Chapter 15

The Illuminations website is a wonderful way for teachers to remain focused on the Principles and Standards that are to be taught in the classroom. It is a great resource for teachers to use in order to motivate students to learn. The website is designed to have students engage in activities that will allow them to absorb the information more easily and retain what they have learned. This tool is great for teachers to integrate different types of lessons in their everyday classrooms. After years of teaching, a teacher may become too comfortable with his or her teaching ways; however, if there is a tool available that will introduce new ways, teachers can continue to cater to the needs of all different types of students.

As I read this chapter, I thought about how effective a wikis site could be. If teachers can stay in touch, give feedback to one another about different lessons, upload lesson plans that were successful, and share activities that were effective, a wikis site could have great potential.

Illuminating Math

This chapter discussed how to connect the teaching/learning of mathematics with the internet. Specifically, the chapter focused on a website called Illuminations. This website is very interactive and has a wide range of resources for students and teachers alike. I found the goals of the website very intriguing. They mention that an important factor of learning is the motivation of the students. Thus, the activities on the site are designed to help students make the math their own. 

Another point that was stressed in this chapter is challenging the teacher to learn as well. All too often I believe that once a teacher finds a style of teaching that works for them, they give up on welcoming fresh ideas. The opportunities on Illuminations makes it easy for teachers to incorporate technology into their teaching. The website also give suggestions that will help teachers ask the type of questions that will get students to think further. Resources on this website probe teachers to reflect on the practice of teaching and investigate further ways to engage students. In so many ways, this website encourages teachers to learn more and become better teachers. For these reasons, I think this site is a huge success. But it doesn't stop here. I believe sites like our wikis will help in our teaching. We will be able to connect our students together and provide them easy access to websites such as Illuminations. 

Creating Websites in English Classrooms

After reading Chapter 9 of the Technology book for English classrooms, I now have a much better understanding of why websites are so useful. The most important thing about using websites in English classes is that they create a wonderful creative outlet for students. One aspect of websites that is often overlooked is the fact that they have to be written properly because of the availability to the world. Having students publish their writing online allows them to interact with students all over the world.

In addition to publishing writing, using websites allows students to use multimedia to accompany the writing in ways that they would not be able to use otherwise. I love the idea of using a website to help bring my class together. There are so many ways to create assignments around websites. I would love to have my students put their writing on the website and then be able to edit and comment on each other's work before they turn in a final draft. I think that it would be a great way for them to help each other without getting really embarrassed by having people read their work right in front of them. I would do anything to help my students become more comfortable sharing their work, whether that be in person or online.

Smartboard Reflection

During this smartboard project I learned a lot about how to incorporate different technologies into the classroom. I found when creating my own smartboard lesson that I was able to construct games and activities that young students would have fun learning with. Working on this project I noticed how to make the different smartboard pages appealing to students at the elementary level. After seeing a few other classmates smartboard projects, I feel that this type of technology can be useful to teach almost every subject. The smartboard gets students actively involved in the learning process which can help them to enjoy the process; increasing their desire to learn.
I felt that the smartboard session outside of class was extremely helpful. That taught me and allowed me to explore more of the uses of the smartboard. I really enjoyed this session and believe that it will be useful in my future teaching career.

Smart Board; Fine Arts

This SMARTboard project has really increased my knowledge of technology. I feel extremely confident in my abilities now to make different SMARTboard presentations for my own classroom. Projects such as these provide more interaction among students and get them involved in the class. They are no longer just sitting and reading from a textbook. I never knew a projector such as this could perform some of the acts it does. Students can actually go up to it and write down their answer. They can also move objects around with their finger. This will be extremely helpful in the elementary classroom to keep children interested and entertained while still learning. The SMART board provided many options for me in the fine arts for elementary children. It was a very interesting project and I'm happy that I can now understand how to use the SMARTboard now.

SmartNotebook Reflection

I really enjoyed this project! I showed some other people my project, and they were very surprised by what you could do with the program. I feel like there were many parts of the program that I did not utilize, and would like to go back in the future and learn more about it. The whole experience opened my eyes to other ways of teaching in the classroom. Interactive learning really is a great tool. This program is great because you can target so many different students and learning techniques with only one program. Although SmartNotebook has many options already included, there are tons of other add-ons and programs available to add more content to. It was a little confusing learning how to use everything in the program, but it was very worthwhile and I am excited to use it in the future.

SMART board

I really enjoyed making the SMART board presentation and I'm excited to use what I have learned in my classroom someday. I think it's important for all teachers to have knowledge of how SMART board works - if they are able to have a board in their classroom - because it can help the students grasp the ideas presented in the level and a more hands-on level. They will most likely absorb so much more than they would if the lesson was presented in a regular fashion. SMART board is creative, innovative, and an excellent tool.

The board also allows to touch on all different learning styles. You are able to satisfy the needs of visual learners, hands-on learners, music, art, etc!