Post 4

One thing you can look up in the book, that we also talked about in class were searching techniques. I do not really use any other search engines, so the one I'm relating to is Google. When searching you can use the "+" symbol to connect things. By using "+" you can eliminate words that do not help your search like the, a, and, etc. You can also put your search words in quotes. By using quotes, the search engine will search that phrase exactly. For example if you want to know about something specifically called Technology in the classroom, you should put quotes around it to find exactly that phrase. There are also more specific searches with Google; like Scholar, Images, or News. These help to narrow down your search, so that you get better results. Scholar can be used when researching or doing papers. Images can be used in the classroom if you are searching for an image for a powerpoint, and you can find video clips with the Video specific search. There are so many ways to search easier and make you searching time faster.

Since my last posting, we have learned about the differences between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0. I grew up using Web 1.0 and in since high school the web has changed more to Web 2.0. From my understanding, Web 2.0 is like the new stuff out, including networking cites, likes facebook and myspace!! I looked at a chart by O'Reilly that showed the differences between Wed 1.0 and Web 2.0 things. I feel like by knowing the difference I can help my students use these features to learn. We also learned stuff about searching, which is important so that I can have more effective searches to make my lesson plans more interesting and better for different learning styles.

The webhunt this week introduced me into a bunch of new sites to use in lesson planning, and a lot of them were free! One site I did look at, for the first time, was the Sunshine Standards page. In my Ed Psy class were discussing how to use and identify the standards in your lessons. I'm not really looking forward to having to go through all the standards and apply them to the lesson I've created. I can see how it is necessary, but I feel like that is going to take forever!! At least they are all online though, and broken into subject matter sections to make it easier for teachers!

Post 3

There are a lot of different hardware devices discussed in chapter 4. Most of them, like input/output, memory, and USB, I already learned about in CGS; but it served as a nice reminder to see them again. One thing that I didn’t know much about in this chapter was the touch screen. They are monitors with a touch sensitive panel on the screen. By touching the different things on the screen you can interact with the computer. The screen acts as the input device to enter data or other information. They are usually used as kiosks in museums or ATMs. I know that a lot of newer classrooms have touch screens to control the overhead, lighting, and other aspects of the classroom. By learning a little bit more about how touch screens work, I am better prepared to use them in the future!

I am having the worst trouble trying to upload my picture to my blog! I have tried to save a picture on my computer and get one off of facebook, but they still are not loading. I guess I’m going to try the emailing the picture to myself thing, so I’ll see how it works out! In my attempts, however, I did learn how to put clips from youtube on my blog. I didn’t have time to fine tone it, but I am so excited about clips for my blog!! That would be so cool for my class blog to post youtube clips that go with my lesson plans for the students to look at if the wish.

One thing I learned this week (that’s kind of silly) is that sometimes to shut off computers you have to hold down the power button for like eleven seconds. I always would get so frustrated with my computer when I couldn’t turn it of, so I would unplug it or in the case of my lap top let the battery die. Now I feel like it will save so much time if I have to restart my computer for any reason.
We also went over different types of mapping to use in the classroom. I liked that concept maps show different things like hierarchy and connections between topics, but I think they can be confusing and boring. Mind Mapping is so cool! It incorporates colors and graphics so your brain can make different connections and remember stuff through those connections. I am excited to try Mind Mapping as a form of presenting or making notes in class, rather than outlining my topics.

Post 2

This week I searched through a few different websites. One interesting website I found was under the link Voices from the Past. It offers oral history for students to look through. I love that you could use this to supplement your lecture or reading to make the lesson more interesting! It also shows students how to conduct interviews following legal and ethical guidelines, which would be a great help in History Fair Projects for primary sources!
Another great website I found gives you lists of calendars with events that happened on everyday of the week! I had a history teacher in high school who always put "This Day In History" events on her board and I always wondered where she got that information. With this website, I can put interesting stuff on the board for my classroom. Like did you know that on this day in 1896, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas staged a railroad, head-on train wreck as a publicity stunt?

I thought I knew how to do pretty much anything on Word, until we had our assignment this week. I really enjoyed learned how to do the different stuff for newsletters. I always had trouble with headings on Word, but I'm really glad that now I can put a banner up to make them look better!! And I love all the things I can do with pictures!!! I didn't know that I would be able to pove pictures all around the page, or make words go around them, or make words go over them just be double clicking the picture. By using these options on Word, I can change a boring newsletter to something my students and parents will want to read when they pick it up! They will probably be getting a lot of stuff sent home, and this will set mine apart!!

Of the "assistive technologies" the text offers, I found the most interesting to be "Closing the Gap." It offers teachers and students with special needs to use technology to enhance the learning experience. Their website offers discussion boards, newsletters, and product information to help teachers learn how to use these types of technologies more effectively. You can use the discussion boards to talk to other teachers and get more information that you can use in your classroom. It also gives you news headlines to see what is happening with special needs technology throughout the country. It talks about other districts and what they are approving for schools with technology! And a lot of new devises out that can help with special needs students.

Post 1

The ARCS Motivational Model was developed by John Keller who taught that it is most important in a classroom to motivate your students. He developed a learning model that was based around how much effort the students puts into the class. There are many ways to get students motivated. ARCS breaks down the process of getting your students engaged. Digital media can get the attention of students with all types of learning styles. Most students are not just auditory or conventioal learners, but also multisensory. By using exciting lessons with digital media, as a teacher you can get the attention of all students. So, it gets their attention, it is relevant material and important to their lives, it challenges your students to complete the project and then gives them confidence in themselves, finally it gives your students a feeling of success.
There are so many ways to use computers in the classroom. They offer a way of communication outside of the actual classroom, which engages parents and the community. The International Society for Technology in Education promotes the use of technology in the classroom. They support teachers at all level of education and offer ways to improve teaching and learning.

Through the lecture this week and the reading in the book, I have learned about different ways to engage you students in your lesson. One interesting thing I learned was ARCS. It is helpful for me to be able to break down what I need to do in the classroom to get the students involved and motivated. By using ARCS I can make my lesson plan follow the different steps, until I help my students to feel confident with themselves and have a personal success with the end of the assignment or lesson.

I've never really like technology that much, because I thought it was too confusing to really use. I always just did the minimal amount of work on the computer, and the rest in any other way possible. After learning how to do my blog, I am excited to learn new ways to get my students engaged in the classroom. This week we learned how to put pictures on our blog, and this seems like such an awesome way to use my blog. I will be able to post pictures online that have to do with the assignments, and put other things on the blog so parents can stay involved and students can see their assignments in a more exciting way, instead of a white sheet of paper. I think using blogs is the first part of ARCS, because it can grab your students attention in the classroom and at home.