Technologies of the Week

The technologies of the week that we have covered over the past few weeks have been interesting. I have not been aware of most of the recent technologies of the week, so learning about them will enable me to now have more resources to use the classroom.

The lesson on Jing was one of the most helpful. Although at first it seemed to be an extremely simple technology, I was able to see the many uses that it actually would have for teachers and students alike. It was easy to use, but still had relevance to many different types of lessons and activities.

Although I have heard of iClickers before and knew how they worked, I have never had the chance to actually use them. I was surprised with the ease of setting up the clickers to work with a PowerPoint. I could see many applications for clickers in an elementary classroom. Students would be excited to use them because they make it feel like you are playing a game. Also, students who are shy and worried about talking in front of the class could use the clickers without feeling nervous about participating in class.

Reflection on Techs of the week, webquest, GE

One of my favorite activities that we have done in class is the webquest. I really enjoyed making an activity for the students to do. The main reason that I like the webquest so much is because of the Internet aspect. By using the Internet to research data the webquest teaches students how to use credible sources. Also the webquest provides teachers and students alike to gain new information in a fun and interesting way.

The Google Earth project was very similar to the webquest project in that we made a worksheet for students to find the answers to using Google Earth. Google Earth is a very powerful tool and contains many cool features that I previously did not know about, like 3D models and the ability to view mars and the mood. While I found it challenging to incorporate a math lesson in Google Earth, I still feel that it is a valuable tool, just perhaps not the best for a math class.

As always our class explores a new technology each week called technology of the week. Recently we have gone over primary sources, jing, and Iclicker. Of these three technologies I find that Iclicker is the technology, which best fits the math class. While jing (a screen capturing tool) and the primary sources on the Internet may be great tools for an English or history class, they have very limited use in the math classroom.

Iclicker is a way for students to take quizzes and answer questions electronically and anonymously. A math teacher could make a quick quiz to test the student’s knowledge about definitions or terms in math and ask them to either pick true or false or just pick the correct answer. The Iclicker certainly has its limitations with only being able to do multiple choice or true and false questions, however I feel that it is a very powerful tool. One of its advantages is that it is completely anonymous, so students wont feel pressured and worry about getting the answer wrong in front of their peers. Another advantage is the games that come with Iclicker. Although they were not talked about in class there are games that students can play either separately or in teams. These games bring a new aspect to learning which should act to increase the students interest level.

All in all I continue to be amazed with all of the new technologies we learn in class. I can see myself using a majority of these technologies in my classroom in the future.

Techs of the Week

Throughout the semester, I have really enjoyed learning about the different types of technology which have been presented. The technology I think I will use the most in the classroom is Google Earth. I think the vast array of programs which are already available for use make it a great program to incorporate in the history classroom, and with the new technologies that will soon be developed, it will only get better. Another program which I think would be very useful is the iClicker. I like this technology, because it would be good to use in order to see what point a class is at in terms of learning the material from a certain unit, and it will give insight into what areas need to be worked on more in order to get a class to the point they need to be by the end of the unit. I personally enjoy teacher tube a lot because this will be an easy way to both find information to show to my students, and it will also give me as a teacher a way to stay up to date on different informaiton in the teaching realm in a quick and easy way.

Google Earth and Tech of the Weeks

The Google Earth project actually turned out much better than I was expecting it to. I think its a concise and practical way to view real life uses of mathematics, and it lets the students view it in real world perspective instead of just out of a book. For the tech of the weeks, I enjoyed Jing and iClicker a lot. I think Jing would be a really good resource for going over problems on tests that students may have gotten wrong. That way they would be able to see the correct way of solving the problem, or would get to hear from me why I took a certain amount of points of if they only got partial credit. The iClicker would be really helpful for class participation and to determine the understanding or progress of a class. The harder part of using the iClicker though, would be to come up with enough multiple choice questions that would be worth using in class instead of time spent teaching the concept. I think finding the balance may be a little tricky, but overall possible.

Webquests, Techs, etc

I really enjoyed making my webquest. I think my topic, learning about the conquest of ancient civilizations, is extremely important and also very extensive. By making the webquest for my students and providing helpful websites, it really puts everything within their reach. They can navigate the internet and learn so much. Having them then take that information and re-use it in creating their own newspaper article is the biggest challenge and really requires them to follow the steps in the webquest closely. I think it would be a great project for the end of a unit in not only a foreign language classroom, but any classroom. I saw a lot of great webquests while sharing them in class. I would have loved to have the opportunity to do a webquest during high school!

The google earth activity was a little frustrating for me. I couldn't find a good file that fit my needs, so I had to adapt what I was supposed to be doing. In addition to that, I found it difficult to go to certain places and click on the boxes--my file had a lot of information, so I found myself constantly clicking on stuff on accident. Overall though, I think it turned out really well and I can definitely see the benefits of using it in class! I think in addition to a project/worksheet, it might also be nice view on a large screen and do class activities. This way, you can ensure that all students are seeing exactly what you want them to see.

Projects and Tech of the Weeks

I have really enjoyed both learning about and doing these projects. Though the webquest was quite a bit of work, I really liked my topic so that made it fun. I also really enjoyed my google earth topic once I finally found it. I think the technology for both of these projects was decently easy to use once we got the hang of it and I think both can definitely be used in our classrooms one day. I had a lot of fun putting these together.

In general I love learning about all the different technologies that we will have access to as teachers. I think these will all be great to usse in our classrooms and especially for Elementary I can totally see the kids having a blast using all of these different technologies. Though I have enjoyed them all, I especially loved the iclickr presentation. That is something I will definitely have to buy and use in my classroom. I am also very thankful that Christine included all that information on setup and how to use it. I also thought it was a really neat idea to do the presentation by making a quiz for all of us to take. So, great job Christine! haha. Really though, everyone's presentations have been great, I am learning a lot, and I cannot wait to be a teacher so I can use all of these different activities with my students.

Web Quest and Google Earth

I have really enjoyed putting together both my Web Quest and my Google Earth project. I think that the Web Quest is a great tool to introduce students to the endless resources of the internet. In today's internet dependent society it is never too early to teach students how to successfully navigate the internet. Putting the Web Quest together was a little challenging at the beginning though. There were so many possibilities of websites but finding age appropriate and dependable ones took a while.
Google Earth is so cool! You literally have the whole world at your fingertips! There are so many options beyond just the science and social studies topics that you might first think is all that you could use Google Earth for.