What? In class we learned about Google Sites and how we can create one for our classroom.
So What? I can use Google Sites as a student to start putting on information and building up tools and resources that I could use in my future classroom. If I find a good website, video, etc. that I might want to use in my classroom I can post in on the site so I can remember it and easily find it later when I need to use. Also, practicing with it now will help so I don't have to deal with the problems of learning how it works when I'm actually teaching. It will help save a lot of time.
Now What? I think Google Sites will be very helpful to me as a teacher. I can create a website where my students and their parents can go to quickly find out what is going on in class, what homework assignments are coming up and what school events are coming up. I think the feature where you can put your Google calender directly into the site is very helpful. If a student misses class the parent can look on the site and see what they missed and the assigned homework. Also, the site has all my contact information so they can email or call me with any questions they have.
I can also use Google sites to post announcements and post a letter updating the parents instead of sending out a letter to everyone's email or sending home a hard copy with the students. Kids tend to lose papers easily and if I use the site then it won't matter that they lose it because the parents can refer to my site for any important information.
Video: I think that is was interesting that he said "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." Kids are born unafraid to make mistakes. As they grow older they learn to be cautious and they don't take as many chances. I think this guy made a lot of really good points about creativity and children. I think that it's important not get caught up in teaching all the required curriculum like math and history and forget about creativity. Ken Robinson says that many people who are brilliant and creative think they aren't because of the way that the education is set up. We need to remember to encourage creativity in our students and not just the more academic subjects.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Google Part 1
What? In class we learned about Google documents and presentions and how we can use them to work collaboratively with other people. We also learned about Google calenders and iGoogle.
So What? Knowing this information is really helpful for me as a student right now. I have already started using Google documents in other classes to work on assignments with other classmates. It's a really helpful way to work on the same document without having to email it back and forth to each other. Using Google documents and presentations is also helpful to me because I can publish documents for others to see if I need to.
Using Google calenders is really helpful for me because it is a great way to keep track of my schedule. I think the feature where it will text you when an appointment is coming up is a very good idea and something I will use. iGoogle is also a very helpful tool to use to organize my homepage and organize it with websites that I go to often.
Now What? I think knowing about these Google features will help me a lot in the future when I am a teacher. I could use Google documents or presentations to collaborate and create things with other teachers or I could use it to create things to help teach my students. I could also use it to keep parents informed about how their student is doing by writing letters to email to parents. I could also use documents and presentations to have my students work together to create an assignment. If they had access to internet at home I could assign something to give them practice working with other students. They could create a presentation about something that we have been learning in class and send it to me to get feedback before they present it in class.
I could use Google calenders to keep track of events coming up in the school such and parent teacher conferences, assemblies, or birthdays. I could make a public calender for all my parents and students to view. I could let them know when assignments are due, when field trips are coming up, etc.
The world is becoming more technology oriented and I think a lot of parents would appreciate having a calender right online to look at to find out what is coming up and what their child is learning about in school.
Video: I think it's good that the President takes the time to specifically talk to the young people and to relate things to them. I think it is motivational to students to hear the President of the United States talk specifically to them and to try to motivate them to stay in school. I think that he gave a lot of good advice to students by telling them to stay in school and telling them to find the things there interested in and to do well in all of their classes. He made it seem like each student is important, not just the smartest of them. I could show this video to my students when teaching about Social Studies and when I'm teaching them about the President.
So What? Knowing this information is really helpful for me as a student right now. I have already started using Google documents in other classes to work on assignments with other classmates. It's a really helpful way to work on the same document without having to email it back and forth to each other. Using Google documents and presentations is also helpful to me because I can publish documents for others to see if I need to.
Using Google calenders is really helpful for me because it is a great way to keep track of my schedule. I think the feature where it will text you when an appointment is coming up is a very good idea and something I will use. iGoogle is also a very helpful tool to use to organize my homepage and organize it with websites that I go to often.
Now What? I think knowing about these Google features will help me a lot in the future when I am a teacher. I could use Google documents or presentations to collaborate and create things with other teachers or I could use it to create things to help teach my students. I could also use it to keep parents informed about how their student is doing by writing letters to email to parents. I could also use documents and presentations to have my students work together to create an assignment. If they had access to internet at home I could assign something to give them practice working with other students. They could create a presentation about something that we have been learning in class and send it to me to get feedback before they present it in class.
I could use Google calenders to keep track of events coming up in the school such and parent teacher conferences, assemblies, or birthdays. I could make a public calender for all my parents and students to view. I could let them know when assignments are due, when field trips are coming up, etc.
The world is becoming more technology oriented and I think a lot of parents would appreciate having a calender right online to look at to find out what is coming up and what their child is learning about in school.
Video: I think it's good that the President takes the time to specifically talk to the young people and to relate things to them. I think it is motivational to students to hear the President of the United States talk specifically to them and to try to motivate them to stay in school. I think that he gave a lot of good advice to students by telling them to stay in school and telling them to find the things there interested in and to do well in all of their classes. He made it seem like each student is important, not just the smartest of them. I could show this video to my students when teaching about Social Studies and when I'm teaching them about the President.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Ideal Classroom
My ideal school would be here in Utah County so I wouldn't have to move too far away. The class size would be smaller than the average class size, about 15 students. That way I could give them more one on one attention. They would be in 2nd grade and there would be an even number of boys and girls.
My classroom would have hundreds and hundreds of books for the students to chose from and read during their free time. I would rotate the books out so they would have new books to look at every week. There would be reading corners with bean bags and pillows to encourage reading and to teach them that reading can be fun and relaxing.
My classroom would have a lot of different art supplies so the students could build their creativity. There would be bulletin boards on every wall displaying the students' art work so they could feel like they were making something worthwhile. My students would be sitting at long tables so there was lots of space to spread out and make bigger art projects.
In my classroom there would be a science area where the students could experiment and learn about the world around them. There would be a microscope so they could examine different things they find and there would be computers where they could put on goggles and view simulators of things like being on the moon or traveling to the center of a volcano. The simulators would also be used for Social Studies. If we were learning about Columbus and the Indians, they could watch a simulated reenactment of that time period.
The other teachers would be helpful and supportive. I would collaborate with the other teachers to make learning more fun for the students. The parents would be involved and give their input and also they would be supportive. When the class had parties I would have parents come in and help so they could feel more involved with there child. My goal in the classroom would be to build a safe environment where students felt free to explore and learn and express their personalities in a place where they wouldn't be criticized. They would have a lot of time to learn to work with other students and to socialize. I would make sure that no one was excluded.
Video: I think that kid is really impressive and that he made some really good points. I think that we do need to be reminded not to give up on any student and not to give up on our colleagues as well. I think when we're teaching it will be really hard to continue to believe in our colleagues when we disagree with them. We can disagree and still believe in each other and help each other to do what is best for the students.
My classroom would have hundreds and hundreds of books for the students to chose from and read during their free time. I would rotate the books out so they would have new books to look at every week. There would be reading corners with bean bags and pillows to encourage reading and to teach them that reading can be fun and relaxing.
My classroom would have a lot of different art supplies so the students could build their creativity. There would be bulletin boards on every wall displaying the students' art work so they could feel like they were making something worthwhile. My students would be sitting at long tables so there was lots of space to spread out and make bigger art projects.
In my classroom there would be a science area where the students could experiment and learn about the world around them. There would be a microscope so they could examine different things they find and there would be computers where they could put on goggles and view simulators of things like being on the moon or traveling to the center of a volcano. The simulators would also be used for Social Studies. If we were learning about Columbus and the Indians, they could watch a simulated reenactment of that time period.
The other teachers would be helpful and supportive. I would collaborate with the other teachers to make learning more fun for the students. The parents would be involved and give their input and also they would be supportive. When the class had parties I would have parents come in and help so they could feel more involved with there child. My goal in the classroom would be to build a safe environment where students felt free to explore and learn and express their personalities in a place where they wouldn't be criticized. They would have a lot of time to learn to work with other students and to socialize. I would make sure that no one was excluded.
Video: I think that kid is really impressive and that he made some really good points. I think that we do need to be reminded not to give up on any student and not to give up on our colleagues as well. I think when we're teaching it will be really hard to continue to believe in our colleagues when we disagree with them. We can disagree and still believe in each other and help each other to do what is best for the students.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)