Here is a link to the virtual tour I just completed. Click on the file with the title "Indigenous People Field Trip". It will take you to visit 1o different tribes. Pictures are included as well as an activity at every stop. Enjoy!
http://sites.google.com/site/daniellemcookson/my-files
-Danielle
Friday, July 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Discussing Internet Safety
While completing my Internet Safety assignment, I decided to talk to my parents about what I had learned and what they were currently doing to ensure internet safety within their homes. To offer some background information, my parents are middle-aged and middle-class married individuals who live together on the southern coast of Maine.
As we began talking over the phone, I simply asked my parents what they knew about internet safety. They shared ideas about teaching your children how to use the internet correctly and safely, how important it is to have access to children's passwords, and how intent is really the biggest thing to concern yourself about when it comes to using the internet.
I began talking to my parents about the importance of putting the computer in a public place to avoid the temptation of going on dangerous or inappropriate websites. I also mentioned the importance of parents simply being aware of what their children are doing and what websites they are going on. Too often parents are unaware of what Facebook or MySpace are and what their children could be doing on these websites. Finally I shared with my parents different programs or websites where they could get protection and blocking from inappropriate websites, such as K9 web filter.
It was surprisingly easy to recall what I had learned and talk about the importance of establishing these safety procedures with the internet within ones home. It was difficult though to question my parents and ask what they had done to ensure these things were in place, almost questioning their morals and stating that they needed these precautions.
I feel strongly that I will use the techniques for internet safety that I have learned through these lessons in the future as I teach my own students and children responsiblity and integrity while using the internet.
As we began talking over the phone, I simply asked my parents what they knew about internet safety. They shared ideas about teaching your children how to use the internet correctly and safely, how important it is to have access to children's passwords, and how intent is really the biggest thing to concern yourself about when it comes to using the internet.
I began talking to my parents about the importance of putting the computer in a public place to avoid the temptation of going on dangerous or inappropriate websites. I also mentioned the importance of parents simply being aware of what their children are doing and what websites they are going on. Too often parents are unaware of what Facebook or MySpace are and what their children could be doing on these websites. Finally I shared with my parents different programs or websites where they could get protection and blocking from inappropriate websites, such as K9 web filter.
It was surprisingly easy to recall what I had learned and talk about the importance of establishing these safety procedures with the internet within ones home. It was difficult though to question my parents and ask what they had done to ensure these things were in place, almost questioning their morals and stating that they needed these precautions.
I feel strongly that I will use the techniques for internet safety that I have learned through these lessons in the future as I teach my own students and children responsiblity and integrity while using the internet.
Learning from Other Technology Lessons (continued)
Two of the best ideas that I saw that used technology in the classroom included a lesson about rocks and minerals where the teacher took pictures of the rocks she had viewed at a rock conference and shared them with her students. I thought this was a very resourceful way to teach about rocks. While some schools may have the resources available to let every student handle the rocks they are discussing in class, other schools lack this resource and therefore her powerpoint was perfect! Also, another teacher took her first-graders on an "adventure" to Africa to look at some monkeys. She showed where they were from as well as what the monkeys looked like. The students really loved it and got into the idea of traveling to see these animals.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Learning from Other Technology Lessons
From viewing other individuals' slide shows about their technology-enhanced lessons, I realized (yet again) that you can truly incorporate technology into any subject area. There are no limits! I was really impressed with lessons that used technology in unexpected ways. One individual taught a lesson on math and yet used technology to share literature. What a great way to incorporate different areas of the curriculum into one lesson. Way to go! This was also a great way to get ideas for my own teaching in the future.
Internet Safety Readings
For my fourth article, I chose to read a talk found in the January 1995 New Era. Elder H. Burke Peterson wrote this article, entitled "Leave it Alone". He spoke of the wonderful blessings that we can find through the media, as well as the horrible things that might also enter our lives. He challenged his readers to leave this garbage alone and throw it away because that is what we do with garbage.
The most important things I learned from the readings were how strongly our church leaders feel about the avoidance of immoral media, how it is my personal responsibility as a member of the church to stand up for wholesome media and take a stand against inappropriate media, and how much I will be responsible for when I become a parent and must protect my home and children from the negative influences of the media.
After completing these readings, I have a great desire to locate internet safety features and blocks so that my family and students are safe from sites that do not promote moral media. I also feel that I need to be more critical in my judgments on media. Too often I fall in the category of justifying what is being presented as "only a little bad" or "common and something I am used to". It is never acceptable to view or partake of immoral media and I need to take a greater stand on this subject in my life.
I can have a positive influence on my family and friends in the respect of media by simply taking a stand for what I feel to be appropriate and inappropriate. If I refuse to watch a movie whose content is vulgar or turn off music when it contains harsh words, those around me will notice this difference and might react in a positive way, also leaving such things alone, as suggested by Elder Peterson.
The most important things I learned from the readings were how strongly our church leaders feel about the avoidance of immoral media, how it is my personal responsibility as a member of the church to stand up for wholesome media and take a stand against inappropriate media, and how much I will be responsible for when I become a parent and must protect my home and children from the negative influences of the media.
After completing these readings, I have a great desire to locate internet safety features and blocks so that my family and students are safe from sites that do not promote moral media. I also feel that I need to be more critical in my judgments on media. Too often I fall in the category of justifying what is being presented as "only a little bad" or "common and something I am used to". It is never acceptable to view or partake of immoral media and I need to take a greater stand on this subject in my life.
I can have a positive influence on my family and friends in the respect of media by simply taking a stand for what I feel to be appropriate and inappropriate. If I refuse to watch a movie whose content is vulgar or turn off music when it contains harsh words, those around me will notice this difference and might react in a positive way, also leaving such things alone, as suggested by Elder Peterson.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Quiz Questions for #6-8
What is the difference between self-concept and self-esteem?
(Self-concept deals with our knowledge and beliefs about ourselves while self-esteem deals with the value we place on our characteristics)
When entering adolescence, the question “Who am I?” is earnestly addressed by individuals. With this question we are working towards constructing our ___________.
(identity)
Cyrus is thirteen years old. Up to this point he loved to spend his summer vacations playing with his friends and bugging his older brother. This summer he realizes that he wants to have his own lawn-mowing company and do a good job with each lawn while making some money. Cyrus is experiencing ___________.
(industry)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan
For my lesson enhanced by technology, I plan to teach simple machines and use a website projected on the screen to help students recognize the simple machines they are surrounded by each day. The students already have a basic understanding of simple machines so the lesson would mostly be review and help students to see facts about simple machines that they didn't know before the lesson. We will teach the lesson before Friday of this week. We will take pictures of the activity as it takes place while being careful to remember about the privacy of the students we are working with.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Ed Psych Teacher Observation Reflection
I had the opportunity to observe Brother Stephen Weber teach a Marriage Prep institute class on the topic of communication within a family. The teacher’s goal was to help students understand the importance of communication within a family as well as why the past prophets of the church also feel communication is important, and he planned to teach this objective through class discussion. Within the lesson, Brother Weber made use of some excellent teaching strategies which helped him reach his final goal teaching his objective.
To begin the lesson, Brother Weber had a “self-starter” of sorts in place for his students. A few students entered the room and signed up to play the piano, lead the music, say a prayer, and offer a spiritual thought. When the clock read 7:00 the class began with no prompting from Brother Weber. Those individuals who had signed up simply left their seats and completed their jobs. When these tasks were completed, Brother Weber stood up to begin class. With such a smooth beginning of class and transition into the lesson, students were easily able to focus into what was happening and take responsibility for their classroom and their learning.
Throughout his lesson, Brother Weber made it a point to interact with his students. Instead of simply calling on hands or moving from one response to the next, he took the time to ask for each individual’s name as they answered and let them know that he valued their comment and then explained why. He also let students lead the discussion as they shared experiences from their past of communication in their own families. This practice required Brother Weber to be flexible. With some questions, students had nothing to say and the teacher would need to offer answers and examples. At other times, the students had plenty to say and if they felt it was important to share then Brother Weber let them have their time to speak.
While he taught, Brother Weber did his best to teach students through various ways. As a class, we read from the text book and scriptures. Things were also written on the board. Discussion was used as well as examples that students could relate to and understand. Learning in such a manner really helped students understand as they read an official statement from the book and then heard an example and wrote it down and then found an example in our own lives. This method really reinforced the students’ learning.
What really caught my eye was the sense of humor Brother Weber used with his lesson. He taught the subject but had fun with it. Just because what we are teaching is serious or has a lot about it that needs to be discussed does not mean that the lesson can’t be fun and entertaining. Something else that caught my eye about the lesson is that we were asked the same question at the beginning and end of the lesson. This was an excellent way for Brother Weber to preassess our learning and the give us the same assessment at the end in order to establish what we had learned.
Brother Weber is an excellent teacher. He uses many of the techniques that I as an elementary education major have been instructed to use. It is plain to see that he cares about his students and therefore teaches in a way that will help them to best learn what he has to teach.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Technology Enhanced Lesson
I will be teaching about quadrilaterals in my class tomorrow. I plan on using the teacher's laptop in the classroom and using the projector in the classroom to show pictures of quadrilaterals that the students encounter everyday although they might not ever have recognized that it was a quadrilateral.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Reflection from Inventory
While taking the inventory of the school, I was really surprised at the limited technology in a lot of the lower grade classrooms. I really thought that computers would be more readily available for students. But, the process to use the computers seems easy enough for teachers to have access for their students. Also, in the upper grades there are enough computers in every classroom for each student, so I suppose that they are simply giving it to students when the basics of learning have been mastered.
Also surprising to me was how much our mentor teacher used technology in very subtle ways. If one wasn't looking carefully it would be easy to miss the use of the laptop to take attendance, the use of the overhead projector for morning work, ten-minute math, math problems, guided and interactive writing lessons, the use of the computer for short videos that are applicable to what the students are learning, the use of an Ipod or cd player to get students thinking about emotion or simply give them background noise while working on timely projects. She also uses technology in big ways throughout the day to show longer movies on the tv or use digital cameras to look for geometric shapes throughout the school.
Technology truly is a vital part of our educational system today and whether a school has plenty of resources or only a few, the teacher is responsible for being aware of these and using them as much as possible.
Also surprising to me was how much our mentor teacher used technology in very subtle ways. If one wasn't looking carefully it would be easy to miss the use of the laptop to take attendance, the use of the overhead projector for morning work, ten-minute math, math problems, guided and interactive writing lessons, the use of the computer for short videos that are applicable to what the students are learning, the use of an Ipod or cd player to get students thinking about emotion or simply give them background noise while working on timely projects. She also uses technology in big ways throughout the day to show longer movies on the tv or use digital cameras to look for geometric shapes throughout the school.
Technology truly is a vital part of our educational system today and whether a school has plenty of resources or only a few, the teacher is responsible for being aware of these and using them as much as possible.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Virtual Tour Final Product
I finished the virtual tour! The link to it is:
http://sites.google.com/site/daniellemcookson/my-files
Enjoy!
http://sites.google.com/site/daniellemcookson/my-files
Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Questions for IP&T 301
Match the following terms to the examples describing the terms below. Each term may only be used once.
1. incentive
2. intrinsic motivation
3. extrinsic motivation
4. motivation
5. reward
a. After she is done presenting her lesson, Courtlin gives candy to everyone in class for participating.
b. Sam works really hard on her lesson plan because she really really really wants to make her parents proud. She doesn't want to use her lesson plan in the future, but as long as her parents are proud, Sam is happy.
c. Andie loves math. She loves to do it by herself or with a group, in school or after classes are out. As long as she is doing math, Andie is happy.
d. Mrs. B promises a 20 minute break for her students if they are well behaved and focused when class starts at 8:00.
e. Ellie is shy and therefore prefers to work by herself on all class assignments.
1d , 2c , 3b, 4e , 5a
1. incentive
2. intrinsic motivation
3. extrinsic motivation
4. motivation
5. reward
a. After she is done presenting her lesson, Courtlin gives candy to everyone in class for participating.
b. Sam works really hard on her lesson plan because she really really really wants to make her parents proud. She doesn't want to use her lesson plan in the future, but as long as her parents are proud, Sam is happy.
c. Andie loves math. She loves to do it by herself or with a group, in school or after classes are out. As long as she is doing math, Andie is happy.
d. Mrs. B promises a 20 minute break for her students if they are well behaved and focused when class starts at 8:00.
e. Ellie is shy and therefore prefers to work by herself on all class assignments.
1d , 2c , 3b, 4e , 5a
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
TPACK Questions-Virtual Tour
1. What is the content you'll be using in your lesson?
My lesson will focus on teaching language arts in the third grade. I will use Standard 7: Comprehension-Students understand, interpret, and analyze narrative and informational grade level text, Objective 2: Apply strategies to comprehend text, Indicator C: Form mental pictures to aid understanding of text. With this focus, we will look at a text as a class and then gain further knowledge of the subject so that students might gain further understanding of the material and text.
2. What is the pedagogy you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?
Students will be able to watch see a map of the United States as well as zoom in on the area we are covering, watch a video, learn about climate, and discuss in small groups why some things were created. This will appeal to individuals who prefer learning by themselves, as well as those who prefer to analyze data and those who learn best through group work. We will be learning about Harriet Tubman, and therefore I feel that working individually and in groups best displays the type of work that she did.
3. What is the technology you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
Students will be using computers to view images, watch videos, and analyze data, as well as view maps of the United States and specific areas within the states. This is a good fit with the content because students will be able to view images in order to help them form their own mental images of the text we are using. The technology is a good fit with the pedagogy because it allows students to work both individually and in groups.
My lesson will focus on teaching language arts in the third grade. I will use Standard 7: Comprehension-Students understand, interpret, and analyze narrative and informational grade level text, Objective 2: Apply strategies to comprehend text, Indicator C: Form mental pictures to aid understanding of text. With this focus, we will look at a text as a class and then gain further knowledge of the subject so that students might gain further understanding of the material and text.
2. What is the pedagogy you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?
Students will be able to watch see a map of the United States as well as zoom in on the area we are covering, watch a video, learn about climate, and discuss in small groups why some things were created. This will appeal to individuals who prefer learning by themselves, as well as those who prefer to analyze data and those who learn best through group work. We will be learning about Harriet Tubman, and therefore I feel that working individually and in groups best displays the type of work that she did.
3. What is the technology you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
Students will be using computers to view images, watch videos, and analyze data, as well as view maps of the United States and specific areas within the states. This is a good fit with the content because students will be able to view images in order to help them form their own mental images of the text we are using. The technology is a good fit with the pedagogy because it allows students to work both individually and in groups.
Table for Virtual Tour
| Location | Activity | Google Earth Content |
| 1. Dorchester County, Maryland | Students will learn background information about Harriet Tubman | http://video.msn.com/video. (video about life of Harriet Tubman) |
| 2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Students will learn about the area and traveling conditions that slaves experienced | http://philadelphia.about.com/ (information on the climate of Philadelphia) |
| 3. St. Catherine’s, Ontario | Students will view a picture of the International Underground Railroad Memorial in Ontario and discuss why it was erected | http://upload.wikimedia.org/ (image of memorial) |
| 4. Auburn, New York | Students will view grave of Tubman and learn more of the significance of this woman | http://www.flickr.com/photos/ (image of the grave of Harriet Tubman) |
| Details of image overlay / path / polygon: | The polygon tool will be used to outline where in the United States the Underground Railroad ranged from and particularly where Harriet Tubman worked within it. | |
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
IP&T Questions
1. Cognitive Apprenticeship
2. Critical Thinking
3. Inquiry Learning
4. Instructional Conversation
5. Problem-Based Learning
A. A teacher asks her students how whales communicate with one another. The students listen to recordings, search the internet, and read encyclopedias in order to find the answer to this question.
B. A college class is asked to write a paper on which method of sex education they felt was best: abstinence or birth control.
C. Fourth graders come to class and are put in small groups to talk about last night’s reading. One group talks together about the different characters and decides what their significance was. Students who had a better understand of the reading were able to help those who struggled with the reading also comprehend it.
D. Fifth graders are assigned a project where they chose a career and must learn about it. James chooses to do his project on firefighters and interviews his uncle who has been a firefighter for ten years.
E. During recess, one student tells his friends that the Civil War was fought because of slavery. The students decide to validate this fact. They learn about what was happening the country economically, politically, etc. during the years leading up to the slavery and analyze how these conditions might have affected the Civil War.
Answers: 1D, 2E, 3A, 4C, 5B
2. Critical Thinking
3. Inquiry Learning
4. Instructional Conversation
5. Problem-Based Learning
A. A teacher asks her students how whales communicate with one another. The students listen to recordings, search the internet, and read encyclopedias in order to find the answer to this question.
B. A college class is asked to write a paper on which method of sex education they felt was best: abstinence or birth control.
C. Fourth graders come to class and are put in small groups to talk about last night’s reading. One group talks together about the different characters and decides what their significance was. Students who had a better understand of the reading were able to help those who struggled with the reading also comprehend it.
D. Fifth graders are assigned a project where they chose a career and must learn about it. James chooses to do his project on firefighters and interviews his uncle who has been a firefighter for ten years.
E. During recess, one student tells his friends that the Civil War was fought because of slavery. The students decide to validate this fact. They learn about what was happening the country economically, politically, etc. during the years leading up to the slavery and analyze how these conditions might have affected the Civil War.
Answers: 1D, 2E, 3A, 4C, 5B
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Ed Psych Matching Questions
Match the definitions at the top to the correct words listed below.
1. Assuming that others experience the world the same way in which you do
2. Actions a person carries out by thinking them through instead of literally performing the actions
3. Principle that people or objects remain the same over a long period of time
4. Assumption that everyone else experiences the same thoughts, feelings, and concerns that you do
5. Mental tasks involving abstract thinking and coordination of a number of variables
A. Adolescent egocentrism
B. Egocentric
C. Formal operations
D. Identity
E. Operations
answers:
1B, 2E, 3D, 4A, 5C
1. Assuming that others experience the world the same way in which you do
2. Actions a person carries out by thinking them through instead of literally performing the actions
3. Principle that people or objects remain the same over a long period of time
4. Assumption that everyone else experiences the same thoughts, feelings, and concerns that you do
5. Mental tasks involving abstract thinking and coordination of a number of variables
A. Adolescent egocentrism
B. Egocentric
C. Formal operations
D. Identity
E. Operations
answers:
1B, 2E, 3D, 4A, 5C
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Story Board
For my story, I have chosen to work on the poem and song "Tis a Gift to be Simple". I have come up with nine drawings for the different lines of the song, which are included below, although they are hard to read. I feel that I can do a lot with this idea in creating my digital storytelling project.
The content I will be using in my lesson relates back to the Utah State Core Curriculum for Language Arts, Standard 1, Objective 2 and 8. My students will be working on adventure books while they learn new skills about technology and other resources available to them. This is a good fit because students are able to address the core standards while spending time on a project that is meaningful for them. My students will have access to Photostory as well as digital cameras, digital camcorders, and other such items that might be needed for the project. This technology will be a good fit for the content and pedagogy of the lesson because students are allowed to explore with these technologies while working towards writing their stories and fulfilling the assignment before them.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Questions for Educational Psychology
As a student is about to take a midterm, the best example of self-efficacy is...
a. the student has studied for many hours but is unsure if she will be successful
b. the student has not studied for the exam and is unsure if she will be successful
c. the student has studied for many hours and feels confident that she will be successful
d. the student studied for a few hours and feels that she will do ok on the exam
answer: c
You are teaching a gym class and freeze the students in the middle of an activity. As you look around the room, you acknowledge two students publicly for freezing so well. This is an example of...
a. self-reinforcement
b. vicarious reinforcement
c. self-efficacy
d. self-management
answer: b
Two sisters are playing together. The eldest is 7 and the youngest is 5. The older of the two picks up a book and starts reading it out loud. The younger of the two sees her sister's example and also picks up a book to read, despite the fact that she stills struggles reading simple books. Learning to read this way is an example of...
a. social learning theory
b. social cognitive theory
c. self-efficacy
d. self-management
answer: a
a. the student has studied for many hours but is unsure if she will be successful
b. the student has not studied for the exam and is unsure if she will be successful
c. the student has studied for many hours and feels confident that she will be successful
d. the student studied for a few hours and feels that she will do ok on the exam
answer: c
You are teaching a gym class and freeze the students in the middle of an activity. As you look around the room, you acknowledge two students publicly for freezing so well. This is an example of...
a. self-reinforcement
b. vicarious reinforcement
c. self-efficacy
d. self-management
answer: b
Two sisters are playing together. The eldest is 7 and the youngest is 5. The older of the two picks up a book and starts reading it out loud. The younger of the two sees her sister's example and also picks up a book to read, despite the fact that she stills struggles reading simple books. Learning to read this way is an example of...
a. social learning theory
b. social cognitive theory
c. self-efficacy
d. self-management
answer: a
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
TPACK Questions for the Science Lesson
- What is the content you are focusing on in your science lesson?
- What is the pedagogy you are using and why is it a good fit with the content?
- What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
Tech Savvy Teaching
Grade Level: 3
When looking at the different organisms, students will view enlarged pictures of the organism along with information about size, where they can be found, and what their scientific classifications are.
When learning about the different organisms students will be able to read general information about each one, including specifics descriptions of physical appearance and where they might place themselves within a jar.
If students find a few organisms particularly interesting, they can click on links on the page in order to gather more in-depth information about them as well as see actual images gathered through the use of a microscope.
Standard 2: Students will understand that organisms depend on living and nonliving things within their environment
Objective 2: Describe the interactions between living and nonliving things in a small environment
Thinking back on some of the most influential teachers from your childhood, it is easy to picture the one that was most loving, the one with the funniest necklaces, or the one that had the most exciting lessons. Those individuals truly made time in the classroom fun and prepared us for our upcoming years of schooling. As the years have changed the world in which we live, the definition of influential teachers has also been changed. It is becoming increasingly important that teachers become "tech savvy" in order to prepare students for what comes next in their educations. How might a teacher be "tech savvy", you ask. Simple. By incorporating technology into the classroom to better present material to a class, a teacher is becoming tech savvy. By teaching students to use technology effectively, a teacher is becoming tech savvy. By allowing students to use technology to learn about the content, a teacher is becoming tech savvy. In the future, those teachers who were able to stand worthy of the description "tech savvy" will truly be the ones remembered for their exciting lessons, unforgettable class experiences, and skills to be used throughout life.
In order to be more worthy of the title "tech savvy", I thought long and hard as to how I might help my own third grade students learn through technology. As we began our unit on pond life and exploring organisms' dependence on living and nonliving things, I Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 und just the thing. We began our unit by collecting jars for every member of the class. We took a short field trip to a local pond where all of the students were instructed to fill their jars with pond water, including the ground, water, plants, etc. Once we got back to the class, we spent time observing what we had collected. Students came up with lists on what they saw in their jars. At this point, I explained that within our jars were organisms that depended on both the living and nonliving things surrounding them. Each student was then assigned a partner and together used the classroom laptops to visit the website http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html. This link brought students to Virtual Pond Dip, where students explored the various organisms within a jar of pond water. The website gave students thorough details on water was in their jar and how these inhabitants interacted with their surroundings. After adequate time exploring Virtual Pond Dip, students gathered back together as a class to share what they had found and spend more time observing their societies in a jar.
While I could have provided information for my students about what was actually in their jar of pond water, how much more effective it was for students to choose for themselves what to search for and learn about. Students had the opportunity to act as researchers, choosing what to look into and explore further about. Students observed their jars initially and assumed they had found everything they could. Through the use of Virtual Pond Dip, students were able to acknowledge what they missed and gather information to share with the class. Additional skills gained through the lesson include the idea that what one sees is not always the whole picture, working with others in order to solve problems, navigating around a website, and presenting material to a group. How wonderful it is that through simply allowing access to a computer and directing students to a website can provide so much valuable information and so many valuable skills.
Students will log on to computers in groups and navigate to the site Virtual Pond Dip. Here students will be able to view a drawing of a jar of pond water where organisms have been magnified. They will click on the various organisms to learn more about what they collected in their own jars.
When looking at the different organisms, students will view enlarged pictures of the organism along with information about size, where they can be found, and what their scientific classifications are.When learning about the different organisms students will be able to read general information about each one, including specifics descriptions of physical appearance and where they might place themselves within a jar.If students find a few organisms particularly interesting, they can click on links on the page in order to gather more in-depth information about them as well as see actual images gathered through the use of a microscope.Once students have completed a thorough search of the different organisms in their jar, they can navigate to the Pond Life Identification Kit to find out key features of each one when observing their own jar once more.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
While I was very nervous to teach in class on Friday the 23rd of January, I think the lesson turned out well. Sam and I spent quite a few hours preparing to teaching, including getting an initial understanding of the reading, getting together and coming up with some ideas, organizing these ideas so as to best reach the students and portray the message, exploring our terms in further detail to get a firm knowledge of what each meant, meeting with the professor to bounce ideas off of her and get her feedback, gathering materials, practicing teaching, and finally teaching the class. I really feel that all of this preparation contributed to how well the lesson went. If I was to do this again, I think I would prepare in just the same way, ensuring that I understood what I was teaching and how I was teaching it.
I feel that one of the strengths of our lesson was the diversity in teaching strategies that we implemented. While some terms were simply explained through lecture, such as tacit knowledge, other areas where taught using books and hands-on activities, such as crystallized intelligence. Also, we incorporated our assessment into the terms we were teaching by using a crossword puzzle to demonstrate fluid intelligence. I also felt like Sam and I did a good job of thoroughly explaining the different terms, offering definitions as well as examples and then taking any questions the students still had.
I was disappointed in my performance when it came to answering questions. I was so concerned with helping the students have a firm understanding of our terms that I ended up having students ask questions that weren’t really pertinent. It was frustrating to be asked a question that I didn’t know the answer to, but at the same time knowing that the question didn’t really matter for what we were doing anyway. I think to address this issue, I would either ask students if they had any questions pertaining to what was just taught or if they had a good understanding of the terms instead of the broad question of “Are there any questions?”.
Up to this point in class we have discussed the educational psychology principles of assessment and intelligence. We addressed these principles teaching to a few of the multiple intelligences through hands-on activities (bodily/kinesthetic), having students discuss terms in groups (interpersonal & verbal/linguistic), and completing a crossword puzzle by themselves (intrapersonal & logical/mathematical). We addressed assessment by having students complete a crossword puzzle where every answer was mentioned in class at some point, so that we might assess how much they had learned throughout the lesson.
I feel that one of the strengths of our lesson was the diversity in teaching strategies that we implemented. While some terms were simply explained through lecture, such as tacit knowledge, other areas where taught using books and hands-on activities, such as crystallized intelligence. Also, we incorporated our assessment into the terms we were teaching by using a crossword puzzle to demonstrate fluid intelligence. I also felt like Sam and I did a good job of thoroughly explaining the different terms, offering definitions as well as examples and then taking any questions the students still had.
I was disappointed in my performance when it came to answering questions. I was so concerned with helping the students have a firm understanding of our terms that I ended up having students ask questions that weren’t really pertinent. It was frustrating to be asked a question that I didn’t know the answer to, but at the same time knowing that the question didn’t really matter for what we were doing anyway. I think to address this issue, I would either ask students if they had any questions pertaining to what was just taught or if they had a good understanding of the terms instead of the broad question of “Are there any questions?”.
Up to this point in class we have discussed the educational psychology principles of assessment and intelligence. We addressed these principles teaching to a few of the multiple intelligences through hands-on activities (bodily/kinesthetic), having students discuss terms in groups (interpersonal & verbal/linguistic), and completing a crossword puzzle by themselves (intrapersonal & logical/mathematical). We addressed assessment by having students complete a crossword puzzle where every answer was mentioned in class at some point, so that we might assess how much they had learned throughout the lesson.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Cool Tool: Stellarium
While completing the assignments for week 3, I was able to look into using the tool "Stellarium". By simply downloading this program to your computer, one can look at the night sky. BUT, you can look at the night sky even if there are clouds. AND, you can look at it from any location. ALSO, you can look at it from any time, whether it was ten minutes ago or 100 years ago. "Stellarium" can be downloaded by going to www.stellarium.org and simply choosing which type of computer you would like to download it to. Whether one is teaching about constellations and wants to show students what they look like, how the earth moves and therefore how the stars seem to be in a different place in the sky each night, the different phases of the moon, or simply to see the sky as a pen-pal or historical figure might see it, this tool is absolutely wonderful.
My Understanding of TPACK
While the idea of TPACK totally made sense as I was learning about it, it was honestly nothing I had ever considered together before. Of course having pedagogical knowledge is important when teaching so that one might be able to do so effectively. I have already discussed in detail this semester the importance of content knowledge in order to be a successful teacher, for how can one teach what one does not already know? Also, I am beginning to see the importance of technological knowledge and the benefits this can also have in a classroom and for learners. BUT, I had never really put these three areas of knowledge together before. Of course it makes sense, but I suppose I am just that individual who needs a little more nudging to see what is right in front of them. The GOOD teachers understand what they are teaching. The BETTER teachers understand what they are teaching along with how to teach it most effectively. The BEST teachers apply their knowledge of technology and classroom tools to what they know about content and teaching in order to reach their students and prepare them for the changing world. I think I am finally starting to see why this class is so vital to my teaching career: technology is vital for students learning career and therefore it is vital for me as a teacher. Whether it is teaching math and using calculators, science and exploring the night sky, or reading where we are comparing a book to a movie, I need to know what tools are available through technology and combine that knowledge with my knowledge about the subject and how to teach that subject.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Questions for IP&T 301 Week 3
1. The nature of intelligence includes all of the following except...
a. the capacity to learn
b. the total knowledge a person has acquired
c. the total knowledge a person can acquire
d. the ability to adapt successfully to new situations and to the environment in general
answer: c
2. Which is the best example of automaticity in a college students life...
a. tying a shoe
b. cooking chicken
c. dating
d. buying books
answer: a
3. When students are grouped based on their learning needs, this is seen as...
a. with-in class ability grouping
b. between-class ability grouping
c. untracking
d. flexible grouping
answer: d
a. the capacity to learn
b. the total knowledge a person has acquired
c. the total knowledge a person can acquire
d. the ability to adapt successfully to new situations and to the environment in general
answer: c
2. Which is the best example of automaticity in a college students life...
a. tying a shoe
b. cooking chicken
c. dating
d. buying books
answer: a
3. When students are grouped based on their learning needs, this is seen as...
a. with-in class ability grouping
b. between-class ability grouping
c. untracking
d. flexible grouping
answer: d
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Learning about RSS Feeds
This was quite the task for me. I have never really noticed RSS feeds before and the idea of finding appropriate ones for my purposes and adding them to my blog seemed just about impossible. Fortunately, us students were provided with a step-by-step tutorial concerning how to accomplish this task. I learned a lot about not only what an RSS feed was but also how to add additions to my blog. I was especially excited about the goodreads account we set up this week. I love children's literature and the idea of having a place online where I can find my favorite children's books as well as see other individuals choices of books seems like a wonderful resource for my future classroom. I think it will be very helpful to look at the booklists of others in order to see what they have read and what they suggest for the classroom. I plan on using this resource while teaching in order to find out what good books are available and what might students might be interested in. Also, through the goodreads account, I will be emailed with updates on new books and applications which can also support teaching literacy in the classroom.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Learning Something New- IP&T 301
I absolutely love to ski. I have been quite a few times but I still have a lot that I need to improve on. This past week I decided to go up to Sundance and improve my form as well as learn to ski completely on my edges, relying more on the front of my skis than the back.
I felt that I had enough ability and information to teach myself this new skill. Run after run, I tried to move down the mountain on my edges. Unfortunately I had a few mishaps, the very worst of which was simply feeling out of control. I would be traveling down, using my edges, and then all of a sudden I would feel like I was about to fall or I couldn't stop myself if I had wanted to. In these instances I would resort to my sufficient but improper technique and gain control once again. I am embarrassed to say this pattern of trying the skill, losing control, neglecting the skill, and regaining control continued for a good part of the afternoon.
Finally, with quite a bit of practice and focus I was able to do one run down the mountain on my edges with success. BUT, success and domination are two very different things and I was looking to dominate skiing on my edges not just succeed at the job. I continued to work at it, critiquing myself with each run and analyzing what I could do better. I was skiing with a friend who was a more advanced skier than me. It was helpful to watch her ski, noticing her technique and how she managed to do with ease what I had been working on all afternoon. It was humbling to ask for advice as to how I might improve.
As the afternoon ended and the ski lifts stopped moving, it was disappointing to walk away from the mountain knowing that I had not accomplished the task I had set out to do. While I could utilize my new skill if giving it my full attention, I had not really mastered it, letting it become second nature to me. I knew that I was not done in working towards this goal.
Fortunately for me, I had time just a few days later to go back up to Sundance and reattempt to master skiing on my edges. With multiple attempts I was able to warm up on my skis, ride down the mountain while skiing on my edges, and have it become second nature. More help was needed as I asked an instructor what I might do to improve. She watched me ski and then gave suggestions which made the movement feel more natural and therefore easier to do. By the end of the day I was able to do just what I had set out to accomplish.
Looking back now, I stubbornly stuck to the idea that practice makes perfect, assuming the skill would come if I just continued to work on it. I also attempted the skill using different techniques, many of which were insufficient. Humility was required to ask for help for a friend and later an instructor. Through asking for help I was able to receive a few pointers that made the skill a lot easier. While I was able to learn how to ski on my edges, the whole task would have been easier if I had asked for help from the beginning. Simply watching others do a skill will not always offer you enough support when learning to do it yourself. Sometimes, extra help is required in order to see what is truly happening, including those things that are slight movements or mental processes.
I feel that I am a stubborn learner. I would prefer to work on something by myself; asking for help shows weakness and should be avoided. I also am hard working and willing to put in the time required to learn something, no matter the difficulty. I also require multiple attempts at learning separated by multiple days. Through this time period, I am able to reflect on what I have learned and go back later to ensure that I have truly mastered a skill. I feel that this skill will be something I use for the rest of my years skiing and can hopefully be built upon to further my abilities.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Danielle's Technology Background
sI have had very little experience with technology in the past. While I have always had a computer in my home, I have done little other than type emails. I can figure out most of the steps necessary to accomplish a task, although it might take me some time.
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