Last Day at Pinecrest

Wednesday was my last day helping out in my early childhood classroom at Pinecrest Elementary.  I was very sad to go because I grew to be a part of the classroom.  I am so thankful the teachers in the classroom let me be apart of this room during my time in service learning.  It was so cute because even though I had been helping out in the classroom for over two months, none of the kids really knew my name.  The last day I was there a lot of the kids finally made the association between my face and my name.  It was a very touching experience.  All of those kids were very loving.  Even though there was a share of crazy days, I enjoyed every minute of it and I would encourage any future educator to do some volunteering, especially at this school

Reflection on CEP416

I learned a lot this semester about interesting technology that I plan to use in the classroom.  I had never really explored Michigan’s standards for technology in the classroom and now I know what is most appropriate for the different elementary grade levels.  One of the most important things I learned this semester was how to say more organized with websites and even creating my own website.  Creating a website for my future classroom does not seem intimidating at all now.  I am excited to use my new technology sources to keep my future classroom in order and up to date.  I love that there are so many different ways to communicate online as well.  Instead of using email with my future student’s parents, I will have the option of using Google docs when I need the help of multiple parents and such.  I am happy I had this course to broaden my horizon on the different technologies I will be able to use in the classroom.  Technology is something that I have always be hesitant about, by now I can say I feel comfortable embracing new sources that will only help my journey on becoming a successful educator.

Inspiration Quote

I stumbled across this quote when I was looking up poems for another class, I hope you all enjoy it!


"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller


I think this is a good quote for educators because it is our job to instill confidence in our students so they are motivated to push themselves to achieve greatness.  I plan to have posters in my future classroom with inspirational quotes such as this one.

Wiki

Having the chance to explore Wiki  this week was very useful.  A Wiki is a page used to collaborate with other members.  Your personal Wiki can be view by everyone on the web or only by the people you choose to invite.  It is cool because you have control over whom you want to let in, help edit and fix up things.  Instead of communicating over a different technology that is time consuming, using a Wiki can cut down the direct contact you need to make with people.  At your leisure, it is easy to log in and edit the Wiki page whenever you have time.  Wiki's also have a very personal aspect where you have complete control over who sees your page.  Having a privacy option is always an advantage.

I find Wiki a lot more useful then Weebly because you are able to create things easily with other people.  In Weebly, there is no way for someone else to edit your webpage without giving that person your personal password. 

Although with blogs it is easy to make comments, there is no way to log on and edit someone else’s blog.  With Wiki you can have a finished product without having to see all the comments that went in to it.  It is a clear-cut way to have communication.

This would be very useful in the classroom because it can be used by students for working on group projects.  You can break students up in to groups and have them create a Wiki page for each group.  The teacher can monitor the group’s member’s progress to make sure everyone is evenly contributing to the assignment.  Wiki’s are very easy to use.  I think students as young as fifth graders would be able to use this successfully.   I would definitely consider using this in my future classroom.

I couldn't decide which Wiki format to use so I made two different accounts.  After experimenting further with both, I found that Wikispaces was an easier Wiki to navigate.  Though the two are very similar, I felt like it was easier to add things such as pictures, links, and videos with Wikispaces.

Check out my Wiki

iclicker

So far the iclicker craze is mainly used at the collegiate level.  Though, since there has been such a positive response in colleges, high school and even middle school teachers have started to use this new tool.  The iclicker is composed of 5 multiple choice letters and it has a handy light that flashes green when a question is registered as answered in a class, and a red button if the answer you choose on your clicker had not been registered.  The clickers are used in class for attendance and to answer questions mini multiple choice questions electronically. 

This is my first year using iclicker in a lecture but I have found it very reliable so far.  It was extremely easy to register my clicker online and all I have to do is give my instructor my ID number and he/she can provide all of my attendance and quiz questions that have been registered during the semester. 

As a future educator I would definitely look into using this tool in my classroom.  It is very easy to keep track of attendance, and also it would be useful to have a technology to use in class that would allow me to ask students little questions throughout my lesson to make sure they comprehend the material we are covering.  After the students answer, the iclicker system also allows the instructor to see who choose which answer, and it gives percentages of who chose each answer.  Another plus to this technology is that it eliminates wasting paper on little mini quizzes.

Though iclickers have many positives, a negative to this product is that it does cost about $35.  Asking students at the middle school level or even high school level for a technology that costs that much would not go over well with parents.  Also, I plan to teach at the elementary level so as much as I would love to use this because it is easy enough for younger kids to use, it is asking a lot of parents to pay for something like this when it is not guaranteed that it will be used more than one year.

Journals

One thing I want to always incorporate in my classroom are daily journals.  I want my students to have a notebook dedicated to their own free writing.  I think it is so important to encourage them to make up their own stories and have a place to privately reflect.  This is a good thing to have to work on if they finish up a test or an assignment early.  Of course their journal would never be graded or even read unless they give me or a fellow classmate permission.

When I was doing my placement last year while I was still going to school down in Georgia, one of the girls in my class wrote a new story every day.  Her stories were hilarious.  I would have never even known this girl was capable of making up such colorful stories if I had not asked what she was working on one day.  She was a very quiet and reserved child, but once she left her imagination run wild, she created some of the silliest stories.  It was great to see all of the creativity the kids possessed as individuals. I always want my future students to have a journal so they have the freedom to write or draw whatever they want.

Second Life

For my choice this week I decided to check out the website called Second Life.  I have never even heard of this site before so I really didn't know what to expect.  I did some research and found out that this is basically a virtual reality space, like the computer game the sims.  You get to pick out your own identity, create your own living space and interact with other people on the web.  This site allows you to be whomever you want to be.

Now educational wise, this does not seem like a site to have in schools.  Besides being able to communicate with others I don't really foresee and positive educational sources coming out of this.  Also, you never really know if who you are talking to is who they say they are.  Everyone has a virtual character to represent them and no one would know if you were lying about who you are, so no one can ever really know if the people they are meeting are who they say they are.

Perhaps this could be a website encouraged for those who are shy.  Many adolescence go through periods of self-consciousness, and many others even face socialization anxiety.  This interactive site could help some who faces those hurdles.  Other then that I wouldn't advertise something like this in the classroom, especially at the elementary level where I plan to teach.

http://secondlife.com/

Good Outdoors Enhancing Learning Abilities?

I recently read an article on how studies show getting kids outside helps improve test scores. I think getting kids to learn outside the classroom is great.  It is hard being stuck in the same classroom all year round.  I always loved going outside for a lesson on a random fall or spring day just to do something different.  I think incorporating classroom activities outside the room is wonderful and every teacher should try to do a few lessons outside every year.  The outdoors is good for everyone.  Classrooms tend to get stuffy and uncomfortable, and being able to go outside with the fresh air and ample space just makes everyone feel better.  Not to mention, when I was in elementary school and got to go outside for a lesson, my friends and I always thought of it as a treat because it was something different.  If studies do show improvement in the learning department from being outside more, if the message is out in the public, maybe we can get more schools to allow their teachers to teach outside more often.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/where-nature-meets-the-classroom/article1797092/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGlobeAndMail-Front+%28The+Globe+and+Mail+-+Latest+News%29

Tumble Reader

When I went in for my service learning at Pinecrest Elementary today, the students were planned to watch a book they read in class.  The teacher brought up the mini movie on the projector that displayed her computer monitor.  She was using a website called tumble book reader.  I decided to investigate this website a little further and I found it is a very useful website for the middle and elementary level.  The website has many books that can either be shown or which provide strictly audio.  I think this is great to have in the classroom because it makes reading more fun.  After students finishing reading a book they now have the option of watching what they read as a movie.  This also helps them get multiple ways to comprehend what they read in class.

http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp?accessdenied=%2Flibrary%2Fasp%2Fhome%5Ftumblebooks%2Easp

Google Docs

Google Docs is an excellent online tool to be able to collaborate work with others.  Emails are a thing of the past with this new technology.  All of the editing and communication process can be dealt with online and with personal privacy settings.  This technology allows people to share ideas and presentations with others by simply sharing their link with others to gain feedback and help edit the different documents.  This is definitely something that could be useful in schools.  Teachers could use this to help students out with their writing.  They are able to view students’ work and add comments in where ever they please with the students permission.  This is also an awesome place for group work because students can all be working on the same assignment from separate computers just by communicating online in their particular online workspace document.

The only downside of this technology is that it can only be used in upper grade levels.  The elementary level is not quite advanced enough to be able to use this technology in class but it can definitely be used in middle school and in high school.

Even though this would be too difficult for elementary students, this is a very useful tool for teachers and administrators to use.  Many teachers create lesson plans together for specific grade level subjects.  Instead of having weekly meetings to discuss new material, they can have constant communication through Google Docs.  This would also help keep things more productive between teachers. Teachers would only be using this tool to collaborate on educational related topics, so it would eliminate any non-school related topics that can be distracting at important meetings.  Overall this seems like a great program to incorporate in all schools.

At the elementary level, I would use this mostly with my student’s parents.  I would be able to send weekly updates in the classroom and parents would be able to leave comments freely about what is going on that week and if they have any questions.  I would also use this to keep track of parent participation.  Parent’s help in the classroom is definitely needed at times with big projects or classroom parties.  This would be a good way to stay organized with plans for activities and other things of that nature.  Google Calendar is also a useful part of Google Docs.  I plan to use this and send the link to my calendar to all of my student’s parents so they know exactly what is going on for the year.  This gives parents a chance plan ahead when students have doctors appointments and other things that would cause them to miss school. Also, in case of illness, students would be able to see exactly what we did each day on Google Calendar by having their parents check my calendar online.

Overcrowding in the Classroom

I recently read an article on overcrowding in the classroom and how it is progressively becoming more of an issue in today's schools.  It is kind of a scary thought to think that by the time I have my own class, the enrollment per room will be over 30 kids.  That is a lot of growing minds to entertain.  In the article, they talked about how higher classroom numbers causes lower performance levels out of the individuals.  It makes sense because the more kids for one teacher the less one on one time is available for the kids.  This is a big issue and teachers are going to have to get more creative with ways to make sure students don't get distracted by the large number of classmates.  One way to ensure classroom focus stays on track is to make sure all the students desks are facing forward.  I think mobility of the teacher also plays a big role.  Teachers who move around the classroom during a lesson are going to be more entertaining then those who stand and lecture in the same place the whole time.  Teachers that are constantly moving will also have a better chance of catching students who aren't paying attention.   I think group work is also a good way to promote positive interaction.  Within group work, if every member is assigned a certain job it also helps to keep the work productive. We can complain all we want about the growing number of students teachers have to take on but I think this is just a perfect opportunity for a challenge.  Teachers will simply have to get more creative.

http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/la-fights-to-overcome-overcrowded-schools-2742339.html

Halloween in School

Last week I was lucky enough to be volunteering in my Early Childhood classroom while they students were celebrating Halloween.  It was so much fun to see everyone all dressed up.  You could tell it was a very important day for them because they would be showing off their costumes to other classrooms.  And of course the amount of junk food all the kids got to eat was unbelievable!  I almost felt bad for the parents because the kids had their halloween party which consisted of eating a bunch of candy and then they walked around the school trick or treating to different classrooms and then they went home.  I'm sure they were bouncing off the walls by the time their parents got to see them at the end of the day.  I thought it was a great idea that they were able to trick or treat to different classrooms.  They were able to show off the hard work they put into their costumes and it was nice that they got to walk around and leave their normal classroom environment for a while.  The school was very organized about doing the trick or treating.  Throughout the week every classroom was assigned a particular day, time, and designated classrooms to visit.  I could tell the kids really enjoyed it and I was glad I got to be apart of it.

Podcasting

I decided to do some research on podcasts since they are becoming more prevalent in today’s society.  This new technology allows anyone with access to the Internet to watch shows online whenever they wish to watch them.  A podcast is a show that is saved on in the Internet and most of the time it is free.  Podcasts can be directly accessed through your phone, ipod, or computer.  The shows have an unlimited range.  They are anything from shows on TV to people’s own creations.  That’s another useful thing about this tool, you can create your own podcasts for free!  I think this would be a useful tool in the classroom because there are many educational podcasts that can be shown to students to change up a lecture format.  Sometimes having a visual helps students better understand new material.  Also with the option of creating your own podcast, you can plan ahead when a sub has to fill in and create your own lesson on a podcast for the sub, so he or she can play the show and the students will still have their same teacher voicing the lesson even though he or she can’t be there. 

This is a great tool for teachers, however this wouldn’t be appropriate for elementary students to access on their own.  Though it is easy to use and search podcasts with the online tutorials, this technology is too advanced for the elementary level.  However, if they are exposed to these things early on, when they make it to higher grade levels like upper middle and high school, they will certainly be able to experiment with creating their own podcasts for projects.  I think this tool can become the new PowerPoint with all the different options we have for creating our own shows and presentations.

http://www.commoncraft.com/podcasting

http://vodpod.com/watch/3764545-session-building-an-online-community-for-kids-itwixie

Using Voice Thread

I first made a presentation on PowerPoint and then uploaded it to google presentations, but I had trouble with the voice recordings so I decided to experiment with Voice Thread. VT was extremely easy to use and it was nice that you could have an audio recording straight from the site without having to upload a separate one.  I had no problem uploading my power point from the Microsoft program and then doing my voice recordings for each slide.  I would highly recommend this tool and I plan on using it in the future. This is a very useful site to create presentations for lessons.  I think upper elementary grade levels could even experiment with this because it is so easy to use.

PLN

I think developing a PLN is important for any future educator.  We are living in a world surrounded by technology and it is important we stay on top of the newest applications to integrate in our every day existence.  The positive aspect of developing this early on is being able to teach it to others and learn new advantages it has to offer.  There are so many ways to research and have communication with people all over the world without ever having to make direct contact either in person or over the phone.  Having this source of communication available in things such as twitter, facebook, blogs etc. helps us stay in contact and ask questions instantaneously.  So far I've had a little bit of trouble maintaining my PLN because is it hard to check up on all the different applications I belong to.  It is very easy to get unorganized and behind on different applications when you lose track of how many you have and how often you need to check.

Power Point Presentations

I love using Microsoft PowerPoint. I have been using this tool since middle school. Making presentations is extremely enjoyable and I plan on using this tool for many years to come in my classroom. I decided to make my 3 slides following a Kindergarten standard for recognizing sounds in the alphabet and noticing sounds the letters make in words. One of the slides is devoted to the sounds each letter of the alphabet makes. I also found a great youtube video on the sounds each letter make; the link is embedded in the slide show. After creating a draft on powerpoint I decided to upload it to google presentations to experiment with a new tool. I enjoyed using google presentations, but I am having troubling sharing it in other places such as my blog and weebly page. Other then that I don't have any complaints using it so far.

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AfqiX52Swk-hZGQycG1zdnBfMGY0ZHhiOGZt&hl=en#

Lesson Plan

I want to teach a lesson on writing fictional stories. I love imagination and I want to encourage student to use it. I will teach the basic structure for writing a story: the importance of having a beginning, middle, end, major events, and character analysis. Students will write a fictional story about going on a vacation with their family. I want students to use their creativity to make an interesting, and maybe funny story they can share with their classmates.

The GLCE I want to use is: W.GN.02.01 write a narrative piece such as realistic fiction, fantasy, or personal narrative depicting major story events, using illustrations to match mood, and containing setting, problem/solution, and sequenced events.
The technology I am thinking about using in this assignment is some sort of digital storytelling tool. I think I want to use imageloop because it will be easy to help students upload photos. I want the students to have a picture for every page in their book. I can take pictures with my digital camera and upload them onto image loop for them to use. They can read their stories from their paper as each picture appears on the screen.

The Chase

I love being in the classroom and now that I am getting more comfortable in the special ed room I am helping out in I'm realizing how rewarding of an experience it is. The kids are so loveable. One of the boys in class steers me everywhere around the room to play with him. It makes me feel really good. I love how animated all of the students are. I have always had a vivid imagination so I love making up games with them and being silly.

Though today was a little crazy. One of the little boys can't really form sentences yet and has trouble sitting still so he tends to wander a lot. Today he took it to a whole other level. Lets just say I got a work out from chasing him down the halls. He didn't understand that he can't just run out of the classroom and he thought it was a game because I would chase after him. Every time I caught up with him he would throw himself on the ground and start laughing. He was cracking me up. Though I wish he would have listened to me after I had literally chased after him four times. Regardless, he had a lot of spirit so even though it was frustrating he wouldn't stay in the classroom I enjoyed spending time with him.

Digital Story Telling

For my story I decided to talk about my dog Louis. He is a huge part of my family even though he is lacking in size. Louis is a 3lb Yorkshire Terrier with a lot of personality. I thought giving a little background on my dog would be a simple and fun little story to share. I think this would be a good example to use in class because it will show students how easy to is to make a digital story.

Imageloop is a great tool to use for digital story telling. I think it can be used for all subjects at the elementary level. This is something I would definitely consider using in my classroom. I think students at the upper elementary level could use this easily too with a little bit of help. The only disadvantage I found was that I wasn't exactly sure how to link audio to the video using this website. Though it is extremely easy to upload photos and add comments. Overall I think this is a basic tool that will be helpful to use in the classroom. My Dog Louis | Slideshow at imageloop.com

Poem

Whatif by Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow talle?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

Volunteering in the Classroom

Yesterday I started my service learning experience in the classroom.  I am assigned to an Early Childhood Development classroom that is all Special Ed.   I have never been in a Special Ed classroom so it was a very unique experience.  There are only 8 kids in the classroom with one teacher and one parapro. I can't exactly tell all the different disabilities, but most are behavioral.  All the kids are very sweet.  After being in there for only five minutes one of the little boys had already grown attached to me and would take me by the hand to do different activities with him.  My job in the room is just to help the teacher out with all the different activities.  I only go in once a week for two hours, but I know I am going to learn a lot.  I'm excited for my next visit!

Google Earth

This week i was able to explore Google Earth.  I think this website would be an awesome tool to use in the classroom.  Students would go crazy over being able to see exactly where they live on a map.  There are many different things that can be discovered while using this tool.  Smart boards are becoming extremely prevalent in the classroom and this would be a great projection to use in class.  Anyone has the option of using this to explore different cities, states, important landmarks, and even space.  This would especially be useful for a geography based lesson.  Even though there are many advantages to this tool, it is geared more for adults.  Students at the elementary level would have difficulty using it.  There are many tutorials on how to work this system but many students would bet bored or distracted.  If this would be purely used by an educator then it would definitely be beneficial in the classroom.

google earth

Slide Show- Created on Flickr

Good Motto

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of

 

looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to

 

laugh at life's realities.

-- Dr. Seuss

Copyright Laws

I was very interested to read about all the copyright laws on our lab about creative commons in my CEP416 class.  I didn't have a clue that there was a site out they that allowed you to collaborate with other author's work without even having contact with them.  I think the creative commons licenses are awesome.  I definitely plan on using it later on down the road.  It is also a great way to see what creative things other people can do with your work.  I also love how much control you have over stuff you post online.  It is nice that it is up to you how much of your work you want to share with everyone using the internet.

Teacher Websites

I think it is extremely important that all teachers create their own websites.  It is a useful tools for students and parents.  I think parents feel more comfortable having some background on their student's teacher, also having a website is an efficient way to keep students and parents up to date on what is going on in the classroom.  Creating a website in my opinion is a necessary thing.  Also if there are weekly updates, students and parents will always have access to their students' assignments, weekly updates, and overall news from the school.

Smart Boards

When I completed my 50 hours of observation in the classroom last semester(at my previous university) we learned a lot about the use of smart boards.  I was fortunate enough to be in a classroom that did use this technology and it seemed like the students really enjoyed it.  The best part about it is it made the lessons interactive and it appeared that it made learning more fun.  There were many games that could be used for particular lessons on the smart board.  Overall I think everyone should check them out because it seems as though it is going to be a big part of our future student's learning experience.

SMART Boards Why are they so easy to use?

Twitter

Last week I created a twitter account for my CEP 416 class.  I was a little skeptical at first because I have heard that twitter can be very distracting and people get obsessed with it like Facebook.  I still do not feel very comfortable with it, but I am now realizing that if you only use it for education purposes (like I am for my class), it is not too overwhelming.  I realize this is a good way to get daily updates from all the people you are following.  I think that the more educational people I start to the follow the easier it will be to pick up on all the great things twitter has to offer.   For example, instead of doing a google search on new educational technology, if you are following someone who has a tech ed twitter, all the updates are right there for you in their newsfeed.  I am coming to realize this technology is a very useful tool.

New Technologies

In the first week I learned how to use RSS.  I never thought about creating a page where I could organize all of my favorite websites.  My tool bar on my laptop has gotten so messy from all of the different websites I visit on a daily basis.  I learned that with Google Reader I could add all of my favorite websites to one page and I would also get updates on the different sites.  This is extremely useful and helps me stay more organized.  I like that I now only have to log on to one site to view all of my favorite spots to look at on the Internet.  This is a useful tool to use as a teacher because I can keep all of websites I search in one place.  I enjoy the updates on each of the website as well.  It is extremely easy to use because with many of the websites I have tagged, I don’t even have to go to the website to see the most recent posts.  They are all automatically updated to my computer.  The only weakness I have notice in the past week while using Google Reader is that the updates per website can get overwhelming.  At times I will have updates in the 90s on all of the most recent posts.  This isn’t something I would have my class use because it wouldn’t be appropriate for the elementary level; it is something I would recommend to the older grades.  I would however, share this with other teachers to help keep all of their searchable sites in one spot.

Hello World

My name is Christina Naife. I am a junior at Michigan State University. This blog was created for my CEP 416 class and this is my first time using a blog.

I have been using technology almost every day since 6^th grade when my parents enrolled me in the lap top program at my middle school.  I use Microsoft Word, Facebook, Email, and Weather.com almost everyday.  Technology is very important for everyone to learn about.  There are new programs being developed everyday so I think it is very important to take a class on it.  I think it is great that MSU has offered a course like this that is specially geared towards future educators.  I love technology but at the same time I am ignorant to many programs out there. 

I hope this class helps me better understand all the different programs I can use to my advantage.  I plan on using technology as much as I can in my classroom.  I want to be more confident with new programs and learn different tricks to make my Internet searching more productive.