I think the use of clickers is a great way to get immediate feedback. I could have a mini quiz, or just some problems and I am able to tell what concepts the students don't understand. I can then reteach it or if it's only a couple of students, I can work with those students individually. Kidspiration seems to be something that is fun and helps students make math abstract concepts into concrete objects. This will help my students tremendously in understanding math. I love anything that students can manipulate to compare. This will be very helpful in comparing fractions. I am very excited about all the technology that is out there. I always thought that to be a 21st century classroom, we needed a lot of money, but I have found out that there are a lot of free software and websites that can be used...all that is needed is a computer lab (which we have two of those) :)
I have said this over and over in this class...students today love technology. I love all the software that is out there to make our classrooms a technology based classroom. Students are allowed to be creative, express themselves, and come up with their own learning processes. Everything that I have learned in this class can be used in a classroom in one way or another. I think the things that I will use immediately are blog and excel spreadsheets for creating different types of graphs. I will also use clickers. This has been one of my favorite classes because I have learned about things that will make my classroom fun. I have learned how to blog, create a webpage, use voicethread, and that there are soooooooo many technology based activities and websites that I can use. I want students to have fun while learning and hope that in the process, classroom management will be a bit easier. If a student is engaged, then they don't have time to be bored and distract others!!!!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Visualizing with Technology
Visualizing with technology is a very powerful way to teach. When babies are born, they rely on their hearing. Once the baby is a little bit older, but not much, they start to see everything. So, auditory and visual learning is very important. By using technology that enhances those senses, student will benefit greatly. It is one thing to see something in your mind, but when you can actually see it with your eyes on either paper, or on a computer screen, it really ties things for you. I love that student can create, edit, delete, and add again with a click of a button. Visual technology allows students to see their work as it would look in the real-world. By allowing students to use calculators, instead of doing everything on paper, we are teaching them how they are going to function in the real world…Now I’m not saying no paper and pencil, but let’s enhance that by adding a computer, or excel, or TinkerPlots. I love the idea of letting students graph on TinkerPlots instead of doing all the graphs by hand. Using software allows students to quickly create new charts in a matter of seconds. By allowing the students to create, then THEY are doing the learning.
I liked the idea of incorporating GIS into the classroom. I learned about GIS when I worked at the engineering firm, but had not thought about how this could be used in the classroom. Students kind of use that technology already in using GPS units. We need to bring all the technology that is in the world into the classroom and make the classroom and exciting place.
I think that the outside world is leaving school behind…at one time, people went to school to learn about all the new ways of doing things, but now it seems that the school system is falling behind the world. I love United Streaming. There are so many topics on that site. We use it for our 20 minute Spanish lessons. Our principal wanted the students to be exposed to Spanish at the elementary level and since our teachers are not bilingual, I found Spanish lesson on United Streaming. Both the teachers and students love the lessons. Best of all, the students can actually speak some Spanish!
I liked the idea of incorporating GIS into the classroom. I learned about GIS when I worked at the engineering firm, but had not thought about how this could be used in the classroom. Students kind of use that technology already in using GPS units. We need to bring all the technology that is in the world into the classroom and make the classroom and exciting place.
I think that the outside world is leaving school behind…at one time, people went to school to learn about all the new ways of doing things, but now it seems that the school system is falling behind the world. I love United Streaming. There are so many topics on that site. We use it for our 20 minute Spanish lessons. Our principal wanted the students to be exposed to Spanish at the elementary level and since our teachers are not bilingual, I found Spanish lesson on United Streaming. Both the teachers and students love the lessons. Best of all, the students can actually speak some Spanish!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Designing with Technologies
I have a background using AutoCAD which is a computer-aided design software. I began using this in high school to do architectural work and mechanical engineering work. It is very powerful and I began a career in engineering because of this class in high school. I remember being in awe when I started using AutoCAD. I loved it because it allwed me to be creative. I designed the house of my dreams (I have not built it yet).
I think programs like these are great because they allow students to create design and build things. Using software that facilitates this process is great for students. These types of websites allow students to easily remove or add a piece. It's much easier move a piece on the computer than it is to do it by hand. By designing everything on the computer, the student can make fewer mistakes when actually building their design. If a stduent was trying to design and build by hand, the student might become frustrated and not finish the project. Using a computer helps with the frustration level. You can erase everything and start over, or remove half of the design and redo it, all in a matter of minutes, seconds even. It's great. One time I was working on crocheting an afghan and I remember thinking, I wish I had AutoCAD so I can copy and paste the stitches over and over.
The Lego website is great for creating visual items. It opens up the creativity that students have and allows them to show that creativity. I also liked the music website because it allows students to create auditory masterpieces. It helps students with rhythm, patterns, and even self-confidence. It gives students the confidence that they have created something all by themselves.
I'm not sure how I would use these two specific sites in my math classroom. Maybe I can assign a point value to some of the Lego pieces and give the students an amount that they cannot go over. This will allow them to work on their addition and maybe even some fractions. They can create whatever they want as long as they don't go over the amount I have given them.
I think programs like these are great because they allow students to create design and build things. Using software that facilitates this process is great for students. These types of websites allow students to easily remove or add a piece. It's much easier move a piece on the computer than it is to do it by hand. By designing everything on the computer, the student can make fewer mistakes when actually building their design. If a stduent was trying to design and build by hand, the student might become frustrated and not finish the project. Using a computer helps with the frustration level. You can erase everything and start over, or remove half of the design and redo it, all in a matter of minutes, seconds even. It's great. One time I was working on crocheting an afghan and I remember thinking, I wish I had AutoCAD so I can copy and paste the stitches over and over.
The Lego website is great for creating visual items. It opens up the creativity that students have and allows them to show that creativity. I also liked the music website because it allows students to create auditory masterpieces. It helps students with rhythm, patterns, and even self-confidence. It gives students the confidence that they have created something all by themselves.
I'm not sure how I would use these two specific sites in my math classroom. Maybe I can assign a point value to some of the Lego pieces and give the students an amount that they cannot go over. This will allow them to work on their addition and maybe even some fractions. They can create whatever they want as long as they don't go over the amount I have given them.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Web 2.0 tools
I've had a little experience with some Web 2.0 tools such as vokis, which I think are really cool. I also had heard of social bookmarking, but had not used this tool. I really liked the voice thread as well. I think the voice thread can be used to let students tell a story. In math, maybe the student can come up with his/her own math real world problem and solution. Then the student can let us hear the voicethread, and let the rest of the class comment on it. This would help all the students with math and acquire some technology skills at the same time. I like the interactivity that we have with the Web 2.0 tools.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Copyright, Fair Use, Netiquette, and Cyberbullying...in a nutshell?
Okay, so I'm so confused on copyright and fair use. I think that the less I use of someone's work, the safer I will be. I know that as far as copies go, most books will say whether or not there is a copyright. I also know that some books will state on there that educators are given permission to make copies. I am still a little unclear as to how many copies a teacher can make. I know that if a book is consumable such as a workbook, then the teacher is not allowed to make copies of it. As far as media goes, I think that if I use 10% or less of the full length of the media then I’m safe. I’m still unclear as to whether we can use videos from YouTube that are homemade, if there is not copyright listed, or is everything that someone else does, automatically copyrighted? Someone help…my head is spinning with all of this info.
Netiquette is being respectful to yourself and others when posting something. Even if you disagree with someone's opinion, be respectful when responding to it. There has been numerous times that I have looked online at people's comments to some story that yahoo has on their site and people will use bad words to get their point across. Why? I think we can state our opinion in a respectful way and that to me is netiquette.
As far as cyber bullying goes, I hate it. I hate that we can’t protect our children from it. While we may be able to monitor our own children closely, we can’t do that with our students. I think that it is a lot easier for children to be cyber bullied than to be bullied in person. I don’t know why, but it seems that we are more comfortable with saying things in writing than saying things in person. I know that in this class, I am willing to share more about myself because none of the other students really know me. I seem to open up quicker online than I do in person. I believe it’s the same way for people who are bullies. They tend to say uglier things online than the do in person. I that it is super important for us as educators to teach our students about the dangers of cyber bullying and let them know that there are people they can talk to that will help them with this.
Netiquette is being respectful to yourself and others when posting something. Even if you disagree with someone's opinion, be respectful when responding to it. There has been numerous times that I have looked online at people's comments to some story that yahoo has on their site and people will use bad words to get their point across. Why? I think we can state our opinion in a respectful way and that to me is netiquette.
As far as cyber bullying goes, I hate it. I hate that we can’t protect our children from it. While we may be able to monitor our own children closely, we can’t do that with our students. I think that it is a lot easier for children to be cyber bullied than to be bullied in person. I don’t know why, but it seems that we are more comfortable with saying things in writing than saying things in person. I know that in this class, I am willing to share more about myself because none of the other students really know me. I seem to open up quicker online than I do in person. I believe it’s the same way for people who are bullies. They tend to say uglier things online than the do in person. I that it is super important for us as educators to teach our students about the dangers of cyber bullying and let them know that there are people they can talk to that will help them with this.
Monday, June 13, 2011
My first post!!!
Okay, I think I might officially have my first blog! :)
My name is Angely Aguilar. I have a wonderful husband and am a mother of three wonderful children, Moises, Catalina, and Estela. I am so excited to have my very own blog and to have write my first post. I am currently at the hospital because my grandmother had a procedure done.
My vision of technology in the classroom is to allow students to use as much of it as possible. However, in order for me to allow students to use it, I must become comfortable with it myself. I really like blogger. I can set up a blog for my math class and let students ask questions, answer questions, or make comments about mathematics.
My goals in this class is to learn about the different tools that are out there that can help me make my classroom a 21st century classroom. I want to provide a different way for students to learn. I know that students love technology and so I need to find a way to bring it into my classroom. I am confident that I will accomplish that in this class since I have already learned of a few sites that I can use. I'm very excited about the things that I have learned already.
My name is Angely Aguilar. I have a wonderful husband and am a mother of three wonderful children, Moises, Catalina, and Estela. I am so excited to have my very own blog and to have write my first post. I am currently at the hospital because my grandmother had a procedure done.
My vision of technology in the classroom is to allow students to use as much of it as possible. However, in order for me to allow students to use it, I must become comfortable with it myself. I really like blogger. I can set up a blog for my math class and let students ask questions, answer questions, or make comments about mathematics.
My goals in this class is to learn about the different tools that are out there that can help me make my classroom a 21st century classroom. I want to provide a different way for students to learn. I know that students love technology and so I need to find a way to bring it into my classroom. I am confident that I will accomplish that in this class since I have already learned of a few sites that I can use. I'm very excited about the things that I have learned already.
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