The article Is Cursive Writing Worth Teaching is an article discussing the pros and cons of teaching cursive writing in the classroom. One teacher tells a story about how a little girl was standing in front of the Declaration of Indepenence and told her parents that she wanted to learn cursive so that she could understand what the paper said. For this reason the teacher believes that cursive is an important skill to learn. Not only does it help with things like motor skills, but it also helps the child read this country's most important documents. If we expect people to follow the guidelines set out by these documents we should give them the tools to read the document. On the other hand, another teacher explains that technology is overwhelming everything else in our society. She uses this reason to explain that instead of taking the time to teach our children how to write, we should teach them how to type. It is important that students be able to communicate in the medium that is most common now. This article does not ever reach a conclusion, but instead focuses on the two different opinions of the teachers and other teachers like them.
I think that cursive is an important skill to have. Students are not always typing even though it is the medium of choice. As a future teacher I want every student that I have to be able to communicate their message, and to me an important step in this process is writing. There is something about writing that takes the understanding to the next level and the student many times is able to retain the information correctly. There are even every day occurances when people use cursive. When signing your name to a legal document it should be written in cursive. There is also the fine motor skills that are extremely important and writing is just one more way that those skills can be nurtured.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Web 2.0 Project Book
The website The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book by Terry Freedman is a compilation of different technology lesson plans and activities. This website makes it so easy to find everything that you would want to do in your classroom. Every thing is all in one place and very easy to find. All you have to do is click on the link in the table of contents that you want to read about and it takes you directly to the page that it is on. There is information about the lesson that the teacher used. Different teachers contribute different lessons, so the lesson plans are not all by Freedman, but he puts it all together in an easy to find place.
One of the links that I clicked on was a lesson called Live Blogging this allowed students to converse with eachother so that they could all be involoved in the conversation. The great thing about this blogging website is that the teacher was able to selectively publish only the blogs that were relevant. Anything that was not part of the discussion was not published. I think that this is a great way to make sure that students are not getting sidetracked from the origional point of the discussion. They give ideas about using this for guest speakers or video group discussions and I agree that that is a great way to use this technology. I would even be great if the guest speaker was involved in the discussion as well in order to answer any potential questions or clarify anything. I think that live blogging is a great tool to use in the classroom if all students have access to a computer.
Another link that I clicked on was the e-Mentoring. This is a website that allows students the ability to get help on their school work. Anyone can help them inclupding other students, teachers, or support staff. This is helpful for the students because when they are at home working on homework and get stuck on something they have a place to go to get help. I can foresee that there could be many different ways that this technology could be used and it would make me nervous to allow younger students on to this website that anybody can access. However, every conversation is archived, but I still think that the origional purpose of this website could be easily bypassed.
One of the links that I clicked on was a lesson called Live Blogging this allowed students to converse with eachother so that they could all be involoved in the conversation. The great thing about this blogging website is that the teacher was able to selectively publish only the blogs that were relevant. Anything that was not part of the discussion was not published. I think that this is a great way to make sure that students are not getting sidetracked from the origional point of the discussion. They give ideas about using this for guest speakers or video group discussions and I agree that that is a great way to use this technology. I would even be great if the guest speaker was involved in the discussion as well in order to answer any potential questions or clarify anything. I think that live blogging is a great tool to use in the classroom if all students have access to a computer.
Another link that I clicked on was the e-Mentoring. This is a website that allows students the ability to get help on their school work. Anyone can help them inclupding other students, teachers, or support staff. This is helpful for the students because when they are at home working on homework and get stuck on something they have a place to go to get help. I can foresee that there could be many different ways that this technology could be used and it would make me nervous to allow younger students on to this website that anybody can access. However, every conversation is archived, but I still think that the origional purpose of this website could be easily bypassed.
Freedman, T. (2010). The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book. In The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book. Retrieved October 31, 2011, from http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Assitive Tehchnology for Mathematics
The article on Assistive Technology for Mathmatics by Marcia Obukowicz, is on the website http://wati.org/?pageLoad=content/supports/free/index.php this website has many different subjects, not just mathematics.
The article about math first states how important mathmatics is for every student. Even if the student does not plan on going into Engineering, there are every day ways that math is helpful. For students who plan on attending college, mathmatics is a pre-requisite for many other classes. For those who are not planning on attending college, math canbe helpful in many different ways. They student will have to maintain their bank account, pay bills, and still have enough money left over. Students will have to know this information for their future no matter what it is that they decide to do.
This article teaches us as future teachers how to teach math so that students can see the value in the subject. We have to make sure that every student takes the subjects that we are teaching seriously. As much as this may not be realistic, it is important. Most students in high school or even middle school just hate school and don't want to learn the subjects that we are teaching them, but if they see a way that the subject can be used in their everyday life, they are more likely to take the time to learn it. If teachers can find a way to show students that subjects are relevant, they will have more interested students.
The article about math first states how important mathmatics is for every student. Even if the student does not plan on going into Engineering, there are every day ways that math is helpful. For students who plan on attending college, mathmatics is a pre-requisite for many other classes. For those who are not planning on attending college, math canbe helpful in many different ways. They student will have to maintain their bank account, pay bills, and still have enough money left over. Students will have to know this information for their future no matter what it is that they decide to do.
This article teaches us as future teachers how to teach math so that students can see the value in the subject. We have to make sure that every student takes the subjects that we are teaching seriously. As much as this may not be realistic, it is important. Most students in high school or even middle school just hate school and don't want to learn the subjects that we are teaching them, but if they see a way that the subject can be used in their everyday life, they are more likely to take the time to learn it. If teachers can find a way to show students that subjects are relevant, they will have more interested students.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Digital Storytelling in the Classroom
Before reading this article, I was not familiar with Digital Storytelling. After reading this, I learned that Digital Storytelling is telling a story using a video camera or a digital camera. The storyteller can tell any story at all. The story can be fiction or nonfiction. I think that Digital Storytelling is a wonderful invention. It is a way to pass down history to everyone all over the world. It is a way to never let things be forgotten; but it is also a way to be creative and explore the world of technology.
The article "Digital Storytelling" by Glen Bull and Sara Kajder aims to incorporate this Digital Storytelling into the classroom. In this article they talk about using this technology when teaching language arts. They talk about using this to discuss the characteristics of a good story. According to Bull and Kajder, these include point of view, a dramatic question, emotional content, economy, pacing, voice, and soundtrack. They encourage allowing the students to create their own story to tell. They have to learn about plot and writing a script and more.
I think that this is a good idea for students of all ages at varying degrees. Students get a chance to work with literature, but they also get to use technology and their creativity. However, this is not limited to solely teaching literature, there are many different ways that Digital Storytelling can be incorporated into the classroom. One idea is to teach diversity in the classroom, you could even go as far as to teach vocabulary with a video camera, having students act out the vocab. There are so many ways that students can use a video camera to learn and teach their classmates.
The article "Digital Storytelling" by Glen Bull and Sara Kajder aims to incorporate this Digital Storytelling into the classroom. In this article they talk about using this technology when teaching language arts. They talk about using this to discuss the characteristics of a good story. According to Bull and Kajder, these include point of view, a dramatic question, emotional content, economy, pacing, voice, and soundtrack. They encourage allowing the students to create their own story to tell. They have to learn about plot and writing a script and more.
I think that this is a good idea for students of all ages at varying degrees. Students get a chance to work with literature, but they also get to use technology and their creativity. However, this is not limited to solely teaching literature, there are many different ways that Digital Storytelling can be incorporated into the classroom. One idea is to teach diversity in the classroom, you could even go as far as to teach vocabulary with a video camera, having students act out the vocab. There are so many ways that students can use a video camera to learn and teach their classmates.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
WEB 2.0: Today's Technologies, Tomorrow's Learning
Jennifer Groff and Jason Haas wrote about how it is important to utilize the technologies that kids are used to into the curriculum at school. Children will learn better if you let them use learning games or other fun ways to learn without them realizing that they are learning. There are games where kids can solve problems, or find clues to the answers. These games can encourage self-guided learning, or can even encourage collaboration.
Even though I think that this is a great idea, I think that there is a time and a place for this. I think that games like these could be used as reinforcement or even as homework. However, I think that learning in other ways in the classroom could be more effective in some situations. I think that there should be a good balance between all of the different types of learning styles. As we all know children learn differently so it is important to include all different styles of teaching in the curriculum. I think that kids are more likely to want to learn when it is fun. There could be a competition to encourage children to play the games. I think that anything that you can do to create excitement in a child toward leaning is a great idea.
There is a teacher that I observed for recently in a High School Math class that used Facebook to communicate with her students. They were able to ask questions on her class Facebook and other students could see it and help each other. She also was able to post updates about class assignments or tests on that Facebook. I think that this is a great idea because students are constantly on Facebook and that is the place where they are most likely to see information. Students are less likely to sign on to Blackboard or other websites like it, even though those are great websites, students would rather be on Facebook. There are plenty of other ways that we as future teachers can help students and make it easier for them to succeed and learn.
Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2008, September). Web 2.0: Today's technologies, tomorrow's learning [Electronic version]. Learning & Leading with Technology, 12-15.
Even though I think that this is a great idea, I think that there is a time and a place for this. I think that games like these could be used as reinforcement or even as homework. However, I think that learning in other ways in the classroom could be more effective in some situations. I think that there should be a good balance between all of the different types of learning styles. As we all know children learn differently so it is important to include all different styles of teaching in the curriculum. I think that kids are more likely to want to learn when it is fun. There could be a competition to encourage children to play the games. I think that anything that you can do to create excitement in a child toward leaning is a great idea.
There is a teacher that I observed for recently in a High School Math class that used Facebook to communicate with her students. They were able to ask questions on her class Facebook and other students could see it and help each other. She also was able to post updates about class assignments or tests on that Facebook. I think that this is a great idea because students are constantly on Facebook and that is the place where they are most likely to see information. Students are less likely to sign on to Blackboard or other websites like it, even though those are great websites, students would rather be on Facebook. There are plenty of other ways that we as future teachers can help students and make it easier for them to succeed and learn.
Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2008, September). Web 2.0: Today's technologies, tomorrow's learning [Electronic version]. Learning & Leading with Technology, 12-15.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Digging up Internet Safety
I read the article "Students Dig Up Dirt to Learn about Internet Safety" by Jesse Morehouse. This article was written describing his lesson plan where he had the students in his class dig up dirt about himself and other teachers using just what they got off the internet. He then recorded what they had found and showed them just how much information they were able to find using only a few pieces of information. Next the students were able to find another person of their choosing and research about them. They created a profile for this person using all of the information that they had found online. He did this to show the students just how much information was out their about each and every one of them.
I think many students do not realize that everything they put on the internet is out their for everyone else to see. Even the "private" information is not private. Kids forget that the internet is something that lasts forever and once information is out there it is out there for good. This way of teaching this lesson is a creative way to show students the information that is out their instead of just telling them. Kids are more resposive in some instences when they learn by doing instead of sitting in a lecture type situation with someone talking about the internet. Children are able to see first hand just how much information is able to be found by people who dont have any researching training at all.
If all that information is available to people who have no professional training, imagine how much information is available to those people who have the experience and whose job it is to research peoples information. Do you want everything that you post online in the hands of someone you've never met.
Jesse, Morehouse. (2011, September). Students dig up dirt to learn about internet safety. Learning and Leading with Technology, 34-35.
I think many students do not realize that everything they put on the internet is out their for everyone else to see. Even the "private" information is not private. Kids forget that the internet is something that lasts forever and once information is out there it is out there for good. This way of teaching this lesson is a creative way to show students the information that is out their instead of just telling them. Kids are more resposive in some instences when they learn by doing instead of sitting in a lecture type situation with someone talking about the internet. Children are able to see first hand just how much information is able to be found by people who dont have any researching training at all.
If all that information is available to people who have no professional training, imagine how much information is available to those people who have the experience and whose job it is to research peoples information. Do you want everything that you post online in the hands of someone you've never met.
Jesse, Morehouse. (2011, September). Students dig up dirt to learn about internet safety. Learning and Leading with Technology, 34-35.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Social-Based Learning
In the article Unleashing the Future:Educators "Speak Up" about the use of Emerging Technologies for Learning, teachers aspiring teachers, and administrators write about the advancements in technology in the classrooms.
As technology becomes more prevalent in the classroom, children are learning how to communicate and collaborate with their classmates. This collaboration does not have to occur in the classroom anymore, the students can learn anywhere. Classes are also able to communicate with other children allover the world. Children are becoming more motivated to learn and are responsible for their own education. Teachers are able to create interactive lessons and get the children directly involved in their learning. Technology in education is becoming a core curriculum mission for districts. Schools are introducing online classes and other ways that students can interact with each other. They are able to connect their learning to the outside world and their future. As shown in Table 1:Top Technology picks for the ultimate school, Middle and High School Students rate communication tools as the most important aspect of technology for the best school. For teachers, communication tools are third on the list of important technology.
Students can "reach beyond the boundaries of their traditional circle of friends, classroom and school to seek new experts to add to their learning network." With this new style of learning, teachers are able to collaborate directly with students instead of through parents or other adults. Children are learning how to use word processor, spreadsheets, and databases. Technology does not only help the student, but it helps the teacher and parents as well. Each person involved in the education process is able to collaborate with one another. Students are becoming more involved and more excited about learning.
Instead of taking out a pencil and paper to learn, children will be able to take out a computer. In the future, computers, call phones and other forms of technology will be a regular aspect of every classroom. The world as a whole will become more connected. Children will also be more prepared to enter today's technological world.
As technology becomes more prevalent in the classroom, children are learning how to communicate and collaborate with their classmates. This collaboration does not have to occur in the classroom anymore, the students can learn anywhere. Classes are also able to communicate with other children allover the world. Children are becoming more motivated to learn and are responsible for their own education. Teachers are able to create interactive lessons and get the children directly involved in their learning. Technology in education is becoming a core curriculum mission for districts. Schools are introducing online classes and other ways that students can interact with each other. They are able to connect their learning to the outside world and their future. As shown in Table 1:Top Technology picks for the ultimate school, Middle and High School Students rate communication tools as the most important aspect of technology for the best school. For teachers, communication tools are third on the list of important technology.
Students can "reach beyond the boundaries of their traditional circle of friends, classroom and school to seek new experts to add to their learning network." With this new style of learning, teachers are able to collaborate directly with students instead of through parents or other adults. Children are learning how to use word processor, spreadsheets, and databases. Technology does not only help the student, but it helps the teacher and parents as well. Each person involved in the education process is able to collaborate with one another. Students are becoming more involved and more excited about learning.
Instead of taking out a pencil and paper to learn, children will be able to take out a computer. In the future, computers, call phones and other forms of technology will be a regular aspect of every classroom. The world as a whole will become more connected. Children will also be more prepared to enter today's technological world.
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