Posts Tagged ‘teacher’

“Just Tweet It”

{ October 1, 2009 @ 11:21 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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just tweet it

While perusing the twitter applications page (http://bit.ly/1gtcbO ), I suddenly stumble upon “Just Tweet It”. The icon contains a cute, little, eye-catching bird that lured me in to explore!

“Just Tweet It” allows users to locate other twitter users that are “just like you!” (www.justtweetit.com). It is an easy way to contact and follow people that perhaps share the same interests as the user or involved in the same profession as the user. The various groups to click on include, but are not limited to, web developers, librarians, artists, entrepreneurs, writers, and of course educators. Being a future educator, I naturally click on that category (www.justtweetit.com ). There are then subcategories like choir directors, college & universities, home schooling, librarians, students, and teachers (www.justtweetit.com ).  By making a profile, I am currently able to follow fellow teachers like @laurakaysmith and @MikeRomard. Whenever a user wants to, they can look up and add new professionals to interact with on a daily basis through twitter. While reading through some directories, I saw one science teacher that wants to contact other science teachers to collaborate on ideas for the classroom. This is a great idea! Collaborating, or co-teaching, is such a hot button topic right now in education. Almost every textbook I own has some section devoted to collaborating. After five weeks of class, I am almost certain that all my professors have mentioned it at least once, if not more. Finding colleagues through “Just Tweet It” and talking to them through twitter, is an easy way to collaborate. In the future, I could easily be collaborating with a teacher that is across the country. Therefore I will have cross-country ideas to implement into my own classroom. I am so excited that I found this site! Every teacher should check this out.

This blog used the following two websites for reference, quotes, and facts:

www.justtweetit.com (for the pic as well)

http://bit.ly/1gtcbO

technology used in ELL classroom (video)

{ September 24, 2009 @ 2:44 am } · { Uncategorized }
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In this youtube video, technology is being used in an ELL (English Language Learner) classroom. Students are testing on the computer and doing individual work. They save their answers in a folder which is able to be accessed by the teacher. At another station, students work in groups to solve math problems on the smart board. It is great to see so many different ways to get students more involved by using technology. For example, if students had to solve the math problems on paper, they may not have been as excited about it. Solving the problems on thesmart board makes it fun and interactive.
Take a look….

Carrotsticks

{ September 21, 2009 @ 4:40 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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So I recently received a comment on my post “Inevitable Technology” from a user named Pete on WordPress.

“This is a great post! We recently co-founded CarrotSticks (http://www.carrotsticks.com) to help make math  practice more fun and social for young students. The response we’ve gotten from classrooms has been phenomenal–it’s great to see kids engaging with each other and getting excited about math!

We’re also big fans of Dreambox, HeyMath and SmartyCard!”

Of course this intrigued me; hence I checked his recently created website.

I did a little demo version that was free. I was able to create and personalize my own little character and then we went on to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems together. Each of the four categories is divided into 25 levels “designed by doctoral students at the Stanford School of Education to emphasize specific skills and concepts” (www.carrotsticks.com). The games are mostly geared towards 2nd to 4th graders and involve “solving math problems, step by step, in a uniform way. Through repeated practice, CarrotSticks kids build valuable speed and ‘muscle memory,’ both of which are keys to success in mathematics”   (www.carrotsticks.com ). There is also an option to challenge other students online. But everything is safe and child-friendly. Participants do not disclose their full names and there is no option to “chat” with other users. It is a fun way for kids to get excited about math, just like Pete said in his comment. The website is also suggested to parents for the summer instead of hiring a math tutor for their children. Unlimited play is only $19.00 dollars. The best part- teachers can use this website for free in their classrooms. So for all you teachers (and future teachers like me) out there, keep this website in mind!

Above blog used www.carrotsticks.com for reference.

Thanks Pete!

Carrotsticks game for students

Carrotsticks game for students

picture taken from http://21.media.tumblr.com/ScMIYqIPFpq2l99lnHS1LqJMo1_500.png

“Brave New World of Digital Intimacy” –response

{ September 21, 2009 @ 2:34 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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“Brave New World of Digital Intimacy” was a very interesting article for me because I used to have facebook myself for a year. The first 7 months I barely went on it and did not even have a picture. I would go on and “poke” my friends to be funny. Then one day I decided to update my profile out of boredom and start commenting my friends. I mostly enjoyed the sharing of pictures because I did not always have my camera when I went out so I was able to download the pictures of me that other people had. The more I went onto facebook, the more I realized how much information about people is really out there. I could tell who was friends with who and when people updated their status, I could see what they were doing for the day.

My best friend went away to college in Delaware and we were able to stay in touch through facebook as well as the phone. I got to know her friends and roommates from her school through facebook also. When I went to visit her, I felt like I already knew her friends and they felt like they knew me too. It made meeting them in person for the first time not so odd because I had already talked with them and I already knew many things about them. As Haley quotes in the article “It’s like I can read everyone’s mind.” I was able to get to know my best friend’s roommate and friends at school through status updates and comments on facebook.

However, I do not have a facebook profile anymore due to the privacy issues and my future profession as a teacher. I was told by almost every Education teacher at Rowan and everyone in the teaching field that I should not have a facebook account because it is unprofessional, especially if there are party pictures of me in my profile. In one of my teaching classes, my professor actually looked all of the students up on facebook and brought up their profiles’ on the smart board in class. She then pointed out inappropriate pictures on the students’ facebooks along with comments involving slang and cursewords. She said that if a future employer saw these pictures we would not be hired. When working in the presence of an elementary school, I will need to maintain a certain image at all times. No pictures of me in a bathing suit, drinking alcohol, or making inappropriate gestures will be able to be publically accessed for the simple reason that if a student were to see the picture, I would be fired. After my professor pulled up everyone’s inappropriate pictures, I deleted my facebook account. I have not yet begun to question whether or not I can have a “more professional facebok account.”  So for now, I will just have to settle for twitter!

Teacher=Coach

{ September 16, 2009 @ 5:19 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Technology, specifically computers and computer based lessons, is a great thing for students.  Being technologically literate, as discussed in earlier blogs, is just as important as being literate in reading and writing. Though technology will drastically change by the time present elementary students enter the work force, they will still grasp a basic knowledge of how modern technology operates (http://j.mp/PgzEE ). But what happens to the role of the teacher if the students are acting more and more independently?

The answer is simple. The teacher becomes more like a facilitator  (http://j.mp/PgzEE). They set up goals and make the guidelines clear for each project the students undertake. While independent or group work is being done on the computers, the teacher should travel around and encourage the students. They can help correct an error if they catch it right away and suggest different ways of accomplishing each task. It is as if the teacher has become the coach as the students “actively make choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information” ( http://j.mp/PgzEE ). Recent case studies reveal that students are able to handle more complex assignments because of the “supports and capabilities provided by technology” ( http://j.mp/PgzEE ). Some students who are especially technologically savvy also have the opportunity to help the teacher and show fellow students extra tips and tricks. By allowing this, the student’s self esteem will definitely improve ( http://j.mp/PgzEE ) .

All in all, technology is now an indispensable tool in the classroom. If technology is used in the right way alongside lesson plans which include clear, concise objectives, students will learn more content knowledge and will become more comfortable on the tools they are using for their assignments.

kids on computers

kids on computers

Above blog used http://j.mp/PgzEE for facts, quotes, and reference.  Picture from http://www.ehow.com/how_2100775_study-computers-classroom.html

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