Two New Things

I learned a lot about giving freedom to the students and allowing them to use the technology. I heard one great idea about putting the camera in the hands of the students and allowing them to take pictures of different shapes.

I also learned about using technology in many lessons even ones that are not whole class. I heard a great idea about using a Powerpoint to teach in a small group setting in the guided reading groups.

Learning from others...

There is so much technology to be used! The overall conclusion that I have drawn from the presentations I have seen is that all technology is useful in further engaging students in the lesson and motivates them to want to learn more.

Technology Integration Project

View more presentations from karaleeanne.

Teaching Interet Safety

I taught my mom and dad. I am the oldest of six kids so my parents still have five children at home so I thought that it would benefit them greatly to learn more about internet safety. I taught them about the dangers online. They already knew a lot about online predators so we focused on cyberbullying since that seems to be a greater problem. Children will say anything online that they would never say in person and this creates many problems. My parents were very receptive to what I taught them. They asked me to e-mail them the website that tells more about parental controls on the computer. Overall, it was a very positive experience.

Fourth Article for Internet Safety Assignment

1. What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?

An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World (Nov 2003) by President Gordon B. Hinckley

2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?

The most important things that I learned is that we must be brave in standing for what we believe in. I learned that we have just as much of a responsibility as Pres. Hinckley, the former prophet of the Church, to stand for what we believe in. We must stand against the evils of the media today. We must not give up or give in to the many pressures the media puts on us. The Church is more than just gathering together, more than Sunday School, more than even sacrament meeting and temple service. It is the kingdom of God here on the earth and we need to act in a manner that fits that membership.

3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?

After reading this article, I am now motivated to take a stand against some of the evils in the media today. I have realized that it is not enough to just not participate in certain media but we must also influence other to not see those things as well. I as a future parent and teacher will be very strict as to what internet and TV applications and channels are allowed as many seek to destroy the central unit of the eternal plan, the family. As a teacher, I will send home letters helping parents to be more aware of the dangers of the Internet.

4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?

I will share what I know about the dangers of the Internet with others more than I have previously done. Also as a teacher, I will help the parents to become more aware of the dangers of the Internet. I will also try to find more creative and engaging activities for students that they will be encouraged to do other things and limit their media usage.

My Technology Experience

I have used technology in a few different ways already in my classroom. I have used many online educational websites that I project on the board during my teaching. My best lesson involving technology so far was when I did a shared reading assignment on the Promethean Board. I was able to project the story I was reading onto the board so that everyone could see it because we have a Treasures CD Rom with all of the stories on it. I then used a pointer and had them read the story with me. I then called on volunteers to come up and highlight words with the long e sound at the end of the story. My mentor teacher had not yet used the Promethean Board so the students were very excited and motivated to learn in the experience.

Technology Idea

I'm thinking about using the Promethean Board for my practicum project. I think the students will respond very well to the Promethean Board especially since it will be fairly new to them since the teacher does not use it very often. I will include the students in the presentation as I come up with relevant questions to check their understanding of the input I have given them. I will use the Active clickers which can be checked out to use with the Promethean Board. The students can then submit their answers onto the board as I give my lecture and I will be able to see who answered it correctly to see who needs more help with the content discussed. It will also motivate the students to listen to the input given so they can answer the questions correctly. I think this will be a good activity to use for the project.

Technology Inventory

I learned a lot while doing the inventory in my classroom. I work in Miss Pothier's first grade classroom at Spring Creek Elementary School here in Provo. It amazed me at the amount of technology resources they both have and use at this school. Every classroom is equipped with a Promethean board, which is basically a more high-tech Smart Board. My teacher does not use it very often but I am trying to learn how to use it so I can become a little more technology literate. I have heard of many teachers that use the board on a daily basis. It allows them to show whatever is on their computer on the markerboard and also allows them write on the computer document on the marker board. They can even click on things from the markerboard that are linked to the computer.

Spring Creek is a Title I school. I learned that because of this, the school receives more money from the government and can therefore have more advanced technology. There are two full laptop carts at the school each with 30 laptops in them, as well as 3 half carts with 15 laptops in them. My classroom uses the laptops on MWF. I had to stifle a laugh the first time my mentor teacher directed the 6-year-olds to go get their laptops and get to work. They use the laptops for entertaining ways of learning on Mondays and Wednesday on programs such as HeadSprout and Rainforest Math. On Fridays, they take their tests on the computers which makes the teacher's grading life much easier. I am now seeing how much technology is actually being used in the classroom. I am now very motivated to learn as much as I can about the technologies that will be used in the rooms!

Virtual Tour Link

The link to my virtual tour is found under my link list.

TPACK cont.

Sorry, I didn't list the core standard. The content is found under 3rd Grade Social Studies, Standard 1, Objective 2, Indicator a: Describe the major world ecosystems.

TPACK

Our virtual tour will travel through many different ecosystems. The technology knowledge children will gain will be about virtual tours on GoogleEarth as well as additional links with further information about ecosystems. The content taught will focus on the differing ecosystems as the students observe characteristics of each. The pedagogy used is active involvement of the students. It is very hands-on for the students while still guided by the teacher.

Planning Tour

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Death Valley, California	Question and Answer about ecosystem	Terrain, Panaramio
2. Manaus, Brazil	Additional research with link to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforest	Terrain, Panaramio, 3D Buildings
3. Badlands, South Dakota	Write a letter about being stranded in badlands	Terrain, Panaramio
4. Salt Lake City, UT	Journal Entry comparing all ecosystems	Terrain, Panaramio, 3d Buildings
Details of image overlay / path / polygon: Google Image of Manaus Rainforest

Holes Preview

Digital Storytelling TPACK

For our projects, we are going to make a book advertisement for the book, Holes, by Louis Sachar. We would then have our students make their own book advertisement for the other books they have recently read and present them to the class. This is a good project that involves content, pedagogy and technology instruction.

The content being addressed in this lesson comes from the 5th grade Science Core. It comes from Standard 1 Objective 2 that helps students to be able to "develop language through viewing media and presenting." It also used the pedagogy concept by helping the students to create something. When the students create something of their own, they make more connections with the material learned. Here the books the students have read become more meaningful to them as they make advertisements for them. The advertisements also aid teachers in assessing comprehension of the material. Students also use technology in this lesson as they make videos using video making programs. They also find online images in their project. This projet would be a great way to incorporate TPACK into the classroom.

Storyboard for Holes Advertisement

TPACK and Tech Savvy Article

I had fun using the Logger Pro application to implement technology into a science lesson for a first grade classroom.  The content that we used in our lesson was based upon Standard 3 Objective 2 Indicator A from the science section of the first grade core curriculum.  This indicator focuses on the students being able to identify water as a solid and liquid which we had them do. We first had a class discussion on the fact that water could be a solid, liquid, or gas.  We had them discuss in small groups which cups represented each stage.  This was the content knowledge used in the lesson.

We also used technology knowledge as we taught the students how to use the Logger Pro application.  They were able to be much more engaged in the lesson as they were able to use this technology to measure the temperatures of the various stages of water.

We also used pedagogical knowledge as we taught the students using whole class discussion, experimentation, and small group discussion with guided conversations from the teachers.  These activities helped the students to learn the content being taught from many ways.  The technology helped the students to contextualize their learning of water as a solid, liquid, and gas.  Making the learning meaningful to the student, in my opinion, is one of the best pedagogical techniques to acquire as a teacher.  I believe that we used the TPACK concept in our lesson.  

Tech Savvy Article

In our first grade class, we have recently been trying to incorporate more technology into our lessons. We used the Logger Pro application to teach Standard 3 Objective 2 Indicator a, which reads, "Observe and measure characteristics of water as a solid and liquid." This application uses temperature probes to measure the different stages of water.

To use the Logger Pro application, we first need to download it onto any standard computer. You must also purchase the temperature probes. The temperature probes connect to the computers and the resulting temperature comes up on the screen. These temperatures can be charted and compared. They can also be taken in Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit. For our purposes, when working with first graders, we kept it very simple. We did not use the charts and worked only in the Fahrenheit measurement.

For our experiment, we first directed the children to place the probes in each water cup and observe the temperature that came up on the computer screen.  Examples of both using the probes and seeing the results on the screen are shown below.  They measured ice, room temperature water, and boiling water and compared their results. We then had a class discussion on water as a solid, liquid, and gas. After this discussion, we split the class into small groups and had them discuss what stage they believed each cup they measured represented. As the teachers, we moved around to each group and had them find similarities between their temperature observations. We then guided them to realize that water becomes ice, a solid, at 32 degrees Fahrenheit or less. They should also realize that the water began to boil forming steam, a gas, at 212 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.


    Measuring the room temperature water with temperature probe!

        Measuring the boiling water with the temperature probe!

              Measuring the ice with the temperature probe!

The Logger Pro application enhanced this experiment because it was more engaging for the students as every student was able to find their own temperature measurements. By using the temperature probes, it simplified the task for the students. They were able to find an accurate measurement without having to read a non-digital thermometer. Using technology and science the students were able to contextualize their learning of water as solid and a liquid. We highly recommend using the Logger Pro application in your science lessons.

        Room temperature reading on the computer screen!

Temperature for the ice on the Logger Pro screen!

TPACK and Science Technologies

I like the concept of TPACK in the classroom. I have been focusing a lot on integrating both pedagogical and content knowledge into the classroom in some of my other classes, especially my TESOL classes. I have not ever put much thought into technological knowledge until this class but I can see its importance. I did not have any of the technologies we explored in class when I was in elementary school. Wow! I'm getting old! I can see how helpful they would be especially to certain learners. One pedagogical fact is that all students need hands on experiences and these technologies definitely help with that fact. It helps to make the assignments more meaningful to the children, another pedagogical concept to help them learn the content material in a fun way. I love the idea of using pedagogy, technology, and content in the lessons I give to my students and I am excited to learn more about the technologies available.

I really liked learning about the stellarium application. In physical science, we had to observe the moon at the same exact time at the same place every night. It was very time consuming and frustrating. The stellarium application would have made this project much easier and more efficient. I see how this application could be used for many similar assignments with my elementary students.

RSS and Web 2.0

When I first heard the terms Web 2.0 and RSS feeds in this class, I thought that we may have not been speaking English anymore.  Not only do I know the definition of these terms now, but I also know how to successfully use these programs to an extent.  

I learned that RSS feeds can be very helpful as they end up saving you a lot of time.  Instead of going to numerous different sites to learn new information, I can just go to one site such as my blog and see on my blog the updated information on other sites that I would want to check.  The new information is brought to me so I don't have to constantly be checking the sites to see if there is any updated information.  I could see how this would be very helpful to teachers.  They could have creative new lesson plans or history facts of the day sent directly to their blogs without them having to do the research to find this information. 

Web 2.0 is also an interesting concept.  I already used Web 2.0 without knowing.  I see how it would be very helpful to your students to be able to interact with you in a very fast and efficient way over the internet such as through a blog.  I remember having very limited communication with my teachers growing up and at times I wished I had more.  I believe this is a great way to stay in contact with the kids and can also be very helpful to those digital learners in my future classroom.  

Technology Background

I do not have a very strong technology background. I remember having a computer when I was six years old. My first memories on the computer included playing some mousetrap and skiing game. I then remember when I got my first CDROM that taugt me the alphabet. My favorite game was MathBlasters.

My first memory of using a computer in school was when I would play Oregon Trail in the third grade. I first remember using the Internet to research topics in the fifth grade. We had five or six computers in the back of the classroom that we would take turns using. I took a keyboarding class in sixth grade and learned that I had a skill for typing pretty quickly. I then took a technology class in the seventh grade where I learned that I had almost no skills regarding Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PowerPoint. I learned a lot in that class. I did not have to use these programs very often except for an occasional PowerPoint presentation throughout the next few years. Unfortunately, my knowledge from that seventh grade technology class soon began to fade.

I got my first website, a Xanga site, when I was fifteen years old. I have since moved up to a MySpace and Facebook site. I now use technology often in college to write papers and research topics. That's about all I feel comfortable with when it comes to technology. The Exercise Science class last semester helped me to learn more about Macs but I still do not feel very comfortable with them. I hope to learn a lot more about technology and how I can use it in my future classroom!