Week 6-Video

I think that we need to engage students in learning. We need to let them use their creativity and express themselves in their own ways. I think that a lot of teachers don't do that. Students learn better if we let them learn things in their own way. Teachers need to be aware that students need to be engaged in learning in order to get anything from what you are teaching them.

Week 6-Reflection

So far in class we've learned about a variety of different tools that we can use in the classroom. I think that they will be very helpful in communicating with my students, parents, and colleagues. I think that using a variety of tools to teach will help the students learn better. Videos are a good visual to help the children remember as well as clipart in microsoft word. Parents like to be updated on what is going on in the classroom and gmail is an effective way to do that. It is also a good way to stay in contact with colleagues and what they are doing in their classrooms.

Week 5-Reflection

I think that Zamzar, teachertube, youtube, national geographic, etc. are tools that would be very useful in teaching. Using videos from youtube and teachingtube and converting them would make it very easy to show videos to students in class or email them to parents to watch with their students at home. Also, if you wanted to share a video with your co-workers to help them out in their classrooms using these tools would make it really easy. National Geographic is a fun way to teach students about the world around them. Using the interactive games makes learning fun and not just a chore. Parents could use it to help there students become more interested in what is being talked about in class. I could use National Geographic to reinforce what I am teaching in the classroom.

One of the cons to youtube would be that anyone can post videos on there and you don't always know if they're good. My neice likes to look at carebear videos on youtube and sometimes the videos that she pulls up have things that people have added in that are not good for kids to see. I think it's important to teach kids what to watch for so they know which videos not to click on and what to do if they happen to come across something online that is not good.

Week 5-Video Reflection

I think that it's important to realize that many students use new technology for almost everything: music, pictures, communication, email, etc. The kid in the video talked about how his mom has to ask the kids how to do anything on her cellphone. I think it's like that a lot. I know that my mom has to ask me about things on the computer or her self phone all the time. When I'm a teacher I don't want to be the teacher who doesn't know how to use modern technology. Your students feel like they are way smarter than you in the subjects that you should be teaching them.

Week 4-Video

I think that a lot of the facts in the videos are really interesting. For example, one said "I will read 8 books this year. 2,300 web pages and 1,281 Facebook profiles." Another said she would write 42 pages for class that year and 500 pages of email. I think it's really interesting when you look at how you spend your time. You think you have no time for homework yet on average people spend 2 to 3 hours on the internet each day and a lot of that time is spent on Facebook and Myspace. I think that if we could find a way to get our students to use the internet effectively they could do so much more. If they could focus the time they spend doing pointless things online into something that would teach them something they would learn and relate to class more. I know that when I've been in classes they've taught things that I thought were so boring and had no interest in then later read about them online or watched a video and it held my interest so much more and I remembered more of what I learned from it. It's important to engage students and find a way to relate something to their life and catch their attention so they will want to learn about it instead of just feeling like they have to learn it.

Week 4-Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is an effective tool to use in the classroom. It has a lot a features that are very helpful in teaching. I could use Microsoft Word to write letters to parents or make fliers for students to take home. It's a quick and easy way to keep everyone updated on upcoming events and whats going on in the classroom. I could print off what I needed the parents and students to know and send it home with the student or I could send it in an email as an attachment to all of the parents. Microsoft Word has clip art and it also has ways to make columns and tables depending on what kind of document I am trying to create. I could use Microsoft Word to keep in contact with colleagues as well. I could write letters and send them as attachments for my colleagues to read. In the classroom I could also use Microsoft Word to make posters for the walls or for lessons. One of the cons to Microsoft Word is that it is not online and you do have to attach it if you want to send it in an email.

Week 3-Video Reflection

I think that students would be more engaged in learning if we used tools and technologies that they are already comfortable using. You couldn't make it a requirement though because not all students have cellphones and ipods, especially in elementary school. But it's important to think of things like that to get students attention and realize that the use of technology is the way the world that we live in is. I have nieces and nephews and they know way more about computers then when i was their age. I remember the first time I learned about the internet and basic email. Kids now days have a lot more opportunitys to learn about technology and to use it. I think it's important to realize that so you can incorporate it into the classroom environment.

Week 3-Tools

I think it's important to know how to use tools on the internet such as google sites and gmail documents and the calender to better communicate with students, colleagues, etc. The more tools you know about the more options you'll have as a teacher to choose the best way to communicate with those you will be working with. Google documents is an effective way to work on projects with other teachers and collegues without having to officially meet together to get something done. Google sites is a great way to update parents and students on what is going on in the classroom and what is coming up in the future. I think parents who have access to the internet would like the easy way that it is set up to browse whats going on in the classroom. One of the cons to these tools would be those who do not have access to the internet. Some parents don't have or don't use the internet. Therefore, it would still be important to send letters home with the students to let parents know what is going on in the classroom.