Technology in the Classroom #4

I participated in Read Across America at another elementary school in the Erlanger district. I was in various classrooms and was surprised by the technology. My practicum is also in the Erlanger district but this school is way more advanced. There is a smart board in nearly every room. The teachers were using it to show videos from their computers and have books read from the Internet. The students loved it and it was a great background addition while the children worked on other assignments.

Technology in the Classroom #3

Yesterday in my practicum my student's special was computer lab. I have never seen that done before. When I was in school we had art, music, and gym for specials. Computer lab was something we got to do every so often. I like how this school has it has a special. This way the students get more expereince with the computers and the teacher does not have to take more time out of her day for it. It seems to work very well and the students love going to the computer lab.

Podcast in WebQuest

I could include a podcast in my WebQuest by telling a story relating to the lesson.  For example, in my math class our teacher told us a story with shapes that went along with the lesson so I could do something in that manner. I feel that students would enjoy the quest much more with a podcast involved. It would be a break from traditional lecture and be entertaining. If the students created them I think they would enjoy it so much more. They would be learning more about technology and the content at the same time. I think podcast are a great idea and that students would love to use them in learning.

Technology in the Classroom #2

On Wednesday in my practicum I saw the students using the computers in the room to take accelerated reader tests. These are tests based on the books they read and they collect points from every test. The points are used to buy items from the accelerated reader store. I like that I am seeing the students be independent on the computers. They know how to work this program fairly well. I did accelerated reader when I was in elementary school so it was kind of neat to see that it is still being used. I am familiar with this program so I will be able to help these students and my own students some day if it is still in use.

Technology in the Classroom #1

I have been in my practicum for about a month now and I am just now seeing technology being used. On Monday the students were working on the computer to type their personal narratives. I worked with one student who was very unfamiliar with the computer. I was surprised at how lost she was when trying to do a simple task such as type. Technology does not apparently pay a large role in that classroom and it shows. I hope to see this change while I am in there because it really needs to or these kids will suffer.

Ideas for WebQuest

I would like to do my Webquest on mathematics because that is my emphasis area. I am an elementary education major so my two ideas are dealing with money or an adding WebQuest. With money I could have tasks dealing with recognizing coins and making change for a dollar. With adding I could have tasks where the students use items to add and then another task where they just have the numbers. I feel that both of these areas are very critical in mathematics at the elementary level, which is why I chose them. I plan to expand on these ideas or maybe even combine them in someway.

Webpage in the classroom

I feel that using a website in my future classroom will be a great tool. It will be extra work but I think it will be well worth it. I plan to make my website for in depth for my parents. I will post all assignments and homework on there. If someone misses school they can make up their work that same day because it will be on there. Also, if they lose their homework they will be able to print off another copy.
On the other hand, using a webpage could be hard depending on what school I teach at. If I am at a lower income school my students and/or parents may not have access to the internet or a printer. In that case my website would not be a big deal but I would still have it for the parents that can acess it.