tells what is going on in class and had pictures so that students and parents could look at it and be informed.

Reflection #6

I was talking to the lady I nanny for and she was saying how her sons school put him in a lower math level than his grade.  He is in third grade, and this bothers her because she feels her son should be in a higher level.  This is the feeling many parents have, they want their kids to succeed and be at grade level in all things.  Sometimes I wonder though, why do we choose to put kids in certain math levels at such an early age? Sometimes it is obvious that a student needs extra help or time to learn something, but other times it may seem that a child is randomly thrown into a group.  This made me think back to when I was in 6th grade.  I have always been pretty good at math, and throughout elementary school I did very well.  But when 6th grade rolled around, I noticed a group of about 20 students got to go and do more challenging math while the rest of us didn't.  I didn't understand why I was never given the chance to be part of that group, because some of my friends were in it, and I felt I was at the same level as them.  It upset me at the time, because I thought they were learning things earlier than the rest of us, which gave them a head start in middle school and high school, and it turns out that it did.  Many of them remained in higher math classes, while the rest of us were stuck taking the "required" classes that they got to skip.  Looking back, I realize that teachers see our capabilities more than we think.  But I still wonder why we were never given a test or even an opportunity to be bumped up to the next level.  So I question what the best method of placement for students is. Should it be up to tests or just the teachers opinions?

Reflection #5

I love making and creating things with my own two hands.  I love to draw, knit hats, and I recently started painting.  I think about this and realize that in school growing up, much of the projects we made were with our hands, so it makes sense why I love to do things with my hands.  Times are changing, and more and more kids love creating things with technology.  Lots of it is still a form of art, just a different kind of art.  I think that making things from scratch, like painting and drawing, is still important for kids to do, but now it may be more important for kids to be able to create things with technology.  Since this is where our future is heading, and our kids need to be prepared for what's to come, as teachers it is important that we allow our students to challenge themselves and create new things using technology to express themselves.

Reflection #4

This semester I have realized how much I will probably use technology in my classroom.  When I think about lesson plans I have to make for my other classes, I think, what would be a fun way to engage the students right off the bat? or what is a quick and easy way to present this information that will also allow my class to flow smoothly.  The answer to this is often technology.  In the past when I had to give presentations, I often would use PowerPoint, now with the use of SmartBoards and other cool websites, I realize that those are simple tools I can use to create a lesson that my students will engage in easier.  Technology may not be the focus in my classroom, but I'm realizing more that it will be a tool that I will use often, and probably more than I expect.

Reflection #3

Tests are always a part of schooling.  And often times students feel that they deserve better grades than they earned because the test was "too hard" or "everyone did bad" or "the questions were confusing."  As a student, it is easy to hope for better grades than you've received.  But as a teacher, is it good for the students if you grade on a curve? or give them points because a question was confusing?  Obviously I think there that there are good times for curves or omitting a test question, and other times it may not be necessary.  As teachers it is important to look at how the class as a whole did, and to see if curving a test is a good idea or not.  Grades are very important for many students.  So being aware and flexible is a good characteristic for a teacher to have.  I think as long as tests scores are not changed just so that kids feel good about themselves, then adjusting a grade may be good.  Sometimes tests are harder than expected or confusing.  As teachers I think it is important to challenge students and not just give out good grades, but instead be fair in knowing whether or not tests were more difficult than intending.  One of the best things teachers can do is adjust the next test to fit their class more so they have the opportunity to succeed next time.

Assignment 1- Technology Literacy

ARTICLE LINK
I read a short article called "Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom with YouTube, Digital Stories, and Blogs" by Rebecca Mullen and Linda Wedwick. This article talked about a middle school language arts teacher who uses all three of those technology tools in her classroom.  She is from a rural area with very few students.  The schools technology is pretty much a computer lab with internet and basic Microsoft software.  The article tells about these three tools that she includes in the classroom in order to help her students gain wisdom on technology while also learning great skills in language arts.  I learned about the digital stories, which sounds very familiar to a podcast type of thing, except it can have pictures along with it as well.  What I appreciated about this article is that it was about a school that did not have all the new technology, but it used the few resources it had in order to help the students grow in their academics while still learning how to use high tech resources using mostly internet servers.  The digital stories are definitely something I will look into doing for my future classes because it sounds like a fun activity that inspires students to write well, and it also allows them to perform their writing by recording their own voices and putting pictures with their stories.

The teacher NET that I want to focus on this semester is 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.  I feel that in order to fully allow a student to learn and grow with/through technology is by allowing them to be creative and try projects that they may not come up with on their own.  Technology can be used in different ways, having students create projects with friends can help them grow in the subject area as well as socially and technologically.  When students are challenged to create something that they know they will share in class, they will put more effort into it knowing that their peers will see the finished product.  This semester I hope to learn more sources I can refer to for my students to use on their projects, learn about projects teachers have done in the past that have worked well in the classroom, and also the best way to incorporate learning through the technology projects given.  Students learn best when they have a passion for what they do, and if technology is part of their passion, then allowing them to learn through technology would be a great gift to the students.  The student NET that I would also like to focus on is 3. Research and Information Fluency. I find that this NET is very important because research is still something I have a difficulty doing sometimes.  Finding reliable sources on the web can be difficult, so I want to help my students learn at a younger age what resources are reliable and how to cite them correctly.  Some ways I could do this is simply by having them do a research project and I would be there to help them find good sources and teach them how to cite things and do effective research.  Another way I could help students succeed at this NET is by simply showing them resources that are free that can be used by anyone yet are reliable and safe for student's to use.