Laurel
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
My Website
I had an amazing time with my website! It was wonderful. Here is a link to my website. Hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I had designing it! https://sites.google.com/a/student.fairfield.edu/lharmonmd400/home/home-1
Laurel
Laurel
Screenshots
"Show n’ Tell"
This was an easy tool to learn how to use. I love screenshots and am addicted! I liked: awesomescreenshot.com. I thought the website added a lot of diversity to the topic of allowing learners to practice at their own pace. There are a lot of services out on the Web that help with this, too. I liked this website best because once the program is installed, you can take a screenshot and add text to it. This is really neat! I liked this Tech Knowledge and also happen to have seen it on Twitter. I follow a couple of education sites and this popped up, which was really good since I am taking MD 400. How neat and exciting to see how education can use this tool. One can take a screenshot of student work!
Laurel
This was an easy tool to learn how to use. I love screenshots and am addicted! I liked: awesomescreenshot.com. I thought the website added a lot of diversity to the topic of allowing learners to practice at their own pace. There are a lot of services out on the Web that help with this, too. I liked this website best because once the program is installed, you can take a screenshot and add text to it. This is really neat! I liked this Tech Knowledge and also happen to have seen it on Twitter. I follow a couple of education sites and this popped up, which was really good since I am taking MD 400. How neat and exciting to see how education can use this tool. One can take a screenshot of student work!
Laurel
QR codes
QR codes in Education
QR codes were an interesting read, but a difficult one. I still don’t feel I have a good grasp on what they are exactly. I will have to look it up some more to gain a better understanding of how much it is relevant in my classroom. I do know, based on the article that many college students can’t figure out QR codes. So, may be I am not alone in my feeling illiterate in this area of technology. Scanning a code seems to quickly be going out-of-date. I think my opening statement depicts this. 75 percent of students at a college in the United States are not expected to know (or use) these codes. It just shows how quickly and vastly our world is changing due to technological advances. I find it quite exciting!
Laurel
QR codes were an interesting read, but a difficult one. I still don’t feel I have a good grasp on what they are exactly. I will have to look it up some more to gain a better understanding of how much it is relevant in my classroom. I do know, based on the article that many college students can’t figure out QR codes. So, may be I am not alone in my feeling illiterate in this area of technology. Scanning a code seems to quickly be going out-of-date. I think my opening statement depicts this. 75 percent of students at a college in the United States are not expected to know (or use) these codes. It just shows how quickly and vastly our world is changing due to technological advances. I find it quite exciting!
Laurel
IConn
"Connecticut Digital Library"
Wow!! I think that IConn is a great resource for educators. There is a wealth of information out there for us…and it’s at our fingertips in the state of Connecticut. I like the updated textbooks, maps and magazines…that can quickly become outdated. It’s nice to go paperless, too. It’s a goal in my elementary school classroom to “go green”. We teach recycling and all plastics are recycled now. That is an exciting link.
When I looked over the IConn database, I was surprised by all the data available to teachers. This is wonderful!! It makes things a lot easier for the teacher for exciting lesson plans. I liked some of the science plans from Discovery that were listed, too. I actually subscribe to this through my school. It’s pretty nice when teaching about science-like the rain forest!
Thanks,
Laurel
Wow!! I think that IConn is a great resource for educators. There is a wealth of information out there for us…and it’s at our fingertips in the state of Connecticut. I like the updated textbooks, maps and magazines…that can quickly become outdated. It’s nice to go paperless, too. It’s a goal in my elementary school classroom to “go green”. We teach recycling and all plastics are recycled now. That is an exciting link.
When I looked over the IConn database, I was surprised by all the data available to teachers. This is wonderful!! It makes things a lot easier for the teacher for exciting lesson plans. I liked some of the science plans from Discovery that were listed, too. I actually subscribe to this through my school. It’s pretty nice when teaching about science-like the rain forest!
Thanks,
Laurel
Cell Phones
I don’t think cell phones should be used in the classroom. I don’t see a need for it. The students should be listening to the teacher, working in groups and focusing on another form of technology that includes deeper communication skills. Also, I have seen teachers use cell phones in their classrooms, while school was in session and children in the room. I think this is very disrespectful to our profession. Also, the students deserve respect-his or her teacher should be 100% present.
Thanks,
Laurel
Digital Divide
Digital Divide???
Is there a digital divide? I believe that there is. I look at some of my fellow co-workers and watch as dust gathers on their $35, 000.00 Smart Boards. It seems like such a waste to see this happen in our country. We are so fortunate to have the technology advancement that we use to further our nation. Some might even say: to prosper more and more. Is it a generational gap? Or, perhaps, a lack of information or knowledge perhaps? These are my thoughts…..
So, there is a divide. Some educators believe in using growing technology in their lesson planning, while others do not. Where there is fear, there is ignorance. Perhaps if we educate teachers more, we will prove more fruitful for our students? I hope so! I think more Professional Development should occur that centers around using technology in the classroom setting. Give teachers specific ideas and examples they can then go implement in their classrooms. I think we would then see a lessening of digital divide.
Thank you.
Laurel
Is there a digital divide? I believe that there is. I look at some of my fellow co-workers and watch as dust gathers on their $35, 000.00 Smart Boards. It seems like such a waste to see this happen in our country. We are so fortunate to have the technology advancement that we use to further our nation. Some might even say: to prosper more and more. Is it a generational gap? Or, perhaps, a lack of information or knowledge perhaps? These are my thoughts…..
So, there is a divide. Some educators believe in using growing technology in their lesson planning, while others do not. Where there is fear, there is ignorance. Perhaps if we educate teachers more, we will prove more fruitful for our students? I hope so! I think more Professional Development should occur that centers around using technology in the classroom setting. Give teachers specific ideas and examples they can then go implement in their classrooms. I think we would then see a lessening of digital divide.
Thank you.
Laurel
Silicon Valley School....compute??
A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute:
The Waldorf method offers some interesting ideas, as shown by recent research. When I looked at the information from the New York Times article, I agreed with one of the parents that technology cannot replace teachers. This goes especially for Reading! Early readers need repetition, voice mode changes (including tone), and more. Computers are good for supplemental reasons, but I don’t agree they should be a sole source of teaching method.
I do think it is helpful in Math. I have always loved learning Math on the computer, but my father works for IBM, so it was natural to work with this medium. I still learned the old-fashioned drill method and am glad I did. Technology is the classroom is helpful, but it does have its boundaries.
These are my opinions.
Laurel
The Waldorf method offers some interesting ideas, as shown by recent research. When I looked at the information from the New York Times article, I agreed with one of the parents that technology cannot replace teachers. This goes especially for Reading! Early readers need repetition, voice mode changes (including tone), and more. Computers are good for supplemental reasons, but I don’t agree they should be a sole source of teaching method.
I do think it is helpful in Math. I have always loved learning Math on the computer, but my father works for IBM, so it was natural to work with this medium. I still learned the old-fashioned drill method and am glad I did. Technology is the classroom is helpful, but it does have its boundaries.
These are my opinions.
Laurel
Non-Linear PPT Reflection
Non-linear PowerPoint
When I look back on my non-linear PowerPoint, I am surprised I could do it. I know this sounds silly, but it seemed really hard in the beginning. But, then it made sense what I was trying to do on my iMac because I watched a YouTube video on how to insert hyperlinks needed to make the slides work together. On my website, I included a video on how it can be used in the classroom. My first thought were games one can play in school, related to the topic being covered. There are lots to choose from on YouTube videos and the “how to’s” are excellent!
I like them better than the standard, regular PowerPoint. I see they have more to offer and it’s more entertaining to do something like this and carry it over onto something like a SmartBoard. I haven’t done this, nor do I know if it is possible yet. I will have to try it, experiment, and see if the kids like it in my classroom. I have a feeling they will!
Thanks,
Laurel
When I look back on my non-linear PowerPoint, I am surprised I could do it. I know this sounds silly, but it seemed really hard in the beginning. But, then it made sense what I was trying to do on my iMac because I watched a YouTube video on how to insert hyperlinks needed to make the slides work together. On my website, I included a video on how it can be used in the classroom. My first thought were games one can play in school, related to the topic being covered. There are lots to choose from on YouTube videos and the “how to’s” are excellent!
I like them better than the standard, regular PowerPoint. I see they have more to offer and it’s more entertaining to do something like this and carry it over onto something like a SmartBoard. I haven’t done this, nor do I know if it is possible yet. I will have to try it, experiment, and see if the kids like it in my classroom. I have a feeling they will!
Thanks,
Laurel
Reflections on MD 400 so far...
My reflections on the course so far are mostly positive. I’ve learned a great deal of new ways of bringing technology into the classroom. Such as: When my students studied a lesson on China, we used images from iPhoto that were digitally altered. The kids loved it and helped create them on the Smart Board, too. I think this was the most useful out of everything we have studied so far. Though, I am somewhat biased because I love photography and try to put it into my curriculum as much as possible! The students enjoy it and appreciate how helpful it is to our class, as a whole.
The most challenging is keeping up with the blogging. It’s rather tedious and since we talk about it in class, I find it hard to discipline myself to blog. Though, I am working on this. I haven’t found anything too frustrating, except for the navigation bar on the google website. It is hard to remember how to do things and I find I have to keep re-learning how to navigate that side bar.
It is incredibly rewarding to see the learning I achieve from MD 400 be transformed into my classroom. To see the delighted looks on my students faces when I teach them something new to me…and sometimes to them, as well. It is hard to keep up with them today, but they see I am learning right along with them and I think they respect me more for this. This is incredibly rewarding! I give and receive respect at my elementary school. My great “ah-ha” moment came later on as I really grew comfortable exploring the capabilities of the Google website. It was amazing to have it all suddenly click! There’s a lot to learn, but I am confident I can make another site for my portfolio. It will be even better because of the reflections I will have by then. Plus, I’ll know more of how to navigate through the site. Neat!
My hopes for the remainder of the semester is that I do a good job on the website. I want it to look clean and interesting. It’s been a struggle for me to create it and I have tried to show information in an enticing way, so the navigator would easily be able to go through the pages. My aim is that it will flow consistently, share similar qualities and meet the requirements of the rubric provided. I also hope to do a nice job with my blogs. I see they were kind of short in October, so I am trying to elaborate more by giving specific examples.
I’m really enjoying what I’m learning in MD 400!
Thanks,
Laurel
The most challenging is keeping up with the blogging. It’s rather tedious and since we talk about it in class, I find it hard to discipline myself to blog. Though, I am working on this. I haven’t found anything too frustrating, except for the navigation bar on the google website. It is hard to remember how to do things and I find I have to keep re-learning how to navigate that side bar.
It is incredibly rewarding to see the learning I achieve from MD 400 be transformed into my classroom. To see the delighted looks on my students faces when I teach them something new to me…and sometimes to them, as well. It is hard to keep up with them today, but they see I am learning right along with them and I think they respect me more for this. This is incredibly rewarding! I give and receive respect at my elementary school. My great “ah-ha” moment came later on as I really grew comfortable exploring the capabilities of the Google website. It was amazing to have it all suddenly click! There’s a lot to learn, but I am confident I can make another site for my portfolio. It will be even better because of the reflections I will have by then. Plus, I’ll know more of how to navigate through the site. Neat!
My hopes for the remainder of the semester is that I do a good job on the website. I want it to look clean and interesting. It’s been a struggle for me to create it and I have tried to show information in an enticing way, so the navigator would easily be able to go through the pages. My aim is that it will flow consistently, share similar qualities and meet the requirements of the rubric provided. I also hope to do a nice job with my blogs. I see they were kind of short in October, so I am trying to elaborate more by giving specific examples.
I’m really enjoying what I’m learning in MD 400!
Thanks,
Laurel
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