Final

How To

We live in a technology world today; therefore, it is imperative that as teachers we are up-to-date on the latest technological advances. It is important that as much technology is incorporated into the academic curriculum as possible. Students need to be prepared and know how to use these technology tools for when they face the “real” world. Also, kids are especially interested in this subject matter and need to know how to use it in the correct way. It can be a fun way for students to learn while teachers lead them in the right direction at the same time.

Technology is constantly changing and introducing new products everyday; therefore, it is important that teachers are consistent with their teachings of them. Some of the more popular ways technology is integrated into the classroom is through email, podcasting, blogging, concept maps, and polling devices. Here are examples of how these devices can be effectively used with students:

• Podcasts: If a student is having a hard time with their reading assignments, the teacher can simply pull up the podcast that matches whatever story they are reading. That way the student can follow along in their book and also hear the words being said aloud as well.
• Blogs: blogs are a good way for students to have online journals. A teacher could assign weekly entries to be posted and then the student could receive immediate feedback online.
• Concept Maps: can serve as a review or unit evaluation over a particular such as in history or science
• Polling Devices: polling devices are a fun way to test students’ knowledge or to get them involved by allowing them to make up their own poll for other classmates to take

Webite

Here is the link to my Classroom Website.

Classroom Website

The Roaring '20s

Here is a link to my WebQuest:


The Roaring '20s

Educational Podcasts

Science Update podcast- I think this would be fit with middle schoolers or maybe even high school. Science Update is very unique because a new podcast comes out every Monday through Friday! Yes, a one-minute selection will inform the students on the latest discoveries in science as well as medicine and technology. Also, there is a weekly edition, which are 5 to 10 minutes, which can give a more in depth look.

Grammar Girl is an excellent source to get educational podcasts from. It is a great website that the students could visit if they are needing some help on their writing skills in particular. One that I especially liked was Who Versus Whom, which would fit under elementary education. One of the difficult challenges in grammar is remembering whether to use who in the sentence or whom. This podcast gives some good tips.

Brightstorm has a wonderful series of video podcasts aimed towards high school students. Teachers volunteer to appear in these videos and tutor students in everything from algebra, geometry, history, and even SAT preparation! Now if students need help at home when their teacher is not around, all they have to do is click their mouse.

Gabcast!

Subscribe Free
Add to my Page

Social Bookmarking

As much as technology is incorporated into the classroom today, I think it is a wonderful idea to have social bookmarking be part of the curriculum as well. I think that this “new” concept would be good to introduce to the middle grades because they may not be as familiar with researching information on the World Wide Web. If every student sets up their own bookmarking account, not only will they be able to use it at school, but at home as well. That is the good thing about the accounts: no limited access. Another good thing about bookmarking is that it teaches student to be more organized. If a student simply adds a website to their “favorites”, it is just going under a big file with a bunch of other websites. With social bookmarking, the websites can be divided into categories so that they are easier to access. I think that the biggest advantage to having social bookmarking in the classroom is allowing the students to share what websites they have found with one another. This would especially be an advantage if the students were working on a group project and needed to collaborate.

My WikiHow

For my WikiHow I tried to think of something I am pretty good at. I have been dancing for 17 years so I thought I would go over a ballet step. So check out my Wiki on
How to Do a Pirouette

Thanks!

Laura

Pros and Cons to Blogging

I believe that there are several more pros to educational blogging than cons. Teachers who have a classroom blog can use it as an essential management tool. Not only can teachers post links to helpful educational websites, but also assignments can be posted for the students to complete. Today’s society is depending more on technology and it is beneficial that the teachers incorporate technology as much into the student’s curriculum as possible. Classroom blogs not only are for the students, but for the parents as well. With a blog, parents can view what has been going on in the classroom lately along with up to date posts by the teacher. Most adults are on the computer daily. Having an online blog about their child’s class will encourage them to be more involved.

As one can see, there are many pros to having an educational blog. I am not so sure as to what a con would be. Perhaps having students turn in assignments online would encourage plagiarism more since a search bar would be right at their fingertips. Also, some students may not have as much access to a computer when away from school.

The link I used for this post was:
Blogs in Education

Links to Educational Blogs

A blog can be an essential tool in the classroom. Not only can it be used for networking, but also for sharing tips and news with students and fellow teachers. Blogs are a wonderful classroom management tool. Below are some links that I found that were excellent educational blogs. The first and last links I think are the best pages because they say the "top education blogs”.

http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2009/01/13/determining-the-top-education-blogs/

http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/education_and_training

http://www.blogratedirectory.com/Dir/Education.php

http://blogs.esri.com/Info/blogs/gisedcom/default.aspx

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040700387.html

Improving a Wikipedia Article

Since I was a little girl, I have been a fan of old movies. One of my favorites has always been Singin in the Rain. I know a bit of information about this film, so I thought I would see if I could change anything in the Wikipedia article about it. Sure enough I did...now I will just see if it will stay. The information I put was

"An interesting fact- in the film, Lina is known for her horrible voice. When Don starts making the talking picture, he has to have all of Lina's "talking" scenes done over by Kathy's voice. In real life, this was not Debbie Reynold's voice, but infact Jean Hagen."

Here is the link to the site: "Improving" Wikipedia

Thanks! Laura

2-6-2009 So I went back to see if my "improvements" were still on the article...and they were! Only someone had added a little more to it. So I guess that is a good thing...kind of confirmed more what I said perhaps.

2-8-2009 Still There!

2-10-2009 Still There!

2-15-2009 Still There!

The Praxis

Below is the link to my Wikispace and my post discussing the Praxis test.

Thanks!

Laura

Experiencing the Praxis!!!!!!

Poll

Please take a minute and answer the question to my poll.

Thanks!

Laura

Where do you see yourself?

Survey

Please take a moment and fill out my "Favorites" survey at:

Thanks!

Laura

What's your favorite?

EATS Lesson Plan

Gabcast! Laura's Gab #1

Why I chose to become a teacher?

Ever since I was a little girl, I have known I have wanted to be a teacher. For one thing, teachers run in my family. My grandmother taught 2nd grade for over 40 years and my mom is currently a teacher in Kingsport. However, that is not the main reason I want to teach. I have a big love for children and I feel that working with them on a daily basis would be very fulfilling. I also think that it would be amazing to have such an impact in young student's lives. I think and hope that I will do a good job at teaching and look forward to what it brings to my life.