Big Six

The idea of the Big 6 is a good one. Students need to learn problem solving skills that will help them in the classroom and outside of the classroom. The "Big 6" allows them to do this.

If a student has an issue/problem they simply follow the 6 steps to resolve it. Students will feel that they are in control of a situation and given a sense of responsiblity. It gives them freedom to come up with a resolution on their own with the steps.

This is a great program that can be taught to children. Its benefits will have positive outcomes towards students.

New Technologies

Both the Amazing Table and the Video conferencing are pretty cool. I agree with many others in our class when it comes to video conferencing. It would be a great thing to use in the classroom for guest speakers. Students could also use this to communicate with other classrooms across the world.

I also think the amazing table would be great in a classroom. Students can use the paint program to create projects and on the other hand young students can create pictures during free play just like they would at a real easel. The only difference is that you can print the picture for them to take home that day and they wouldn't have to wait for it to dry.

It is amazing to watch how much technology has changed over the past few years and will continue to change for the future. I can't wait to see what new kind of technology will be created next.

Connecticut Nutmeg Video

I think it is very neat that the recipient books for the Nutmeg Award were decided by children. This is great because it is not only engaging children to reflect on what they are reading about but also engages them to become more involved in helping other peers with their choices of literature.

As Sandy asked, I am also curious as to how children become selected to serve on this committee.

MP3 Homework

I think that its great teachers are having students use Ipods/MP3 players to learn Spanish. This is also great for books on tape which will only enrich student's learning to read. Students love using Ipods and MP3 players so this twist on learning is fun too. Its a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom even for learning a new language. Sometimes listening to a new language can help a student learn rather than just reading it. This is a wonderful idea!

Tablaux Vivant

I enjoyed this activity very much. I feel that students in elementary, middle, or high school would enjoy this. With each age level it would just have to be modified. It was great to work as a group and collaborate everyone's ideas for the storyline. With elementary students, this would be a fun activity because they could act out a story they are reading in class. All students would be involved and get to play a different role. I never thought of using technology in this way with taking pictures. It allows students to be creative while learning and have fun at the same time!

Learning Styles

I took the learning style quiz for fun even though I already knew I am an auditory learner. Once something is explained to me rather than read I understand it much better.

This quiz is a great reminder when thinking about how students learn. Not everyone is an auditory learner and needs to be shown things. There are also tactile learners. Taking this into account in a classroom is key and will only benefit the students.

Using technology for different learners is a great idea. Visual learners get to see things on the computer and auditory learners can listen to what they are learning about. I agree with what clovett said in that it gives students another way of learning besides textbooks.

Wiki Reflection

The Wiki page I read about was Letter Pop. As an educator, newsletters are very important to keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom. It is a great way for them to stay connected with their child and with us as educators.

This is something I enjoyed seeing that the page offers. This program can also be used for outside of school for announcements and invitations.

Students can also use Letter Pop to create projects for the classroom or homework purposes. The only potential problem I can see with this is that the students using the program need to be sure it can only be viewed by their teacher, classmates, and parents. Especially since it has the feature to add pictures to projects the student is working on.

Digital Divide

I am not surprised by the digital divide because of the academic achievement gap between poor and wealthy school districts as Sandy mentioned. Schools that have lower-income students have less funding for the kind of improvements needed for learning.

Poor school districts are not using technology to enhance teaching and access of information available to studetns. The students at these schools do not get the same learning advantages as those students attending a wealthier school.

The article by Alec MacGillis, "Law, Software fuel new 'digital divide', states that teachers in lower economic school districts use technology to replace themselves as teachers for a certain part of the day. They do not use technology to enhance learning. It is not used as something engaging for students. This is not beneficial to students' learning. Technology should be used to benefit student learning.

This digital divide is only going to keep increasing the academic one if something is not done. For the future, educators need to be aware of this and take it into account when teaching. Wealthier school districts should try to provide help for poorer school districts by raising money or finding computer companies to sponsor grants. As educators, we need to bridge this digital divide in the United States.

"Web 2.0...The Machine is Using Us"

I agree with Rose that this video clearly proves that technology is constantly changing. With use of web 2.0 it is much easier to communicate with one another. It offers so much more than web 1.0 and I believe will continue to expand as time goes on. We have used the Wiki as our web 2.0. I enjoyed being able to go back and edit something I had written online for all of my classmates to get information from.

Shift Happens

I enjoyed watching this during class but enjoyed the narrated version much better. It was a different experience hearing all ofthe information. The facts given throughout this were eye opening. Technology is only going to advance in years to come and I can only imagine what types of changes are going to happen. It is amazing how much more advanced China is than us. It is also unbelievable to think that students are being prepared for jobs that don't even exist yet!

Non-Linear Powerpoint

I really enjoyed using the non-linear powerpoint! There is so much you can do with it. It was fun to create a quiz of my own and personalize and add things to it like sounds.

For a class, you could make interactive quizzes on it and also create a Jeopardy game for any subject. It can be used to test students at the end of unit interactively. Non-linear powerpoint can be used for any type of project and can be used for individual student use or for the class use as a whole. A fun activity for students could be, as a class, students can come up with review questions and make their own quizzes for their classmates to take.

I definetely think that non-linear makes powerpoint more interesting to students because you can do so much more. Students will be more excited to use this program once they see all of its features and learn that it is not hard to use.

Copyright: A Fair(y) Use Tale

I really enjoyed this video! I thought it was a great way of getting the copyright point across by using Disney characters!

Reflections on Class so Far

I am really enjoying this class. It is very informative and interesting. Everyone has been so helpful in assisting me when I need help. I had never used blogs, wikis, or made a webpage before and feel comfortable now with these programs. I have learned so many things in this course that I can take with me and use for the classroom and for personal use (such as blog, etc.). I look forward to making my digital story. I think that this would work great with students as a project for them to make their own. I can't wait to see my finished projects and my classmates digital stories!

eTips & UDL

The principles of UDL and eTips has a similiar idea. Both plan to use technology to support student learning. UDL is also great for different backgrounds of students, learning styles, and abilities. Everything we have been doing in class such as blogs, Table Vivant project, and webpages makes learning more fun and interactive. Students have the chance to be creative with the material they are learning about with the use of technology.With technology, a student can choose how to display their work which brings us back to the UDL framework of flexible methods of presentation. It also engages students and provides multiple methods of expression. Many different types of projects can be completed using technology. The projects we have been working on have definetely helped me learn new ways to use technology in the classroom. Students will benefit greatly from these programs.

"Flat World, Flat Web, Flat Classrooms"

After viewing the slide show from David Warlick, I found the metaphor of the octopus to be true. Before children come to school they have so many electronics at their fingertips. They have access to cell phones, computer games, Wii, Nintendo DS, ipods, etc. The list could go on and on. Once a child arrives to school his/her "arms are cut off" as Warlick referred to. I agree with this statement because these things are taken away from the students and are not allowed to be used for the duration of school hours. School is a time for students to learn and they are detached from their electronic toys. As educators, we are teaching children who come from a world of technology. Warlick compares the classroom as a flat area now as opposed to a hilly one before. Teachers are more aware of technology and the effects it has on students. Relating to your students is a huge part of being able to teach them and have some type of connection with them. It is crazy to think how much access children today have to all types of information, than when I grew p and it is only going to become greater with time.

Copyright issues

What are the implications of copyright issues for educators?

Educators face many copyright issues. If they are using a copyrighted work, it must be for "fair use." Four factors apply to "fair use" which include: purpose of use, nature of the work, amount used, and effect on the market. As an educator, there are certain laws one must follow when copying work from the internet. For example, using pictures, poems, or information from the internet for educational purposes is allowed.

Inquiry-based learning

Have you used inquiry-based learning as a teacher or as a student? What place would inquiry-based learning and/or historical thinking have in your classroom?
I have used inquiry-based learning as a student in my Graduate Science course. Many of our activities we did in class were inquiry-based. In my classroom, I would also use inquiry-based learning for Science because it allows the students to predict and explore about what they are learning.

USA Today Article

I think that its great teachers are having students use Ipods/MP3 players to learn Spanish. This is also great for books on tape which will only enrich student's learning to read. Students love using Ipods and MP3 players so this twist on learning is fun too. Its a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom even for learning a new language. Sometimes listening to a new language can help a student learn rather than just reading it. This is a wonderful idea!

Content Standard

Content Standard 1: Students will read and respond in individual, literal, critical and evaluative ways to literary, informational and persuasive texts.

-describe the thoughts, opinions and questions that arise as they read, view or listen to a text and use relevant information from the text to summarize the content.

This standard applies to K-4 students. Students will be able to summarize stories and use the questions they may come up with about the text to predict what will happen next.

http://www.ctcurriculum.org/list_standards.asp?taskid=&dis=LA&grade=4&disname=English%2FLanguage+Arts&gradename=Grades+K%2D4