Reflection

What key learnings from this course do you plan to utilize when you student teach or teach?
I think an important thing that I learned was how to use technology to add to a lesson to make it more effective. I'm really not very technologically savy so I was kinda opposed to the idea of using technology. Being in the class however gave me a little insight of how technology can be more beneficial to learning. One thing that I would use would be wordles. I think wordles are great for introductions and getting to know students but also for students to to get to know another. Wordles can also be used for learning in content areas. They can be used for different areas and different topics, they can be flexible and fun for students to create. Even little things like wordles can add something more to a lesson. Providing students activities to get them actively engaged in learning.
A WebQuests was another great example of how to incorporate the use of technology into a classroom to support a lesson. Creating a WebQuest helped to understand completely how to construct one that would be beneficial to the content that I would be possibly teaching in the future. Presenting them in class allowed everyone to see how they were differently used which helped to spark more ideas. WebQuests can be a great add on to a lesson but its important that it matches the lesson that you are teaching and that the objectives are met. Technology activities like a WebQuest are only beneficial to learning if it is used to support a lesson.
Another thing that I learned was through our presentations in class what as teachers we can use without violating copyright laws. This was an important topic to discuss because to be honest I didn't know what we can or cant do. Being aware that there is leeway and what are the basic rules was a good thing that we went over. When using technology like videos or movie clips I know what I can show with in those guidelines.
By taking this class I think I am more open to using technology in the classroom. When used in the right way it can really make learning active and engaging. It also keeps the attention of students and get them excited about learning.

WebQuest Presentations

The presentations of the WebQuests today in class were really creative and everyone had such different ideas. It got me thinking that technology isn't just used for research or presentations, it can really be used to tap into a new type of education. There were so many interesting ideas that were presented about how they were going to use the Webquest in the classroom to make a lesson more interactive. Most of the ones shared were so creative but they also served a purpose. I know with making my webquest I was afraid that it would just turn into students sitting at computers duing research and just answering the questions to get done. I felt that if I was going to intergrate technology into the classroom that it should be encouraging to learn and to engage students. That it isn't just busy work for them. I really liked how some of the Webquests dealt with real world things. The students can relate to the subject and they know how this is beneficial to them.
By doing the Webquest project myself I was really able to see how it can really add more to a lesson. The students become more engaged and actually want to learn. It is easy for a WebQuest to become pointless busy work and that students will regret it more than just having a regular lecture or test. The challenge with WebQuests is to keep them engaging but simple. The students should clearly understand what you expect from them in every aspect of it. Sometimes that is really hard to do. Directions and rubrics are key.

WebQuest

I was just searching through some social sciences WebQuests and I came across one I really liked. This particular WebQuest focuses on the Civil War for an 11th grade American history class. This was great because I am going into secondary education. What was unique was that it was directed at a higher grade level. Most WebQuests that I was looking at were more directed towards middle school age or younger.
The American Civil War WebQuest was really nicely laid out and put together. The first thing that attracted my attention was its cover page. It was neat and had a great picture, the title was big and legible, specifically told what grade level it was directed towards and it also gave the names and dates of the creators and the names and dates for when it was updated. It gave it more of a professional aspect which gave me the impression that this was going to be a credible and organized WebQuest. Another thing that grabbed my attention was that each point and task was its own page. The choices were located in the left hand column which you were able to click on individually. This is a great way to keep the students organized as well. They know exactly where to go if they are stuck or have questions.
The next part of this WebQuest was an introduction to what was going to happen and it gave the instructions for the class. It was interesting to find out that this WebQuest was designed by University students as a project for their technology education class! The only thing that I would change about this is the directions were written in a paragraph format. For this to be applicable to a classroom I would bullet point and break down the process and roles for the students. It continues with who the WebQuest is directed for aka 11th grade American History class. They also list the objectives of this particular activity, and the overall goal with the students. I thought it was an interesting point that they added what this particular WebQuest would be teaching the students in compared to life skills.
Further along they listed the overall process but then broke them down even further in different phases with the specific resources. I think that this was good that they added the break down of the phases it made things more clear and understandable. From reading the first process I was a little confused of what exactly the students were going to be doing but the phases simplified the different objectives which was a lot easier to follow. The resources that were provided were credible and age appropriate which was good to see.
The evaluation on the WebQuest was clearly written out but there was also a rubric to go along with it. That way the students and visually see what they need to do and what is expected instead of just reading a paragraph. A conclusion was provided that just recapped what the students would take away from completing the WebQuest and how it is beneficial. Sources and credits were listed and everything was cited correctly.
Overall i really liked this WebQuest it was challenging enough for higher level students but it provided the opportunity for them to be successful. I was a little skeptical with how exactly a WebQuest would fit into a secondary classroom but now I see that it can be done. There was a lot of great information and provided students with adequate sources that they could continue to use. I like the idea of having the students research and teach themselves and each other the information for once. It gets boring in a history class if the teach is just lecturing all the time.
Here is the link: http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webquests/civilwar/index.html

Experiencing Technology at Work

For my block two education classes we are required to do field experience hours. Today I visited my cooperating teacher's classroom, which is a 7th grade geography class. During this particular class they were reviewing for the quiz that is tomorrow. They are currently studying Africa and for their test they have to answer a few short answer questions about the history, culture and climate. They will also have to identify twenty countries in Africa and locate them on the map.
We played a review game that consisted of playing Wii bowling in class. The kids were so excited. Each group of desks are teams and each person in that team has a specific role such as; captain, accountant, scribe and gopher. Here is how the game worked: There is a huge map of Africa that is on the back wall. The teacher would call on each group individually, he would pick out three countries and they would have to identify correctly one of those countries. If they got it right they would pick some one to bowl for their team. He would go around to each group and do the same. When the round was over then the bowling for points began. How ever many pins they knocked down they got a certain number of points. The students played three rounds of this game. By the end of the period each student was able to identify at least ten countries. They would just have to learn ten more before the test.
I thought that this review game was really fun. It got the kids engaged and active. They wanted to get the answer right and know the answer because they wanted to bowl. The review turned into a great game instead of just going over a map and expecting them to memorize the countries. The students not only memorized more countries than they did before the class but they also got a feeling for exactly how the test was going to be and what they needed to focus on when studying. It was really good for me to see how a teacher incorporated technology into the classroom but how it enhanced the lesson for the students and they really did benefit from it. It was a really fun class.

Webware 100 Winners

Looking around at some of the sites, I found a few that I really liked. I would use these sites for my self but also they can be implicated in a classroom environment. The first site that I liked was Flickr. It was really easy to use and very convenient. There are lots of different options that you can chose from to create something with the pictures that you import. For a history class it might be fun to do a collage of pictures from the time period that we are studying. Or if they were doing a project about a famous historical figure they can do it on Flickr. They can upload pictures from the Internet which is great if the students don't have their own pictures. They can create everything on line and save it online so that others can see it. It would be a fun activity to do.
Another site that I always like is Youtube. This site has every video or clip you can imagine. This is a great teaching tool that can make any lesson more interactive and interesting. When you are teaching a specific topic in any subject visuals help emphasize the main points but it also can be a tool to help the students fully understand the lesson. In history classes Youtube is great. Most of the time artifacts and reenactments are hard to bring into the classroom. By using Youtube it is an inexpensive way to make history come to life. When discussing specific battles or wars it is great to be able to pull up and educational clip of the types of weapons used and see how they were fired and the actual damage they caused. For students to actually see this happening it puts things in perspective and they can get the big picture and plus its keeps their interest and draws them in.
I liked playing around with these different interactive sites. It  really got me thinking outside the box of how they could be integrated into a classroom. There are some great ways to keep learning progressing while also keeping students engaged and interested. By using these sites or technology in general I really think that it can improve the classroom environment and engage all students. As a perspective teacher these sites make me a little nervous to use just because I think they are great and I wouldn't want to over use them. There are so many different varieties of web technology to use that I think it can fit into any classroom of any subject. There is a time and a place for everything and balance would be the key element.

Blog #1 Tools for Teachers

By reading this article it provided examples of specific programs, activities and websites that can be used in the classroom. These different examples are used in the classroom to support a lesson or to get the most out of learning. I always had the misconception that teachers that used these types of technology like Google Sites or programs like Edmodo, were using these in place of teaching lesson themselves that it was an easy way out. By reading some of the different types and options of using the web, it can be a great way to support and emphasizes what you are teaching. In the section talking about enriching communication, I liked the idea of having and providing the open communication between students and students but also students and teachers. Peer to peer communication about assignments or activities can really be beneficial to bounce ideas off each other. Of course having everything monitored by the teacher. I would use this if students were working in the computer lab on a project or a paper. If they had questions or needed clarification they can openly discuss with a peer or with the teacher without disturbing the entire class. Some students are afraid to ask questions because they don't want to embarrass themselves in front of the rest of the class. If they had the opportunity to openly communicate via a web program like TodaysMeet they would feel better about asking their question to the teacher or a classmate. I would use this only occasionally if my class was working on a project in the computer lab or when writing a paper/reflection. I think that it could be really useful and would help to open that communication between students and also between students and the teacher.

Things to do