Edutopia Videos

Video One-

In what ways has the ‘multimedia’ aspect of this school touched each child?

The ‘multimedia’ aspect of this school touched each child because every child participated in the morning video. This school had kindergarteners doing the weather report, the first through third did book reviews, fourth through six did independent projects and behind the scenes production. Every child was touched by this news report. I think that this school is doing an amazing thing by having children learn about technology starting at a very young age. Technology will greatly impact their lives and it is never too soon to start learning about it.

Why is it important that the children work with real-world data?

It is important that the children work with real-world data because it provides them a glimpse of the real world. They need to be able to relate what they learn to the real world to make it more meaningful for them. The class in the video that went to the river to test the water was working with real-world data. They got to experience what marine biologist do. This can help them figure out their interest. Also they were helping the community by sharing their findings with the government health group. The children feel like their class work is useful to the world rather then pointless worksheets.

Video 2-

Why is it important that the students work with REAL data?

It is important that the students work with real data because it makes the learning experience more meaningful for them. They can relate it to what they have seen outside of school. They will retain the information and lessons that they learn a lot longer than just for the test. They will also want to ask more questions and will learn even more then anticipated. Working with real world data will prepare them for life after school.

Article
Katy is in YOUR classroom. In what ways can you ensure that she maintains her creativity and uniqueness, but still retain the information? How can you be sure that she IS learning, without being obsessed with the IEP?

Katy needs her creativity and uniqueness as an outlet. As a teacher I can make sure Katy is allowed to use to creativity to succeed at school. I can assign her different projects then the class's that let her use her outlet. I can make sure she is learning through different assessments. Katy may not perform well on test because of her unique learning style. As a teacher I will assess the goals set in the IEP to assure that she is learning. The way I assess them could cater to her creativity and uniqueness. I can be assure she is still learning and also getting the individual attention to her uniqueness that she needs to succeed.

Excel

Today we learned about Excel in class. I really do not know a thing about it so I was glad to learn about all it can be used for. We made a grade book and I think this aspect of Excel will be most useful in my classroom. It will help me keep my grades organized and i could even easily make a graph to show each students progress. This will come in hand at parent teachers conferences. I can also see how all the students did on a specific assignment. Then I can assess the assignment and see if it is valid. If I notice all the students did bad, I may throw the assignment out and reteach the lesson. I plan to use Excel in my classroom as a future teacher.

Netiquette

I found this article about "netiquette" very interesting. I have never even heard of this term but after reading this article, I believe it will soon be added to the dictionary right under internet. This term describes how you should behave and act online. Everyone should strive for a good netiquette. Kids need to be aware that you should not give out any personal information over the internet. Also when writing a formal email they should avoid "IM lingo" and caps lock. They should no that no email is ever really private and anything you post on the internet is there for everyone to see. I found it interesting that some schools are starting to implement classes about this netiquette. Hopefully the state or the national government will have some standards related to this class and make it required for every student. The internet is such a huge part of our lives that we need to know how to behave on it.

Art Range

Today in class I played with Art Range. This is a free program that is similar to paint. You can paint with different brush and different colors. You can also trace pictures and the program will automatically match the color of the drawing. You can also use stencil to draw simple pictures.
I found it neat that if you draw and red blob and paint blue on top of it, it will turn purple! This can be very useful in the classroom if you are teaching about colors. You can also use it as an enrichment tool and have students trace a picture of something they are learning about and then you can have them write about their picture. I also found Google Earth very interesting. It would come in handy as a introduction to a unit of study in Social Studies. You can use it to show geography and the different types of land and bodies of water. Back in my day, all we had was a globe to look at and that was a very boring an inaccurate picture of the world!! Now, my future students will have the opportunity to see a birds eye view of any spot they can possibly think of! I plan to use these two programs as much as possible and I am sure my students will love them.

Classroom Newsletter

This is my Classroom news letter. Click on the picture to make it full screen!

Animal School

The "Animal School" video shows the diversity of students and how they learn. Some excel in one subject and not another. And in this situation we have to encourage and help progress the learning in the area they excel in and not hinder it. We can also help them improve in the other areas while not taking away from the advancements made in the area they excel in. Some other students may not perform well in school but excel at extracurricular activities. They may not be able to sit still in the classroom so maybe the teacher an find a more interactive way to help that student succeed. Then there is the student who is "different" which will hold them back from their learning potential. This student may need help learning that we are all different and the class can learn a lesson of not making fun of people who are different. Then there is the students who may need extra help outside the classroom. They have the potential to learn and they need to realize that. It may take them longer and more effort but when they learn that they can do anything, they will feel amazing.
What we need to realize is that our classroom will be full of a wide range of different learners from different backgrounds. We need to be senstive to every one and help everyone succeed. Every is capable of learning and with our patience, guidance and help you can make every student succeed in there own way!

Did You Know?

The "Did You Know" video was extremely interesting. The world is advancing so fast with technology and we as future teachers have to be prepared. A four year old can use a computer better then most adults and more people use Myspace that could make up the 8th largest country!! YOUTUBE viewers have increased by ten folds in just a year! And China and India are surpassing us on technology. We need to realize that the world is becoming flat and the playing field is now equal in all countries. All children in India are bilingual and most US students take a semester of foreign languages because that is the minimum requirement.
As future teachers we need to help students utilize the technology handed to them and not be afraid of it. Our students are going to know more about it then us and we should learn from them and use it for our advantage. Who knows, maybe our class and instant message or web chat with a class from India and China and we can learn about different culture through and education and fun session. Technology can we fascinating and I am excited about using it in my classroom as much as possible!