Childhood Development- Grade 1

I chose the category 'Childhood Development- Grade 1' because as a teacher I want to know where my students are at as far as development. I would like to know how they interact best, and what is going on with them intellectually, physically and socially. I believe that knowing about their development will help me to teach the effectively. Each site in this category focuses on ages 5 & 6 because I am planning on teaching this age group. The 1st site on the list named Child Development is a great site, it gives the reader specific bullets on the intellectual, physical and social development of a 5 or 6 year old. It tells the reader their characteristics, things they typically enjoy, and common moods. The site also lists some helpful hints on how to interact with children in this age bracket. Education.com is also another great site. This site gives charts with specific characters and qualities as well. What I really like about this site is it gives you indicators of development lag. I believe that important to know as an educator.

About Disabilities

I chose the Category 'About Disabilities' because I feel it is important to have knowledge on the disabilities of the children in our classrooms before we can determine how to accommodate them. Each site in this category focuses giving the reader knowledge about the disability. Helpful Tips- Dyslexia in the classroom is one of my favorite websites, it gives information and great tools on how to help a dyslexic child. For example, using a different color pen for each time you write on the white board or smart so that the child can decipher the different lines. Also using soft shades as background colors on worksheets, this will help the child read the print better. My other favorite is the site on learning about selective mutism. This site gives information on the disability as well as how to help. The site is detailed in answering common questions and answers the questions that I am most curious about.

English Language Learners- ELL

I chose the category of English Language Learner because English as a second language is very common. There are a large amount of kids being put in the classroom that understand very little English and are still learning. I chose sites that focused on teaching ELL students effectively. This is important to me because in the classroom where I student teach there are three ELL students. It is good for me to know how to effectively communicate with them. I really like the site Focus on Effectiveness, it gives great factual information about ELL students. My other favorite is Tips for Teaching ELL students, this site gives you effective tools on how to promote success among your ELL students. The site helps teachers to develop important strategies to encourage the students succees.

Teacher Tools

I chose Teacher Tools as one of my categories because it is important as a teacher to have online resources. Teacher tools consists of sites that are helpful to teachers. Some of the sites inculde lesson plan ideas and others consist of important information for teachers. Online Grade Level Expectancies is an important site for beginning teachers. It is crucial in your first years of teaching to know what is expected of you by the state. I also chose the site Educator World. I love this site because it has it all. Great lesson plan ideas, Professional development information and information on how to integrate technology in the classroom,which we all know is becoming more important in our society.

1st Grade Online Learning

I chose the category of 1st grade online learning because I feel it is important to have tools your students can use at home. Each of these sites are fun and interactive, each site is specific to a subject, like reading, writing, math, etc. It is important to encourage your students to have fun with learning, the games and activities on the sites help to do exactly that. There are two sites imparticular that I really love. Alien Scavenger Hunt Letter Bugs is one of them, this site is very interactive and helps the kids learn what letters sound like and how to spell basic words. Cool Math is another great site. Cool Math creates fun ways to learn math using pictures and colorful explanations. The site explains the type of math (e.g., addition or subtration) in a way that is easy to read and understand.

A Day in the Life of Web 2.0

I found this article very interesting and encouraging. I have been having a hard time getting use to all the technology being used in the classroom. It was good to see the effects of technology played out in a real life situation. I am not sure if the story is true, but it was great to see the teachers really grasp technology and use it to encourage their students. I liked the idea of having the students create a study guide by using a wiki. I also like the idea of teachers having blogs to pass information onto their students.

Smart Board

I have mixed feelings about the SMART board. I think it is a great tool in the classroom if you know how to use it correctly. I would want to make sure I knew everything about the board before I used it in front of my classroom. As a teacher, I think it is important to know what your doing when your in front of 30 students. My only concern would be that I would want to use it and I would get confused during a lesson. Being that I am going to be teacher k-2 graders I would not be able to get help from my students. Overall, I think it is a great tool and can be very effective. I would be interested in observing a teacher use it with a class of young elementary students!

Excel Document

http://www.box.net/shared/m3j75e72ox

Technologically Literate

I believe that technology should be used in the classroom. Today's society depends so much on the use of technology. For example, we depend on technology when we are learning. We use discovery and email to communicate assignments. If we did not use technology in our own education it would make learning more difficult for us here at Northwest. I believe technology does aid learning. We are examples of that. Technology aids teachers in the teaching process, therefore it aids the students they are teaching. Students today also are very technological. They live technology. They have cell phones, computers, IPOD's, palm pilots. They can easily relate to technology. Students learn best by what they enjoy and by what is familiar to them. Therefore, it is almost crucial in today's society to keep up with technology and use it in the classroom. However, I don't believe all technology aids learning. For example, I don't believe the use of cell phones in the classroom would aid the learning process. Although, I do feel technology as a whole is a good thing and can significantly improve learning.

Students today use a wide range of technology. Most students ranging from elementary school to high school use cell phones, computers and IPOD's on a daily basis. Most students also access websites like myspace, or facebook on a daily basis as well. I think it would be great to incorporate these elements into the classroom. I personally, depending on the age range, would try to incorporate computers and websites like facebook and myspace. For example, you could have students set up their own website about a subject they enjoy or about a particular topic you are researching in class. This would help to integrate what they enjoy into their education. Students could also be allowed computers in class to take notes or work on a project.

I would put the classroom in which I am observing under tier 1, observable and best practices. The teacher uses technology to get the job done. The teacher uses an overhead projector,a classroom website, email and organizes information like grades, etc on a personal computer. I noticed that the classroom lacks technology. It is a first grade classroom, but I could see where some technology would fit. If I were to add some things to her classroom I would add a computer lesson for the students, an assignment that involves using the computer, and a new overhead (one with a camera rather than a light).

GLE Arts Grade 4- The GLE requires that students acquires skills necessary to create, to perform, and to respond effectively to the arts. 1.1- To understand and apply concepts and vocabulary to communicate ideas: Identify different multimedia forms used to produce and present works of art: graphics, photography, animation, moving image, audio and video. For this specific standard I would first teach students about the information. I would teach them about art and how to create and perform works of art using technology. I would then require the students to choose a specific technological representation of art, graphic, photography, animation, video, audio, and create their own. For example, a student could create a video and use their computer, or compose a song.

GLE Reading Grade 4- The GLE requires students to understand and use different skills and strategies to read. 1.5- Use features of nonfiction text and computer software: Recognize organizational features of electronic information such as pull- down menus,key word searches, icons, etc. For this specific standard I would teach a basic computer lesson.

GLE Communication Grade 4- The GLE requires students to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. 2.5- Effectively use action, sound, and/ or images to support presentations: Experiment with a variety of media and resources to convey a message or enhance an oral presentation. For this specific standard I would first teach the students about the different ways to use technology to communicate. For example, power point, websites, etc. Then I would require the students to make a website where they would communicate information about a certain topic or make a power point presentation communicating information about a topic.

Newcastles website review

After viewing newcastles site I did not find much wrong with it. I think the site is very well put together. Each teacher has a link to their own site where you can find information about thier class and their lesson plans. You can also view different information about the school itself as well as driving directions and recent test scores.

Adopt and Adapt: 21st Century schools need 21st Century technology

Prensky makes some good points about Technology in Education. After reading the article I had a few comments and questions of my own.

I agree with allowing students to type their assignments. I feel that their work will be more efficient and better quality as well as easier on the student.

The author made a comment about allowing students to use cell phones and cell phone cameras in learning. I don't understand how this would be beneficial to students. Cell phones and cell phone cameras are purely for communication in my opinion and would not be beneficial in a learning environment. I would be interested in seeing a teacher integrate them in a good way.

I agree with the idea that using technology will better education. I think people learn by what is familiar to them and in society today technology is what is familiar to our youth.

However, I do think that technology has gone to far when there is no longer communication with a teacher face to face. I think students need that relationship and availability.

Is Instant Messenger a good or a bad thing in education? I am unsure to the answer of this question. I don't understand how a teacher would use instant messenger in a learning environment. I see it as a communication device and not exactly useful in a learning environment but, I would be open and interested in seeing how it could be used.

I completely agree with the paragraph talking about new things in new ways. I think that students today are begging for a new way of teaching and in order to teach them best it is important to take that into consideration. If we as educators don't pay attention to the needs of our students and our ever changing environment we will fail to teach effectively.