This month has not been much different from the previous months. I have not seen much technology actually used in the classroom (other than the projector), but I did learn about some of the technology in the school and the district. I got this information from the ladies in charge of technology in the school. They were very insightful as to how the technology could be used so well in class (although they think the school has a lot of technology, especially in the form of power point and videos), as well as suggestions for new teachers. They believe that technology needs to be incorporated correctly into the classroom lessons for it to be effective. They also told me to embrace the technology movement because that would give me an advantage over the more veteran teachers. I found their information insightful and surprising (I had no idea the school had smartboards in the library, so they do exist there!).
With the use of technology we do have, it's nice to see how Mr. Altagracia (as well as myself when I was teaching) utilized it when teaching lessons. The students love videos and little games. So both Mr. A and myself try to incorporate lots of videos to demonstrate the lesson we were going over that day. Many of the students will ask questions pertaining to the lesson as the video goes along, and that's when I know the students are beginning to understand the content knowledge. I think at this time it's great to see the pedagogy I have been learning, the content knowledge I know, and the technology all work together to create a good experience for the students, one where they are able to learn more! Through this class and my fieldwork experience, I have been able to truly see how technology can be implemented properly in a classroom, even if it's not the fancy kind of technology.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
October TPACK Reflection
This month I still haven't seen much technology in my fieldwork classroom. Just the usual use of the projector and computer. I however, found some activities that can mimic technology use to get the students excited. I did fake tweets and Fakebook profiles with my students during their lessons. For the twitter assignment, I taught them about American Imperialism, the purchase of Alaska, and the annexation of Hawaii. When we were done, I told the students we were going to write up some fake tweets about how it felt to be in Hawaii at the time of the annexation. I told them to take a important person from that time (Hawaiian sugar grower, American sugar grower, President McKinley, President Cleveland, Sanford Dole, Ambassador Stevens, Queen Liluokulani, etc.) and then write a tweet about Hawaii. I showed them to examples, and they had a good time with it!
The fakebook profile I did after teaching them about the Filipino Rebellion after the Spanish-American War. I gave them a blank profile template with either Filipino Rebel or U.S. Soldier at the top and had them fill out the important information, such as biography, status, recent activities, likes, dislikes, time line, etc. I did this on in a group setting because after seeing some of the lesser creative students struggle through the twitter activity, I figured if they grouped up they would have two heads working on it. The students had a good time.
I think while using these is not as good or as fun as using the same thing with technology, it still does a good job of working with what I have and trying to utilize the TPACK idea. It certainly combines the pedagogy, the content knowledge, and the technology (to a certain point). I hope that others can use what I did in my fieldwork class as inspiration if they see little technology in their classrooms as well. I was inspired to do this assignment because of the group presentations we had in spring semester of Dr. Harvey's tech class. My group did twitter and another did fakebook so it inspired me to use it in real life, but in paper form to work around the school's rules.
The fakebook profile I did after teaching them about the Filipino Rebellion after the Spanish-American War. I gave them a blank profile template with either Filipino Rebel or U.S. Soldier at the top and had them fill out the important information, such as biography, status, recent activities, likes, dislikes, time line, etc. I did this on in a group setting because after seeing some of the lesser creative students struggle through the twitter activity, I figured if they grouped up they would have two heads working on it. The students had a good time.
I think while using these is not as good or as fun as using the same thing with technology, it still does a good job of working with what I have and trying to utilize the TPACK idea. It certainly combines the pedagogy, the content knowledge, and the technology (to a certain point). I hope that others can use what I did in my fieldwork class as inspiration if they see little technology in their classrooms as well. I was inspired to do this assignment because of the group presentations we had in spring semester of Dr. Harvey's tech class. My group did twitter and another did fakebook so it inspired me to use it in real life, but in paper form to work around the school's rules.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Flipping the Classroom
Here is my first try at Flipping the Classroom. I enjoyed making this video and do see it's benefits in a social studies classroom, especially when it's a lesson like I will be doing on Thursday. It allows the students more time to work cooperatively and spend less time listening to me!
Friday, October 4, 2013
School Technology Review
Now that I have been in Atlantic City High School for two weeks, I have become aware of all of their technology. There is really no updated technology like we are learning about in this class. There are no smartboards, clickers, iPads, etc. This school runs on the old school style of teaching: projectors, blackboards, and whiteboards. The school report card actually gave me no stats on amount of technology in the school or a ratio of computers to students. This would have been very helpful in writing this report, but since I've been there, and I have pretty much seen that the only computers are in computer labs (minus if the classroom has any computers, which my teacher's does). It is sort of upsetting that there is no real technology because I feel it inhibits some of the possibilities that can be used in a social studies classroom.
My cooperating teacher agrees with me that there are so many things he (and I) could do, but there is not enough technology in the school to be able to. We were discussing how he feels like he's not sure if his students are understanding the content, and he wishes he had the use of clickers that he had when he was in Pleasantville. He said he at least then knew in real time if the students were comprehending the content and was able to change his plans based on those results. Now he finds that the students aren't understanding when he's getting their tests and quizzes back and by that point it's too late. I also think there should be more technology for the students. Maybe rolling computer carts with laptops because then I could implement some of the fun online history activities I have found since participating in this class and the conferences. Simply having two computers that students can use and my teacher's laptop does not help. For example, they were using a National Geographic interactive game/lesson on John Smith and only one student could play the interactive games at a time because my teacher's laptop was the one that was hooked up to the projector. The students were fighting over the chance to play the game on the one computer.
Overall, I think the school is seriously lacking in technology. Especially in a district that is building brand new schools (or renovating existing ones) that are full of current technology and they don't put any in their high school. I don't know if it's because they feel the technology will not be use properly, that it could be harmed, or that the teachers will not have a use for it, but I think they should seriously reconsider it. I can think of a million ways the technology would benefit the classroom in. I'm starting to wonder if it has to do with the fact that the school is so strict on the use of electronic devices. I wonder if they believe that if they let the students use these types of devices, they will think they can use their own personal devices. Whatever the reason is, I think they should reconsider it, especially as the younger students using this technology move up to the high school because they will be lacking something that has helped them learn since they were young.
Classroom diagram:
My cooperating teacher agrees with me that there are so many things he (and I) could do, but there is not enough technology in the school to be able to. We were discussing how he feels like he's not sure if his students are understanding the content, and he wishes he had the use of clickers that he had when he was in Pleasantville. He said he at least then knew in real time if the students were comprehending the content and was able to change his plans based on those results. Now he finds that the students aren't understanding when he's getting their tests and quizzes back and by that point it's too late. I also think there should be more technology for the students. Maybe rolling computer carts with laptops because then I could implement some of the fun online history activities I have found since participating in this class and the conferences. Simply having two computers that students can use and my teacher's laptop does not help. For example, they were using a National Geographic interactive game/lesson on John Smith and only one student could play the interactive games at a time because my teacher's laptop was the one that was hooked up to the projector. The students were fighting over the chance to play the game on the one computer.
Overall, I think the school is seriously lacking in technology. Especially in a district that is building brand new schools (or renovating existing ones) that are full of current technology and they don't put any in their high school. I don't know if it's because they feel the technology will not be use properly, that it could be harmed, or that the teachers will not have a use for it, but I think they should seriously reconsider it. I can think of a million ways the technology would benefit the classroom in. I'm starting to wonder if it has to do with the fact that the school is so strict on the use of electronic devices. I wonder if they believe that if they let the students use these types of devices, they will think they can use their own personal devices. Whatever the reason is, I think they should reconsider it, especially as the younger students using this technology move up to the high school because they will be lacking something that has helped them learn since they were young.
Classroom diagram:
Pictures of the classroom and technology:
Sunday, September 29, 2013
September TPACK Reflection
This month introduced me to the idea of TPACK. It was discussed a bit during the unconferences I went to, but not really explained. Now that I understand what TPACK is, I can see it becoming a bigger part of my education career. I am beginning to understand how to put all three concepts (content knowledge, pedagogy, and technical knowledge) together to create lessons that incorporate all three and teach students in the process. In my fieldwork I am able to see how the use of no technology may actually hinder students learning better. I have so many ideas of what I want to do with my fieldwork students, but don't have the technology at my fingertips to use to make those ideas come to life. I am realizing that simply a laptop and projector isn't as fun as a smartboard would be for them. I also see that Prezi captivates them more than a standard powerpoint. I like learning all these new technologies because I can use them alongside the pedagogy and content knowledge I have learned/am learning/will learn this semester to help move me into a successful student teaching experience (one where there is more technology hopefully).
After going over smartboards again this month, I feel extremely confident that I can utilize them in my future classroom. I actually even more want to. Especially after finding some really fun lessons on the smart exchange. Like Prezi, the smartboard is a time consuming venture, but it's great that there are so many people who put their work up for others to use. It's great that there is a good community we have been introduced to, to exchange ideas with and utilize some of the principles of the newer evaluation models. Also going over the smartboards again helped me see how integrate the TPACK framework and made it a bit more real world for me. It made it more relatable and I liked that. It inspired me to think about smartboards differently and with TPACK in the forefront of my mind.
After going over smartboards again this month, I feel extremely confident that I can utilize them in my future classroom. I actually even more want to. Especially after finding some really fun lessons on the smart exchange. Like Prezi, the smartboard is a time consuming venture, but it's great that there are so many people who put their work up for others to use. It's great that there is a good community we have been introduced to, to exchange ideas with and utilize some of the principles of the newer evaluation models. Also going over the smartboards again helped me see how integrate the TPACK framework and made it a bit more real world for me. It made it more relatable and I liked that. It inspired me to think about smartboards differently and with TPACK in the forefront of my mind.
Monday, September 16, 2013
TEACHMEETNJ Reflection
On August 22, 2013, I attended TEACHMEETNJ at Stockton. This was another experience with an unconference and it was an interesting one. This one already had the topics decided ahead of time, but you only had 20 minutes in each session and then you would vote for a longer session later in the afternoon. I liked how organized this event was, but I would have preferred longer session times and just done without the really long one at the end of the event. Overall, I did learn some new things which I hope to benefit from in the future.
The first session I went to was App-onomy, Finding ipad apps to fit your curriculum, which I found to be very good considering I only got 20 minutes worth of it. This was one session I would have preferred to be longer to begin with. I feel like too often teachers pick apps simply because it is somewhat close to the lesson they are teaching, but tend to ignore the fact that it may not fit into the curriculum. I also was finding it hard to find apps that fit into the curriculum we were using for making lesson plans at Stockton. I found the suggestions of apps that fit into the different levels of Bloom's to be very helpful! We're constantly being told to utilize the higher levels of Bloom's and being able to find apps that fit into those levels will help me to achieve doing that while bringing in some technology. I liked the suggestions for apps in the different content areas and the information on how to figure out if the app fits into your curriculum. Again, I wish this could have been a longer session or picked for the afternoon one because I feel like I could have gotten so much more out of this, but I did get a lot!
The second session I went to was about Professional Development and how to make it more fun for the teachers. I enjoyed this presenter a lot and liked her use of Prezi because it made a boring topic really cool! Having never gone to PD, it was interesting to learn what is liked and hated about it from other teachers. I liked how she showed examples of how to amp up the PD so that teachers enjoy it. I really liked when she showed her school districts' video for the beginning of the year and how they teased that something big was gonna happen. Her district seems to really be invested in the teachers and their PD!
The third session I went to was the creating a website using Wordpress. I have wanted to use wordpress in the past, and even for me who had done some website work, I found it overwhelming. This session made it not feel that way anymore. I clearly am still on blogger, but now I know how to implement a wordpress website and use it when I am teaching in the classroom. He showed us some really cool tricks on how to only allow certain students to see things, only allow parents to see things, how to make things private, etc. This was another session I wish could have been longer and gone more in depth because I feel like I could have learned a lot! I truly think websites are a great resource for teachers to get information to their students, the parents, and the rest of the school. In today's world, everyone has a webpage and I think learning how to make a very useful one will benefit me when I begin in the classroom.
The fourth session I went to was Pinterest, the professional goldmine. I LOVE pinterest...I would even say I am addicted to it! I had looked on it for some inspiration for lessons I was making in intro semester, but I felt like I came up so short for my content area and my grade level. Most things are aimed at elementary and math and science. Janice Malone really showed us a goldmine of things for every grade level and every subject. She was very knowledgeable about which websites to use and I even followed her and constantly get all her new pins. She had some really great ones for inspiring the students. I wish her session was longer too because then I would have been able to get more info on where to find the best pins for my content area and grade leve.
The fifth session I went to was Google Tools, which was good too! I liked learning about some things Google offered that I didnt know. I learned about google forms, chromebooks, utilizing google drive and a bunch of other google things in the classroom. I am amazed at how easy google has made my life and I would love to be able to do that for my students. I never really thought about using some of these things in a classroom, but during this presentation, it began to make perfect sense to me!
The sixth session I went to was another Pinterest one, because as I said, I love it! This one was very different from the previous one. What I liked about this one was they showed us specific people to follow and why. They also had a list of people to follow based on your content area. I went and found those people and have been getting new pins from them every day! This one turned into a longer session, and I went to it. I probably should have picked a different one, but it was nice to think of different ways to use pinterest. Like I never thought to have the students use it to share and save their ideas with their groups members. However, I'm not sure many schools would be happy about that, but maybe in the future.
The seventh session I went to was all about google forms. I now LOVE the idea of google forms. I like that I can create this form and it will do all the work for me! I also like that I can make it look pretty and interesting to my students. I also think the students would be more willing to do a test, quiz, do now, or exit card on the computer than with their hands. Plus it allows me to take all the answers with me simply on google drive so I can access it from my phone, computer, wherever! This will allow me to do work without having to take all the papers! Plus this will save the environment too!
Overall I did enjoy my sessions at TEACHMEETNJ. I wish they were longer, but I got a lot out of them. A lot of the sessions aimed on helping to create that harmony between technology, content knowledge, and pedagogy and helped me see it can be done. It helped me see that there are things out there to use that will fall into my curriculum, help me assess my students at a higher level, that are in my content area, and that will be technologically appropriate!
The first session I went to was App-onomy, Finding ipad apps to fit your curriculum, which I found to be very good considering I only got 20 minutes worth of it. This was one session I would have preferred to be longer to begin with. I feel like too often teachers pick apps simply because it is somewhat close to the lesson they are teaching, but tend to ignore the fact that it may not fit into the curriculum. I also was finding it hard to find apps that fit into the curriculum we were using for making lesson plans at Stockton. I found the suggestions of apps that fit into the different levels of Bloom's to be very helpful! We're constantly being told to utilize the higher levels of Bloom's and being able to find apps that fit into those levels will help me to achieve doing that while bringing in some technology. I liked the suggestions for apps in the different content areas and the information on how to figure out if the app fits into your curriculum. Again, I wish this could have been a longer session or picked for the afternoon one because I feel like I could have gotten so much more out of this, but I did get a lot!
The second session I went to was about Professional Development and how to make it more fun for the teachers. I enjoyed this presenter a lot and liked her use of Prezi because it made a boring topic really cool! Having never gone to PD, it was interesting to learn what is liked and hated about it from other teachers. I liked how she showed examples of how to amp up the PD so that teachers enjoy it. I really liked when she showed her school districts' video for the beginning of the year and how they teased that something big was gonna happen. Her district seems to really be invested in the teachers and their PD!
The third session I went to was the creating a website using Wordpress. I have wanted to use wordpress in the past, and even for me who had done some website work, I found it overwhelming. This session made it not feel that way anymore. I clearly am still on blogger, but now I know how to implement a wordpress website and use it when I am teaching in the classroom. He showed us some really cool tricks on how to only allow certain students to see things, only allow parents to see things, how to make things private, etc. This was another session I wish could have been longer and gone more in depth because I feel like I could have learned a lot! I truly think websites are a great resource for teachers to get information to their students, the parents, and the rest of the school. In today's world, everyone has a webpage and I think learning how to make a very useful one will benefit me when I begin in the classroom.
The fourth session I went to was Pinterest, the professional goldmine. I LOVE pinterest...I would even say I am addicted to it! I had looked on it for some inspiration for lessons I was making in intro semester, but I felt like I came up so short for my content area and my grade level. Most things are aimed at elementary and math and science. Janice Malone really showed us a goldmine of things for every grade level and every subject. She was very knowledgeable about which websites to use and I even followed her and constantly get all her new pins. She had some really great ones for inspiring the students. I wish her session was longer too because then I would have been able to get more info on where to find the best pins for my content area and grade leve.
The fifth session I went to was Google Tools, which was good too! I liked learning about some things Google offered that I didnt know. I learned about google forms, chromebooks, utilizing google drive and a bunch of other google things in the classroom. I am amazed at how easy google has made my life and I would love to be able to do that for my students. I never really thought about using some of these things in a classroom, but during this presentation, it began to make perfect sense to me!
The sixth session I went to was another Pinterest one, because as I said, I love it! This one was very different from the previous one. What I liked about this one was they showed us specific people to follow and why. They also had a list of people to follow based on your content area. I went and found those people and have been getting new pins from them every day! This one turned into a longer session, and I went to it. I probably should have picked a different one, but it was nice to think of different ways to use pinterest. Like I never thought to have the students use it to share and save their ideas with their groups members. However, I'm not sure many schools would be happy about that, but maybe in the future.
The seventh session I went to was all about google forms. I now LOVE the idea of google forms. I like that I can create this form and it will do all the work for me! I also like that I can make it look pretty and interesting to my students. I also think the students would be more willing to do a test, quiz, do now, or exit card on the computer than with their hands. Plus it allows me to take all the answers with me simply on google drive so I can access it from my phone, computer, wherever! This will allow me to do work without having to take all the papers! Plus this will save the environment too!
Overall I did enjoy my sessions at TEACHMEETNJ. I wish they were longer, but I got a lot out of them. A lot of the sessions aimed on helping to create that harmony between technology, content knowledge, and pedagogy and helped me see it can be done. It helped me see that there are things out there to use that will fall into my curriculum, help me assess my students at a higher level, that are in my content area, and that will be technologically appropriate!
PADCAMP Reflection
On August 8, 2013, I attended PADCAMP at Galloway Middle School. It was my first experience with an unconference, and I have to say, it was a pleasurable one. After breakfast and topics were decided, I headed to four very interesting sessions. The first session I went to was titled, "Free apps for Educators". I really enjoyed this one because they were really prepared and had some free apps already in mind and showed us how to use them. I think what I liked most about this session was the fact that all of us were able to put great free apps into a spreadsheet that we could share with each other and go back to after the unconference. I enjoyed meeting other teachers and hearing how they use technology in their classrooms everyday. They explained how they will take the app that works with their lesson that day and utilize it in the classroom, whether in a 1:1 format of iPads or with just one the iPad. These teachers explained how they knew the apps were working for their students and how found them for their content area. It was nice to see apps being to be used because until I took this session I felt like I was falling flat on finding apps for my content area. I think it's great to learn new free apps that can be used in the classroom to further the content knowledge and teaching of students in a way that is effective.
The second session I went to was all about Edmodo. Having only used Edmodo as a student, I was interested how it worked for teachers. I'm so glad I took this class because I realized so many things about Edmodo that I had never known before. I liked it being compared to Facebook for the classroom, because it truly is. I liked a lot of the suggestions to use Edmodo to Flip the Classroom, do formative assessments, and to get to know the students. I feel like this is something that everyone should use in their classroom because not only is it a great tool to communicate to the students, it's also fun for them as well. They view it as a social media, but it has boundaries so the students cannot get in trouble. I also feel like it is so versatile that any teacher could use it and I feel like it would engage students to participate more as well.
The third session I went to was the podcasting one. I was interested in this because I had done some podcasting in college, but nothing like what they're doing today! I was amazed at all the amazing features and benefits podcasting affords the teacher and students. I really liked the idea of being able to broadcast something happening in school for the parents to watch later at home or in real time. I feel like something of this nature could even be used everyday. If the lessons are being broadcast over the internet, then students who may be home sick can watch from home and not worry about falling behind. Or even students who may not have gotten everything in the classroom setting can go back and watch the lesson again to get the information they may have missed the first time. The students can show their parents the projects they have put together or their parents could watch their child get an award or big recognition online. The possibilities are endless when it came to this session, which was very informative!
The fourth and final session I attended was about apps for social studies high school classes. It was the one I was most interested in, but was the least put together. It ended up being a few teachers discussing what they use and what they have found to work in the past in regards to apps, youtube channels, and websites. It was good to get a good amount of resources to go back to and look at, so I have some idea of where to go when it comes time for me to use technology in the classroom. I also liked that the teachers shared their experiences with each thing they suggested and how their students liked it or not. This session was more of a discussion but it was a big help!
Overall, my experience at PADCAMP was great. I was able to speak with real teachers who employ technology in their classroom in an effective way. I was able to truly understand how TPACK comes to life in a classroom. These teachers knew ways to take their content areas and find the best methods to teach it using technology, no matter what the technology was! I hope to become that knowledgeable one day so that I know immediately what to use to accomplish that sweet spot where technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge come together!
The second session I went to was all about Edmodo. Having only used Edmodo as a student, I was interested how it worked for teachers. I'm so glad I took this class because I realized so many things about Edmodo that I had never known before. I liked it being compared to Facebook for the classroom, because it truly is. I liked a lot of the suggestions to use Edmodo to Flip the Classroom, do formative assessments, and to get to know the students. I feel like this is something that everyone should use in their classroom because not only is it a great tool to communicate to the students, it's also fun for them as well. They view it as a social media, but it has boundaries so the students cannot get in trouble. I also feel like it is so versatile that any teacher could use it and I feel like it would engage students to participate more as well.
The third session I went to was the podcasting one. I was interested in this because I had done some podcasting in college, but nothing like what they're doing today! I was amazed at all the amazing features and benefits podcasting affords the teacher and students. I really liked the idea of being able to broadcast something happening in school for the parents to watch later at home or in real time. I feel like something of this nature could even be used everyday. If the lessons are being broadcast over the internet, then students who may be home sick can watch from home and not worry about falling behind. Or even students who may not have gotten everything in the classroom setting can go back and watch the lesson again to get the information they may have missed the first time. The students can show their parents the projects they have put together or their parents could watch their child get an award or big recognition online. The possibilities are endless when it came to this session, which was very informative!
The fourth and final session I attended was about apps for social studies high school classes. It was the one I was most interested in, but was the least put together. It ended up being a few teachers discussing what they use and what they have found to work in the past in regards to apps, youtube channels, and websites. It was good to get a good amount of resources to go back to and look at, so I have some idea of where to go when it comes time for me to use technology in the classroom. I also liked that the teachers shared their experiences with each thing they suggested and how their students liked it or not. This session was more of a discussion but it was a big help!
Overall, my experience at PADCAMP was great. I was able to speak with real teachers who employ technology in their classroom in an effective way. I was able to truly understand how TPACK comes to life in a classroom. These teachers knew ways to take their content areas and find the best methods to teach it using technology, no matter what the technology was! I hope to become that knowledgeable one day so that I know immediately what to use to accomplish that sweet spot where technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge come together!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Screencast
Here is the screencast of everything I did for the semester in this class. It was a really great semester and I had a lot of fun, and certainly learned a lot! I look forward to learning more next semester in ITLA and utilizing everything I have learned in this class in my fieldwork classrooms, as well as my future classroom.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Twitter Reflection
Today in class our group (GASP) presented the use of Twitter in the classroom. I think it went pretty well in regards of showing the class how to make their own fake tweets to use in the classroom in order to engage students through using social media. I think there were a lot of ways we didn't even think it could be used in the classroom, especially the back end stuff Dr. Harvey was talking about. I think this could be used in the classroom for real, if the classrooms either have electronics (smart phones, Ipads, etc.) and if the kids have twitter accounts. The latter may be the hardest since some students will most likely be against starting one (I was...I only started one because of this class).
Overall, I think we made it pretty clear that Twitter has a place in the classroom, whether it be fake or real. As someone who went to high school before smartboards and Ipads, Twitter seemed like a sorta weird idea to be used in the classroom before I did this project and learned all the valuable ways Twitter could and should be used in the classroom. It has some the benefits of the smart response systems and a unique way to engage the students in a world where social media rules their lives and everyone else's as well.
For this project, I helped Chris create the video on how to make an account, and I put all the fake twitter feeds together (because the website for some reason would not show LONG tweets, so I had to photoshop them together). And I also experimented with the other fake twitter website and made the hilarious Thomas Jefferson tweet that for some reason did not show up.
Here is my lesson plan!
Overall, I think we made it pretty clear that Twitter has a place in the classroom, whether it be fake or real. As someone who went to high school before smartboards and Ipads, Twitter seemed like a sorta weird idea to be used in the classroom before I did this project and learned all the valuable ways Twitter could and should be used in the classroom. It has some the benefits of the smart response systems and a unique way to engage the students in a world where social media rules their lives and everyone else's as well.
For this project, I helped Chris create the video on how to make an account, and I put all the fake twitter feeds together (because the website for some reason would not show LONG tweets, so I had to photoshop them together). And I also experimented with the other fake twitter website and made the hilarious Thomas Jefferson tweet that for some reason did not show up.
Here is my lesson plan!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Clicker Lesson Reflection
Today I presented my lesson using the Clickers. I have used the clickers before in college classes, and I never really enjoyed using them because they were mostly used for attendance or for a quiz that counted as our attendance.
Overall, this lesson was fun. Definitely made me rethink how I feel about clickers, I think because it was used for a game instead of a quiz. I think that may be one of the only ways I would use the clickers or maybe to check for understanding during lessons. I think the lesson went well, and I'm glad I made it a game because this class LOVES games and competition so it really made them get into it and try to answer the questions correctly!
For the purposes of this class I think I should have shown a youtube video maybe to give the class a little background, but I decided it against doing it beforehand because I thought it would make the lesson too long. In the end, it would have been good simply for this class, my students should remember that stuff if its review right after a lesson, but the video may have helped move the questions along a bit quicker and thus, made my lesson presentation quicker.
In the end, I think this went well! It showed me a different side of the clickers and made me look at using them as an educator and not a student. I think making it a game was me remembering what I didn't like as a student so I could fix that as an educator. I enjoyed using these and hopefully I'll be able to use them in the future!
Here is my lesson plan!
Overall, this lesson was fun. Definitely made me rethink how I feel about clickers, I think because it was used for a game instead of a quiz. I think that may be one of the only ways I would use the clickers or maybe to check for understanding during lessons. I think the lesson went well, and I'm glad I made it a game because this class LOVES games and competition so it really made them get into it and try to answer the questions correctly!
For the purposes of this class I think I should have shown a youtube video maybe to give the class a little background, but I decided it against doing it beforehand because I thought it would make the lesson too long. In the end, it would have been good simply for this class, my students should remember that stuff if its review right after a lesson, but the video may have helped move the questions along a bit quicker and thus, made my lesson presentation quicker.
In the end, I think this went well! It showed me a different side of the clickers and made me look at using them as an educator and not a student. I think making it a game was me remembering what I didn't like as a student so I could fix that as an educator. I enjoyed using these and hopefully I'll be able to use them in the future!
Here is my lesson plan!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Video Reflection 3
For my third video reflection I watched Connecting High School to Career on edutopia. This video was mostly focusing on the idea of magnet schools and academies that prepare high school students for careers they want to head into in the future. The good thing about these school is they challenge the students in way that are different from the typical high school curriculum and they have the opportunity to use technology in different ways as well.
These schools really enhance their curriculums by using real world experience and classes that are mainly geared towards what these students want to do when they head into the real world. Cedar Creek in our area is actually an engineering magnet school in the area and students instead of taking all the "well rounded" classes for graduation, they focus heavily on the sciences and math that will prepare them to head into college to major in one of the engineering fields. They use technology and are even discussing the possibility of working with colleges to get the students college credit. The schools portrayed in this video were having similar experiences in their fields of choice. They're integrating technology to create cures for cancer, their own cartoons, and green ambulances to cut down on the country's carbon footprint.
Using technology in the capacity it is used in the real world to teach students about it and how to use it is very cool. I think that is one of the best applications of technology in the classroom. It really helps them understand how technology can be used and it aids tremendously in their education. I wish these schools were more prominent here when I was in high school. My high school recently added academies that allow students to focus on careers in medicine. They're looking to continue adding them to support this current trend and the use of technology.
These schools really enhance their curriculums by using real world experience and classes that are mainly geared towards what these students want to do when they head into the real world. Cedar Creek in our area is actually an engineering magnet school in the area and students instead of taking all the "well rounded" classes for graduation, they focus heavily on the sciences and math that will prepare them to head into college to major in one of the engineering fields. They use technology and are even discussing the possibility of working with colleges to get the students college credit. The schools portrayed in this video were having similar experiences in their fields of choice. They're integrating technology to create cures for cancer, their own cartoons, and green ambulances to cut down on the country's carbon footprint.
Using technology in the capacity it is used in the real world to teach students about it and how to use it is very cool. I think that is one of the best applications of technology in the classroom. It really helps them understand how technology can be used and it aids tremendously in their education. I wish these schools were more prominent here when I was in high school. My high school recently added academies that allow students to focus on careers in medicine. They're looking to continue adding them to support this current trend and the use of technology.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Video Reflection 2
I watched the video Media Smarts: Kids Learn How to Navigate the Multimedia World on Eudutopia. This video dealt with introducing students to more than the typical English language via books and grammar. The idea was brought to teachers attention by George Lucas during a conference where he said he felt that film and video are types of languages too and they should be taught in classrooms. This led states to create programs for children in schools of all ages that teach those languages. The younger students were introduced to animation where they got to create their own little cartoons, while the middle schoolers looked at social media (which was not too much back when this was created) and advertisements to discuss the differences for genders in those two medias. The students in high school were being taught to speak through their new language and create films that showed something they wanted to portray creatively. The high schoolers also were able to take what they learned in class and be able to understand why things were chosen for the news. It allowed them to dissect it for each component
Despite this video being almost 8 years old, it is still very relevant today. Today more than ever, especially in this area, media literacy and video programs are being created and funded very well. It allows the students to engage in this other language and Lucas said, and they are able to creatively tell their stories. Like I said in the previous video reflection, I used to partake in these types of classes (my last one was when this video came out, my senior year), and they really do feed into the creative side of language and allow us to use a different type of English. I took several English classes that were aimed at journalism during my undergrad career and it made me like the subject more. Teaching these types of lessons and using these types of technology to aid in it, makes students see a different side to something they've been learning their whole lives and maybe even renew their love in it.
Overall, I think looking at English differently and incorporating the new language that Lucas was speaking about will further enhance students experiences with those two things in school. It allows them to creatively express themselves using old subjects to create new subjects!
Despite this video being almost 8 years old, it is still very relevant today. Today more than ever, especially in this area, media literacy and video programs are being created and funded very well. It allows the students to engage in this other language and Lucas said, and they are able to creatively tell their stories. Like I said in the previous video reflection, I used to partake in these types of classes (my last one was when this video came out, my senior year), and they really do feed into the creative side of language and allow us to use a different type of English. I took several English classes that were aimed at journalism during my undergrad career and it made me like the subject more. Teaching these types of lessons and using these types of technology to aid in it, makes students see a different side to something they've been learning their whole lives and maybe even renew their love in it.
Overall, I think looking at English differently and incorporating the new language that Lucas was speaking about will further enhance students experiences with those two things in school. It allows them to creatively express themselves using old subjects to create new subjects!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Smartboard Lesson Plan & Reflection
Here is my lesson plan for the Smartboard lesson I did today about the Civil War which included a game of "Which state belongs to which side".
Rachel Worrall Smartboard Lesson Plan
Today's lesson on the smartboard went very well. I felt that using the smartboard was much easier than the Ipads. The smartboard is more familiar to us because we can use the computer and it's easier to make lessons with technology using the computer as well.
I really liked my lesson this time around as well. I thought the topic was interesting and the game was a lot of fun, and if my fieldwork school didn't have a Promethean board, I might have been able to see it used in a real school setting. I think everything had a good time organizing the states into either Confederate or Union sides. I also think the map, which was provided by Smart tech in the program, worked well with the lesson I was teaching.
The software was very similar to powerpoint, but did take a bit of time to learn to navigate. Once I figured it all out, it made it easy to work on the project and figure out how to do what I wanted to do. The only thing I found odd, was there was no "show" view. You're always in the program and there is no show view like in powerpoint, so I found that students were constantly selecting things and then it would mess up the selection of the next thing in the game. I had to constantly keep clicking in the blank space so it would not interrupt the students and their game play.
Overall, I think this lesson went much better than the Ipad. There are advantages to using the Ipad, but I think the smartboard is the winner with me. I find it easier to use, by both me and the students, and I think it allows more student integration into the lesson with technology.
Rachel Worrall Smartboard Lesson Plan
Today's lesson on the smartboard went very well. I felt that using the smartboard was much easier than the Ipads. The smartboard is more familiar to us because we can use the computer and it's easier to make lessons with technology using the computer as well.
I really liked my lesson this time around as well. I thought the topic was interesting and the game was a lot of fun, and if my fieldwork school didn't have a Promethean board, I might have been able to see it used in a real school setting. I think everything had a good time organizing the states into either Confederate or Union sides. I also think the map, which was provided by Smart tech in the program, worked well with the lesson I was teaching.
The software was very similar to powerpoint, but did take a bit of time to learn to navigate. Once I figured it all out, it made it easy to work on the project and figure out how to do what I wanted to do. The only thing I found odd, was there was no "show" view. You're always in the program and there is no show view like in powerpoint, so I found that students were constantly selecting things and then it would mess up the selection of the next thing in the game. I had to constantly keep clicking in the blank space so it would not interrupt the students and their game play.
Overall, I think this lesson went much better than the Ipad. There are advantages to using the Ipad, but I think the smartboard is the winner with me. I find it easier to use, by both me and the students, and I think it allows more student integration into the lesson with technology.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Video Reflection 1
I watched the Building Career Skills in Video Production Class video on eutopia.org. I found it very humbling to see another school on the opposite side of the country have a program very similar to the one I took when I was in high school. I took three years of media and in those three years, I took every media course my high school offered. However, those students have way more than we did when I took the class. They have much better technology and equipment than we ever could have imagined. I also liked how they got to go out of class and use it. When I left, we were just beginning to work with organizations outside of the school, like with the police department to do a video on safe driving. Most of our work was done for the daily announcements. These kids were doing actual real productions, the kinds you would see being done out in the real world. Heck, this class even had better equipment than my college TV studio had! And more work to boot!
This class really prepares these kids for the real world, especially if this is the field they want to get into. They seem to be learning more technology and more of the field than I did when I was in high school. It wasn't until I was in college that I got to use technology similar to this and learn the field in such a way that it would prepare me for the real world. It's amazing how these kids will be able to walk into any job or college program and immediately know what they're doing. It will really help them once they're ready to take that step.
I also feel like the technology was really being used to aid in their education. It's not often that a classroom has that much technology or a teacher who knows how to use it so well. These kids were able to learn it in a fun environment as well, which makes learning fun! I would love to teach class like this, if an opening ever were to become available.
This class really prepares these kids for the real world, especially if this is the field they want to get into. They seem to be learning more technology and more of the field than I did when I was in high school. It wasn't until I was in college that I got to use technology similar to this and learn the field in such a way that it would prepare me for the real world. It's amazing how these kids will be able to walk into any job or college program and immediately know what they're doing. It will really help them once they're ready to take that step.
I also feel like the technology was really being used to aid in their education. It's not often that a classroom has that much technology or a teacher who knows how to use it so well. These kids were able to learn it in a fun environment as well, which makes learning fun! I would love to teach class like this, if an opening ever were to become available.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
iPad Lesson Reflection
So the lesson is over! It went pretty well, considering technology didn't want to cooperate and Brain pop was down for a bit. But I trudged along, as all teachers need to do when their technology doesn't work, like it did one day in my fieldwork classroom. Overall, I think the lesson was good. It is definitely something to use an intro (which I'm not sure I mentioned when I was starting the lesson) since I does not go too in depth and I think it would be a good introduction to the topic and then delve deeper into the causes and reasons of the Civil Rights Movement.
I wish the app had worked because it messed up my group part of the lesson. I wanted the students to work on the quiz together and in the heat of the moment should have done what my group-mate Chris did; had them answer the questions out loud in groups. This would have still allowed me to have the element of groups to satisfy some of the requirements of the Partnerships criteria. However, doing it as a large group still allowed those who got certain parts of information from the video to help those who may have missed it. Or, in some cases where they had to infer completely, it helped when someone else was familiar with the time period.
And of course, had it been a real class, I would have really pushed the kids to answer the critical thinking questions I asked at the end. It would also help take the lesson in the direction of digging deeper into the topic and open doors to conversation that we can now have thanks to the laws discussed in the video.
Overall, it went well. Could it have gone better? Oh yea! But this is the first lesson and my first time trying to teach with technology. It will not be last however! I'm sure there will be days where the technology will not work in my future classroom, and I'll have to wing it the best I can, sorta like I did today. Yes, there are things that I wish had gone differently, but all in all, it went pretty well for my first lesson, ever!
I wish the app had worked because it messed up my group part of the lesson. I wanted the students to work on the quiz together and in the heat of the moment should have done what my group-mate Chris did; had them answer the questions out loud in groups. This would have still allowed me to have the element of groups to satisfy some of the requirements of the Partnerships criteria. However, doing it as a large group still allowed those who got certain parts of information from the video to help those who may have missed it. Or, in some cases where they had to infer completely, it helped when someone else was familiar with the time period.
And of course, had it been a real class, I would have really pushed the kids to answer the critical thinking questions I asked at the end. It would also help take the lesson in the direction of digging deeper into the topic and open doors to conversation that we can now have thanks to the laws discussed in the video.
Overall, it went well. Could it have gone better? Oh yea! But this is the first lesson and my first time trying to teach with technology. It will not be last however! I'm sure there will be days where the technology will not work in my future classroom, and I'll have to wing it the best I can, sorta like I did today. Yes, there are things that I wish had gone differently, but all in all, it went pretty well for my first lesson, ever!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
iPad Lesson Plans
Here is the lesson plan I will be using with my lesson Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement on the iPad. After the lesson is taught tomorrow, I will write up a reflection on my lesson.
Rachel Worrall iPad Lesson Plan
Rachel Worrall iPad Lesson Plan
Thursday, January 31, 2013
STEM Lab Reflection
On Tuesday we Google Chatted with Kevin from Northfield Community School who runs the STEM lab there. It was quite interesting to see how much technology has changed since I was in the 3rd grade. I was fascinated to see the use of Smartboards and Chromebooks and that the children knew how to use them so efficiently. I think back to my days in elementary school and for us to perform a task like they were with the paper that day, all we would have had to reference would have been the video he showed them.
It's really good to see this technology getting used in the classroom because it helps the kids learn the lesson faster and it makes it more interactive for them. It also helps them in the long run because by the time they're all grown up, they will have a good handle on technology and how to use it to it's best ability. These children are growing up in the technology age, learning to do things we never even imagined doing when we were their age. It really is fascinating to see how much the curriculum has changed to accomodate technology and makes me excited to work with it in my fieldwork and in the future in the classroom.
It's really good to see this technology getting used in the classroom because it helps the kids learn the lesson faster and it makes it more interactive for them. It also helps them in the long run because by the time they're all grown up, they will have a good handle on technology and how to use it to it's best ability. These children are growing up in the technology age, learning to do things we never even imagined doing when we were their age. It really is fascinating to see how much the curriculum has changed to accomodate technology and makes me excited to work with it in my fieldwork and in the future in the classroom.
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