Blogfolio (Final Reflection)

I have learned quite a bit from this online class. I did not know that I had access to so many tools on my computer and through internet sites. Like Google Docs, I never knew that that program was available on my laptop. It definitely can make working with a group a lot easier because you wouldn’t have to schedule to meet to do your part. You could work at your own convenience without even having to get out of your own house.

My weakest point was maneuvering around the Inspiration site in creating my concept map. I never really got it quite right and just found it difficult for someone like me with little technology knowledge to work with that site. I feel my strongest point was in creating the pages for the web tools assignment. I truly enjoyed putting together the bookmark page for that assignment. The interactions between myself and my peers (my group) was great. We did a great job working together and with one another to get our group assignment done. If anyone needed assistance, there was always someone there willing to give it. Our instructor did a good job at having materials available to assist us with each assignment. She was always professional and answered our questions in a timely manner.

There were many ways in which we communicated. I think the most common way was through email. The only drawback of this type of communication is that you have to wait for whomever you sent the email to, to see the email and respond. If a person is tied up or busy, they may not be able to respond as quickly as you may need them to. Other communication tools used were the google doc for our group assignment and online video chats as a whole class.

Blogfolio was an unusual experience for me. I’m not used to putting my “feelings” in to words. This may have been my least favorite part of this class because of that. Also, as a person with little technology experience some of the assignments were overwhelming, such as the concept map and digital story. I found the Inspiration site to be difficult to maneuver through. If it weren’t for a friend of mine, I might not have published my digital story. I had a hard time applying my music and audio to my movie. I didn’t know how to convert them over or that I even had to. Thankfully I had someone to help me. All-in-all, I did learn from this class and plan on applying some of the things I learned in my future classroom.

I definitely will be creating a website page for my students and their parents and may be able to incorporate some aspects of the web tools assignment in to my web page also. I’m glad I had an opportunity to learn yet another way I can make my classroom an effective learning environment.

Assistive Technology in the Classroom

                                                          

This assignment wasn’t too bad. I definitely learned quite a bit. I did not realize I had these types of tools available on my computer. I can see where they could be helpful in the classroom. I did get tripped up on a couple places but was able to figure it out with little frustration. I had to re-remember how to add sound to my slides on my PPT but all-in-all I enjoyed creating them. If I am ever faced with a student that may have a visual or hearing impairment, at least I know I have yet more resources available to make their learning experience as positive as possible. It’s nice to know I can give them opportunities through other avenues to get what they can from the lessons being taught.

Assistive Tech Casey Anderson

 

 

Issues of Technology Integration in the Classroom

I’m glad this assignment wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be for me. I understand plagiarism is a big problem in the classroom today. With the advances of technology and information being instantly accessible, it is very easy to just copy and paste what we’re looking for. I don’t most people mean to plagiarize. We find something written in the way we would like to put things and just use it. I have a tendency to read something and when I go to put it in my own words I can’t get what I read out of my mind so it is almost like what I read. We are taught to remember what we read. When we do it just sort of sticks in our minds and that’s how it comes out, just like what we read. The Turnitin program is pretty neat. With all the resources available today, I can see where this program is of great help to instructors. There would be no way to determine if what someone has written is actually another person’s work. This program allows the instructor to scan a submission and detect similarities to other works. Definitely a very useful tool to have available.

 One of the main social issues being dealt with in the classroom today is the use of different social media outlets being accessed by students during school time. Students are browsing networks such as Facebook and Twitter instead of using the technology for educational purposes.

With use of technology so prevalent in daily life, people have forgotten that there is another human being at the other end receiving the message that they are sending. Many people say and post things they normally wouldn’t say or express to someone in person. Cyber-bullying has been made easier because bullies do not “see” it as bullying another person. It allows for more disregard of another’s feelings.

A leading legal issue being dealt with in technology is copyright. With teachers having to find their own materials to use in the classroom, they must be careful in
what materials they choose to reproduce, distribute, and post on school site, so they don’t break any copyright laws that may result in legal trouble.

There is a lot of concern with the integration of technology in the classroom and its effects on the humanistic side of things. Even in a technology driven society, technology cannot replace human relationships. Technology cannot teach respect, self-esteem, or manners to students. Social interaction with others cannot be learned through technology. Most students learn through physical and mental interaction with the subject they are studying. Receiving human interaction allows students to receive cues from the teacher that a computer cannot give. Technology cannot teach social skills that are needed throughout life.

In the end, technology should act as a support, not a replacement, for the teacher in the classroom. Technology allows the teacher access to things that can aid in their lessons. This access can also allow them to study and explore their subject in greater depth. Technology integration can be a good thing when integrated purposefully and properly.

Issues of Technology- version II

Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curricula (Part 2)

Integrating technology into the music and art curricula (Chapter 13)

Technology supports music through: composition and production, performance, self-paced learning and practice, music history, and interdisciplinary strategies. These programs allow the students to explore and understand music in a new perspective.  One way technology supports music is in music history. This technology gives the teacher another avenue in which their students can access background information on different composers, musical periods, and compositions.

Integrating technology into the art classroom enables the teacher to access art examples for classroom use and also lets students take virtual field trips to museums. Their students are able experience various types of art they might otherwise not ever see. Art from all over the world can be viewed and studied.

Integrating technology into physical and health education (Chapter 14)

            One of the main supports we use is Move to Learn. This program gets our students up and moving. It encourages exercise in a fun way. Technology gives coaches access to programs that allow them to monitor the progress of their athletes in several ways. There are so many websites and videos that support, encourage, and inform the viewer (student) in making an informed choice about physical and health education. There are devices that offer immediate feedback on your progress. Websites are available for healthy nutrition and exercise routines that work for the individual.

Technology and Special Education (Chapter 15)

                                                

           There are currently six issues that impact the use of technology in special education: legal and policy directives, the No Child Left Behind Act, prevalence of autism, Am. Sign language recognized as a language, trained personnel, and inclusive classrooms. There are three applications used by students with disabilities and their teachers: assistive, instructional, and productivity. These technologies are used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.

            There are so many areas in which technology can support the teacher in the classroom, but these technologies should not replace teacher instruction. I know we have integrated technology in our classroom in several ways that help support the instruction of the teacher. Sometimes technology offers a different approach to a topic that the student understands better. Sometimes it’s just more enticing to the student because it’s a fun way to learn. Because students learn in different ways, offering different approaches to learning gives the student the opportunity to achieve and excel on their level and at their own pace. Everyone is wired differently, so why not offer various ways to plug-in.

Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curricula (Part 1)

There is so much information that goes with each chapter’s discussion question. I decided to focus on one or two strategies for each chapter that I’ve seen implemented in my school.

(Chapter 9) Effectively integrating technology into English & Language Arts   

Technology should be used as a support (not a substitute). There are several online based websites that can support word fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension, literacy development, writing instruction, and literature learning. One website we use is StarFall. Students can practice matching letter to their sounds. This phonemic practice gives the student a foundation in which to begin reading. We also access BookFlix. T
his is a type of digital storytelling site. A book can be pulled up on it, the program reads the book, and the student/teacher can turn the pages when it’s time to move to the next page. We have used this in the past for our students who need a little more reading support.

(Chapter 10) Integrating technology into second and foreign language curricula

A couple of strategies that may help the ELL and FL are through learning games such as Leapfrog or other websites like ImagineLearning offer intense practice in specific language skills and vocabulary sets and provide for a balanced skill development which supports practice in language subskills.

(Chapter 11) Integrating technology into mathematics and science curricula

In our classroom we use a program called ScootPad. It initially tests the student to see where they are strong and weak at then creates lessons specifically geared to their weaknesses. We mainly use it as a support for our Tier 2 students. It gives them the added practice they may
need to improve upon the skills they’ve been taught.

We haven’t been teaching science but will soon be implementing STEM. I have found science resources online that may be helpful when we do. ScienceBob offers simple experiment ideas as well as videos. ScienceKids offers experiments as well as games and other ways to learn science. I’ve found both these sites helpful in developing lesson plans and carrying out experiments necessary for my science class.

(Chapter 12) Integrating technology into social studies curricula

This will be our first year to actually teach social studies in our first grade class. They are very basic lessons that only last a few minutes. But I think a great way to integrate technology into the classroom for social studies would be through virtual field trips. I know we are only able to go on one field trip per year, making it hard to decide what we want to do. Virtual field trips would allow you to experience a variety of adventures. Plus, saving costs on the fees that go along with field trips and weather wouldn’t be a factor to worry about. Access to many aspects of history, geography, politics, economics, and current events are readily available through digital storytelling, geospatial technologies, and other technologies. This adds a depth of knowledge that can’t be gained through a book.

Creating a Google Site

This assignment wasn’t too bad. I did run into a couple small snags but nothing major that I wasn’t able to figure out. I enjoyed creating this website. My husband has now decided I need to create a website for his business! Yeah, no! This would be a great way to integrate technology in to the classroom. Even with First grade, you could create a site they could go to with links created for them specifically. Different pages can be created for different groups. This way you could differentiate lessons. Say you group your students by color. You could instruct them to login to the website and once there go to the “blue group” tab or “red group” tab. This way you could have specific lessons geared to that group’s needs.  Or certain activities that go along with the objectives being taught could be added for each subject area, a tab for Math, one for Reading and one for Language Arts. This could also be a useful tool in communicating with parents. Spelling and/or sight word lists could be put here. Assignments for the week or announcements could also be included. There are many possibilities. It was definitely nice to have a little less stressful assignment this week!

Website Link

Web-Based Curriculum

I sat down and wrote down all the web-based resources and tools we use in our classroom on a daily/weekly basis. Wow! There are many! In the past, before the age of advanced technology, teachers were provided with the criteria/standards required to teach for their grade level and the time table in which the student should know such material. They were given textbooks, workbooks, and other materials to use to teach these standards. Today, teachers have to find the materials needed to teach on their own. Very rarely are textbooks, workbooks or other materials provided. Thankfully, there is a vast array of web-based resources and tools available via the internet. With this availability, teachers are able to find and develop what they need quickly. We use several web-based resources and tools in our classroom and school.

Two data-based resources we use are   and Renaissance Place (STAR)  for Reading and Math. IReady is a program that creates lessons specifically geared to the individual student. Students initially take an assessment and based on their answers are provided with specific lessons to enhance their academic success. It tracks their strengths and weaknesses and creates a learning profile according to their weaknesses. It even provides ideas for small group instruction and links other students who may need help in the same area. Renaissance Place also assesses the students and based on their right/wrong answers, gives them a score that we can compare to where they should be at a given time of the year.  The only issue I have with both of these programs is that they ask questions based on what the student should know by the end of the year. We assess our students three times a year so at the beginning they may not do well because there will be material they have not been introduced to yet. On the plus side though at least they should show growth from assessment to assessment.

For extra reading practice we also utilize    , Starfall   and Reading A-Z/Raz-Kids   . All provide fun interactive ways to read. We will use stories from them to aid in gathering info on writing projects we may be doing at the time.

A couple other programs we have used in the past are     and ABCYA! . Both of these programs provide extra reinforcement in Reading and Math. ScootPad does so a lot like iReady, through assessment and specific lessons. ABCYA! Does through games.

We started using  last year for  behavior management. Most of our Kindergarten and First grades use this system. It provides an instant way to mark positive/negative behaviors on your phone. Each student is registered and given a “monster”. You can pull up their name and give them green (good) or red (bad) points for following/not following the classroom or school expectations. It also allows the parent a minute by minute status on their child’s behavior. All they have to do is be registered, download the app, and then just sign on. At the end of the week, as an extra incentive, we let our children go to the “treat” box if they have at least an 85% positive Dojo.

To give our students brain breaks we will play a  or video. These videos get the children moving and allows them to get those wiggles out. They enjoy watching PBS Kids- Word Girl (word meanings)  and Wild Kratts (Science)   .

Our teachers use Power School to take roll, submit grades, and print report cards. They share and send different documents through Google Docs. We always use Microsoft word. Whether we’re typing/printing spelling words, sight words, tests, or something else. Of course there’s also our school website where teachers post lesson plans, send emails, work orders, or look up what’s happening in our district.

Although our curriculum isn’t completely web-based, we do use a lot of web-based resources and tools to design and develop a partial web-based curriculum.

Using Web Tools

I actually liked this assignment. It was by far the easier of all the assignments we’ve done. In my opinion anyways. I did have to explore the sites a little to understand how to do things but there wasn’t too much confusion. Overall, I’m satisfied with my assignment. I do plan on storing these sites to possibly use later in my teaching.

The Register was one I had to explore a bit. I wasn’t sure which rubric to utilize so I looked at a few of them to see which would fit to one of our past assignments. The only thing I found difficult was coming up with a grading system and the topics to grade on. Depending on the age group you can make it as simple or complex as you want. You can also make it fit to the standard you are currently assessing or for 9 weeks assessments for upper grades. Students can be given a copy so they will know what will be expected of them. This could help them prepare for the assessment.

The Easy Test Maker was fairly simple to use. Again, I explored and played a little to wee exactly how my questions and answers would be laid out. The only issue I had was knowing how to submit my fill in the blank answers so they would only show on  the answer sheet and the list question. I finally found what I needed to click on to submit these types of answers. This site would be very beneficial to teachers. My lead teacher and her team have to make their own tests quite often. This site could be utilized for a straightforward test. also, adding a variety of ways to submit answers allowing teachers to see different thought processes.

The most difficult part of this assignment, to me, was the bookmark (Track Star). At first the tutorial I downloaded was just a duplicate of Test Maker just with Track Star heading. After I finally found it in a different area/folder, I was able to get started. I did find requirements but felt they were a little vague. Looking at the sample Track Star bookmark sort of overwhelmed me! With not knowing specific details that needed to be included, I just went with it. I made sure to save throughout setting it up but the second time I did, for some reason, my info wasn’t saved! yes, I totally panicked! Thankfully, I wrote down my ideas in an outline form so I just went back and retyped and pasted things. Unfortunately, that was undo added time I would’ve liked to have spent elsewhere. I think the most difficult aspect of this part was editing. If it weren’t for the tutorial I would have had a hard time figuring it out.

Rubric

Quiz

Quiz Answers

Bookmark

Integrating the Internet into the Curriculum

Some examples of internet resources and tools are: navigation, search and storage, communication, social networks, and collaborations.

One type of navigation tool is through links. Links allow you to travel to a different location on the internet through text or images on the web page you are currently on. Links can come in handy when looking at a particular topic on a web page because it may lead you to added information needed to study that specific topic.

Search engines are another type of resource/tool available through the internet. These programs, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing, help you locate information you may need quickly.  This can be helpful when doing research.

There are also storage tools available; USB flash drives and iCloud. They allow you to store files for future use.

Some communication resources/tools available are email, blogs, text messaging, or chatrooms. Email is useful in communicating with parents without giving out personal data. We use class DOJO which allows us to text our parents at any given time without them getting any personal information such as our phone number.

There is also social networks that can be created to help students showcase their work, organize or revise it. The e-portfolio is one such tool.

Most teachers I worked with use several internet tools in their classroom. To give our students “brain breaks” we will use the internet to link to Go Noodle or Move to Learn. This allows the students some movement time to get the wiggles out. We also will use it to watch educational videos on different subject areas such as nouns and verbs. In order to get to these types of sites we have to use Google or Bling to find resources available. Our school has provided an internet based program called Power Teacher to record and store grades. There are several tools out there on the internet available to help make life easier in the classroom. We’ve used a couple in this class, Inspiration, Movie Maker, and Google Drive. Such tools can be useful in creating projects that need to be submitted in a particular class.

Google Group Project

I first want to say, I have a great group! We pulled together and got through this. The main problem I faced with this project was in the spreadsheet. I’ve only used spreadsheet a couple of times and that’s many years ago when I initially learned how to use it. We have a program through our school site that automatically sets grades and things of that nature up. All we have to do is input the students’ grades and the worth amount. It does the rest. Thankfully my group members were able to assist me and walk me through the process. I did like the fact that the documents, slides, sheets, etc. show up in each file since we shared with each other. It made it easy to view and add to them. Definitely a good resource when working on a project like this. I’m not sure I would utilize this process in First grade but maybe in high school. You could have students from different class periods work on a project together just adding their part as needed. All the data would be in one place. Overall, after I finished stressing, I found this project interesting and a bit fun. I’m not a fan of group projects mainly because I don’t want others to be dependent on me for their grade. That’s a lot of pressure. I believe I enjoyed our story the most. I think we did pretty good considering there were four different authors.

My Group Email

Group Discussions

The Magic Band Story

First Grade Math Spreadsheet

Mississippi Slide Show

Technology Survey