Week #2

I've never really thought about using technology in the classroom before I started this class. Now that I've thought about it a little more I can see how useful it can be. I myself use email, facebook and blogger all the time at home, but never thought that they could be useful tools for teaching. Students spend countless hours on these websites and social networks, and using them to connect to education could make education more exciting for students. I know that I love it when a teacher uses blackboard or other websites instead of just traditional class lectures. The tools that we are learning to use will enhance learning in the classroom, and allow teachers to communicate with students on a level where students are totally comfortable. These tools, especially the class website, will help with teacher parent communication because a teacher can post up things like a weekly description of what was done that week and the parents will be able to read those if they would like. It will open up more lines of communication, and will allow teacher to communicate with most parents at once. These communication tools will also help with colleagues because they can provide ideas to other teachers using their website, and email is also a very convenient form of communication.

I think these tools are popular with students because they are available 24/7. They are also a very low risk form of communication. Responses can be thought out whereas with face to face communication a response is usually required in a few seconds. Students also like these tools because they are easy to access, and convenient for them.

I can employ these communication tools by doing Internet assignments, communicating through email, requiring blogs to be completed about assignments, using discussion boards to discuss assignments, using the website for submission of assignments and communication to students and parents, etc. The ways these tools can be used is endless, but it may be a set back because face to face communication is lowered, and social skills of students is already lacking.

The video's this week were very interesting. At first I thought that "Mr. Duey's Fractions" was the dumbest thing I had seen in a while, but after watching it I found that the song was stuck in my head. I began to see that this is a very effective teaching idea because music helps many students remember information better. It was extremely creative and a fun way to teach a difficult math concept, one that even some college students still struggle with.

The video entitled Introducing Web 2.0 was a cool video. I liked how it described the new technologies and then listed some websites that are that kind of technology. I was suprised by how many sites there were that were education sites. The thing I thought was the coolest though was how they suggested using podcasts for teaching. I'd never thought about using something like that as a teaching tool so I thought that was awesome! Overall I thought it was a great introducation to a lot of great tools on the internet.

Week #1 Video Review

I thought that the video this week was very interesting. I think the first idea that was presented could be beneficial in some ways to the students in America. Limiting their use, along with the use of their parents by charging more for the bandwidth used could promote families spending more time together. Currently the internet is almost an unlimited resource so many parents and kids are spending endless hours online. Hours which are mostly spent doing activities that are unnecessary. Limiting time spent on the internet might also improve the health of children by getting them to spend more time off of the computer and outside. It could also have no benefit because parents are the people that really control how much time their kids spend online.

I think Microsoft's new touch screen is a really cool idea, but one that many people might not like. Hopefully it will work well and they will be successful with the idea, but many of their ideas, like Vista, haven't been very successful with consumers so it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Apple's idea to make a cheaper Iphone was a fantastic idea, and their back to school deal was an awesome one. A deal that i know millions took advantage of, including myself. Their technology is really ahead of the game as far as I'm concerned, and they are doing very well at promoting it.

The idea to use an internet game to teach students more about the judicial system is also a very good idea, one that I think will do very well in schools if they use it correctly. Technology is a huge thing in the lives of students today and using it as a teaching tool is a smart idea.

Ideal Classroom

My ideal classroom is in a suburb elementary school. Much like the one that I attended as a child in Orem, Utah. I am working full time as a kindergarten teacher. I teach both a morning and afternoon class with a short break during the school's lunch time. Each class has 15 students in it. The student's are most form the local neighborhood much like the ones here in Orem, Utah. Because of the location most of the kids are Caucasian, but there are four children in each of my classes from a Latino background, one of the students has parents who are Tongan, and two of the children are African American.

When I first walk into the classroom there are cubbies on the left hand wall, 15 in all, one for each child in the class. The cubbies have the names of the students on them along with a picture of each student so they know which one belongs to them. There is a hook in each so they can hang their backpacks up, along with a colorful tub where they can put any other items that they bring. My desk/ office is situated in the corner of the room directly opposite the door. On the far right end of the room there are various toys, and a corner with a mini couch and a couple mini chairs. Next to the furniture there is a bookshelf filled with books on the topic we are discussing for the week. In the opposite corner from the books is a small bathroom, and small kitchen area where I can prepare the food the students bring to share.

In between my desk and the play area are 3 long tables filled with chairs for the students. Each table seats 5 students, and these tables are where the students will sit to complete art projects, and assignments that require a table. On the wall by the table are cabinets filled with art supplies and other items that I frequently use during my lessons. On the floor opposite the tables is a huge carpet covered in colorful shapes. At the front of the carpet is a chair and another bookshelf with the items I use during the beginning of class. Behind the chair on the wall is a huge bulletin board decorated to match the them that is filled with the student's artwork. This carpet is where the kids will sit when I read stories, teach songs, and where class will begin and end each day.

There is also a door near my desk that leads outside to the playground area that we use for outside activities and recess. Outside there is a shed filled with toys for the kids to use like balls, little trucks and other toys. There is a small sandbox for the students to play in as well as a play structure with a slide and stairs and another structure shaped to look like a little train.

The walls of the classroom are covered in colorful pictures and artwork, and there is also an alphabet and rubber wall where there are numbers and letters with pictures that go along with them. There are also shelves strategically placed throughout the classroom, each of these is filled with labeled colorful tubs with items relating to science, math, animals and other subjects that we discuss throughout the year. This classroom is my ideal kindergarten classroom.