Final is Done

I am so excited to have completed the technology class. I have gained so much confidence in using new technology.

I have completed:

The BYU route Y evaluation
The online survey
and I checked my grades on Blackboard.

Have a great Christmas break everyone!

Last Week! We made it (almost).

1) My article of choice was Leave it Alone by H. Burke Peterson, written almost 15 years ago, but still true today.

2)I explored several pages of the k2weboutlaws website. I also watched 4 segments of the Frontline program Growing up Online. I plan to watch the rest of the program especially the section on Cyberbullying.

3) My most important "take-aways" from these programs and website are that parents need to be aware of what their children are doing online. I agree completely with the parents who remove the computers from the bedroom. The computer should be in a public, community place in the home. However, I also agree that if a child decides to use internet resources in other places they can find a way to access them. Parents need to start young, teaching their children what an amazing resource the internet is and how to use it safely.

4) I talked with two of my children who are in elementary school to ask them what they knew about internet safety. They already know that the computer needs to be turned off immediately if something inappropriate show up. They know to show me or an older family member if a window opens that may contain a virus. My younger children do not have email or Facebook. they do use safe sites such as Build a Bear or Wiggi World. We watched the short video from McGruff the Crime Dog about internet information. My 7-year old had the 4 things you never give out over the internet down right away: name, phone #, address and school name. I am really glad we had a chance to talk because my teenage boys also came into the conversation and reinforced what I had shared. My kids were open and receptive to learning about safety on the internet. I am glad that we can talk about it without the anger or accusations that some of the parents in the videos encountered. I think that reopening the dialogue about the internet will help us to continue using it safely.

TPACK report

Week 11 Lesson Plans

Here are the links to my lesson plans on Google Docs:

Science:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg86c7w8_6hn8k8tfd

Math:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg86c7w8_4f84grrc5

Language:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg86c7w8_3gccppfdm

Week 10 Technology Videos

While watching the three videos about technology in the classroom, one thing that I noticed was how the teachers said that the students learned to use the technology quickly. Even the very young kindergarten students without previous computer experience were able to effectively learn and use basic computer skills. In the videos the children appeared to be very comfortable using the classroom computers and software. I found it interesting that the third grade class was navigating the internet and learning about copyright laws. These students are getting a great start in learning about the uses of technology. In addition, the technology can help students create a connection with their parents and families. The students see how computer use is becoming integrated into our society. They lose their fear of it and it becomes another tool in their reserve. As they need to increasingly use computers in their schoolwork, it becomes a natural part of their abilities.

Week 9 Already

The first week of observation in second grade was a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting to know the students. There is not much technology used in instruction in this classroom. The two things that are used regularly are a computer/overhead projector that doesn't require transparencies and a teacher microphone. The microphone came in especially handy last week when the teacher had a sore throat. All of the students were able to hear her, so her management didn't suffer. Also all teachers in Alpine have a district laptop to use for attendance, lesson plans, memos, etc.

I have completed the midcourse evaluation and the informed consent.

Week 8 Science and Math Voice Thread

Here is my Voice Thread video:

Week 7 Science and Math

For my science activity I am going to focus on the 6th grade science.

Standard 5:
Students will understand that microorganisms range from simple to complex, are found almost everywhere, and are both helpful and harmful.

Objective 1:
Observe and summarize information about microorganisms
a.Examine and illustrate size, shape, and structure of organisms found in an environment such as pond water

The students will have access to the virtual pond and information about types of pond microorganisms such as protozoa, algae, tardigrades, worms and arthropods. This activity will introduce the students to basic types of microscopic life forms. The students will have the opportunity to investigate, illustrate and categorize the microorganisms.

Step 1: Watch video
Step 2: Visit the virtual pond and select a microorganism
Step 3: Fill in the chart for that microorganism. Give its name, sketch it, and state where it is usually found.
Step 4: Follow the link for further details and write down one interesting fact.
Step 5: Complete chart for 4 more microorganisms

Content:
This science activity will focus on identifying and classifying a variety of microorganisms.

Pedagogy:
Students will name, categorize, and illustrate different microorganisms in a chart

Technology:
Students will have the opportunity to use the virtual pond. This is a good fit with the content because students will be able to explore much information about the microorganisms without having to handle or collect them.

YouTube video url:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI1NbZn11Ss

Virtual Pond url:

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/ponddip/index.html

Also, I'm sure many of you know I love math. I really enjoyed the National Archives of Virtual Manipulatives. I have it bookmarked and can't wait to share it with my kids.

Tours I Have Seen...

Alyssa Young, Ashley Daley, Malorie Walton
I really enjoyed how different all the tours were. I have lots of new ideas, just wish I had more time to explore them.

Week 6 Google Earth Tour

Here is the URL for my Google sites page and tour: http://sites.google.com/site/earthtoursite/googletour
The four sites for my Erosion Landforms tour are:
1. The Sphinx near Cairo
2. The Sahara Desert
3. The Perito Moreno Glacier in South America
4. The Little Snake River in Colorado

Week 5 Google Earth Tour Preview

For my Google Earth tour I will be showing different types of weathering and the results of that weathering in four areas of the Earth.

This will address the Utah State core curriculum for 4th grade science, standard 3, objective 2 which is to “explain how the processes of weathering and erosion change and move materials that become soil.”

Content: I will show land features that address wind erosion, water erosion, glacial erosion, and how erosion has damaged ancient Egyptian artifacts.

Pedagogy: I would use the tour as a supplement to our class discussion and worksheets on weathering. I would set it up as a center activity to do with a completion assessment worksheet.

Technology:
Google Earth is a great fit for this topic. Instead of just looking at textbook pictures or at maps, the students can see how the landforms fit into their surroundings. I will also be including links to information web pages.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Perito Moreno Glacier	Use the ruler to measure the width of the glacier. Follow the link and write down three interesting facts about the glacier.	Place marker, Ruler Layers: terrain, borders and labels
2.Snake River	Follow the pathway along the Snake River. List three evidences of water erosion.	Place marker, Path tool Layers: terrain, borders and labels
3. Sahara Sand Dunes	Look around at the variety of dunes. How does the wind affect the landscape. Look at the image overlay. What effect does the wind have when there is no vegetation to hold the soil in place?	Place marker, Image overlay Layers: terrain, borders and labels
4.Sphinx	Follow the path through the pyramids to the Sphinx. Follow the link to read about uncovering the Sphinx. Use the slider to look at the Sphinx closely, then use the direction indicator to move around it. What evidences of erosion do you see?	Place marker, Path tool Layers: 3-D buildings, terrain, borders and labels

Week 4 videos that I watched

These movies are so different. Everyone has such good ideas. My son, age 7, has watched most of these with me and they really kept his attention.
Here are some things that I learned and enjoyed about the movies that I watched.

Katie Matthews: I loved the lesson that she taught about imagination and using it carefully. This shows kids how to turn a negative into a positive.

Malorie Walton: What a fun way to have an adventure. Using underwater photos was a great idea.

Camila Monteiro: I liked how she changed a familiar song in order to get kids spelling, and it works. My son started spelling names of other dogs he knows.

Eliane Bueno: Using different kinds of families in one story show kids that families from all over the world have lots in common.

Whitney Lethcoe: This video could start a unit on families and how we are like and different from each other.

Rachael Hamilton: Using the poetry from a familiar song was a neat idea. There are lots to choose from. I like all the different moms and babies.

Here Is My Movie!

Week Three

Here is the URL for the wiki that I created in week two:
http://sevenstories.pbworks.com/

Week Three of Technology

This week we learned about TPACK, or using technology, pedagogy and content knowledge to improve the classroom and learning. We also learned about copyright guidelines for education; for students as well as teachers.
I am posting my storyboard for the storytelling project. I had fun using a content standard from sixth grade science. This standard is how the Earth's revolution around the Sun creates the seasons for most of the Earth's population.

Week Two Was Hard

I had a great time this week working on these new web tools. I was excited to find some of my extended family were already using Googlereads. Diigo was an interesting tool for reading and highlighting documents online. I had a hard time with the fourth page of the wiki. It seemed that everything I tried would not work, but I finally had success with Googlegadgets. I can see all kinds of application with these tools. I had one funny experience after I created the Googlecalendar. I received an email saying that I had an outline due Wednesday. I looked through a couple of my binders before I realized that the message was from my fictitious calendar. I changed the settings!
No more scary emails.


Diigo Screenshot:





Videochat Screenshot:





Googlereader Screenshot:

Week 2 was hard

I have learned many new things this week. Some of my family members already use googlereads. It was fun to connect with them. Diigo was interesting. I'm glad to know there is an online reading tool where you can highlight and keep track of documents. The wiki pages weren't too bad, when they worked for me. It seemed that everything I tried for the fourth page had a problem, but I finally had success. The video chat was lots of fun. I can't wait to try it with my daughter in Japan.
Here is the URL for the wiki I created this week:
http://sevenstories.pbworks.com/


Diigo Screenshot:

Why I love education-

Education is life and life is an education. I will never understand people who are bored. There is so much that I want to learn and do that I will run out of time before I do them all. I hope that I can integrate technology with my passion for teaching so that my students will gain that love of learning.