For my second independent learning project, I decided to finally give Prezi a whirl. I really like the way that the presentation is smooth and the transitions are nice. I chose a relatively simple template to teach a lesson to Kindergarteners on the five senses. One thing that I do not really like about Prezi is that it is not as flexible and does not have as many capabilities as Powerpoint but I do think that Prezi presentations come out nicer, especially for teaching purposes. I also thought it was really cool that I could embed the video like I did and not just have a random link floating around. I did not even have to tell Prezi that it was a video! I definitely see myself using Prezi in my classroom just because of how smooth and nice the presentations come out and I think for younger grades it is easier to focus in a Prezi because there is not a lot of moving parts.
Check out my Prezi: http://prezi.com/zhbkj25vuigp/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
#10 The final blog post!
My final post!!!
I think that data collection is a very good way to get input from your students. In my independent learning project, I created an edmodo page for my 1st grade classroom, one of my posts was a survey where the students could vote on what book they wanted to read as a class next. This is a good way to make sure that every students opinion and input is recognized. Another way that this could be used is to be able to ask students how they feel they are doing on a certain topic or area. For example, after learning about counting money in a first grade class, before the big test a teacher could put out a survey to see if the students need a little more explanation, if they are confident, or if they are confused about the topic. This is a much neater and easier way to see where everyone is at in their learning.
I really enjoyed being able to see all of my classmates differing opinions on different topics. I also liked seeing my classmates projects. It is really cool to be able to see my classmates creativity that I may have otherwise not known. I really enjoyed being able to see how people related to different topics such as assistive technology and who may or may not have personal experiences with that. Writing these blogs has helped me gain a better insight to my classmates creativity level and also has helped me learn more about them.
There is so many awesome technology out there that will definitely come in handy in my future career as a teacher. One skill that I would like to learn next is I would like to be able to learn how to use adobe photoshop because I have seen the cool ways that it can be used to create flyers and different pictures. I would like to implement this in my classroom by making posters and different things to hang on my walls so they are unique to my classroom.
I think that the best way to learn a technology program is to simply try it out. I will eventually buy the programs such as adobe photoshop and play around with it, trial and error. This program will be very useful to me and my students and the best way I can learn it is by getting it and trying. I will also probably need the help of some youtube videos to accomplish all of these programs uses but I will be able to figure them out as best I can. There are so many amazing technological tools out there that can help teachers and I can't wait to explore so many of them!
Can't wait to see how all of us use these awesome technologies in the future! You all rock! Thanks for ed-teching with me all semester :)
I think that data collection is a very good way to get input from your students. In my independent learning project, I created an edmodo page for my 1st grade classroom, one of my posts was a survey where the students could vote on what book they wanted to read as a class next. This is a good way to make sure that every students opinion and input is recognized. Another way that this could be used is to be able to ask students how they feel they are doing on a certain topic or area. For example, after learning about counting money in a first grade class, before the big test a teacher could put out a survey to see if the students need a little more explanation, if they are confident, or if they are confused about the topic. This is a much neater and easier way to see where everyone is at in their learning.
I really enjoyed being able to see all of my classmates differing opinions on different topics. I also liked seeing my classmates projects. It is really cool to be able to see my classmates creativity that I may have otherwise not known. I really enjoyed being able to see how people related to different topics such as assistive technology and who may or may not have personal experiences with that. Writing these blogs has helped me gain a better insight to my classmates creativity level and also has helped me learn more about them.
There is so many awesome technology out there that will definitely come in handy in my future career as a teacher. One skill that I would like to learn next is I would like to be able to learn how to use adobe photoshop because I have seen the cool ways that it can be used to create flyers and different pictures. I would like to implement this in my classroom by making posters and different things to hang on my walls so they are unique to my classroom.
I think that the best way to learn a technology program is to simply try it out. I will eventually buy the programs such as adobe photoshop and play around with it, trial and error. This program will be very useful to me and my students and the best way I can learn it is by getting it and trying. I will also probably need the help of some youtube videos to accomplish all of these programs uses but I will be able to figure them out as best I can. There are so many amazing technological tools out there that can help teachers and I can't wait to explore so many of them!
Can't wait to see how all of us use these awesome technologies in the future! You all rock! Thanks for ed-teching with me all semester :)
Monday, March 28, 2016
#9 The one before the final blog...
A "flipped classroom" is when the lecture and homework aspects are essentially switched. In the flipped classroom, lecture videos are assigned for the students to watch when they are at home and then the classroom time is spent on working on assignments and the teacher answering questions. This flipped classroom allows for in class time that the students can ask questions and more hands on activities that can help the students better understand what they are learning. Coming from a former student, most of the time I just completed my homework for the sake of completing it, not to further my understanding. But with this concept of the flipped classroom, students can spend their in class time gaining a better understanding and being able to ask questions and do more to actually learn and understand concepts. When in high school one source of education videos that I found very helpful was https://www.khanacademy.org/ , especially when it came to upper level science, khan academy allowed me to learn at my own pace and pause when I needed to wait for my brain to catch up.
After listening to the podcast, it was mentioned that blogs were a good web resource for teacher professional development so I simply googled teacher blogs. After googling this I saw so many blogs from different teachers all around the world. These blogs can help new teachers get ideas for their classrooms, experienced teachers learn something they never knew before and much more! One website that I found interesting was http://busyteacher.org/ This website is a compilation of thousands of worksheets, articles, and simply teachers sharing ideas with other teachers. This website is full of so much knowledge that you could not find without the internet. It is such a cool concept to me that teachers from all over have the ability to share all of this cool information.
I had never downloaded a powerpoint template from the internet before (heck I didn't even know it was an option) and I certainly never knew you could make games with powerpoint. After downloading a template which I thought was really cool, I played the game and couldn't help but imagining calling students up to the smart board to play this fun learning game. I did not know or even consider before this project that powerpoint had the capacity to be such a fun resource. Now knowing the capabilities of powerpoint, next time I would love to create my own game and be able to implement it into my future classroom.
After listening to the podcast, it was mentioned that blogs were a good web resource for teacher professional development so I simply googled teacher blogs. After googling this I saw so many blogs from different teachers all around the world. These blogs can help new teachers get ideas for their classrooms, experienced teachers learn something they never knew before and much more! One website that I found interesting was http://busyteacher.org/ This website is a compilation of thousands of worksheets, articles, and simply teachers sharing ideas with other teachers. This website is full of so much knowledge that you could not find without the internet. It is such a cool concept to me that teachers from all over have the ability to share all of this cool information.
I had never downloaded a powerpoint template from the internet before (heck I didn't even know it was an option) and I certainly never knew you could make games with powerpoint. After downloading a template which I thought was really cool, I played the game and couldn't help but imagining calling students up to the smart board to play this fun learning game. I did not know or even consider before this project that powerpoint had the capacity to be such a fun resource. Now knowing the capabilities of powerpoint, next time I would love to create my own game and be able to implement it into my future classroom.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
#8 So much neat information
I think the tecnhology advancement that shows the biggest promise for education is gamification with games suchc as ATOMS. I think this allows for much more interaction in the classroom and it is a good way to make learning fun for students. There is so many fun and new technologies coming out that support kids learning. Gamification can also help the different kinds of learners. In ATOMS students can make and build things with electronic blocks. These interactive and fun activities encourage learning.
As the podcast mentioned 2 very different students, I think I most closely am similar to student A. I have always grown up with the technology I needed and would consider myself fairly proficient in my computer and technology skills. I attended a private school for the majority of my life and my school always kept up to date with technology such as numerous mac labs, smart boards, etc. I have not personally seen this "digital divide" due to my constant immersion with technology but I can now see how this may affect my job as a future teacher. Just as the podcast mentioned, I will make sure to remain sensitive and not assume that all of my students have technology access. But with society going the way that it is now, in a very technological route, I will make sure that during school hours, I do my best to assist children with technology and teach them skills that may be useful to them in their future.
When I was in middle school, I had to take a computer class and one of our main focuses was PowerPoint. Since this computer class, I have always considered myself a master at PowerPoint but this assignment has made me second guess this. I had a difficult time with downloading the template from the internet and also some recording issues. But nevertheless I did learn how to properly record a PowerPoint and I was not aware of the PowerPoint show option, that is very cool! I have always made my PowerPoints with an overload of information on them but in my future careers I am going to start actually writing notes in the notes section and use that to present my slides instead of just reading the information off the slides.
As the podcast mentioned 2 very different students, I think I most closely am similar to student A. I have always grown up with the technology I needed and would consider myself fairly proficient in my computer and technology skills. I attended a private school for the majority of my life and my school always kept up to date with technology such as numerous mac labs, smart boards, etc. I have not personally seen this "digital divide" due to my constant immersion with technology but I can now see how this may affect my job as a future teacher. Just as the podcast mentioned, I will make sure to remain sensitive and not assume that all of my students have technology access. But with society going the way that it is now, in a very technological route, I will make sure that during school hours, I do my best to assist children with technology and teach them skills that may be useful to them in their future.
When I was in middle school, I had to take a computer class and one of our main focuses was PowerPoint. Since this computer class, I have always considered myself a master at PowerPoint but this assignment has made me second guess this. I had a difficult time with downloading the template from the internet and also some recording issues. But nevertheless I did learn how to properly record a PowerPoint and I was not aware of the PowerPoint show option, that is very cool! I have always made my PowerPoints with an overload of information on them but in my future careers I am going to start actually writing notes in the notes section and use that to present my slides instead of just reading the information off the slides.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
#7 Bloom, Powerpoints, Web Design, and much more
Blooms taxonomy includes six levels, create, evaluate, analyze, apply, understand, and remember. These things are important to keep in mind when teaching a lesson and can be implemented in a lesson. For example say a teacher was teaching a lesson in 1st grade history on Martin Luther King Jr. and created a powerpoint for her students. First she would have to present the information to help the students create a basis for knowledge in their mind by showing pictures of Dr. King, the march on Washington, and a video of his speeches to make the powerpoint interactive. The powerpoint should then go deeper into the information to help her students evaluate the history by giving facts about his life and his works. After she should add a thought provoking question that allows the kids to analyze the information. The next question she asks should force the kids to apply the information to their own lives (ex: how does Martin Luther King Jr. affect our lives today?). To check the students understanding she could include a short quiz at the end of the powerpoint to see if the students remember the information that was given to them. If you keep Bloom's Taxonomy in mind while making a powerpoint, it will help the students learn and grow as learners.
Adaptive technologies are very important when it comes to supporting learners. Not everyone can just go to a computer and have all of the capabilities to operate it. There is many options for people who need accessibilities such as joysticks instead of mouses, brail printers, recorded books, and word programs that allow students to complete assignments without writing or typing. These are just a few of the awesome adaptive technologies out there. In my high school there was a girl a few years younger than me that was blind. All of her papers and tests had to be printed by a brail printer so she could read them. Some possible challenges that could come from using adaptive technologies is having the resources to even obtain them and also making sure that I implement them for students who need them.
I have never really made a website before so doing that was a cool experience in itself. But I really enjoyed how flexible Weebly was and the many things you could do from this site. Getting the format exactly how I wanted posed a little bit of a problem but I worked it out in the end. I also forgot to put a button to one of my pages on the home page so I would like to fix that and improve in that way, This will be a very useful tool to have one day when I am a teacher and need to make a website for my class.
Check it out: msgaineysclass.weebly.com
Adaptive technologies are very important when it comes to supporting learners. Not everyone can just go to a computer and have all of the capabilities to operate it. There is many options for people who need accessibilities such as joysticks instead of mouses, brail printers, recorded books, and word programs that allow students to complete assignments without writing or typing. These are just a few of the awesome adaptive technologies out there. In my high school there was a girl a few years younger than me that was blind. All of her papers and tests had to be printed by a brail printer so she could read them. Some possible challenges that could come from using adaptive technologies is having the resources to even obtain them and also making sure that I implement them for students who need them.
I have never really made a website before so doing that was a cool experience in itself. But I really enjoyed how flexible Weebly was and the many things you could do from this site. Getting the format exactly how I wanted posed a little bit of a problem but I worked it out in the end. I also forgot to put a button to one of my pages on the home page so I would like to fix that and improve in that way, This will be a very useful tool to have one day when I am a teacher and need to make a website for my class.
Check it out: msgaineysclass.weebly.com
ILP "Design" Edmodo
I created an Edmodo page for a 1st grade class. I based my design off of the idea of having a class website. Edmodo really consolidates everything and is super easy and very user friendly. I was able to create a poll, write updates, assign worksheets, upload worksheets, and much more. It was really fun and easy to create and would definitely be helpful for a classroom!
Join my class:
Group Code: 9dyhi7
https://edmodo.com/public/ms-gainey-s-class/group_id/19701259
Join my class:
Group Code: 9dyhi7
https://edmodo.com/public/ms-gainey-s-class/group_id/19701259
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