Blog Post # 7

An interesting web based tool that I might use while teaching in the future is YouTube. I could use this to look up clips that would help provide good examples to my class. It could also provide useful clips demonstrating various topics related to the subject that we are learning about. For example, if they are learning about World War II, I could show them clips of documentaries or interviews from that time period.
http://www.youtube.com/

As of now I'm not sure what subject I want to teach, but I definitely want to teach older kids. I would use Excel in my classroom daily to help keep track of my students' grades. At the end of each grading period using the various formulas such as Average and If would make calculating letter grades much easier than doing all of the math by hand. Many of my teachers in high school did this. They also kept the grades in a handwritten gradebook just in case anything were to happen to the computers though.

Blog Journal # 5

The website I have chosen is very easy to navigate and read. The graphics on the page support the text. The colors that appear on the page are not too overwhelming that it distracts the viewer, but they also are not too subtle that they become washed out in the background. There is a very clear and direct link back to the home page, which helps viewers of this site. http://www.travelchannel.com/Travel_Ideas/Seven_Wonders_of_the_World/New_Seven_Wonders_of_the_World

I think that the biggest advantage to using presentation software in the K-12 classroom is that the children are able to learn more easily. often simply reading about a concept in a text book is hard for children to understand, but a presentation allows them to visualize and grasp the concept more easily. The biggest disadvantage is that this may take more time than simply having the children read for homework and then discussing it in class the following day. Therefore, more class time would have to be devoted to these concepts and less to other subjects.

I would use Microsoft Power Point to make the lesson more interactive and fun for my students. By using graphics, sounds, and film clips the students would be more likely to not only understand what I am teaching them, but also be more excited about learning. The different layouts and colors may also help them pay more attention and be more alert during class.

Blog Journal #4

As a teacher I would make use of the concepts presented in Chapter 7 by incorporating them into my classroom. By breaking down information into more categories with examples for each, my students would be able to organize their thoughts. To do this I would use technology such as Microsoft Word to create outlines, and Microsoft PowerPoint to create slideshows to display information and visual aids.

I would encourage my students to develop outline, idea map, and storyboard skills because I think that it helps to map out your thoughts before you begin writing. This could help them when writing essays because they can take a very broad topic and be able to narrow it down into a more detailed paper on a specific topic. This would also make the writing process easier for them because if they made an outline of what their essay would be then they would already have the topic for each paragraph decided and wouldn't need to worry about making it flow as much.

I think that learning how to evaluate websites will help me in my educational career because now I can look up more reliable websites and tell my students about them when they are doing research. I will also be able to evaluate their research better by knowing what to look for in the websites that they choose. Also, by knowing how to teach idea maps I could help them more with their writing. This goes hand-in-hand with the research that they will be doing, they can research the information and then organize it with an idea map before writing their papers.

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Blog Journal #3

I think that incorporating technology into the classroom at an early age is a good idea, it would help students become more familiar with computers and various technologies that they would need to use later on. Right now I plan on being an elementary school teacher, I am not sure what subject I would teach but no matter what subject I choose I will use technology in my classroom. If I teach elementary school Mathematics, I could use instructional software to help the students learn things such as their Times Tables more easily. I could also teach them to use a calculator so that they can save time when they're taking quizzes or tests.

While I think technology could be very useful in teaching students, I would worry about them using the internet. It is very easy to accidentally type in the wrong word and then get an inappropriate website pop up instead of the one you intended for. Because younger kids are very easily influenced I would worry about them finding one of these inappropriate websites and then instead of clicking out of it right away, showing everyone around them. To avoid this I would probably need a Teacher's Aid or Classroom Helper while instructing the children on how to use the internet in the classroom.

While searching the internet, I found an interesting website that allowed you to print worksheets based on the grade level, subject, and activity type desired. I would use this when I'm teaching because as a child in school I always loved worksheets, they were more fun and interesting to me than just sitting there while the teacher put examples on the board. One of the worksheets I looked at on this website was for First Grade Mathematics, it was for children learning to count backwards from 10 to 0 and had an animal theme. Others I saw had ocean, jungle, and seasons as themes. These themes could also make it more fun and appealing to children. The link for the website is given below.
http://www.kidzone.ws/

Blog Journal #2

As a student, I have used Microsoft Word for writing all of my essays and papers for various classes since middle school. I have seen my teachers use it to type up notes and outlines for the class. I haven't seen a very creative way of using Microsoft Word in a school yet, but I am hoping to see one sometime in the near future.

So far in this class I have learned how to properly format a quiz or test by using Microsoft Word. This will be very beneficial to me in my future because it will enable me to quickly and easily make tests for my students instead of struggling with indents, bullets, numbering and alignment.

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