Inspiration is definitely one program that I hope whatever school I work in has; and if not I would definitely request it! It is a good visual instruction tool as well as a great tool for teaching students how to organize ideas. I could incorporate it in my classroom in a few ways in my content area, but I think even more so in other subjects. In Spanish, I can see it being used to show the steps involved in conjugating a verb. It can also be used to compare and contrast the steps involved in conjugating an -AR verb versus an -ER or -IR verb. It can also show differences in conjugating a regular verb versus an irregular verb. Because it is a good organizational tool, and even has a specific "tree" style organizer, I can use it with students when introducing the vocabulary for "family" and have students create their own family tree. This can be a post-instructional assignment, and therefore I can use it as an assessment tool, checking the student's understanding. It can also be used as an organizational tool in the pre-writing phase of a written assignment or composition. Students can create a graphic organizer or an outline and convert one into the other.
In class I was introduced to some new web resources, and reminded of ones that had slipped my mind. I've always known about Rubistar and have used it in previous lesson plans. It is a very quick and easy way to create an assessment tool, as well as give directions for a project if you provide students with the rubric so that they know what they will be graded on. It gives them an idea of how they should present or do their assignment.
I also like United Streaming because it has a ton of resources, in pretty much any subject area. It is a great way to find supplemental videos for a lesson plan that you have already created, or find a video that has a lesson plan attached to it that you can adapt for your classroom. It is also a good website if you are at the end of a unit, week etc. and need to find something for those students who have finished everything or if you need to keep a few students while you work with others.
I think I will use these two a lot; Rubistar because it can help make grading fast and ways when you have four dozen students and United Streaming because it has so much content that you can almost ALWAYS use it.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Social bookmarking
The first time I heard of social bookmarking was a couple of weeks ago in class. Now that I know about it, I can definitely see the many ways that it can help me as a student now. The first thing that came to mind is that it could help me organize resources that I am thinking about using for a research paper or a portfolio. Personally, I know that I might start looking at websites and different sources, just to feel like I'm getting a head start. If I think I find something that I may be able to use, sometimes I'll leave the tab open on the computer or email the link to myself. Social bookmarking can help me save these pages with tags, in order to be organized and help me retain my sanity. :)
In an elementary school classroom, most likely upper elementary, I can see social bookmarking being applied in the same way. It is a good organizational tool. However, it doesn't have to only apply to research and projects. As students become more familiar with the Internet and kid-friendly websites, they may want to keep track of those pages that are good for educational games, or pages that they grow found of. Also, it can be used in as a self help technique. Teachers can ask students to identify something that they may be having trouble with and find good resources on the web that they may want to revisit for help. For example, in Spanish, if students want to bookmark websites that may help them with conjugations or online dictionaries, they may want to bookmark www.wordreference.com with tags like dictionary, Spanish, conjugation etc.
In an elementary school classroom, most likely upper elementary, I can see social bookmarking being applied in the same way. It is a good organizational tool. However, it doesn't have to only apply to research and projects. As students become more familiar with the Internet and kid-friendly websites, they may want to keep track of those pages that are good for educational games, or pages that they grow found of. Also, it can be used in as a self help technique. Teachers can ask students to identify something that they may be having trouble with and find good resources on the web that they may want to revisit for help. For example, in Spanish, if students want to bookmark websites that may help them with conjugations or online dictionaries, they may want to bookmark www.wordreference.com with tags like dictionary, Spanish, conjugation etc.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Blogs in the classroom!
At the elementary level there are many ways that a teacher could incorporate blogs into the class to make it more interesting! Although it may be difficult with the younger children who don't have a lot of skill in reading and writing, it can be used in the place of pencil and paper writing in the upper elementary grades. Knowing that many students will be more interested in work that involves technology or needs to be done on a computer, blogs can be used as a replacement to reaction and summary papers. Blogs often are made as a commentary, so giving students this practice and pairing it with school work will give them a look into the practical use of blogs while they are still completing assignments. In projects where the teacher is interested in the progress of a student or group, blogs can be used as a tool to record and comment on difficulties experienced or as a method to collaborate with other students and groups, as they will be able to share their thoughts through their blogs.
Technology has become a very successful tool in the classroom. For teachers, it serves as a compliment to lessons, another means of conveying a message, and, as in the above example, can be used to replaced what could be called "the traditional way of doing things", in order to better engage the students. For students, it serves as way to incorporate their interests (technology) and opinions, into their work. Students may also take more pride in their blog than they would written work because it is personalized by them. Students may also have an incentive to give a little more to their work if they know that their classmates and anyone with the web address to their blog can view their work.
It can also be a disadvantage for students or teachers who are not too technologically inclined. Blogs wouldn't work in a classroom where the students or teacher didn't have patience for figuring out how to create and edit a blog. It can also be disadvantageous for students who value that their work is kept private between them and the teacher. It can either be positive for that student, helping them break away from that and become comfortable with voicing their opinions and displaying their work, or it can create anxiety for that student.
As far as GoogleApps is concerned, I'm not a big fan. I am still in the phase of learning my way in and out of this software, so I think my opinion may have a lot to do with what I am familiar with, and therefore most comfortable with, which is Microsoft Office. I do, however, like that you can open the Google Presentation app, in Microsoft's Powerpoint, and edit the document. I also like the ability to share documents, but can also can control who can and can't see them. I don't really have anything bad to say about the program because I haven't had much experience using it, but I'm sure as I do I will build a solid preference and will have much more to say. :)
Technology has become a very successful tool in the classroom. For teachers, it serves as a compliment to lessons, another means of conveying a message, and, as in the above example, can be used to replaced what could be called "the traditional way of doing things", in order to better engage the students. For students, it serves as way to incorporate their interests (technology) and opinions, into their work. Students may also take more pride in their blog than they would written work because it is personalized by them. Students may also have an incentive to give a little more to their work if they know that their classmates and anyone with the web address to their blog can view their work.
It can also be a disadvantage for students or teachers who are not too technologically inclined. Blogs wouldn't work in a classroom where the students or teacher didn't have patience for figuring out how to create and edit a blog. It can also be disadvantageous for students who value that their work is kept private between them and the teacher. It can either be positive for that student, helping them break away from that and become comfortable with voicing their opinions and displaying their work, or it can create anxiety for that student.
As far as GoogleApps is concerned, I'm not a big fan. I am still in the phase of learning my way in and out of this software, so I think my opinion may have a lot to do with what I am familiar with, and therefore most comfortable with, which is Microsoft Office. I do, however, like that you can open the Google Presentation app, in Microsoft's Powerpoint, and edit the document. I also like the ability to share documents, but can also can control who can and can't see them. I don't really have anything bad to say about the program because I haven't had much experience using it, but I'm sure as I do I will build a solid preference and will have much more to say. :)
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