TPTE 486

This class has helped me tremendously on my journey to becoming an early childhood education teacher!  I plan to use the information I've learned in the class in my future classrooms.  Some projects I worked on this semester that I plan to implement in my future classrooms include blogging, classroom website, wiki's, webquests, digital diagrams, scavenger hunts using digital technology, and interactive spreadsheets.  Overall, TPTE 486 helped me to become more "computer literate," and I am no longer intimidated to use technology with young children.

Website

I am currently creating a website to use in my future classrooms.  This website is beneficial to me, the children in my future classrooms, and their families because it offers an additional form of communication.  Families and children can stay up-to-date on class and school announcements, homework, and class projects.  A classroom website is also useful for sharing appropriate internet resources with children and their families.  Ultimately, a website is a wonderful communication tool that can be used to create a caring community of learners.  Please feel free to visit my website!

iMovie

For the very first time, I used iMovie in this class!  It was extremely frustrating at first because I had absolutely no clue what I was doing.  However, I am thrilled with the way my final iMovie came out.  My iMovie is an autobiography of my life through pictures and captions that is intended for the children in my future classrooms.  I am unsure if I will ever attempt to do another iMovie project because it is so time consuming.  Nonetheless, I will always treasure the final product I created in TPTE 486, and I cannot wait to share my hard work with others!

Interactive Spreadsheets

As a first time user of Microsoft Excell, I felt creating an interactive spreadsheet was extremely time consuming.  However, now that I know the basics of creating a spreadsheet I will be more likely to create one for my future lessons.  I was quite pleased with the final outcome of the interactive spreadsheet I created on contractions.  I think interactive spreadsheets will be a great way to implement technology into the classroom and will afford engaging opportunities for children to practice what they are learning!

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Inspiration

I recently discovered the Inspiration software program, which can be used to create digital diagrams, webs, and concept maps.  Using Inspiration, I developed a digital diagram that represents the life cycle of a butterfly.  I chose this topic because it is relevent and is a common science topic in elementary grade levels.  One may create a diagram, web, or concept map several different ways.  However, I found it easiest to first create an outline and then use the program to arrange the information into a diagram.  After a few adjustments, the diagram looked exactly how I wanted it to.  Being a first time user of Inspiration made it a little more challenging to learn how to operate the program.  Nonetheless, now that I have experience with Inspiration I will be much more likely to use the program in my future classrooms.  I think using Inspiration is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom for educational purposes.  Some other ways I might use Inspiration in my future classrooms is to create a concept map about a children's story, create a web during a class brainstorming session, or even create a KWL chart (Know, Want to know, and Learned).

Diagrams

I believe creating diagrams is definitely worth my time as a teacher.  Creating diagrams in class can model for children how to organize thought.  Diagrams can also enhance student learning because they provide children with a visual, and often times, children are best able to process new information when it is presented in multiple ways.  For instance, I could present a visual diagram to the children, discuss the diagram with the children, and help children to create their own diagrams to facilitate children's learning.  Because diagrams are a wonderful strategy for moving new information into long-term memory, I hope to incorporate diagrams in my future classrooms as often as possible.

Scavenger Hunt

I thought the scavenger hunt activity was wonderful.  In an article I read last week, scavenger hunts were noted as helpful to use in classrooms to support vocabulary development (in comparison to reading and copying definitions).  I am certain I will implement scavenger hunts in my future classrooms as a way to further engage children in learning.

Scavenger Hunt Screenshot

Animoto

Animoto.com allows users to upload images to create a 30 second slide show. This website is wonderful for people who are not "technologically gifted" or for those who are pressed for time. I uploaded a few images of me and my bestfriend, Joanne, to create a personalized slide show. I cannot wait to share it with her and others! I think this will be a useful tool to use in my future classroom as a way to share with families what the children are doing and learning at school.

Animoto Video

Digital Collection Reflection

This activity helped me to discover the numerous ways one can gather images to use in the classroom. Although I already knew images could be obtained by digital cameras and by scanning photographs, I was not aware of how to retrieve pictures from the internet, from the Big Box of Art program, or from screenshots. Two great websites to find images from the internet are Freedigitalphotos.net and Flickr.com. These websites offer images that are free and are not copywrited. Additionally, the Big Box of Art program offers a multitude of free images also. Finally, a screenshot is a way to save an image of the computer screen on a Mac computer by pressing the "Apple" button, the "Shift" key, and the number "4." I would be able to use screenshots in my future classrooms if I needed to explain step by step instructions for using technology.

Digital Collection

Lesson Plans

We are in the process of developing a lesson plan that integrates technology. Our class has discussed learning standards and technology standards. I have developed numerous lesson plans in previous classes, and I feel like I have a thorough understanding of how to write a lesson plan. I have also had experience with supporting my lesson plans with state standards. However, it was interesting to learn that there are technology standards for children in Pre-K up to high school. In class we also learned about the ABCD's of writing effective objectives. The extra practice activities we completed in class were beneficial to me because I have always felt writing the objectives of a lesson plan are one of the most difficult parts. The acronym ABCD stands for Audience, Behavior, Condition, and Degree. Simplifying objectives to these terms helped me to better understand the purpose of an objective. I now feel I can successfully write an effective objective for a lesson plan.

I believe integrating technology into lesson plans will help me to better accommodate to children's various learning styles. Prior to this course I have been skeptical about using technology in a classroom setting. I now, however, have discovered appropriate strategies for incorporating technology into the classroom. I hope and expect the skills I am learning in this class will significantly affect my teaching strategies and future lesson plans.

Inquiry Based Activity

I worked with a partner to develop an inquiry based activity in preparation for a lesson plan.  The activity we developed, called "Healthy Kids!", was created primarily for children in 2nd grade.  "Healthy Kids!" requires children to investigate nutrition and physical activity as ways of staying healthy.  We ask children to choose one food group, list four types of food in their chosen food group, and explain how the food group helps one stay healthy based on a Nutrition Exploration (http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/nutrition-pyramid.asp) website.  This website was created by the National Dairy Council for children who would like to know more about the food pyramid.

"Healthy Kids!" also asks children to research three reasons exercise is beneficial and to list three additional facts about staying healthy.  Answers to these questions can be found at Five Fun Ways to Get Physical (http://kidnetic.com/BrightPapers/?c=Featured&p=35).  The International Food Information Council provides this site, which presents information on fun ways to stay active. 

Overall, creating an inquiry based activity helped me to consider the various ways technology can be incorporated into lessons.  (Even a lesson on health and fitness!)  Developing the inquiry based lesson was simple to do, and it could be done in more than one way.  For the "Healthy Kids!" activity, my partner and I decided on the topic we wanted to focus on first, and then found two websites to support children's inquiry process.  However, other groups demonstrated that choosing a great website first, and then creating an activity based on the website is also possible.  I believe I will definitely use this type of activity throughout my career because it was simple to design and seems to be a great strategy for incorporating technology into the classroom.

More Wiki Entries

Two additional websites I posted to the ECE Wiki are the Community Club and the Education Place.  The Community Club (http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/) affords children the opportunity to explore various occupations in the community.  Children may click on the "speaker" icons to hear a veterinarian, librarian, firefighter, pediatrician, and other workers tell about their jobs.  This website offers classrooms a wonderful resource for investigating community helpers!  Additionally, the Education Place (http://www.eduplace.com/index.jsp) offers teachers several resources for reading, language arts, spelling, mathematics, science, and social studies.  This website covers material that may be used from Pre-K to 6th grade, and there are various activities, lesson plans, and educational games for children.

Today I also searched for and posted a webquest.  An exceptional webquest I found was called Ocean Exploration (http://questgarden.com/80/23/8/090412145526/task.htm).  This science related webquest is easy to read and appropriate for the targeted grade level, 1st grade.  Ocean Exploration focuses on learning about marine animals and their habitats.  This webquest also has several good links to education websites to help children during their investigation.

Wiki's and Webquests

Today was my first experience using a Webquest! I evaluated five webquests through the role of an "Altitudinist." I focused on higher-order thinking and creativity in the webquests to guide my evaluation process. I discovered some webquests are better than others because they incorporate more higher-order thinking opportunities, such as comparison and contrast and developing deeper understanding of a topic. Other webquests may allow for children to be more creative throughout the process, such as inventing a new ice cream flavor. After comparing my evaluations of the webquests to members in my group, I discovered that one should also take into consideration how easy the webquest is to use, the layout design, the amount of links that work, and the opportunities for team-work throughout the webquest. I look forward to creating a webquest in the near future!

I also added another entry to the ECE Wiki.  In the math section I recommended Academic Skill Builders - http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/.  Teachers could use the website to help children build math skills, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division through interactive games.  Two of the best games on the website for young children are Alien Addition and Minus Mission.  Teachers can also control the content range to meet the various skill levels of individual children.  I definitely recommend Academic Skill Builders to anyone who would like to make math fun through the use of technology!

More Wiki Fun

I am learning more and more about Wiki's during every class.  I added a picture of myself on the members page.  I also made an entry on the language arts page about a website called Star Fall (http://www.starfall.com/).  Star Fall is a wonderful website for children learning to read!  Specifically, this website is great for children in Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade.  The games Star Fall offers children are engaging tools to help them learn letter recognition, phonemic awareness, phonics, and much more.  This website also integrates Sign Language through interactive games and videos.  Overall, the Wiki is a wonderful way for groups of people to collaborate and share various resources.

Wonderful Wiki

Before this class I had never heard of a Wiki.  After today I feel I have a much better understanding though.  I thought it was interesting the term Wiki comes from the Hawaiian "wiki, wiki" which means "quick, quick."  Wiki's help multiple people to add, delete, and edit content on a web page.  A benefit of a Wiki is it can reduce and even eliminate the need to email.  I think Wiki's are a wonderful tool for older groups of children.  They would be able to collaborate on a class project or find help with homework.  I am unsure and wonder how I would be able to use a Wiki with younger children.  However, I think using Wiki's in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom might be very beneficial for children.  I hope to continue to learn even more about Wiki's and other wonderful ways they may be used.  Click here to view our class Wiki  http://tpte486.pbworks.com/

Parks & Recreation

This is a picture of me and my wonderful boyfriend, Jeremy, taken at Tyson Park. We love going to different parks and enjoying nature's beauty! Most recently, we have often visited Cove Lake State Park. There is a nice walking trail, tennis courts, and picnic tables to eat a lunch. The last time we visited Cove Lake we sat on a pier and saw a huge turtle! It was really amazing to see the turtle swimming in the lake!

Website Evaluation

The "Website Evaluation Activity" assisted me in determining which criteria are most important to consider when evaluating a website for educational purposes. Some of the criteria I discovered were significant when evaluating educational websites were crediting an author, crediting a publishing company, having appropriate graphic, and few spelling errors. Through the activity, I feel I am better equipped to evaluate any website for future educational purposes.

First Day of Blogging!

This is my very first blog post, and I am excited to share my experiences through blogging! I look forward to TPTE 486, learning more about technology, and becoming an expert blogger. Thus far in the class I have learned how to effectively evaluate an educational website. I hope to continue to learn about technology and the Internet to use in my future classrooms!