PLN Network so far

As for blogging I think that this is the one thing that I have gravitated towards the most. I think that posts based around technology and the broad field of teaching is great because there is so much to talk about! I find it easier now to follow other's blogs as well through google reader. It is nice to be able to go to a site that updates you on all of the blogs you may miss out on. So blogging has gone well thus far...

Delicious is a new technology that I have liked as well. I like bookmarking on Delicious because everything is very organized and I can find useful sites. Everything for this class is bookmarked on Delicious so I don't get confused with my personal bookmarks on my own computer.

On to twitter....

I have to admit I haven't been building my twitter at all. I even downloaded a tweet deck and I still have yet to actually use it. Although it is nice to have I just can't get into tweeting. Maybe someday I will find this useful but I would rather read blogs than read a limited hundred-something characters.

I am still trying to build my PLN and immerse myself into this technology.

But for now I feel pretty good about blogging : )

Big Zoo Lesson

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Big Zoo Lesson

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Big Zoo Lesson

This is a lesson that was conducted last week in the third grade classroom I am currently in. The students are going to the zoo for a week long research project. Each student is responsible for researching an assigned animal and they need to collect data. Last week we talked about what the students were expected to do throughout their research and I have taken this lesson and added technology!

I have turned this lesson into a google docs presentation and have attempted to follow the BBP approach. I learned the 6 lines six word per slide rule and I think I will be using that for future presentations. In this presentation I have tried to use visuals that will help students remember the information, for example the frog with big eyes for the look slide and the elephant with big ears for the listen slide. Hopefully these visuals will spark their memory more so than slides with a great deal of writing.

Enjoy!

Olympics- lesson plans

I was wondering if anyone's CTs were incorporating history or coverage of the Olympics into their classroom. I think that with all of the coverage it would be great to discuss history and what the students are watching at home. I feel like there is so much that could be done with the Olympic coverage and even just creating math story problems with the Olympics as a back story would really intrigue students.

Sometimes I think that school is separated from the world outside and that students are expected to leave what they learn or experience outside of school at the door. I think it's important to talk to children about current events and what is going on in the world around them.

What are your CTs doing if anything? I haven't heard anything about the Olympics and I don't remember much from my school experience either.

Thoughts...?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barabanov/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

First Field Trip

I am going on my first field trip with the third graders this week and couldn't be more excited. This week they are doing their BIG ZOO LESSON. In the third grade students are assigned a specific animal and they are expected to research at the zoo. The students will be there for an entire week and the buss takes them to and from the zoo each morning and afternoon. I have never experienced a field trip that lasted all week so this should be interesting!

As I mentioned the students each have an animal that they are in charge of researching. Research includes watching the animals behavior, researching through books and technology, asking the zoo keepers questions, and learning through observation. I think that this lesson is so engaging for the students especially because they tend to have less science time in the classroom than their other subjects. This will give them an entire week to partake in a science lesson while incorporating literacy with their note taking and writings.

I was curious what field trips others have participated in and how they went...

I will keep you updated and will tell you how it goes!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ucumari/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Google Docs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/semlady/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

This week I was a little skeptical about google docs but I actually found it incredibly interesting. Although I was very frustrated that uploading a file did not completely transfer, that was my only negative encounter with this technology. The main idea that I came away with was google docs is the ability to edit others' work. I thought this would be a helpful tool in the classroom.

The first idea that came to my mind, with using google doc, is the ability to edit in pairs. I work in a third grade classroom and one of the GLCEs is to peer edit. This would be a great and easy way to incorporate technology and content into a standard that all students are required to meet. I think it would be great to get the students typing on the computer a simple story they have written, post it to google doc, and edit through this technology.

Another idea that stemmed from this technology was group work. I have a group paper due in one of my classes this week and one of the girls mentioned using google docs so we can edit the paper in the comfort of our own homes. This requires less meeting time and everyone is able to contribute equally. I think this is great! Students could be assigned a group project where they have to work together and if they have computers at home they could have the option to edit via google doc.

I am interested in learning what else this technology has to offer and plan on playing around with it a little more to find out different ways to incorporate this into the classroom.

Learning about Diversity

There was a question posed in one of my classes the other day that was asking how a teacher learns about diversity in their own classroom. This is what I think but I wanted to pose this question to you as well...

I think that in order to learn about diversity in the classroom a teacher should be asking questions. Diversity can be taught and learned through so many subjects. For example, if an objective for math is making charts and graphs the class could compile data on religion, holidays celebrated, and other aspects of the culture of the classroom. Although it is the teacher’s responsibility to lean about the diversity in the classroom, I think it is equally important for the students to see diversity among them and embrace that notion. If they are aware of their differences and similarities they are better able to understand each other on a higher level. This I believe promotes a classroom community.

As a teacher I think it is also important to understand where the children are coming from and know who are in that child’s life. In on of my class discussions we talked about how children may have adult responsibility at home so then they my have problems respecting authority at school. If a teacher did not know this, it would be easy to write that student off as having an attitude problem but in actuality it is much deeper than that.

What have you noticed about classroom diversity? This seems to be a huge topic for class discussion!

Flicker photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clevercupcakes/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

What to bring in the classroom?

http://www.library.illinois.edu/blog/esslchildlit/

I think that as teachers it is our responsibility to bring good books into the classroom. The problem is finding these so called good books. We have learned through our literature classes that we want to reach all children through literature and make sure they are represented. We have also learned that many genres should be available etc. I think that our knowledge of what to bring in is there it is just finding these pieces of literature that is the problem.

This week I have found a new blog that I think is incredibly helpful. There are themes for posts such as letter writing, disabilities is books for youth, multicultural families, and even a section for resources for beginning teachers. Fantastic blog! Just as good books are hard to find so are good blogs and I have successfully found a good one.

Although there are many examples of books and great descriptions we as teachers have to analyze these books for our own classroom and see if they fit. But again, this is a great place to start!

Google Earth- Absolutely Amazing

This picture was taken through google earth

The technology I explored this week was google earth. I had played around with google earth years ago but all I really did was search my house so this week I took it to the next level. I found that you can search so many things like geographical landforms, places, and they even have a google sky now. I was also shocked to see how accurate and clear this form of technology has gotten. It is amazing how a satellite view of the earth can be transferred onto our computers and fall into our laps.

After downloading this to my computer, which took less than two minutes, I spend the next half hour searching. I am going to South Africa this summer and staying in Cape Town so that was my first stop around the world. We are going to travel to Table Mountain and this landform was labeled on the map so I had no problems finding it. I can not believe the detail! I felt as if I was actually on an air plane looking into the city. There were houses, streets, buildings, pools, expressways, absolutely everything!

Now that I am done traveling the world I have a million lesson ideas that could go along with this technology. Younger children have a really difficult time thinking about places outside of their own "world" and google map can expand their perspective. It is easy to talk about a certain place and point to a one dimensional map, but google map takes this to the next level and children can actually see what these places look like. Africa is not just a country and a body of land but it turns into a country, with cities, buildings, streets, bodies of water, and everything children see in their own world. Children can explore google maps through projects, class discussions, and even learning about their own neighborhood and what a birds eye view would look like.

In regards to TPACK, content is completely enhanced through google map. Students are able to learn new content in geography and really grasp places around the world. It is a technological tool that enhances pedagogy and the way teachers teach about the world. It allows children to relate to these places and see differences and similarities in their own environments.

Check it out it is absolutely amazing!

Thoughts on the Ipad

After all of this talk on technology I was wondering what people are thinking about the new apple Ipad. I have seen this new technology all over the TV and internet but I have already heard mixed opinions and it's not even out! It is like a larger Ipod touch with more features but I am anxious to see what this really has to offer.

How could we use this in the classroom? This is where our minds seem to be shifting so I wanted to see what others thought.

As for myself, I'm not quite sure about the Ipad but I am excited to see what this new and exciting technology is really about.

Twitter update

After having a twitter account for the last couple weeks, I still find myself avoiding tweets. Although I find it interesting to follow others online it is difficult for me to come up with great beneficial tweets. I have started following some educators and some children literature authors so I am hoping to learn a great deal from them. When they started following me, my automatic reaction was that I better start tweeting more but the question is what to tweet?

Although at this stage in my life I feel as if my tweets would be less than substantial and would boar others I think that the classroom would be much easier to incorporate twitter into. With older grades, if they are consistently checking their twitter, it might be nice to use as a home work update. I could see this being very helpful for students. It could also open discussion within the classroom and promote community online outside of school.

I am still trying to incorporate twitter into my life but I think with a little more practice and effort I will get there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Flicker photos and Field trips

Here are my flicker photos. I used a picture that i took at Preuss pets. The pet store on Grand River in Lansing allowed us to interview them about science outside of the classroom last semester. This was so interesting and they were incredibly knowledgeable about all of their animals.

They also offer field trips! So if you haven't already been you should visit. If not keep them in mind for future teaching opportunities. They truly know lots and lots about their animal friends!