Webquest!

After much deliberation and hard work I finally finished my very own WebQuest! Hooray!!!

Hold your applause...please!

http://www.zunal.com/publish.php?w=58853

There it is.

What I think works best about web quests program is that it is all there for you. On zunal.com it gives you all the categories you need to have, so when you're stuck and aren't sure what needs to go on it, it's just right there for you.

If I had lots of money, I would create a video of myself reading the book the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. The one I found was boring. I would also have pictures taken of all the kids in our classroom, around the community. I'd love to go to the city, country and suburban communities and film my experience to put on the web quest.

The peer evaluation and planning sheet both were super helpful. It was great to brainstorm to get ideas and then even better to discuss those ideas with a partner. It was also good to have someone objective look at the project just in case it wasn't exactly easy to understand.

I've learned that the instructional planning process is long! In order to find all the websites and books and videos it takes a substantial amount of time. I also learned that as a teacher, if something doesn't quite go right the first time, I can always add something, or re-vamp something if it isn't quite how I want it.

What a relief to have that finished! I feel so accomplished!

Digital Photography

Digital photography has always been something I've enjoyed using. I love to capture moments that otherwise go unnoticed. I've familiarized myself with photo-shop, and iPhoto, and now with Comic Life! I would love to use digital cameras in my classroom, and I would particularly love my STUDENTS to use digital cameras in my classroom. I would love to have my students working on an ongoing slide show on iPhoto or iMovie. Starting at the beginning of the year, I would have my students take pictures during different activities such as: assemblies, recess, P.E. and others, so that they can be adding pictures as they go. Then at the end of the year I'd want to show the slide show. I've also loved using Comic Life. I would love to have my students take pictures of what they do at home and then bring them in to class. They could use comic life to make a comic book about what they do in their daily lives. It could be very fun.

Web Applications

For science, one of the web applications I thought would be very resourceful would be the NASA directroy of resources. On that website there is a link specifically designed for Elementary students of different age groups. Under each one there is a place to play and learn. In the 4th and 5th grades, students start to learn about the water cycle. I think it would be fun for them to use the NASA application to play the "Adventure of Droplet Game" This game is found at: http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/droplet.html It teaches them a great deal about the way water travels through the water cycle.

I like the link to Viking quest would be a great one to use for social studies. I remember doing Viking reports in the 5th grade. It would be fun to use that as a tool to teach about the Vikings.

For math I think there are a ton of great web resources. I LOVED the Mass spring lab found at this website http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/mass-spring-lab/mass-spring-lab_en.html. It's such a fun way for students to learn about measurement and mass.

All in all I think there are many awesome web applications you can use in the classroom! How wonderful to have so many resources.

Webquest

I absolutely love the idea of Webquest. I often get nervous about young children using the internet. There is SO MUCH sketchy stuff out there. It's a great way to provide information on a specific subject and a great place to put pre-approved websites for students. It just seems like an excellent tool to use. For my webquest I would love to use Second Grade social studies standard 2, Students will develop a sense of self in relation to families and community. Objective 2: examine important aspects of the community and culture that strengthen relationships, indicator b. compare rural, suburban and urban communities. I think I could find some really great resources and could create a great webquest for my students to use. They will be able to see the differences, and do some research, without running into irrelevant and sketchy material. I think it's especially good for younger students because they are able to use the internet without having to use search engines that can be tricky. It's a lovely resource!

EXCEL

This week in one of my other classes we were asked to pick a topic to do a large group unit on. My group picked A Healthy Lifestyle and I specifically chose to do Physical Fitness. I had a great idea of how to integrate technology into this lesson, and it incorporates an Excel Spreadsheet. I wanted to have my students take turns using a pedometer and recording their results on a class spreadsheet. We would create this spreadsheet together and use columns such as:

Using this spreadsheet, we could determine how many steps we walked as a class, or how many minutes we spent exercising.

Spreadsheets can also be good for recording scientific data, total books read independently or even make job assignments. I like using Excel a lot!

Word

I think being proficient at using word and or google docs is a very important skill for a child to develop. Using these programs in the classroom can be a great tool to use. In my classroom I want to use Word as a finishing tool for writing. Each month I want to have a writing unit, short story, poetry, essay etc. After the students have finished their rough drafts, and revisions they will have the opportunity to work on the computer to type their work. This work will then be sent home to parents, put up on the class blog, or printed to put on bulletin boards. It will help the students learn how to type, go slowly, and format their work.

Google docs is a great way to share their writing with others. I would love to have my students collaborate with their parents via Google docs about their writing. Everyone can look at their work and help eachother create better writing. It will be a great way to unify the class, and teach the children how to work together!

YETC

Ever since my first year at Utah State I have been a HUGE fan of the YETC! It has been such an amazing resource to have as I've been learning to create lesson plans, and do assignments. Some specific things I like about the YETC is the teacherlink website they've created that has a list of all the resources available. I particularly love the clip art collection as well as the NASA Educator Resource center. I also love that there are a ton of BASIL readers and textbook options to look through in the YETC. I also think it's neat how many DVD's and Videos they have for us to use. They even have equipment to edit and make my own movies...so neat! Another thing I really enjoy are all the links to educational websites. They will be so helpful when I'm looking for new lesson plans and new ideas to experiment with. I'm excited to continue to use this awesome resource.

UEN A-OKAY!

I am so excited to use the UEN website. As a student I find myself struggling to create exciting, well rounded lesson plans that will catch the attention of my students. Through the UEN website, I will be able to view Videos, get input from other teachers, search through lesson plans of those who are more experience than I am, view the curriculum and use the technology available to me. I am also excited to use the subscriptions feature, and be a recipient of educational newsletters and journals etc. The other great feature of the UEN website are the Lesson Plan and Rubric creators. Like I said before, I struggle with new lesson plans and it will be nice to have a way to create them.

I'm so grateful to be able to be a teacher at this point in time. So many resources are available to me and it's so fun to explore them all!

Blogging Classrooms?

I am not new to blogging. In fact I've been doing it for years. No one really reads my blog, but I've found that it is a great way to get my ideas out, and vent about the crazy life I lead. Similarly I think it would be an excellent idea to use blogging in my classroom. I think students need the chance to get their ideas out, and learn from each other's experiences. By creating a classroom blog I would be able to keep parents up to date on what we're working on, give my students a forum to discuss the themes and units we learn on a weekly basis, and create a place to display student's work. Of course as with all internet use, the students would have to be taught the proper use of our classroom blog. No derogatory or mean spirited comments would be tolerated, and the blog would only be open to members of our classroom, parents and faculty. Technology is becoming more advanced every day, and I think it's important to keep up with the times. Rather than fighting against it, we should embrace it and use it to our advantage.