Blog 8

The biofeedback device could help teachers determine when certain learning activities are stressing students out, especially when working with special needs students. By knowing when a student is becoming stressed from what is being presented, the teacher now has the ability to change their approach to the lesson, so the student can calm down and grasp the material better.

If a teacher were doing a power point presentation on multiplication with two digit numbers, they could begin with the first step of Bloom’s Taxonomy “Remembering” by having their students first answer questions in the power point about multiplication with single digit numbers to review multiplication. Then for “Understanding” the teacher can have students come up and write out how they go the answers they did. For “Applying” the teacher can have the next slide include a double digit number multiplied by a single digit number and her and the students can work together while having a student write on the board to figure out the answer. For “Analyzing”, another student could come up to the power point and explain each step without any help and then for “Evaluating” another student can come up and explain why the steps must occur in the order they do. Then the teacher can have students all create their own multiplication questions to add to the power point for the students to practice with for “Creating”.

ExtremeTech is a website that has news articles posted to it daily about the different technologies coming out, what these technologies are used for and customer reviews. This will be great for teachers because all the information they need is in one place and they can find the latest technology to incorporate into their classroom. Also by including the articles that are showing the down side to the technology as well, it allows the reader to see all sides of including technology in the classroom. This then makes it easier to decide which technology we should include in our classrooms.

http://www.extremetech.com

Blog 7

            Assistive technologies are used to help students further their education when they have a disability preventing them from learning the way a majority of students learn. Recorded books are a great tool for students who can grasp the concepts of their grade level reading requirements but cannot read at that level. There are also mini keyboards, which are smaller than the standard sized keyboards, that make it easier for students with smaller mobility range to type. I have never personally met anyone who has used technology like this before, however my high school did have this technology for students with extra learning needs to use. The only challenge I could see being associated with this technology is the cost, because it is extremely beneficial to those who require extra assistance.

            When first working with Weebly, I did not like it. I was unable to get my website to format the way I wanted it to be because it kept requiring me to pick a template. Then I accidently deleted my entire website that could not be retrieved. However, once I got started the second time, I was able to shut off the templates and set up the pages the way I wanted them to be. I can improve next time by getting rid of the templates from the start and that way I can work the website to fit my needs. I learned about having patience with technology when I was unable to get the text and pictures to be placed where I wanted them to be and when this caused me to delete my website by accident. I learned it is alright to step away from technology and come back and try to work with it later.

            I learned about annotating sources in Diigo and how these annotations can be shared to a group. This will be a great tool when I assign readings to my students. They can all read the prompt independently and annotate on their own. Then when they have all completed this, we can come together as a class and see what parts stood out as a whole. This is also great when colleagues of mine and I are trying to prepare similar lesson plans to meet state requirements. If a colleague finds an article with some great points in it, they can annotate the points so we can view just the important parts. 

http://cmneme2040.weebly.com

Blog 6

I visited the website of my former third grade teacher, Mrs. Pippins. She is a teacher at Zach White Elementary School in El Paso, Texas. On the home page of her website, she has some information about herself and provides her contact information. She has a link to the school calendar and photo gallery on the side. Also on the side she has a useful link tab, which then takes you to another page with links to study websites. She has another link that you can use to directly contact her; you fill out your information put in your email and she will get it. She also has a link to the third grade school supply list up.

            I will definitely be using classroom management software to help me keep my classroom organized. An online attendance tool will help me ensure that I take attendance and that parents can see if their kids are where they are supposed to be that day. It will also make it easier for me to report attendance to the office because it will already be in my computer. Another great tool is the online grade book. Now I have the ability to put grades in as soon as I am done grading and parents can see them right away. This saves me time from having to print progress reports and individually email grades to parents when they have questions.

            The Promethean Board is a great tool to have in the classroom. It allows you to pull up all your lesson plans on screen for your students to see without you having to do any conversions. It also allows you to keep your lesson plans from previous years so you do not have to constantly keep redoing them. The board also allows students to be interactive while learning. They can come up to the board write the correct answer, or I can set up a learning game for them to play.

ILP "Design"- Edmodo

I created an Edmodo account for a fifth grade classroom. Edmodo is similar to Facebook in the sense in that one can make posts on it, create polls, and upload links. However the only ones who are allowed to see my Edmodo page are my students and their parents once given the code to access it.

Edmodo is a great tool for teachers to post nightly updates about things such as assignments that need to be completed, reminder for permission forms that need to be turned in, and it offers a place for students to submit work. The student code allows students to be interactive with Edmodo such as making their own post, commenting on other people’s post, and taking quizzes. The parent code only lets parents be observers; therefore there is no worry that a parent is completing their child’s assignments.

Edmodo provides quick access to all my students and parents without having to compose an email. This way I can update them daily on what is taking place in the classroom, without having to worry is someone accidently was not placed on the email list. It also helps ensure that if a student is absent one day they will not fall behind, because they can look at my Edmodo post to make sure they stay on track with their classmates.

Code:9nhwrs 

Link:https://edmo.do/j/fjuqfq

Blog 5

            Web 2.0 focuses on social networking and the sharing of information on the web. Diigo is a great tool for teacher’s to post links for their students to see from anywhere. Teachers could use Diigo to post assigned readings, post supplemental material to help reinforce the lesson, or post current event topics. It is a great way to make sure their students are accessing the correct websites, so the teachers know what content their students will be viewing with out worrying as to what their students could find on the internet. Students can also use Prezi to create slide show presentations for projects or teachers could use Prezi instead of PowerPoint to create lectures. While I believe all Web 2.0 tools are beneficial in the classroom, I think the problem comes in when teachers do not use age appropriate Web 2.0 tools. For example, I would not have first graders using Edmodo. First graders can hardly read and most certainly cannot type. An alternative would be creating review games on Fun Brain for them because this they will know how to use.

            I think a great Web 2.0 tool for teachers is Teacher Tube. This is an educational YouTube site. Teachers all over the country are able to post videos for other teachers to see and potentially show in their classroom. Teachers can bookmark these videos to save for the next school year or post them on their class website for students to see outside of the classroom. Either way Teacher Tube has great supplemental material for teachers to use to reinforce information through videos. http://www.teachertube.com    

A technological advancement, that I see making great strides in the field of education is electronic paper. It allows students to be able to take notes, do assignments and worksheets all on one page. This is because the teacher can upload what material she wants to their electronic paper and the students can scroll through to find the ones they need. This helps to reduce wasted paper, ink and also saves schools money on having to continuously purchase these supplies. It also allows students to keep all their information in one place so they can stay organized.