Reflection on ActivBoard

I really enjoyed going into the classroom and see how an elementary teacher uses the ActivBoard. I've watched other elementary teachers use it before, but she is definitely the most knowledgeable and uses it seamlessly in her classroom. I really like that she uses it a lot but makes sure that learning is the focus of the lesson, not the board. I really liked all of the ideas she gave us for using it in the classroom. I think my favorite features were the Clickers, the stoplight, and the class timer. I really like using the Clickers in the classroom. I think it is a great way to get the students involved and also for the teacher to receive instant feedback on her teaching. I think the stoplight and the class timer are very fun and effective ways to manage the class. It seems like the board makes teaching more fluid (over time) and also engages the students more. The more I learn about interactive whiteboards, the more I want one in my classroom!

Reflection on SMART Presentation

I really enjoyed having the speaker in class last night. It was great to see him use the SMART Board in ways that we have not seen yet. I also liked using the Clickers. I would definitely like to use those in my class someday. Even though we can learn about the SMART Board on our own, I think it is so much more effective to watch someone use it. I definitely learned a lot more than I would have on my own. I especially liked seeing how he layered different things to get the effect of "throwing away" different words or phrases and how he used white text on white background then revealed it with a different colored bar. The presentation definitely inspired me to learn more about using the SMART Board.

Reflection #5

As I am making my way through the Ed. Program, sometimes it seems that I will never be a real teacher. I know that is what the end result will be, but when I am doing homework and projects, it is sometimes hard to picture myself as a "real" teacher. This week and weekend were encouraging because I was able to be in a classroom and have some time with real students. When I get in front of a group of students, I remember why I want to be a teacher. I love interacting with students and being able to answer their questions. We all want to be teachers because of the students. When I serve in youth group I am reminded of this as well. We go through all of these classes because they will help us become better teachers. I know I can lose sight of the end goal and the reason I am doing it in the first place, so I thought I would share that encouragement with all of you. Remember why you want to be a teacher and think of all the students we will get to impact someday!

Reflection #4

I was able to go to a music educator's workshop this weekend for one of my classes and it was so much fun! I learned a lot about different ways to teach music in the classroom. Even though this workshop was geared specifically toward music educators, I definitely got a lot of ideas that I could in a regular classroom as well. What made the workshop so much fun was that we got to "play" with all of the music stuff. The instructors did not just give a lecture and have us sit and listen, we actually got to be the students and participate in all of the activities that we could use for our students. I got to play the recorder, the xylophone, a donkey's jaw, and several different types of drums. I learned several different mallet games, how to play and dance a Hebrew song, and how to play the drum and dance to Afro-Peruvian music. It was so much fun and I can't wait to see how I can incorporate the ideas into my classroom someday!

Reflection #3

Today I observed a 1st grade math lesson. The teacher used an Active Board as part of the lesson. It was great to be in an actual classroom and see how the teacher, students, and the Active Board all worked together. The students were making a table to solve simple addition problems. The teacher had a template pre-loaded into the software that she pulled up to use with the class. We have been talking about how we can use interactive white boards in the classroom so it was really nice to see one actually being used in the classroom. I realized even how effective they are in the classroom. It was so much faster than using a regular white board and the students seemed to like it and be captivated simply it is a technological novelty (the school just got them this year). I really hope I have an interactive white board in my future classroom!

Assignment #2

My activity is about the Flags of Europe. It includes both an activity and a quiz.

This activity covers a couple NET Standards for teachers. The first one is 2.a. which says, "Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity." I didn't design this activity (or "learning experience"), but I did have to adapt it to fit my needs. I knew I wanted to use it for my activity, but I had to work with it and adapt it to fit what I wanted to do. It definitely incorporates digital tools because I am using a SMART created activity and I had to use MS Power Point to adapt it. There are different points in the activity for students to be creative using the SMART Board. The second NETS-T this activity covers is 3.a which says, "Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations." Although I have not fully achieved this standard, this activity helped me become more fluent with technology, specifically the SMART Board. It was great being able to play with the SMART Board and use it to "teach" something, even though we are only doing it for fun. I definitely have a better understanding of how the SMART Board works and how I can use it in the classroom. This activity also helped me become more fluent at Power Point. I haven't used Power Point in so long that I forgot some of the features and this activity gave me the chance to refresh my knowledge of how it works. I also love how you can use Power Point and the SMART Board together.

There are also a few NET Standards for Students this activity covers. The first is 3.b. which says, Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media," and 3.d which says, "Process data and report results." If I were to use this activity in a classroom, each student would pick out a European country flag to research and report on using technology. For example, the students would research the meaning behind the flag of Estonia, when it was adapted as the country's flag, etc. and create a report using Power Point, or by publishing it on a blog. By doing this, the students are meeting those two standards. The other standard that fits into that is 6.a. which says, "Understand and use technology systems." The students have to understand and be able to use technology systems to participate in the class activity and even more so to complete their research and do their report. Having an understanding and ability to use technology are fundamental to this activity.

I really hope I have a SMART Board in my future classroom because I think it really improves student learning. First of all, students are immersed in technology in their everyday lives. They are used to using technology so it is "cool" when they come to class and get to use new technology like the SMART Board. Students' minds are wired for technology, so using the SMART Board helps to teach them in a way that they better understand. Another reason is that using the SMART Board is easier and much more effective for the teacher. If I had a SMART Board, I wouldn't have to worry about turning my back to my students and writing something on the regular white board. I can have everything already prepared and loaded into the program and pull it up when I need it. I can write on the SMART Board when I need to and prepare interactive activities for my students that will keep them engaged more. I also think the whole class can participate more with a SMART Board. Because it is at the front of the class and everyone can see it, everyone can contribute. This is even more true if the Clickers are available to use with it. I would love to have a SMART Board in my future classroom.

NETS-T Update

The NETS-T that I am focusing on this semester is 3.a. "Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations." At the beginning of this class I realized that I wanted to incorporate technology into my classroom and teach my students how to effectively use technology. However, I didn't have the knowledge to do that before taking this class. By learning how to use HTML, how to use the SMART Board, how to make a website, how to use a Blog, etc I am becoming fluent in technology that is commonly used today. Even more important, I am becoming fluent in technology that I want to incorporate into my teaching and pass onto my student. I definitely need to know how to use technology in different situations in order to transfer the knowledge to my students. After all, it is difficult to teach what one does not know how to do. I already feel much more comfortable, or fluent, using technology than I did at the beginning of the semester. Before this class, I had never seen a SMART Board in action, never used HTML, and had never created a blog or website. Now I have done all of that. And although I am not completely proficient, I have definitely developed a working knowledge and could transfer that knowledge to someone else. That directly fits with my NETS-T for the semester.

HTML and Weebly

I really liked using HTML. It was very meticulous, but I thought it was fun because it made sense to me. I like that I know how to do HTML now. I don't think I would want to use it to completely create a functional website because it is very time consuming, but I thought it was fun nevertheless. I also liked using Weebly to create a website. It is definitely more practical for actual use than HTML. It is very easy to use, but you do have to be willing to use only the features they provide. It was kind of frustrating at times, because I couldn't do exactly what I wanted. This is because there are certain things the website provides and that is all you can use. I would still use Weebly because it is definitely easier, and cheaper, than creating my own website (which I would never do).

Click to visit my new website: http://mrstlc.weebly.com/