Day 24, 04/15/10

On day twenty-four of in class we worked with the smart board agian. We worked in groups and found lesson plans that would be good to teach. My group chose to find a good math site. Using smart boards in the classroom helps teachers to meet Standard 2a. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incoporate digitial tools and resources to promote student learning and creavity.

Day 23, 4/13/10

On day twenty-thre of class we learned about using smartboards in the classroom and read this article about smart boards. We had to find an example of why we thought smart boards might worth the money. The example I found was :

Interactive whiteboards affect learning in several ways. They serve to raise the level of student engagement in a classroom, motivate students and promote enthusiasm for learning. In at least one case, the addition of an interactive whiteboard positively influenced student attendance.

In my personal opinion from the experience I have had with smart boards they arent worth the money or trouble.

Web Quest

My Web Quest.

Day 22 4/8/10

Day twenty-two of class was an out of classroom work day. We had to conintue to wrok on our WebQuest pages. In real life classrooms if students were to complete this webquest they are developing 21st century skills in Learning and Innovation Skills.

Day 21, 4/6/10

On day twenty-one of class we worked on our WebQuests with Google sites. We made changes to our WebQuests and corrected what we thought were ways to improve it. The ISTE-NETS Standard that fits this project standard is 1d 1. (Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity) model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. I'm not sure how I would use this in my future classroom, but if I did figure out a way I think it would be a very good projects to help the students get interested in whatever we are doing.

Day 20, 4/1/10

On day twenty of class we had to choose a pre-made webquest that will modify for our own use. The webquest that I found, that I am going to modify is called A Changing Earth. One change that I am going to make to this webquest is to add differnt pictures and graphic to it. Also the task on this webquest is for lower grade level so I will make it a more detail task. The CSO that my webquest will help students meet is demonstrateing knowledge, understanding and applications of scientific facts, concepts, principles, theories and models as delineated in the objectives.

Day 19 3/30/10

On day nineteen of class we got into groups of four and each played a role to look at different webquests. The role I played was "The Altitudinist": Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner. To me a web quest should deliver the most information to analyze and do somthing with it. In my opinion, the Unraveling the Underground Railroad was the best site. It gave you alot of important information and what you need to know to get the task done. I think this webquest goes along with ISTE NET standard 3b: locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media. They have to research alot of information in a varity of ways and work as a group. This would be a good project for my future classroom beucase it helps the students to work together and solve a problem with their own creative ideas.

Day 18 3/25/10

On day eighteen of class we watched the digital photostories that were created by the Fairview Middle School students, that followed along with there stories we helped them with. I think that creating a digital story helps students to meet Standard 1b : Creativity and Innovation. Creating a digital story fits under this category because it helps them to create original works as a means of personal or group expression.

Day 17, 3/23/10

On day 17 of class we made a mini-biography for our Ning profile we also joined Bruceton Five Ning site. Making a mini biography in a social network site helps students to use technology as a tool to communicate information and it helps your classmates to know you better. Our mini-bio consisted of our astrological sign, someone who shares our birthday, an important event on that day in history, and the weather on that day, what our first and last names mean. And we had to have pictures to go along with our facts. This activity involves a number of different websites and search engines to find information about our birthdays.

Day 15 3/9/10

On day fifteen of class we looked at "Deconstructing Arnold" magazine cover which shows Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed as a politician and as an action hero, and how he was portrayed differently of the magazine covers. We talked about the different ways the covers convey a message and we will use this information to create our own magazine cover. (my cover posted below) This covers the Media Literacy standard that says: Examine how individuals interpret messages differently, how values and points of view are included or excluded, and how media can influence beliefs and behaviors.

Day 14 3/4/10

On day fourteen of class we made a wordle based on Web 2.0. We used the program Jing to capture the image of the wordle. (Posted below) This activity fits under Creativity and Innovation by creating new and worthwhile ideas. It also helps us to be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback. This would be a good activity to get students engaged in learning the different jobs or other topic that a subject like chemistry would help with.