Productivity Software

The way that I would like to use productivity software int he classroom is by having students type their papers. I would also have the students use the calender in Word to keep track of their homework. I would also like the students to use PowerPoint to create presentations in the classroom.

Smart Board Activity

Math lesson




NETS:
Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities.



EALRS & GLE's:



1.3 Understand and apply concepts and procedures from geometric sense:
Use a compass and straightedge, and/or computer software to perform geometric constructions.



Activity Plan:



1)The activity that I am planing to do in the classroom is a Math activity on Angles. This activity is highly interactive and really helps students understand the concept of angles.



2)I will prepare for this activity by doing the activity on the smartboard ahead of time so that I know that all of the links on the activity work. I also want to make sure that the activity is age appropriate for the students.



3)The class will be highly active in this activity because this lesson requires the students to measure angles and place angles into their different categories. The students will be assessed according to whether or not they can identify the different angles that are part of the lesson and also based on students participation.



4)I think students would really benefit from this technology because it is highly interactive and students can learn in an open environment where they can learn from each other. I also think that students would enjoy doing this activity on the smartboard rather than on paper because by introducing technology students they are able to use a language that they truly understand. I could use this activity with diverse students because for every category there is a title, and under the title you can insert the right angles. This way students who do not speak English can learn the term while seeing the visual examples. I also think this will help students with ADD because it is introducing new forms of learning in forms that they are used to working with.

Web Issues

Some of the internet issues for students are that there are many predators on the internet today that are now using the internet to prey on children. There are also many children who are on Myspace now and there are many people on there who are talking to strangers. There is also a lot of bullying on the net. both of these issues have moved from taking place in the classroom to taking place on the web.

Cell phones in class!!!!!

The conference that I attended was the cell phone conference. I learned a lot of information in this conference about the way that students can use their cells phones outside of the classroom to collect information that they can use for inside the classroom and for homework. there are many features online that can be used along with cell phones. There are websites where students can create slide shows from the pictures in their cell phones, make conference calls with many people at one time, and text each other test review questions. A lot of the things that were mentioned about the cell phones, most kids are already doing outside of the classroom. although, the things she mentioned that they will be doing with cell phones in the future are really exciting.

Technology in the classroom

1) Some of the tools that I would need to add this technology to my lesson would be either be a computer for every student in my classroom or access too computers for every student in a computer lab. I would need to download google earth,PowerPoint, Word and Write:outloud into every one of the computers that the students would be using for this lesson. The last item that I would need in the class is a smartboard.

2)I think that adding Technology to this lesson would make the students more excited about what they are doing. The use of the technology would make learning fun, because students would get the experience of working with knew tools that stimulate different learning styles in the students. Adding technology would also give students more of an understanding of where places are on the map in comparison to where the classroom is. By adding these new tool the students will also be learning skills that will help them in their future schooling. The lesson also takes the control from the teacher and puts it in the students hands, which gets the students more involved in the learning process.

3)Some of the challenges that we could have with this technology is that the students won't know how to use PowerPoint. The way that I would overcome this is by taking the students to the computer lab and walking through every step they would need to know in order to put together their presentation. the other issues we might have in the class is not having a smart board, so I would just have the students present on the projector. Lastly, students might have trouble getting their presentations on the smart board, so I would do a training session with the smart board so that all the students know how to use it.

4)This activity covers three NETS which are:

1. Creativity and Innovation b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
2. Communication and Collaboration b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

3. Research and Information Fluency b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

tech lesson 10-16-07.doc

Kidspiration

My first Kidspiration creation. I love the Fourth of July! I really like this software and I could see myself using this in the classroom in many different subjects. I also thought this was very easy for elementary students to navigate. I also really like chalksite I think it would be really easy to use in the classroom so that the students and the parents are always up to date with what is happening in the classroom.

Holiday-kidspiration.rtf

Kidspiration/Inspiration

I really love this article and the things it had to say about this new technology. I can't wait to ply with this in class!!!!When I first started reading the article I was a little concerned because the author made it sound like the program did all of the organizing of ideas at the click of a button. So I was really glad to read towards the end that students still have to organize their own ideas.I really like all of the possibilities that this program has opened for students and for educators as well. I would love to you it aid children with learning disabilities, so that those students can choose which homework outline works better for them. This would be really great for students who (like me) have a really hard time getting started on papers, this is a great way for them to get started and get their ideas down.

Assignment #2

For Teachers:
I chose these websites for teachers because they were a good variety of websites that I would like to use in the future. One of the websites that I'm really looking forward to use is Teacher Vision. This website is set up so that you can search by grade, subject or you can just look up lesson plans. I really like that this website has so many ideas that I could potentially use in the classroom. The other website that I would like to use for fun activities is ABC Teach. This website has different activities that you can print out to do in the classroom like cross-word puzzles and word searches and you can also create your own spelling lists. I could use those items for reviews or as a way of introducing new material.

For Parents:
The sites that I chose for parents were the pretty basic PTA or PTO websites which have a lot of useful information for parents that have a lot of time to get involved in their child's' school. My Favorite websites were Figure This!, and the NEA website. These two sites were my favorites because they don't require full time participation on the parents side. The Figure This! site is a website had contains numerous math challenges that parents can do with their kids together so that the parents who have full time jobs can still get involved with their child's education. I also liked the NEA website because it gives simply, practical ways that parents can get involved in their child's learning.

For Students:
All of the websites that I chose for kids are sites where kids can log in and get help with their homework or play fun games. One of my favorite sites is Yahooligans. This is the site that the Elementary school that I am student teaching at this year used last year for all the children, and the kids loved it. In this site kids can play games, listen to music, and get help with their homework. The other site that I really like which I have used in the past is Eduplace. This is a great website where students can go in and get information about the different topics that they are learning about in school.

Mathematics:
The sites that I chose for this all have to do with math for kids and for teachers. I chose math because it is something that all districts are struggling with, so I wanted to find some fun ways for kids to do math. My two favorite websites that I found are Kid Numbers and Cool Math. Cool Math has one of the greatest math sites for kids that I found. The site is very colorful and easy to navigate, so I think it would really grab kids attention. This site has a lot of math games that kids can play, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and others. I also really like the website Kid Numbers because not only does it have games for all of the math basics, but it also walks children through the process of learning how to perform these operations.

Reading and Language Arts:
This is also another area where many schools are struggling. Here I chose sites that are both for teacher's and for students. Many of the websites that I found are fun sites that the kids can crate their own stories or poems at. The two websites that I would probably use the most are The Teacher's Desk and the Writing Den. I really like The Teacher's Desk because it gives a lot ideas about different writing activities that a teacher can use in the classroom to get the students ready for writing a story. The Writing Den is a great resource for students because you can look up all of the different parts of speech, and it also walks students through the process of writing a sentence, paragraph, and essay.