Blog #5 What I Learned About Technology In The Classroom!!

This class helped me learn alot of new things about technology and, the many diffrent ways it can be used inside and outside of the classroom. I learned that technology is and always will be a very important part of the classroom. I also learned that the useage of technology in the class is going to expand and grow even more in the classrooms as the years go by. One thing in this class that i really liked is that most of our assignments were on the computer, it made the work fun, and i enjoined doing it. It keep me up to speed with the lastest technology when it came to using the computer, and it also gave me a chance to expand my learning ablilities outside the classroom and outside the books. I also liked the idea of using the Smart Borad. It was a very good way of getting me fimailar with it so that one day when i become a teacher and have one in my classroom i will already know how to use it and i will feel comfortable introducing it to my students. I think sooner or later technology will be all over the classroom and students and teachers will be forced to use it and become up to speed with the technology around them and i like that idea as a student and as a teacher. So because of that i am thankful to have had this class so early on in my career so that by the time i become a teacher i will be totally comfortable with using technology in my classroom.

Concept Mapping and Smart Board usage.....

Using Concept Mapping in our class was a great experience. It was really fun and Kidspiration made it very easy to use. The one thing i really liked about the concept mapping was the fact that you can be so creative and make your lessons fun for your students. especially with my content area being English Language Arts for upper Elementary students it can come off as a boring subject for them. So for me to be able to come up with and lesson and then incorporate it with Kidspiration and make it fun that was very helpful, and i am sure i will be using it in the future. The Smart Board is also a very helpful technology invention for the class room. It is way more convenient than a chalkboard, it gets the job done fast and it leaves less work for the teacher to do. Both of this experiences was a great learning experience for me as a upcoming teacher!!!

Using Databases and Spreadsheets!!!!!!!!!

Using the spreadsheets and databases in our class was very useful. When i become a teacher i will definitely use both databases and spreadsheets in my classroom. I will also have my students use them. They are very convenient, they are neat so that you don't have to read a students hand writing you know exactly what it is they are saying. I also like that you can do many different things on them. You can be creative when you use them and add a lot of detail to what ever it is you are doing. Another advantage of using databases and spreadsheets is that you can do it all on the computer. That way you know where it is when you save it and, you can send it by e-mail which is a lot faster. I love using the spreadsheets and databases i learned a lot of new things and i can not think of one disadvantage so that is a good .

Geo Technologies and Games Reflection!!!

After exploring the many different games, Simulations & Virtual Reality in class, I would have to say i really enjoyed it. It was really fun and it kept my interest. But at the same time it was educational for me and anyone or any student that also explored it. You learn a lot while still having fun. With me becoming a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher that would be a really cool way for me to teach my students some things. Because when you think of English Language Arts it does tend to be a bit boring at times, so that will excite my 6th graders, knowing that it is a game, with lots of colors, and lots of fun things to do. I did not get a chance to experience GPS Scavenger Hunt but i am sure it was also a very fun and unique way to learn somethings. But if i were to do at least two emerging technologies in my classroom the first one i would probably make up a game for my class on the computer were it would be a sentence related to what ever it was we were studying that week in class but a keyword from the sentence would be missing and every time the student type in the correct word they would get points. They would have to do this once every week but on a new topic, which ever topic we were discussing in class that week. Example: William Shakespeare father name was (BLANK) (BLANK) ? The names to choose from would be Tom Shakespeare, Mike Shakespeare, Thomas Shakespeare, John Shakespeare. Once the student put the mouse on the correct name it will tell them if they got it right and how many points they get and for each point that is how close they would get to winning the game. The second emerging technology i would use in my class is when we are talking about different languages like British, England, India, China the student would have to explore that place on Google Earth and tell me in at least 5 sentences something they know about each place. those would but just a few way i would try and emerge technology into my class.

Newsletter Reflection

I plan to become a 5th grade Language Arts English teacher. I want to become an 5th grade English teacher because i love children at this age they are not too young to learn something new and they are not too old to change. I also choose English because it was my favorite subject in school. The Benchmark is to compare Literature history to Literature today and do so using technology to input the information they have learned from our class.

In the Newsletter exercise I had my students focus on the history, life and plays of William Shakespeare. I don't know much about William Shakespeare myself but i do know he was a great asset and author when it comes to Literature. In the Newsletter the students were also suppose to tell me three of their favorite Shakespeare plays and why they choose those plays. The newsletter was also to include a chart of the students three favorite plays the year they were published, and what type of play it was. This was not a group assignment so each student would have to share personal feeling on why they choose that play. This would give me an ideal on what interested the student and how much they learned from the previous classes about Shakespeare. This will also help the student get comfortable using Microsoft Word i think it was a great assignment.