video conference and virtual field trip

 

Video conferencing and virtual field trips are becoming more and more normal in class rooms across the nation.  Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a video conference.  I think I would use this activity in my classroom for various assignments.  I would definitely use it for my social studies assignments.  A cool thing I would like to do is set up video conferences around the United States at all the different civil rights hot spots.  I would like to have a weekly conference with Anderson Cooper or Morgan Freeman and have them meet us via video conference and give my eighth grade social studies class lessons and tours of different monuments and why they came to be.

There is a civil rights memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center.  I would like to virtually take my students there on a field trip and have different law professors talk about the amendments made to the constitution during that time and collaborate with Anderson Cooper and Morgan Freeman to teach my students about all the things our country endured to get equal rights.  Anderson Cooper is my favorite journalist I love the compassion he shows when he’s broadcasting and Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors that would surely love the opportunity to be part of such a great lesson. I think I would want to set up the lesson in to a 6 part series like how the History Channel does their documentaries and have Morgan and Anderson take turns discussing different events in history during that time.  As the documentary continues I would use different professors to give their expertise in interviews and show different monuments and news clips from the civil rights movement.

Experiences with technology

Throughout my education at Northern Michigan University I have met Michigan standard 7 and NETS-T standards.  I took a computer class early in my education and learned about how Microsoft Word, power point, excel, and publisher.  I learned so much in that class about putting together aesthetically appealing power points, charts, graphs, and tables.

I had the pleasure of taking Carl Wozniak’s physical and life science classes.  In one of the classes we did a really cool Google earth project where we chose a subject and list different locations on Google earth.  On each location we inserted a picture we either found from that place or thing or a picture taken with Google earth. Then we listed some facts about the place and placed flags all over the globe.  It was AWESOME!!!!! I can’t wait to use this tool with my students and I know they will love it.  He also had us build a bridge and we had access to different software available that contractors and drafters when building bridges.  My favorite assignment was in his physical science class when we were assigned to make an audio power point book for elementary students.  I did mine on the three basic cloud formations and their characteristics and elevation.  I used my son and niece as the main characters.  I loved the outcome and I can’t wait to share it with them when they are older and my future students.   I would totally have them do something like that for a big assignment most likely a group assignment. 

In my methods class I got to do so many cool projects that included using technology.  I recently made a photo story. At first I was really frustrated because I would have done the same thing with power point.  I thought why am I learning this if I already have a method to accomplish the same product?  Photo story was one very different and had elements that power point lacked.  I would absolutely use this tool on my webpage for a summary of my school year and what I do with my students and expect from them. 

In my technology class that I was very doubtful about I did a project every week involving technology.  One of the cool things we had to do was join a few different teaching groups.  I get so many great emails showing me different things other teachers are doing in their class rooms.  A lot of the projects, assignments, discussions, and activities are outside the box we are molded in during our time in the education program.  I leaned how to make a YouTube and how useful video’s can be when trying to assist your class outside of class time.  During this past semester I was introduced to all Google has to offer including sharing documents like power points online. I used this tool twice this semester and it was a huge help from trying to figure out how to meet up with three other busy people outside of class.  That usually is next to impossible. I also learned how to make an e-portfolio on Google that I thought was going to be stupid but after much talking to different administration and hiring boards I am glad I am in the process of perfecting my portfolio.  I can’t wait to have the finished product and take it with me to my first interview.  It is really cool because it conserves so much paper and space but it also looks way more professional and is easier to navigate through instead of brining a binder portfolio of my work and accomplishments.

21st century teacher, classroom, & student

A 21^st century classroom should definitely have new technology in them.  How much should they have? What types of technology should the 21^st century? What should a student in the 21^st century want to have in their classroom and why?  It’s no question that technology is prevalent in the world and therefore it only makes sense to have it in education.

Teachers should have all the tools that assist them for the better but not that so much that they become dependent on it.  It’s a tough call because there are so many different technological advances that twenty years ago would have blown your mind.  Today the technology that we would never have thought possible are things that most of us can’t live without a cell phone, the internet, GPS in our cars, maps in our phones, tablets, etc. thankfully there are incredible advancements in technology in education as well.  I think every classroom should be equipped with the internet and at least 5 sources of the internet per a classroom that way teachers can implement group activities at the least ideally it would be nice to have a tablet or laptop for every student in the class room. Smart boards are also a great tool for teachers and students to use during lessons.

I think teachers should want everything they can get for their classrooms.  As long as the technology doesn’t interfere with learning and educational values it should be a tool teachers and students use.  I think both student and teachers could benefit form ipads as a classroom resource.  Ipads are a tool that can link teachers to students all the time. Earlier this year in technology we learned about flipped lessons.  In these type of lessons the teacher posts a short lesson online with them instructing it and it can be used as a preparation for the lesson or it can be used as review for misunderstandings and extra help.  There was discussion about when students miss class or are away for sporting events and the best make up solution I saw was to have flipped lessons or video clips of lessons and assignments.  Ipads are a great way to give teachers and students accessibility to each other outside of the classroom. 

Relating technology with school

When trying to figure out where I fall under Michigan standard 7 and NETS T I try to think about what I already know about technology and how it will help me in my classroom. Hmm…What do I know? I know enough to barely get by and I know there is a whole world of technology that is at my finger tips that I don’t know about. I am taking a technology class currently that is helping me with a lot of things and teaching me all the pro’s and con’s about technology in the classroom. I feel like kids relate better to the teacher when the teacher is using technology but I also feel that having a personable lesson is important as well.

I am very committed to keep my technological skill up to par for the classroom as long as it is not taking over my teaching ability. The world right now is moving toward a direction of technology, technology, technology! Students, I’m sure, are already ahead of the game. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to observe in a lot of different classroom settings which has been very eye-opening. There is so much cool stuff available for a classroom I was very surprised about all the different tools. I started logging the different technology the teachers are using and the different ways they are using it in lessons. Given all I have learned from my observations I feel it is imperative to stay on top of what is new in educations and try to find ways to implement it in your lessons.

How I relate to technology in the classroom

I graduated high school 11 years ago. Technology was ICQ or AOL and a very limited knowledge about how to Google search or yahoo search I can't remember what engine I used. My teachers used chalk and chalk boards.  When I was in elementary school the settings were very different I remember my class sizes being 20-25 max with one aid because we had a student with special needs in my class. I think managing a classroom was a lot different when I was in school then it is now.  The two tools I do remember using were the Oregon Trail and the computer game where in the World is Carmen San Diego, besides overhead projectors.  

My first experience with the Oregon Trail was in the fifth grade. We played that game in our free time during social studies or during stations. Before we were allowed to play my teacher sat us in a group and went over how to log in and what prompts to use during the game to navigate in it.  Mrs. Miller was good about monitoring student use so we all had the opportunity to use the game during the week. I always grouped with my two best friends when it was my turn to use the game.  I think this was effective for me because it game me control of what I was doing and I felt like Mrs. Miller trusted me to do my work. Some kids that weren’t as in to social studies as I was probably didn’t get the same results because they were busy messing around with that painting game, I can’t remember the name of it.

I was first introduced to where in the U.S. is Carmen San Diego when I was in sixth grade. I remember loving this part of class because I didn’t' have a computer at my house yet. Yes, I remember not having a computer call me a dinosaur if you like.  Mrs. Berevotes was my teacher in sixth grade.  She started off by gathering us around the computer and we played as a class, we began with where in the US is Carmen San Diego.  It was our game time.  It was so cool because it was new, different from jeopardy and the whole class played as one team. After a while we were allowed to play during free time in the winter.  I think this game was effective for the whole class because we were all one team working to solve the mystery.   

It’s crazy to think about the technology I had offered to me when I as in school and what is offered now.  My husband is a school teacher and last year he was issued a small lap top along with all his students.  He said a lot of people complained about the cost of them in the schools budget.  When I asked him what he thought he said “I can use these every night if I want to, I don’t but I could (he was an algebra teacher).  There is a website called Khan University and it gives amazing tutorials about every subject you can imagine.  There were nights I would assign my kids a tutorial to watch so we could open our books in class do our lessons and everyone would be on the same page.  This made teaching algebra to eighth graders a lot easier and fast paced.  In turn it allowed us to get through the whole book.”

 I will admit when he told me about this website I started using it to get through my geometry for elementary teachers and I couldn’t believe how much a website helped me in math. I was a big believer in classroom lessons especially in subjects like math and science given the hands on needed for these subjects.  I still can’t believe how good kids have it with technology now.  I am very pro student issued Ipads or lap tops after my experience last year in my geometry after how much the tutorials helped me pass that god awful class.