Class Reflection 9/22

Today in class we learned about making podcasts and utilizing that technology in our classrooms and also applying it to our websites. The podcast was supposed to be as a public service announcement that was relevant to our content area.

As a teacher I will use this information and technology to advance students knowledge of technology but I will also be able to bring in other public service announcements that I can utilize as well. This type of announcement could also be used as an assignment in the classroom where the kids could pair up into groups and make their own podcasts for the classroom and they could even have it be their projects and other assignments.

Even now in my own classroom technology is used everyday whether it be video clips, powerpoint, overheads, internet searching, worksheets, etc, this type of technology would be something different that students would not expect in the classroom and that they would enjoy. I think that as I learn all the different types of technology this is improving how I am currently teaching in my own classroom.

UEN Scavenger Hunt

I really liked this activity that showed us how to utilize the UEN.org website and the best ways to maneuver our way through the website. The UEN website itself is confusing and overwhelming at first but as soon as you figure out the best ways to use the tool bars and to use the search option, it makes using this website so much easier. There is a load of information on the website and it is a great resource for obtaining additional lesson plans and hooking them up to your personal webpage so that parents and students are able to see where your information is coming from and how accurate it is when you are presenting the information that it is coming from a valid source.

The lesson plans and core curriculum section of the website is one that presents educators a lot of information that you can use to build on existing lesson plans or when putting together new lesson plans. It is great for new teachers because it is approved through the standards and applies right to the core, it gives you great ideas for games and activities for getting students out of their desks and involved in the lessons. I really liked looking through the different lesson plans because I am putting together my curriculum information right now and this is a great source for using in my classroom and when preparing my own personal information and lessons.

The Pioneer Library and interactive portion of the website was also great because how it is user friendly you can find new information that is not only scholarly and politically correct but also gives the user current information and facts to read up on. As a teacher you need to be able to stay current on new information and the library and interactives present those opportunities and give you information that students will also be able to use. These are great articles not only for the fact that as an educator I would definitely feel confident in sending home articles that I found on this website and sharing those with students and parents would not get me in trouble with anyone.

I really liked the fact that the website once you were a registered user you have access to professional development, licensing information, and current events going on around the state of Utah. This is great for teachers to know of upcoming workshops and news that takes place from other educators. I strongly believe in networking with my coworkers and other teachers at the junior high I work at already, this is just an additional resource that is great to even share with my coworkers and help us become better teachers that are continually progressing and helping each other be a better foundation for the students.

Classroom Reflection 09/04

This week in class we learned how to utilize Google sites and build our classroom website. We were walked through the class and the different templates and tools that are available on the sites builder.

As a teacher this is an important tool seeing as though I can link up this website to the school's website and build a relationship with the students via google sites. This brings technology into the classroom and a website that will be user friendly to the students and parents. Websites are great for interaction between the parents, teachers, and students this builds the fact if a student misses class this website will build up the relationship academically and help students make up missing work.

I originally didn't know about google sites and the technology and information that was available, this opens up the fact that it only takes a couple of minutes each day to update the website and to create it in a way that students will be able to understand. I never really thought about having my own website and utilizing the internet and fact that this is a user friendly way that parents, students and other teachers might notice and build from. I really look forward to learning more about the available technologies and ways that I can build on them and build them in my own classroom. Educators need to keep up on the technologies that their students are using and learning and be able to interface that in to their own classroom.

Classroom Reflection 09/01

Today in class we learned about google calendars, igoogle, and google sites. I never thought all these tools were available online, it was interesting going through this technology. I have used google docs before and they are always handy because it takes away the necessity of having to take a USB, flash drive, computer everywhere you go. You can access presentations, documents, etc anywhere as long as you have an internet connection and access to a computer. I tried utilizing these technologies on my phone and I was able to mess around with more uses on my phone and was still able to do some of the things I could do on a computer right on my phone. This class is going to be great as far as teaching me how to do different things and how to make things accessible to my students in the classroom and how they can use technology that will follow them through the year and they will not lose the documents.