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

Blog Post #6

Most schools require teachers to maintain a set of class pages on the school website.  I looked up different teacher’s website from my old high school.  Most class pages were pretty basic, but had pictures relating to their specific subject areas.  The information was easy to find, the website was easy to navigate, and everything was labeled.  I did not have to use any login information but was able to click into power points, videos, contact information, find out room numbers, and view class rosters in some cases.  This specific picture is of a social studies teacher at Winter Park High School.  He teaches Standard World History, Honors World History, and AP European History.  All these classes are intended for sophomores. 


 

I know that when I become a teacher, I will be super busy and need software to make my life easier.  A productivity software can “assist educators in tracking student information, computing grades, and preparing plans and IEP’s” (147).   This sounds overwhelming now, but with helpful software, I will be able to do all of this work in a quicker and easier manor. These productivity tools will help me finish everyday tasks a little better(podcast).  An example of one I would use for this is the Microsoft office suite tool.

 My group for my most recent project worked together via skype and google docs before we uploaded our project onto our wiki.  I enjoyed learning about how to judge a site and whether it is worth using in the classroom.  I had fun working with my group on this project and getting to collaborate.  I will definitely use  the way we collaborated on our project without having to meet up face to face in the future.  We looked at different websites to find resources to use for teaching students about Standard SC.4.P.12, Motion of Objects.  This is the form we used to evaluate our sites.  

Blog Post #5

Web 2.0

Web 2.o technologies are a non-optional support system for teachers to use to further learning in the classroom.  YouTube is an awesome wed 2.0 tool I would use in my class.  You can share and find important information through the use of YouTube videos.  It is important to cater to all learning styles, so as a teacher giving some information through videos for students who are visual and audio learners is key.  

Blogs are a 2.0 tool that I used to not like for classroom use, but since taking this class see the usefulness.  They give students a chance to share their opinions and information they find interesting in a fun and unique environment.  Students can also get information for the class through looking at a teacher’s blog.  You can effectively use these tools without any specific tools.  Basic internet enabled devices like computers, smart phones, tablets, etc. will be perfectly capable of accessing YouTube and blogs.    

Network equipment necessary includes a WiFi network and server.  Blogging can be done on a simple computer, but making YouTube videos might require the periphery equipment of microphones.   Both require a smart board or projector (would be sufficient) for sharing student’s projects/work with their fellow classmates (Lever-Duffy 124).  If the device does not have enough storage they may also require a hard disk to save date(Lever- Duffy 98). 

For Web 2.0 tools, I do not like using public social media in the classroom like Twitter.  Student safety is my number one concern and I feel like those sights will expose students to too much.  A safer alternative like Edmodo could suffice.  

Web 2.0 Technology Review

I am reviewing a Web 2.0 technology called Scribd.  When deciding what technology to review I was really drawn to Scribd.  Emphasizing the importance of reading and individualizing help for students reading has always been important to me.   Scribd is a digital library that is cheaper than having to buy paper books.  Scribd makes students access to assigned reading and fun reading easy.  Students can also use scribd for research.  

Students can make a library of books they are reading or have enjoyed reading.  They can even use and app on a phone so that reading can be done on the go.  Scribd gives students access to audiobooks, e-books, comics, and PDFs.  I have grown up really attached to listening to audio books because as a dyslexic, listening to a book while reading along is supposed to be very helpful in overcoming the problem.  By providing audiobooks, Scribd allows students with learning disabilities and auditory learners to have access to help and solid learning material.  

Tentative Concept Map

At first I did not like this concept mapping tool.  It was moving really slowly and shutting down a lot.   I still had technical issues with it, but found creating a concept map very fun.  I created the top half of my concept map and think it looks really pretty.  My partner and I are still tweaking some things, but I find the color coating and labeling very useful.  I also liked that I was able to find pictured of the leader of the Allies and the Central Powers on the mapping tool.  I actually feel like I would make these and use them as a teacher to share information with my students and make study guides.  There are so many ways you could use these maps in a classroom.  It’s cool that something I so adamantly did not like at first has turned into a tool that I would really use.  Hopefully next time it won’t work slowly.  It would also be cool if more than one person could work on a map at once.  Every time my partner was on there it would not let me work.  I really appreciate how pretty and color coated the map part I created is.  It just looks so pleasing.