Final Reflection

1. What was the most valuable aspect to you of creating a Personal Learning Environment?
The most valuable aspect of my creation and use of a Personal Learning Environment is that I had the opportunity to learn how to create and use a blog. Blogging is becoming more and more popular and i am so glad I had an opportunity to learn how to use many aspects of a blog like posting text, videos, slideshows, rss feeds, pictures, etc. I also like that all of our resources from the semester are on my PLE so I can go back and view them and use them in the future, when I am a teacher and have a class of my own and want to use those resources.

2. What did you like least about the Personal Learning Environment?
What I liked least about the PLE is that I felt like sometimes I was posting busy work and things that won't be valuable to me later on. I felt like it got cluttered a little bit with excess information that was not really needed to show my learning.

3.Comment on the likelihood of your using a blog or wiki for personal or educational purposes in the future.
I love the idea of having a class blog or wiki for my classroom where assignments, discussions, pictures, etc. can be posted and shared with my students and their families. I think this is a positive example of technology that can be used in the classroom and to keep parents and administrators informed about what is going on. I plan to have a class blog in the future.

Internet Safety--Watching

I watched the isafe wbcasts on privacy and the internet, cyberrelationships, cyber harrassment, and malicious code. I also watched the PBS Documentary sections 2, 4, and 6: A revolution in classrooms and social life, child predator fear, and cyberbullying. I learned many things watching these clips.

1. What I learned:
   It is so true that you never know who you could be talking too when involved in chat rooms or online relationships. It was sickening to me to hear of the "grooming process" cyber predators go through to select their victims. I also learned of the importance of keeping personal information safe. I learned how people steal identities. You should try not to give out social security, credit card numbers, or any other perosonal information. In the PBS documentary, it was so interesting to see the effects of cyberbulling. In this segment, i learned that cyberpredators are not the only problem. Cyberbulling is a big problem too, so much that Ryan in this documentary killed himself. I think cyberbulling is just as important to teach kids about as cyberpredators.
2. I can use this information in my home when i have kids or in my classroom when I am a teacher. I will be sure to inform my kids or students about the dangers out there on the internet. I would want them to be informed about the dangers of making friends with strangers on the internet, cyberbulling, cyberpredators, etc. There are so many good uses of technology but there are equally as many bad. I want my kids and students to be aware and informed and know what to do if they run into trouble. The information I learned while watching clips on internet safety really helped me to be more aware of what's out there and what things I need to teach my kids about to keep them safe.

Internet Safety Readings

1.
I chose to read Fighting Internet Filth, by Mario Hipol. In this article, he made a list of several very good points of how to protect my family from the dangers on the internet. His suggestions of filters, monitoring, using only bookmarks, and teaching children about the dangers is so important.

2.
I liked that Elder Ballard mentioned that our biggest challenge is to choose wisely what we listen to and what we watch. That was an interesting concept form me. Our biggest challenge is not that we can't find anything good on, its not that the media is becoming more and more corrupt, it is that we must choose wisely. We are responsible for our own media viewing. Their is an abundance of evil on television and on the internet, but there is also an abundance of good...it us up to us to choose.

The list of guidelines of avoiding pornography was very informative to me. The ideas listed there are definitely ones I want to implement in my home. It is so, so important to have the computer and TV in rooms that are open and high traffic. That one key will prevent so many mistakes and addictions from happening.

I liked that Brother Graham's article talked about making sure face-to-face relationships are a focus in the family. We live in a day and age where people can communicate without ever talking to each other. There is text messaging, email, instant messaging, etc. Face-to-face relationships are so important and the family is a great place to start teaching the importance of real and lasting relationships with people.

3.
When I become a parent and teacher, I will make sure I have the television and computer in a open room with the screen facing out, I will teach my children and students know about the dangers of chat rooms, internet sites, etc. I will not underestimate the infulence of media on a child. I will try to preside, protect, provide, and nurture them in a world where the media is becoming more and more prevalent.

4.
I can use what I have learned in these articles to teach my family and friends about the dangers out there and how to revent them. Internet safety is so, so important. The internet has many sites that are dangerous to both kids and adults. Everyone needs to be educated about how to stay safe, and I now can give suggestions and advice on how to do that.

Last full week of practicum

This week I had a few experiences with technology. The students had their weekly computer time in the lab. The students of Old Mill Elementary school have access to technology constantly. They have computer time, each classroom has a projecter, laptop, wireless internet access, and visualizer. Students can take tests and do activities on computers also, if the teacher desires.

This week, there was not much use of technology. I used Microsoft Word to generate several worksheets for the kids. However, there was no interaction of the kids with technology this week. My mentor teacher did not use the projector or the visualizer this week, she did create some cause and effect worksheets on the computer, however.

I had the opportunity to use the cd player to help the children listen to the story "The Gardener" and follow along. I think the students really enjoy doing this and it gives students more exposure to their weekly story and aids in their comprehension, when test time comes around.

This week, technology could have been used when our mentor teacher taught action and linking verbs. She just wrote it on the whiteboard, however, i think if technology was used, it may have been more engaging. The students really enjoy technology!! This week, Lexee and I planned our activity for Monday, which will involve a movie clip and a powerpoint. We are so excited!!

Week 3 of Practicum!

This week, our teacher used technology to give students an online math test in the computer lab. The students took online tests, and based on the answers they got wrong, activities would appear for them to complete to reteach their problem areas. I thought this was an awesome way to use technology to meet every individual childs needs.

I used technology several times this week. On Tuesday, I taught a writing lesson involving wishes and as my anticipatory set, i created and used a powerpoint of different ways people made wishes. I had them give me a thumbs up or thumbs down relating to if they had ever wished with the object on the screen. There were items such as birthday candles, wishing well, wishbone, etc. The kids really got excited about this and I thought it was a fun way for them to interact with technology.

Also, I team taught a lesson on plural possessive nouns with Lexee. In this lesson, we generated a powerpoint with the rules and example sentences on the slides. The students all had whiteboards and interacted with the sentences on the powerpoint to identify or create plural possessive nouns. Kids really do love interacting with technology.

This week, technology could have been used to enhance the lesson that our mentor teacher taught on vocabulary. She showed them word strips with pictures on them. I thought it might have been more effective if the students could see it projected on the big screen either through powerpoint or use of the visualizer. I think the kids would have been able to see the pictures better and conect to the word easier if technology had been used to enhance this lesson.

Week 2 of Practicum!

This week Mrs. Valine's students got to vote for president through an online children's voting website. They got to go to the computer lab and ote for Barack Obama or John McCain. After doing so, they recieved an "I Voted" sticker. This was so fun for the kids. They got to use the technology themselves and participate in something important that thier parents and teachers got to do in real life. Mrs. Valine's class was so excited about using the computers!
Also, Mrs. Valine incorporated a PowerPoint into her lesson on singular possessive nouns. This PowerPoint caught the students attention. Mrs. Valine designed the PowerPoint so it was interactive and had kids participating while she lectured on this topic. Mrs. Valine told me that she doesn't like to use PowerPoints too often because she doesn't want them to lose their appeal and novel excitement. I think that PowerPoints are great and should be used often, as long as they are interactive, and keep the students interest. I noticed that technology is captiating to young students and they are eager to use and learn more about it.
The students also got to participate in a computer class with Mrs. Hagan, Old Mill Elementary's technology guru. These students look forward to computer class each week.
I, once again, did a listening center with Lexee, to the story of Tops and Bottoms. The students had to listen to the story on CD and respond to any questions we asked. I also got to help set up the computers for voting. I had the opportunity to plan two lessons for next week which both will involve PowerPoints: one on making wishes and one on plural possessive nouns. I am so excited to use technology in my lessons next week. I think the kids will love it!
I think technology could have been used in writing their "I am grateful for assignment." They could have shown off their work with the visuzualizer or typed up their final drafts, instead of hand writing them. I think the students would have enjoyed some interactive, technological games, perhaps from the internet, that would help them study for the tests they had on Friday.

I am doing my practicum at Old Mill Elementary in Mrs. Valine's third grade class in the Wasatch School District.
Their school has projectors and elmo/projectors in every classroom. I love that they have two computer labs for students to use throughout the week and that my class has scheduled computer time.
During the past three days of my practicum this week, there have been two instances of use of technology. First, the students had a designated computer time in the computer lab and they had a listening station to listen to the story: Prudy's Problem. The teacher used no other forms of technology while I was in the classroom, but I thought there were several opportunities that could have been done. First, they wrote a letter hoome to their parents about their week. I thought that they could have typed it when they were done on a word processor to make it look like a real final copy. Also, they could have used the visualizer in the read alouds that took place, so that students could better see the story.
I used technology, as I was in charge of the listening station with the cd player. I was required to play the story for the children five times, as they rotated through the literacy stations. However, that was my only exposure to any form of technology during these first three days of my practicum.

Google Earth

I viewed Michelle Chavez and Caitlyn Smith's virtual tour.  They did it on the oceans of the world.  I really liked this idea and that they had so many interesting facts for each ocean.  I also looked at Karissa Dodd's virtual tour on tornadoes.  This opened my eyes to the idea that you can make tours of things that do not at all relate to geographical features or buildings.  I also enjoyed Rebeckah Handley's tour of some of the wonders of the world.  I really liked how she used image overlays.

google earth virtual tour

Today I learned that there are so many uses for Google Earth and so many things you can do with it. I learned that you can do a virtual tour that includes pictures, links to websites, information, activities, etc. There are so many options that can be done with virtual tours as well. Geograpy, places in history, setting in books, animals, plants, cities, etc. all can be studied and viewed. It is great to me that children can see their world and make connections in a visual, hands on way. I can use this tool in my teaching context by creating one myself for the kids to view as a class, to have a world scavenger hunt that the kids can view and complete activities individually or in groups. Also, students themselves can create virtual tours to present things they learned.

The following link is to a .kmz file that shows a Google Earth virtual tour of various things in American History. There is the Trail of Tears, Railroads, the Oregon Trail, and the Gold Rush. I can use this link to introduce a topic or as a review. The students can also use this as a model to create their own virtual tours of these topics by adding additional information and pictures to the tour. A fun idea would be to split the class into groups and have each group be in charge of a certain stop on the trail. The students can then put all their work together and view their class trail.

The link to the .kmz file:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/placemarks/cl-05-08-08-238110882.kmz

Digital Storytelling Reflection

I viewed Caitlyn Smith and Michelle Chavez's digital story about a trip to the zoo. I viewed Juliet Lewis and Stacy Wilson's digital song entitled Battle Hymn of the Repulsive. I viewed Jamie Jensen's digital story of a poem about bugs.

I learned from viewing these three digital stories that there are so many options in digital storytelling! you can do a fractured fairytale with pictures of themselves, like my group did, you can tell a story with pictures off the internet, you can sing a song, or put pictures to a poem. There are so many options available that really lets the creativity shine! I loved looking at everone's digital stories!

I am interested in teaching third grade. Third graders can use digital stories in Literacy. Instead of writing book reports they can create digital stories about book they have read. Also, fluency can be assessed by having them read aloud on their digital story. They could also write their own poetry and turn it into a digital story. I am so excited to use digital stories in my classroom!!

Digital Story: Rapunzel's Rap

Here is the digital story Lexee, Jerri, and I did to Rapunzel's Rap!

Digital Storytelling!!!

Digital Storytelling is so cool! I did not realize how much you could do with technology. With photostory, students can make a variety of projects based on literature! They can make ABC books, fractured fairy tales, book reviews, circle stories, adventure stories, public service announcements, documentaries, etc. etc. This is a fun way to get children immersed in reading and writing. There are so many resources out there to make learning fun!

Below is the storyboard for Jerri, Lexee, and my digital storytelling project. We decided to do a fractured fairy tale on Rapunzel's Rap! It is a cute and funny rendition of the classic Rapunzel fairy tale.

Reflection on Science in Technology Activity

I really enjoyed doing this activity, not only to myself discover the uses of technology in the Science curriculum, but to also see how other students in the class used technology

I looked at Melinda Hect and Whitney Zylstra's blogs to get other ideas for my classroom.
Melinda used a temperature probe to test the heat made by friction and Whitney used Kidspiration to classify living and non-living things.

I learned there are SO MANY ways to use technology to make science truly come alive in the classroom! I love that there are so many tools out there, the temperature probe used by Melinda is great to let kids really experience using temperature in a concrete hands on way.

Based off of Whitney's project, I got to see that there were more uses for Kidspiration than I ever imagined!

Technology is so accessible and I am excited to implement it in my classroom. :)

The Tech Savvy Teacher

It’s Just a Phase
By: Lexee Russell and Ashley Matekel

We are so excited to be writing for this newsletter this month, especially in the Tech Savvy Teacher column! There are so many great technological tools to make science come ALIVE in the elementary school classroom. The following is an example of how to implement different technology resources in the curriculum.

Sixth Grade Science Standard 1.2: Phases of the Moon

Anticipatory Set:

We would tell students about a moon journal and what it would look like if we drew the moon every night at the same time. We would show the following picture from: http://blog.journeywithjulette.com/wp-content/moon_phases_diagram.jpg

Instructional Input:

-Discuss why the moon looks differently during different times during the month
-Define what a phase is and explore the eight phases of the moon
-Discuss the names of the eight phases and the position of the sun, earth, and moon during these phases (show picture above again to discuss phases)
-Use the Stellarium program to show the students what the moon looks like that very day and identify the phase. As a class you can look at other phases, as well.
-Stellarium can be downloaded for free at http://www.stellarium.org/.

Guided Practice:
Students will then create the moon phases with oreo cookies. See example picture below from: http://www.4ever4given.com/upload/2006/11/100_0800.jpg

Independent Practice:
Many interactive games on moon phases can be found on the internet. Below are three examples of great games that can be used to enhance students understanding of the moon phases:
This one is Moonlight Madness from:http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/moonlight.html

This game is timed and is called Moon Phases from Space and is found at http://www.purposegames.com/game/1016:

This game is called Lunar Challenge from http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_challenge/moon_challenge.html:

Closure:

Assign the students to complete a moon journal of their own for a month. Give students the option of drawing it by hand or creating a picture on the computer.

In this specific example, technology was used in multiple ways to truly make science come alive and enhance learning. The sixth graders were able to see what the moon looked like that very day, and were able to visually see how the moon moves from phase to phase. They completed interactive games to solidify their learning. Their homework even gave the option to create their moon journal on the computer. Through these technological tools, they were able to identify, observe, and classify in a more visual and concrete manner. The students were able to not only know the phases of the moon, but create, analyze, and apply this information in multiple settings. Students were able to learn more thoroughly because of the technology. Thus, technology is a wonderful tool to implement in the classroom! It really allows the students to experience in a concrete and fun way!

TPCK and Fair Use

True technology instruction as stated in TPCK is the integration of all three types of knowledge in TPCK-Technical, pedagogical, and content knowledge.

As I went through the copyright tutorial and quiz, I didn't realize all the implications of fair use in the classroom. I didn't understand that most media is only fair use if 10% of it is used in the classroom. I am so glad that we got to view the guidelines for fair use and copyright so I don't illegally use any materials in my classroom. I am also so glad I learned the correct way to cite for myself, and my future students.

de.licio.us and science resources

This week in IP&T 287 we worked on our delicious sites. I think this is such a cool resource! (See the link on the left hand side of the page). By using this site I can collaborate with other teachers about ideas to use in the classroom. This will give me wider access to great websites and lesson plan ideas and articles to improve my teaching. I think it is so cool to collaborate with other educators on the importance of education and great ideas to educate children. I will try to use delicious in whatever school I get a teaching job at. We also talked about this week about all the many technology resources out there. We got a link to so many awesome science lesson technology resources. We learned about thermometer probes, digital microscopes, stellarium, kidspiration, LoggerPro, etc. I didn't realize the amount of resources that are out there for teachers and students to use to make science lessons interactive and exciting!

Great Resources Are Available!!!! :)

This week in class we furthered our knowledge to the great uses of web 2.0 and the abundance of resources and social networking options there are out there for teachers! I had never heard of goodreads before this class (see link great books under my links) and it is a great way for teachers to share their favorite books with other teachers, their students, or their student's parents. I could see this as a fun way to get student's excited about learning and reading!

I think it would be so fun to create a goodreads account for my classroom and have students bring books and reviews to add to list that we could share with another classroom. I think this might be one way to get students excited about reading and sharing what they have read.

I am so glad I have the opportunity in this class to learn about all the great resources that are available for me to use in my classroom!! Technology is a great way to help children learn. We are in a technology dominated sociey and children today use technology a lot! Thus, technology can be used as a very useful tool to get student's engaged in what they are learning and excited to complete assignments. Technology has so many options and so many things available that the opportunities and possibilities are endless!

my first blog post!

I am excited to learn about technology in this class! I have never created a blog, so this is new for me. Here is a little about me. I got married this summer in Salt Lake and love it! I have three little brothers and they are so much fun. I love mexican food and the color red. I can't wait to become a teacher!! Here is a picture of me and my new husband :)





I am excited to learn ways to implement technology into the elemtary school classroom. I think that technology is an evergrowing, crucial part of our society today. When you think about how far technology has come in my lifetime alone. Since I was an elementary school student, computers have become mainstream, cell phones are a necessity, the internet is accessible to everyone and commonly used, much college work is done with technology, etc. etc. As far as technology has advanced in the past ten years alone, imagine how far it will be in when today's elementary student's are in college. Elementary school is the foundation for everyone's education. I hope that I will be able to integrate technology in my classroom in fun and creative ways so my students can survive and be successful in a digital society. I am so excited to learn different ways that technology can enrich my classroom and my students. I already think that a classroom blog or wiki space would be a fun way to keep parents and students involved in what is going on in the classroom!