Final Reflection

Going into this class, I was a bit nervous. Well, I was a lot nervous actually. For some reason, working with technology does not come easy to me...although after taking this course, I realize that my struggle with technology comes mostly from my fear of it. This class has definitely taught me to not be so fearful of it and to not allow it to frustrate me. In fact, I have been incorporating more technology into my lessons and it seems to be quite effective...not only are the students engaged and enjoying it, but it is a learning experience for me as well. This course has honestly been a pleasure, WebQuesting and all! From day one, I knew exactly what was expected of me for this course and the workload was reasonable and meaningful. Dr. Luongo is an amazing instructor and has provided me with some really useful tools for the classroom. I could honestly say that nothing was busy work...everything had a purpose and I got something out of each video, article, chapter, and link provided in the modules. I feel as though I have gained more from this online course than I have in classes that meet each week. I have enjoyed reading everyone's blogs and thank those of you have taken the time to read and comment mine. Thank you Dr. Luongo for such a pleasurable experience, I look forward to taking other courses with you. To all my classmate: Good Luck with all of your future endeveors! Enjoy the summer!

Am I a Techno-Constructivist?

I am slowly but surely becoming a techno-constructivist. After reading the article, I would say that I am somewhere between a 2nd and 3rd "stage-er". I should probably be further along in the whole technology gig, but i am not...fortunately, this class has helped me to become less fearful of new technology and inspired me to be more of a techno-constructivist. Like the article states-becoming a techno-constructivist is an attitude and one must posess the ability to be open to new possibilities in this "age of wonder"...I think I have become more open. In reality, technology really is transforming education, therefore teachers must be open to new possibilities and constantly educate themselves on the newest trends in order to provide the best possible education for our students.

CLRN

The California Learning Resource Network is a great site for finding electronic learning resources. Everytime I look for something teacher/learning related on the internet, I immediately go to google or one of the other major search engines and then have to ilter out all the junk in between. CLRN is a great tool for teachers! Although the standards are specific to California, the resources are still condusive to all NJCCCS. I am greatful to have this site brought to my attention and will definitely make good use of it!

Lesson Plans...

After looking through all the resources in module 10 to help with lesson planning I was overwhelmed with ideas...in a good way. It took me forever to decide what I wanted to write me lesson plan on...but once I decided it was a lot of fun. I chose to use the SmartBoard in my lesson plan because it is something I am currently learning about. My school got one about a year ago and we have had several professional development workshops about how to use it. It is really an awesome interactive tool to use in the classroom...the students love it (at all grade levels), it helps to engage them and keeps their attention well. I hope to start using the SmartBoard more and this assignment helped me to develop a lesson that I actually can use with my own class!
In addition to lesson planning...I do feel that lessons should be well thought out and detailed, however, I do agree with some other blogs that it is sometimes difficult and at times impossible to completely follow lessons as planned. As far as substitutes go, I usually leave alternate plans. Although, I'm sure most subs are capable of following lessons, I wouldn't expect them to.

Web Page

What a relief! I wasn't sure what to expect with building a web page...I was hoping it wasn't anything like the WebQuest...I am happy to say, it's not. Honestly, building the web page with Scholastic Web Builder is so simple! It isn't necessarily ideal for someone who wants to get real creative, but it is very easy. I'm enthusiastic about finishing mine because it is something I would love to use with my class. I am huge on communication with parents and I think that using a web page is a great way to keep the lines of communication open. Also, students know what to expect and can reflect of special events or activities by looking a pictures on the page whixh is awesome! Several of the teachers I work with use this and I have heard nothing but good things from them and from parents, the students in higher grade seem to find it useful as well.

Web Based Educational Resources

During the very first week of this class, I discovered starfall.com...and have used it many times in my classroom since then. After exploring through the sites offered in Modules 5&6, I absolutelty believe that web based resources are useful and effective. There is so many resources available for teachers to use and so many of them are very useful. I particularly like puzzlemaker.com, I think this site is great for all levels of education.
Also, the text touches on the fact that communication with anyone any where in the world is instantaneous due to technology...this is so true! Every year, the school I teach at participates in World Math Day...the students get such a thrill out of competing against and communicating with other kids their age all over the world! Web Based resourses are awesome for teaching and learning...(as long as you take safety into consideration).

WebQuesting...Part 2

I went back and read my own WebQuest blog and realized how negative I sound... I think my frustration took over. After taking a few days off from WebQuesting, I went back and revised mine. It was much easier and a lot more enjoyable this time around! I now have a sense of relief and accomplishment; and in the long run, I am happy I learned something new!

Kidspiration

Kidspiration is a really awesome interactive program that all students can benefit from. It offers activities for students in every area and is very user friendly. I am a first grade teacher and was able to incorporate this into my current math lessons. My students have been working on place value using the base ten blocks. Kidspiration has a base ten blocks activity that my students took turns using on our 2 class computers yesterday. They loved it and it seemed to give them a further understanding of place value. I also love what it has to offer in the science and social studies sections...There is something for most grade levels and it seems to work in conjunction with a lot of the state standards. As I mentioned in my previous blogs, I work in a private school...unfortunately my school does not have many resources for science or social studies for the primary grades, in fact I don't even have a set of text books in either of these subjects...With so much to offer in both these areas, Kidspiration is a great tool to aid in teaching them. Above all my favorite part is how easy it is to use, and how appealing the colors and graphics are...these qualities definitely help to keep kids engaged.

WebQuesting...

Hmm...where to begin? I think I have developed a love hate relationship with WebQuests. I absolutely love the idea of them and really enjoyed searching through them. However, I despised making one. Although, I did find the videos and links very helpful in creating my WebQuest, I still found it to be a daunting task. I know we were supposed "have fun" with this assignment, but to be honest, I did not...at all. I am sure a part of my difficulty came from not being extremely computer savvy to begin with. Since we have an extension on this module I do plan on improving my WebQuest...which is awesome because I am not completely satisfied with it. Hopefully, I will have a more pleasurable experience "fixing" it, than I did creating it.

NJCCCS & NETS

I know that in most public school districts it is required for teachers to use NJCCCS in their lesson plans...I however, work at a private school. I try to incorporate as much technology as possible, but it is difficult with limited resources. I teach first grade...I have 2 computers in my room, a television, and an overhead projector...that is the extent of the technology available to me for use in my classroom. Not only is there a lack of resources at my school, but also a lack of education about technology for the teachers. Because we are privatized, we are not required to follow New Jersey state standards, although we do for the most part...except for the technology part. I think it is great that most schools do follow these standards for technology...the NJCCCS for Technological Literacy mentions a study that found students form negative attitudes about technology if they had no formal technological experiences during the early school years. This makes me want to implement technology into my lessons even more because I don't want my students to struggle with technology down the line. After reading through the NJCCCS and NETS it has become even more clear to me how important technology in the classroom is and what more I should be doing to better prepare my students for their future as students in a technological world.

Jukes' Digital Kids

This article was a very easy read and one that I found to be quite enjoyable. On page 10 of the article, the author zones in on the fact that the internet has become a replacement for the traditional ways that young people used to form social skills. She/he refers to it as a "digital landscape"...I can't help but wonder about the effect the internet has on the social skills of children today...I would assume that it would have a negative effect. It is common knowledge that we learn by doing...if the growing generations are learning most of their social skills online, won't these social skills begin to decline, eventually deteriorating over time? It seems as though the further advanced in technology we become as a society, the more we depend on it. Just a thought...any input?

I also found this link...it's a collaboration of different studies done on the effect the internet has on social skills...pretty interesting.
http://www.sierrasource.com/cep612/internet.html

Internet Safety

Internet safety is clearly a very important topic. Although it is probably a parent's responsibility to teach internet safety to their children, I definitely feel that schools should educate students about how to stay safe when using the internet. Out of the three videos, I really enjoyed the second-Ms. Healy's internet safety video. I think the simplicity of the video combined with repetition would really get it's point across to young children. I'm sure there are plenty of kids out there that could easily get themselves into a bad situation without realizing they are not being safe. From the time they can walk and talk, children are socialized not to talk to strangers....in reality we need to teach children to apply these same rules when using the internet. Like the Juke's article mentions...there are so many children that go home to an empty house, who have technology as their main companion...so it is especially important now, more than ever to educate kids on internet safety.

testing :)