Reflecting

Reflecting on this class, I have learned an immense amount of beneficial technology skills and techniques to use in my future classrooms. From working with Wed 2.0 Tools, to Digital Diagrams, Digital Stories, Flipcharts, Wikis, and creating my own website, I have developed better computer skills throughout the semester. At the beginning of the semester I was fairly confident with my knowledge and skills using computers but my abilities have definitely grown and improved. This course has introduced me to several useful tools for teaching and for daily life to improve accessibility and productivity.

My favorite thing that I produced this semester has been the Google Sites website. This tool is such a great way to stay in contact with both students and parents through out the school year. It is also a great central place to keep things stored in different sections and somewhere easy to get to. I am proud of my website and am glad I can easily go look at each project we did this semester, all with just a click of a button. I certainly plan on using a classroom website in my future career as a teacher and I may even change around the content on the website I created in this class to use for my class, which just shows how effective and useful this class has been for me.

This semester has flown by and I have not  come to terms with the fact that I have only one semester left of my undergraduate college career. TPTE 486 has been such an enjoyable and useful class in my education and I hope to continue to stay up to date on technology techniques and different uses. I plan to use technology in my classroom very often!

Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Digital Storytelling can be implemented in the classroom using several techniques and strategies. There are a number of uses for utilizing these computer-based skills, and University of Houston's website is very helpful in demonstrating some of these new and intriguing ideas. For starters, there are "7 Elements of Digital Storytelling":
     1. Point of View
     2. A Dramatic Question
     3. Emotional Content
     4. The Gift of Your Voice
     5. The Power of the Soundtrack
     6. Economy
     7. Pacing
These 7 elements help to ensure the maximum benefits of using Digital Storytelling in the classroom and serve as a guideline of the formation. When using digital stories in the class, lessons can be taught by either the teacher making it and presenting it to the class, or having students create their own stories, and learn and develop knew knowledge about a topic as they go. Each way is a creative tool to teach students new information in an innovative and engaging way, rather than standing at the front of the classroom lecturing. Having students create their own stories would likely generate the interest and motivation for the "digital generation" students in classrooms today. This tool would also help students improve communication skills because they must learn to organize their ideas, ask questions, express opinions and construct narratives, in order to develop and working and beneficial digital story. Research has proven that using multimedia in teaching helps students retain new information and aids in better comprehension of difficult material. Digital Storytelling is just one simple way to add multimedia in the classroom.

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards provide an endless amount of new techniques and strategies for teachers and students in the classroom. Throughout elementary school, the one thing I wanted in my classroom was a "SmartBoard". I was so jealous of all of the other classes that had access to them and was bored of our old over head projector. Interactive Whiteboards, familiarly known as IWB, create an engaging and interactive environment between teachers and students. After reading about IWBs in Engaging Learners with Interactive Whiteboards I have learned appropriate uses and features for effective IWB use.

IWBs help students stay  connected with the lesson through by following the changing point of focus on the board. Watching an IWB with ongoing highlighting, coloring, zooming, hiding/revealing, multimedia content, etc. is much easier to stay focused on than simply watching a teacher write on a chalkboard. Student achievement through student response systems is, in my opinion, one of the most beneficial uses for IWBs. Similarly to how college students use "clickers" in large classes to keep focus throughout a lecture, early students can use this method to enhance interaction with the material and to make sure they are keeping their attention. Participation in a lesson is of utmost importance for students to learn effectively. Student response systems can be used to submit responses to polls or surveys and are immediately projected on the board. It is a quick and easy way to record responses and gives the whole class a visual as to what the responses look like as a group.

In order for IWBs to be as effective as impossible in the classroom, it is essential for teachers and instructors to have proper training and knowledge of this tool. While it is important for teachers to learn about IWBs before using them, it is just as necessary to stay up to date on new strategies, tools, techniques, etc. throughout their teaching career. Technology changes rapidly and teachers need to learn to incorporate keeping up to date on their products in their daily lesson plans.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/whiteboards/sciencemath.htm

MidTerm CheckPoint

Half-way through this semester and I have learned so much from this class already. Before this class I hadn't explored the uses of Wikis or Blogs and have never created a website. I have learned various tools that will be beneficial in my classroom and it is so helpful to see examples of other teachers technology classrooms and techniques that are successful. Comparing established teaching technology blogs and classroom websites provides insight into what I aspire to have been I am teaching on my own and I can definitely use this class to gather information and strategies. I am excited to see what else we learn this semester and continue to grow in my technology knowledge and use.

Wiki Walk-Through

This class has been my first experience using "wikis", other than the popular encyclopedia, Wikipedia. This course has helped me become familiar with wikis and has allowed me to see several different uses for them. I am definitely interested in using wikis in my future classroom because I love the interactive ways of teaching and informing both students and parents, and a wiki is a great way to do that.

This week, we looked through a page called "Wiki Walk-Through". This simple, yet engaging page teaches an immense amount about ways to use wikis, the difference between a wiki and a blog, and various other information. The greatest thing about a wiki is that it is "always under construction", it is always being edited and updated, by a collaborative group of people. They allow student participation while in the classroom, but more importantly, promotes ongoing creativity and exploration because a wiki can be accessed anywhere. 

Wikis in the classroom can provide several tools and information, including:

• Study guides
• Vocabulary lists
• Class encyclopedia
• Articles collected by students
• Tips for tests from other students
• FAQ

There are many different ideas for wikis in each subject for K-12 classrooms. Wikis are a great way to get kids involved and engaged in activities. Wikis are convenient and and easy to use and provide wonderful materials for the entire classroom. 

This is an example of a wiki used in a 3rd grade classroom that the students created and are using to study and explore the Westward expansion along the Oregon Trail.

Brain Fun, Fun Brain

After evaluating varying aspects of the website "Fun Brain", I would definitely recommend this site for students' use. Fun Brain is an educational website geared towards students in preschool to grade 8. This website focuses on developing skills in math, reading, and literacy.

Fun Brain provides over 100 free, scholastic games relating to the subjects in focus, along with a selection of comics and popular books, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This website is published by Family Education Network, part of Pearson, the education, services and technology company. This publishing company provides many educational resources, making this a reputable website for students' use. Fun Brain would be a great tool for spare time in the classroom or for additional learning at home, and seems like a very enjoyable and beneficial learning website. 

Blog About a Blog

I am the kind of person and student, that likes visual learning. I am definitely a supporter of technology in the classroom, as I think there are various engaging activities for every subject using different forms of technology. The blog EduTech for Teachers: Cool Tools for the 21st Century immediately caught my eye when looking through educational blogs. For starters, this blog is incredibly easy to navigate and find what you are looking for, whether that be weekly updates, contacting the author, translating the blog into another language, or finding the resources of her posts, everything on this blog is user-friendly. While being able to examine different pages of the site, I was mainly just fond of the theme and display of the blog. Incorporating traditional styles of teaching into the classroom is an important aspect when integrating technology. With that being said, I love that this blog chose the theme to look like a notebook, with the sidebar resembling a notepad having writing for the titles of each section.

In addition to the accessibility of this blog, I loved the useful and unique additional link that this blog added to their page. Each week's blog post has a description of the main idea of learning for that week. Along with the description, there are links which take you to various sites that explain more about the specific topic of the week. Each week's topic has a beneficial lesson for teachers, including this week's post, talking about "New-O-Matic", which is a daily news app for kids. EduTech for Teachers also has a weekly blog post called "Diigo Weekly Update" which contains a variety of games, useful teacher resources, and activities for the classroom. This is a great way to always find something new to do in the classroom, to try to keep the students as engaged as possible, instead of sticking to a daily routine, never having any surprises. This blog is has countless resources for teachers, giving ideas to incorporate technology in the classroom and giving multiple ways to do so.