Blog Post #9

“The Flipped Classroom” 
Instead of having students sit in the traditional classroom, listening to a teacher and watching as they present the lesson in a face-to-face interaction, a flipped classroom allows students to get the same information through a blended delivery system (Lever- Duffy 237).  Teachers can give students prerecorded power point videos with voice recordings to explain specific topics that may be difficult in detail again.  Students could also watch a preview lecture to introduce the topics they will work on in class before hand.  This can all lead to a more efficient classroom.  

Web Based Resources
The web based recourse I decided to use was was pinterest.  I use pinterest all the time!  I have used it multiple times for this class.  Its an easy way for teachers to share lesson plans and effective cute projects to do with students.  It doesn't matter if you search "math money games" or 2nd grade cpalms, pinterest gives teachers an endless supply of ideas to use in the classroom.  

PowerPoint Interaction Project
I learned that it is OK to go online for help in this project.  I always avoid using templates, but to work efficiently , having a template for games like this can be very helpful.  I was a little stressed out when I first started the project because I was thinking I had to figure out how to do all of this on my own, however I realized that I could use the resources on line to create the game and make it way better than I would have been able to do on my own.  I am definitely going to use game templates and make them into personalized games for my class in the future.  There are so many cool ones to choose from.  There are so many options to choose from on line while I was looking for templates.  The possibilities are endless.  Next time I will try to improve my game with more graphics and sound effects.  I think sound effects will make it more fun!

Blog # 8

Gamification sounds like it holds the most promise to me.  Adding “game elements to instructional content to increase motivation and interactivity, encourage creativity, and deepen understanding of content” (Lever-Duffy 288), sounds like a very powerful idea in the classroom.  An example that the book gives is ATOMS, which will immerse students in hands on education (Lever-Duffy 288).  ATOMS turn science electronic and get children in a new and fun environment outside of the textbook.  It could be used by students to learn material, create projects, and even be tested. 

The digital divide is a term to describe the gap between those who do and do not have access to technology.  I am definitely on the side of having internet access at home and in school.  I was a lot more like student A than Student B in the podcast.  I definitely think I had a lot of access to different technology in school and at my home, however not as much as other people.  I had/have my own laptop and smart phone but I did not grow up with toys like iPads at home.  I had a friend who did not have technology at home and saw how tough that made school for them.  It was hard for them to do homework when everything in my high school really required access to a computer.  Even with those offered at school and libraries, it makes life a lot harder for those students.  I hope that I will be able to address this issue with in my classroom as a teacher.   I plan of email out announcements and corresponding through mostly web based resources, however it is important I keep in mind that some students may not have access to these at home.  If necessary I could offer paper copies to those students.  I am starting in the elementary education program in the fall, and therefore will be teaching young students who will not necessarily need web access to complete assignments for class a home until they are older. 

I did a power point on a cpalms for second grade math.  I basically made a power point about the different types of coins and how to add them.  I had a lot of difficulty publishing my power point as a movie.  I’m still having issues opening it up as a movie.  I recorded it but it’s very confusing.  I am sure I will use this in a class in the future.  It is always important to improve my skills in something as simple as power point which is obviously not that simple if I can’t publish my power point movie correctly.  
I had a lot of fun doing this project once I realized how to do it.  I really wish my teachers would have done things like this for me when I was in school.  It is so incredibly helpful.  Being able to post things like this for students to review with and learn at home if they are absent or just not grasping the concept is so awesome,  

ILP #1

(1) a short description of your learning experience in the platform
First I used a Lynda.com tutorial to learn about using edmodo.  I used multiple videos online to help me discover all the tools on edmodo.

This course provided a lot of information about how to set up an edmodo and how to use it as a parent, teacher, or student.  I definitely want to use this with my students in the future.   

I had never set up an edmodo before entering this class and was a little confused when I first signed up several weeks ago.  Through using this lynda course, I was able to understand how to use it as a teacher.  

(2) activity log or notes you take

I created a quiz, poll, and asked my students to respond in the comments to different posts.  I loved all of these features!

 (3) products/evidence, such as interesting screenshots

I used CPALM Standard:
SS.2.A.2.4

Explore waSS.2.A.2.4

Explore ways the daily life of people living in Colonial America changed over ys the daily life of people living in Colonial America changed over time.

Look at my edmodo classroom.  The group code is:

mevsam

My edmodo

#7

Bloom's Taxonomy Power Point Presentation

Power points can be very helpful when sharing information with people.  When you are sharing information with an audience, having a visual aid like a power point can be a powerful tool to get your point across to people.  Bloom’s Taxonomy is a six level framework for categorizing educational goals.  They include create, evaluate, analyze, apply, understand, and remember.  Imagine you are creating a power point to help your second grade science class on the solar system.  For “remember” you put the key terms (planet names) bolded on each slide to help students remember them.  For “understand” you have a picture of planets in order showing the relative distances between them.  For “create” you can show a saying that helps students to memorize the order of the planets and have students create their own.  For “analyze” you can look into/show what it means to be a planet.  For “evaluate” you can compare what the necessary requirements of being a planet are and why and how Pluto is not one anymore.  For “apply” you have students create separate power points in groups to present to the class about each planet.  

Adaptive Technologies

Adaptive technologies are often used to help students with learning disabilities.  The American’s with Disabilities Act is a law that makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities and a requirement to provide students with tools to assist them if they have a disability.  That is where Adaptive Technologies come into play.  Students with physical disabilities might need different ways of imputing and outputting while using computers.  Text to speech and speech to text software, magnified screens and brail key boards are examples ways to help these students.  When I was little I used recorded books as a tool to help me in overcoming my dyslexia.  It was very helpful in the process of me becoming a genius.  It might be hard to make young children understand why one student gets special treatment and not others.  Therefore, seeing as many of these can be beneficial for all the students.  

Website

I really enjoyed making my Weebly.  I feel like knowing how to make a good website will be helpful in my future career as a teacher.  I liked being able to pick out templates, create my own styled pages, and make an easily navigated website.  I feel really proud of my website.  I would not change a thing.  

Slide Share

Slide Share Fun

In class today I was looking through slide shares and came across this really adorable and helpful presentation on how to get over the fear of presentation.  I love Christmas books so this is perfect for me.  It is modeled after The Nightmare Before Christmas,.  

Presentation Nightmares And How To Beat Them from BrightCarbon