My view on iPads

From my viewpoint, I think a lot of emphasis is placed on test scores. So, when the questions arise about increased scores, there is often negativity concerning new ideas and their implementation.

Technology has become a huge part of my life. I have learned to balance using my puter with paper books. I teach elementary school and we do a lot online. There's no getting around it, esp. for taking attendance. More and more schools are changing paper docs over to web designed programs for purposes such as this.

I couldn't teach as well without technology. Even when there are glitches and it doesn't work out like I imagined, I turn to plan B. There will always be a plan B...and C. I try to be flexible to use what is available to me.

In my mind, some have lost sight of the morals and implementations of educating others. Technology helps with differentiation and reading, too. I find my students are less bored when I use an iPad or such with them for teaching purposes. It lets me do things I couldn't do on paper.

For example, I use it for a schedule with students who need visuals during transition times. It helps make the day go more smoothly and they are happier, too.

This is my experience in the classroom with my students.
Please see the article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-the-ipad-and-other-technology-cant-replace-in-education/2011/09/11/gIQAxtJlLK_blog.html'''

Laurel

Tableau Vivant

Tableau Vivant is an interesting type of art that can inspire others. I enjoyed breaking into groups where we took pictures to depict a given story. Ours was a greek myth-Athena Myth-Archine, from: D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (p.36).

I was thinking of how to use this in my classroom when I came across this YouTube video of students acting out the greek myth. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXK8tA-1bX8

With our students becoming more interested in technology, I think it's important to include different types of tech in the classroom. I often give different forms of assessments and also find it fun to watch new videos/pics from our school's push page.

Laurel

Art transformed using Picnik

Can you guess the pic?

I used picnik to alter a picture of a painting done when I modeled as an Undergraduate student. It was fun to make so many changes that I can barely see me in the painting. (The pic is similar to a Degas).

I will pass this site along to my co-workers because it's relevant in the classroom:

http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome

-Laurel

Standard for MD 400

I think I've found a good standard to use throughout the course. Here is the pdf:
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/Curriculum/itf.pdf

Standard 3: information Processing
By: grade 4

It's from sde and uses the art of technology in lesson planning. I think this would be a good seg way into using my SmartBoard more effectively. I want my students to learn more about how they can use visuals to enhance their learning preferences, too. I also think a teacher can use this standard to teach using different facets of learning styles (i.e. Tactile).

Hope this was helpful.
Laurel

"Teddy Bears Go Blogging"

Hi,
~~Sherry brought up some interesting points relating blogging and Language Arts. It gave me good ideas on how to incorporate blogs more into my lesson plans. For example, when my students are learning relationships with word families, I could use a blog (with fun graphics/pics) to enhance my lesson. My students would really enjoy this.....
Thanks for the tip.
Laurel

Education Blog-Creative Dialogue w/ Students

Hello,
~~I chose to check out this blog:

http://forcuriousteachers.blogspot.com/

~~I thought it had a "catchy" title and my students' needs are constantly changing, making me find new, creative ways to engage them in lessons. I thought the ideas here were great. It's a fun blog and people are honest and helpful, too. Just thought I would pass it along.

Happy Blogging ;)
Laurel

MP3s and Learning (USA Today article)

I enjoyed reading the article from USA Today on MP3s and education. I try to use a mixture of technology and paper-based materials in my classroom. I was intrigued by the amount of digital information available from Apple. I researched the iPods and MP3s to see which would work best for my elementary students. Here is a link to what I would like to sign up for. It branches off the ideas behind the article:

http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/

I'm a big fan of Apple, but also know that it's important to be careful with technology. I still like to read books in paper form, but do almost everything else online-from Scrapbooking to Twitter. In my opinion, it's about quality, not quantity. There is so much information related to this article. When I looked up implications for usage, I was a bit overwhelmed until I knew what to look for.  As a new teacher, I am finding a comfortable pace. This way I can hopefully be near where my students are (technology-wise).

I found textbook downloading to be interesting. However, I think it's important to remember different learning styles. Someone may prefer to write out a math problem, rather than follow along using auditory and visual technology. This is when SmartBoards are helpful.

In regard to multi-tasking...I see myself (and my students) doing this more and more. It's hard not to, in this continuously changing technology-enthused world. While I love technology, I do still find value in recognizing individual preferences and honoring how one learns best.
Laurel