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.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)