Conclusion

This class was quite a journey for me. When I started this class I had no idea how I was going to finish it. Now that I am almost done I am so proud of myself that I made it. I feel that I learned a lot. Some of the stuff I used I can definetely use some of the stuff I learned I definetly cannot use.

My feelings about access to the internet still holds. Many of my students this year, and for years to some, may not have access to internet inside and outside of school. If this is the case a lot of this stuff must be differentiated in order to use. I definetly want to use my website next year. I'm very excited about creating it and think it will be informative yet engaging for my students to use. I definetly want my visual learners to use it next year. I am also interested in creating a blog for homework assignments and use rss to have it just get sent to me. I think this will make my paper load and organization much easier. It will also help me modify my lesson for the following day. I also have started using podcasts in my room as differentiated instruction for certain students.

Overall I am now thankful for all of the information I have learned in this class. I am excited to use everything I have learned to end this school year and for the next school year.

Social Bookmarking

I really did not know too much about social bookmarking until the presentation on it. I first learned about RSS. I thought that was really cool because you can get updates sent right to you. I can use this with my students to update them on certain assingments I want them to do. This also works well with class blogs. I can have my students blog about a certain topic and have that be sent straight to me.

Social bookmarking is also a cool topic. I can make a website and have different sections bookedmarked on the side. This will make it easy for my students to find sections that I would like them to look at. It also makes everything more organized.

Brain Pop

So my school is registered to this website called brainPOP. It is a cute website that has small video streamings for different topics in all subject areas. I like to use this site as a motivational piece. The students get interested by the cartoons and characters, which gets them hooked into the lesson quicker. The videos also try to link the topic wo something in everyday life. If the students start off interested then they tend to have a better chance to stay interested throughout the lesson.

Heres my problem though. I do not have an projector in my classroom that will allow me to show these videos largly to the whole class. Instead I must show it on a small computer and have the students huddle around to watch. The problem with this is the students in the back might not be able to see and will get bored. Other times I might have selected students watch the brainpop video while others do separate work. The problem with this also is that students get upset when they cannot go to the computer, even if they get a chance the next day.

As much as I love learning about all this new technology that I can use for my students, I still am facing the problem of the access to the computer. Not all students can be near the compter and others cannot operate it well. I will still be trying to experiment with ways to use technology. Hopefully if my website comes out good I can use it for next year.

Multimedia

Multimedia is used all over the web in many different ways. Multimedia is aso something that I would like to use to create my website. Audios, videos, and images are type of multimedia that is used in the internet. All of these should be used in order to engage children and gage all of thier multiple intelligences. They can also be used to bring up higher order thinking questions.

Audios can be used to create sounds in your webpage. Some children can learn better when they hear what they are being taught. Also sounds can create background noises which will make the website more inviting. When the website is more inviting then more studetns will ant to visit it and do the tasks at hand.

Graphics can be used to also make the website more user friendly. Graphics can be used in either the form JPEG or GIF. These images can show many different pictures that can represent your topic as well as cartoons that engage children. This also helps with children's visual intelligence

Videos can be used to show a movie on the webpage. Once again this is engaging and makes the website user friendly. Although the movies are always the best quality bue can provide great information. This combines visual and audio intelligences. When used properly videos can be very effective.

Overall multimedia is very important to use to make your website an effective website

Wikis

Wikis is a very interesting thing. What it does is allows other people to add or edit content to the webpage. Multiple people could state facts or opinions on a single website. One example of this is wikipedia which is an online encyclopedia.

This can be used in many forms in the classroom. You can have your students make a vocabulary list with definitions. Each student could add on x amount of vocabulary words and their definition. You will get an extensive class vocab list in which everyone has participated in. You can also put up a word problem in parts and have different people solve each part. This way everyone can see what you added. Thirdly you can have a group story and have each student add a piece of the story on the wiki.

Before I read about this I have always heard of wikis but never had any clue what it was. Now that I know what it is I think I will use it in my classroom as a group assignment.

Factors that will impact my curriculum web

There are many different factors that will impact my curriculum web. One big factor is whether or not all my studentd have access to a computer. If they do not then they will not be able to access the website. Next I mist also see if my students have internet access. I also must see if my school has intenrnet access. If I want my students to access my website in school then I must make sure that I have accessibility to computers with internet access.

The next thing I must put into factor is whether or not the curriculum web works properly. If it does not work properly then the students won't be able to complete the work. also I must make sure that the curriculum web is easy to access and navigate. If I have any difficulties with it you bet my students will as well.

There are many factors to consider when creating a curriculum web, and you must take them all into account before you use it with your students.

Podcasts

Last week we learned of a new idea that involves the internet and could be useful in the classroom. This was podcasts. I personally have never used a podcast before but found it very interesting to learn about them. Podcast stands for "ipod + broadcast". You can podcast through audio, visual, or both.

I think that this can be a very useful thing to use in the classroom. If a student missed a lot of classes and needs to catch up, he/she can just listen to a podcast while the teacher works with the rest of the class. The podcast must be interesting and engaging for the student to learn. This also helps visual and audio learners.As a fun project you can also have students make an educational podcast and present it to the class.

Some downsides of this is that podcasts are not always factually correct. Also it might take a lot of time to find one that is not only factually correct but also fun to watch and easy to understand. Also assigning podcasts as projects could results in a moss of class management since many students might fool around with the idea.

For me I might use this idea in the future for my students. That is if I have any time to really research a good podcast to use.

How is a website effective

There are many things you have to look at while creating a website. One is who your audience is. You have to make sure you really know the type of people who will be on your website. That means you must make it something age appropriate and something that will engage your students. Also you should know your students level. I teach a ctt class so I want to make the wording on my website easy for them to read.

You must also pick a theme. For my website I picked a graphing theme. I think this theme has many levels to it and can also use graphics which would be engaging. It also is aligned with the state standards.

Next you must decide sections. For my website theme there are many different types of graphs. That is how i will divide it up into sections. I think sections are important because it divides up the work to make it look spread out. Also it keeps the website more organized and easy for the students to follow.

Finally you need to design a look. You want to make it user friendly for your students. More graphics might draw them in. Less words will also be more inviting. I personally dont like reading a website with a lot of words on it and neither do my students.

Well these are the stpes for making an effective website. Hope this helps.

Webquests

Being that I am not too computer savvy I did not know what a webquest was until it was presented last week. There many important concepts that I learned about webquests through this presentation. Not only are webquests a branch of a curriculum web but it can contain many useful activities I could implement in my classroom.

A webquest must have the following 7 steps. It must start with an introduction. This sets up the problem and contains an essential question. Next it must have a task. This is what is going to be done. Then it must follow with a process. This is a step by step guide that breaks up the task into smaller sections. Next it must have an evaluation. This is a rubric for grading of the assignment and what is being looked for specifically. Then is must also have credits which are copyrights and acknowledgements of other sites you have used. Next it must have a conclusion to sum up the assignment. Finally it must have a teaching guide which are resource and information for fellow teachers to use.

I find webquests to be very usefull as a teacher. You can really use this to implement the steps of Blooms Taxonomy. Each task could have a process that builds up on higher leanring questions as well as each task could graduately build up as well. In your tasks or processes you can include activities that could use many types on intelligences. The computer is a great way of finding multiple ways to teach a concept. The webquests can keep the studetns engaged and eager to move on to the next activity. If the student is engage more learning is being done. This is definetly something I would like to try to implement in my classroom.

Planning instruction and assessment

Planning instruction and assessing the students are not too hard individually. Planning instruction and using assement to change or differentiate instruction is more complicated. I find myself constantly assessing my students which makes me constantly change my instuction. This many times happens mid instruction when I have to think on my toes. It is very important to understand how your students are doing before you move on. You can have a weeks worth of planning but you must make room for change after assessing your students.

Now is when the curriculum web can come in handy. This can be used as a way to differentiate instruction as well as assessment. If you are assessing and realize some students understand while others do not you can use the curriculum web to explain a topic in a different way. On the other hand you can also use the curriculum web to allow students who understand the topic to explore a higher level thinking. The learners activities should hold all levels allowing students to move at different paces, while also presenting information in different ways.

The curriculum web can also be used as a way of assessment. As a teacher you can go online and monitor your students progression. You can put an activity on after class based on thier achievements during class that day. You can also look at student work at night as they do it to change your instruction for the next day.

Overall planning instruction and assessment go hand in hand. The more resources you have to help the better job you will do education your students.

Learners Activity

When planning my learners activity there was a lot that I was trying to think of. I was trying to think of ways to keep my students engaged as well as follow the state standards. I also want my students to progress with thier thinking on the topic and be able to relate other math topics to the activity they are doing. I also want my activity to incorporate writing, graphing, and answering questions.

As I created my learners activity I really thought of Bloom's Taxonomy. I created the activity with multiple parts. As they moved to the next part the level of thinking progressed. If they got a section wrong I wanted to give hints (not answers) to guide them in the right direction. I tried to make the activities fun so that they would like doing them. I also incorporated a writing section in each activity. I think that it is important that the students understand how to write and be able to explain what they are doing.

I hope that my learners activity isn't too hard to create. I was really excited while coming up with ideas for different activities and think that they can be very helpful with the levels of student thinking. I think these activities can help students on multiple levels.

Curriculum Area and Technology

As I started creating my curriculum goals sheet there were many things that came to mind. I wanted to find a topic that aligned with the states standards, could apply to many real life situations, help my students in future classes and careers, and most importantly, be easy to access with many engaging activities used in the internet. I think that technology is growing faster and faster which ist is why it is important for these young students to understand how to use it. Especially in math the use of technology will be really helpful to my students. Making this curriculum web will allow my students to connect the internet to learning, as well as use more intelligences while learning math.

In chapter 3, there were many things touched upon in planning a curriculum web. You must consider your teaching points you want your students to master, what your students want and need, engaging activities. and the content specific topics before creating your curriculum web. All of these I took into great consideration while planning out my curriculum goals.

I think that also a major purpose of this curriculum web is to enhance the students learning. This curriculum web could be used in and outside of class. It could be used as an extra spin on a lesson that will keep students engaged as well as present information in a different way. It also could be used at home as a homework assignment or chapter review. Finding specific online activities is a way of teaching on a new level, creating new experiences to your students. It also teaches the students another lesson in using technology.

Website Evaluation

In class yesterday we learned about website evaluation. To be very honest this was very informative because there are many websites out there that are not valid websites. As a teacher it is very important to educate my children sbout these "fraudulant" websites. Many times I will have my students search the web to find out inofrmation for a topic I am teaching in class. Most of my students will believe whatever they come accross, especially if it only took them a second to find it. Most of my students would like to lake as little time as possible to complete an assignment. Educationg them on the whether or not a site is useful might take them a little more time to find, but a lot less time then having to redo their work based off of a faulty site.

One thing I will teach my students are the 5 w's. These are who, what, where, when, and why. If these questions can be answered then most likely it is a valid site. Also do a biography check on the author. Researching the author says a lot about the website.

Finally I would like to add that learning about website evaluation was very helpful for my own research. I must admit that I am a victom of trusting any website I came accross. This mostly had to do with the fact that I hate spending time searching around the web. Now as an educator I know I have to be a good model for my students. This means I must do what I expect from my students. So now I am a new person when it involves searching the web.

Copyright laws

Although its very complicated, it is very good to know about the copyright laws. For me as a teacher I never really knew if information I found on the web was fair for me to use. Eventhough I didn't know if I could use it, I did anyway. Now at least I have a little bit more knowledge so I know what I am allowed to use ans what I am not.

Lucky for me, there is something called "fair use" which allows me to use copywritten material for educational use. From what I can gather there are certain time frames and amounts of material that I can use that I must abide by. I also learned that California has some crazy rules for "fair use" and copywritten material. I still don't know everything about copywritten vs fair use, but at least now I have a little more knowlegde.

My First Blog

Hello my name is Janna Cohen. This is my first day taking this computer course at St. Johns. Before coming to this class I was nervous since I cannot navigate a computer well. After sitting through one class I am still scared. I am afraid of all the work this course entails, and how it will affect my job teaching. I am excited to learn new ways to engage my students through the internet, but am fearful that i will drive myself crazy with all of this work first. Already I tried to post a blog and it did not go through. My first blog already failed. Anyways I hope that this blog does go through, and I am excited for future blogs in the future.