Week 14

 

You've Come A Long Way Baby

   When I started this class I was not at all excited to hear it was going to be a technology rich class.  Technology, you've got to be kidding!  I just learned copy and paste and that there is a way to look up a word when using a word doc.  Now you want me to learn google docs and collaborate with other people using this technology. Oh and you're going to use all these web 2.0 tools as well.
    Well I have come a long way, I still am sometimes frustrated by the technology but I keep working through the problems to find a solution or ask someone more tech savvy for advice.  I have realized that the tools available can be very beneficial to me as a teacher, especially google docs.  I am definitely pushing our school to look hard at this technology. 
    I  see that Social Studies can be enhanced through the use of web 2.0 tools and that these tools can differentiate learning for our students.  I also see the world shrinking as we reach out toward other cultures through the use of Skype and ePals.  With these tools we help our students to participate in a two-way exchange that requires building student's knowledge of their differences not merely tolerance of their differences.
    The hardest part about technology is that it is always changing, and just when I get used to one tool another one will be on the horizon that is a little bit better.  I realize that 21st century skills are a necessity to students and I need to be the one to encourage technology use in my classroom with all subjects.  Just today I found myself suggesting that we could Skype a student's uncle who works for NASA.  This is definitely something I would never have thought of five months ago, so thank you Malia for showing me the way.

 

Week 13

As many steps forward I take this semester with technology I always seem to take a few backwards.  I still am having trouble with the Sophia screencast.  I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or it is my computer.  I know that my school's librarian has been creating tutorials on Sophia and not having a lot of trouble.  So I again went with Jing as I did last week.  However I didn't remember how to work it so I had to go back and use the tutorials.  Three hours later, I have a finished product.  I do like how easy it is to use Jing once you get the hang of it and if you forget, the website has great tutorials to help you.  I was also able to try out Dipity, when it is working correctly it is a great tool to work with.  I did look at some other web 2.0 tools for timelines but I really like the ease of using this one.  I found it easy to upload your pictures you would need and simple enough to continue to insert new events.  I like that the timeline can be viewed in different formats such as flipbook and list.  I think this is a tool even my third grade could learn to master.
In reference to my third grade class, Glogster has been quite the challenge for them.  However they all look forward to working on their Glog and are usually asking if it is time for science.  Some students have enjoyed it so much they are working on a Glog at home.  I definitely can see that having students working regularly with technology will be beneficial.

week 12

Active learning is something I have been striving to incorporate into my lessons this year.  We have discussed this aspect of teaching in other classes and I felt it was important to create lessons that students were interested and excited about.  When I taught a weather and climate unit I had students create their own weather forecast just as they see on the Weather Channel.  This was something that they could connect to the real world.  After reading the text I can see many possibilities for creating and planning active instruction in my social studies class. I hope this summer to have more time to plan active learning into that part of my curriculum.

week 11

Well I guess I must be getting better at this technology thing.  I have introduced the science teacher to Prezis and she will be having her 8th grade students create one.  I talked my library/technology teacher into helping me with Glogster, so she is getting my third grade students ready to research and cite it as well. She is even creating her own tutorials on Sophia.  Next we might have all our school on Google Doc, (Sandy is rubbing off on me).  What I really look forward to is the time to integrate more technology into my lesson plans. However just when I will be ready to add more to my instruction my third graders will move onto 4th grade and I start over again next year.  So the wheels of teaching turn.  

Week 10

I am again feeling that technology can be more of a curse that a blessing.  I am frustrated with using Sopia have been trying unsuccessfully to create a tutorial for 3 weeks and something is not going right at my end or on Sophia. However considering every else has completed one, it must be on my end.  I am soooo confused!!!
But on the other hand I like some of the ways you can use google earth, I was able to tie in the global awareness  with science, where we are reading about how humans change the ecosystems.  The Appalachian Mountains have many coals mines and students could see from the pictures that were tagged, just how devastating strip mining can be.   It also had a little information for them to read.
There were several other tools that I thought would be worthwhile investigating when I have a little more time.

Week 9

The one phrase stressed throughout our classes has been that no longer is the teacher the “sage on the stage”. With that in my mind, I found it interesting to read a whole chapter devoted to direct instruction, or teacher –centered instruction.  As a teaching approach, I can see the benefit especially when active student learning is included.  When you can teach material that reflects the interest of the student, they are more willing to be engaged in the learning. I thought several of the lessons suggested would have that appeal. One I connected to was the Fountain of Youth; I could see a tie in to my community.  We have a park that is located on a spring that was said to have healing powers, even Native Americans had thought of the water this way.  First learning more about who were the First People that lived in our community and then continuing to the white settlers then the development of the water.  Students could debate the possibility of the water being a health aid and questions whether it could still be one today would be interesting.  I also like the idea of storytelling, as was mentioned in an earlier chapter.  Young elementary students enjoy a good story and it helps them to relate to the subject more easily. 

Week 8

Multicultural education is incredibly important as we continue to become a global community.  Already students are reaching across continents through the internet, engaging in social situations, whether they are playing a multi-player game or commenting on a project created by another student.  However, not all students have these opportunities.  Even though many homes and schools are technology rich there are still places that are not plugged in.  The teacher needs to be aware of these needs and address them.

 The school where I teach is a homogeneous setting so I need to make sure that I include information about other cultural traditions in my lessons.  The curriculum used at our school includes several lessons about different cultures whether it is learning about holidays in different countries or a lesson on the Native American’s way of life.  Younger elementary students are especially interested in learning how students their age study, sports they play and what they do in their free time.

I liked the idea of using the calendar as a lesson to understand different cultures and finding out why different people use different calendars.  I actually did not realize that there were four different ones, so I would have to build my background knowledge first.