Favorite Interactive Game (assignment 7)

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathsmulti.html

The site listed above is great for elementary school students trying to master basic math facts. As a 5th grade teacher, I find that some students still struggle with instant recall of basic multiplication facts, which becomes a hindrance to students’ abilities to perform the majority of the 5th grade math concepts in a reasonable amount of time. It's certainly more difficult for kids to move on to more complex concepts when they haven't mastered the basic skills.

It’s a very simple concept, but this site makes math practice more inviting, interactive, and fun than working with flash cards. I sent this link, along with others, home to parents via Webgrader so they could encourage their children to practice these facts online, and perhaps have a bit of fun too.

Favorite Websites (assignment 4)

1) http://www.oswego.org/ocsdweb/games/Mathmagician/mathsmulti.html
As an intermediate school teacher, this website for practicing multiplication facts is one of my favorites. At the beginning of the school year, I sent this link, along with others, to parents through Webgrader. So, parents and students have access to multiplication fact games from home.

2) http://educationworld.com/a_tech/archives/technology.shtml
Education World is a great site for many reasons. Teachers can access this site for lesson plan ideas, technology integration, and professional development. They also offer an entire library of student worksheets, which can be used for additional practice, homework, or challenge work.

3) http://www.pandora.com/
This is my favorite non-academic website. Pandora dubs itself “a new kind of radio – stations that play only music you like.” I leave this site up on my computer all day at school, but only listen to quiet music during prep times to relax me a bit in the midst of a hectic day. I simply press pause when my next class comes up, and press play during my prep period. Pandora creates radio stations for you based on artists and/or songs you like. For example, after typing in “Eva Cassidy,” Pandora creates a station called “Eva Cassidy Radio.” This new station then plays music that has similar rhythms, melodies and harmonies, lyrics, instrumentation, and arrangement. You can also create stations by genre, some of which include adult contemporary, classical, oldies, new age, and many more. It’s also a great way to hear music from obscure artists with talent that parallels more popular musicians.

Lesson Plans Integrating Technology (assignment 2)

The following are three lessons found online that integrate technology. From math to language arts to social studies and science, technology integration can enhance traditional lessons to make concepts and learning more meaningful for students.

1) http://www.microsoft.com/Education/endsmeet.mspx
6/7/8th grade, math, "Making Ends Meet," using Excel spreadsheets

In this lesson plan, middle school students are instructed to develop a budget worksheet using Microsoft Excel. I immediately found this lesson plan useful, as it places students into real-life situations. Budgeting is a reality for all adults, and oftentimes kids as well. After creating a budget worksheet, the students are asked to estimate expenses, create a food budget, and evaluate their final budget. These experiences are valuable for students on many levels, but primarily because they learn how to use commonplace, useful technology (Excel), and begin to understand the reality of monitoring finances as adults.


2) http://www2.cmcss.net/~Tech/IT/grade5/FifAct3.html
5th grade, language arts, "Grammar Gorillas," using Internet games

This lesson plan begins with a “Student Activity Card,” and takes place completely in a computer lab. Students follow instructions on the activity card to complete online tasks. In this case, the kids are directed to the Funbrain web site to play a game called “Grammar Gorillas,” in which they identify parts of speech by clicking on words in a sentence. They learn their scores immediately after the last question so they can evaluate their performance and aim for a better score next time. This type of lesson could be fun for elementary and middle school students.

3) http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/bstpract/
4th/5th grade, LA/math/social studies, "A World of Favorites," development/use of web pages

This lesson plan involves worldwide learning. Fourth and fifth graders will develop questionnaires that ask classes around the world about their “favorites.” For example, one of the questions might ask, “What is your favorite food?” Next, the teacher posts the questionnaires to a listserv or web page that will help them gather replies from around the world. After data is gathered, students are asked to develop three web pages, each providing different information about the countries from which they received replies. The purpose is to communicate with students of different cultures and to determine the similarities and differences among them. This appears to be quite a time-consuming lesson, however, the valuable experiences gained seem to outweigh the disadvantages.

Blog Articles (assignment 1)

After reading various articles on the art of blogging, I've come to the conclusion that for a number of reasons, blogs could be excellent educational tools. However, blogging may not be ideal for all students and/or all educational situations.

First, I recognize the importance of integrating technology into curriculum. Students will truly be better prepared for post-secondary education and beyond in today's evolving technological world. I believe school blogs can be used for simple tasks such as posting assignments and tests for students, as well as for more complex tasks, such as walking students through the entire writing process. I can imagine meaningful uses for blogs in all content areas. Students and teachers can combine face-to-face communication with online conversations to create well-rounded learning experiences. For these reasons, I feel blogging could be a great addition to traditional learning in the classroom.

While blogging could be beneficial, one cannot assume that all students have access to computers or Internet connections. So, assigning online work to be done at home may not always be an option. Another consideration in using blogs may be the age of the students involved. Today, kids are gaining technological experience at a younger age, however elementary aged students may need more face-to-face direction in order to gain optimal meaning. One of the posted blog articles referred to a third grade class utilizing blogs, so those teachers evidently found a way to make it work. An additional issue in blogging may be incorrect language usage. Kids have the tendency to use "IM speak" (instant message language) to abbreviate and expedite online conversations. In this case, I believe it's important to use blogs as an extension of the school day. Students should be encouraged to use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. and in some cases, their responses should be graded on these criteria. For these reasons, teachers must lay out specific guidelines for blog use as an extension of the classroom.

In sum, while blogging certainly has it's advantages and potential for meaningful interactive experiences, there are many considerations for appropriate use in and out of school.