Web Applications!!

The web application provided to explore were great! I played around a lot with the colonial website and on the Nasa under the kids section. The colonial one would be great in educating students on how life was during that time from the type of clothing worn, careers, classes (ses), and everyday life. I think if you had discussed with your class about the colonial period and perhaps read some information from their text books. Provided them with a some background knowledge and then let them explore the website putting a visual and interactive part into their learning to help concrete it and increase comprehension. I explored the NASA website and found a great interactive games for students. I played one that had to do with the solar system, it asked questions about the planet and as you got them right a comet got closer to the sun. Once again if students had foundational knowledge of the planets, their order, and a little about each planet they would be successful enough to continue playing but they'd also be challenged and learn what they didn't already know.

Instructional Architect

Instructional Architect will be an incredibly helpful teacher resource! I found so many lesson ideas and resources that it would make it must simpler and more efficient to use technology for my students and me. I am thankful that we had someone to explain how it works because otherwise I would've been lost, but her instructions and information were helpful. I hope to be able to use Instructional Architect and contribute to it in the future!

Web Quests!!

Until today I had no idea what a Webquest was or what you could use it for. I think it is a great way to allow students to use there technological skills and complete an assignment linked to curriculum. It also is a great way to keep control of where the students are searching and web and the information they are browsing. I think when you add the technology into an assignment the students interest immeditely is increased and then if you can combine it with an project that engages them and is hands on or kinesthetic it can create a great way for the students to learn and have fun doing it!

For my "webquest-to-be" I'm studying the Civil War. I have found several websites that discuss the events of the Civil War. For their task the students would need to choose several events that they found most interesting and create a picture time line of the events.

Web Site Evaluations!!

The internet is so big and so vast that I often find myself lost and confused about what is legitimate and what is just plain crap. Through the years I've learned how to look at websites and decide if I can trust the information presented or if I should find somewhere else. As with everything students are learning things for the first time, they need to be taught the proper way to do things and the more strategies you can give them the better.

Today I pulled up a website called Facts about the Moon for Kids. It is produced by Woodlands Junior High School. When I checked out the website in the accessibility checker it only had 3 errors. I thought this was a lot but as I checked out other websites I soon realized that there were not many websites that had only 3 errors they often had many more. So as I checked the same moon website on another evaluation form and it checked out there as well. The information was current and up to date, the presentation was simple to use but eye catching and intriguing just the same. There were fun and easy to use interactive models that students would easily be able to use and enjoy. Overall I found that the site was great and it would be a perfect one for kids to explore and learn about the moon!!

As they worked through the website though it would be a great example for teaching them how to find good websites and what aspects to look for and to avoid.

Spreadsheets and Google Surveys!

I think that knowing and being efficient with using spreadsheets can make a teachers life much easier. As teachers we are not only expected to document grades but also to collect data. As teachers enter grades any shortcuts to save time would be excellent so knowing the shortcut functions will save time. Then being able to change them into graphs and present visual data to others will help keep this organized and simple.

Survey...

Copyright Laws!

I knew that copyright is huge but I never realized how many different areas it applied and how thoroughly work is protected. Of course there are loop holes and those that don't care but if you understand the ethics, laws and reasons behind you can see how empowering the law is and why we have it! It allows people their creativity without fear of it being stolen. It was interesting reading the case studies because those are such simple and common circumstances that could easily happen to anyone. Knowing the copyright rules will keep you protected while allowing you to be creative as well. I don't think the laws are in place to limit individuals because even though things are copyrighted doesn't mean we can't use it, it just means we need to take the time to get permission and give credit to those individuals who were the creators. In the case studies we felt that some of them were very clear cut and others were in a murky gray area, so we said if you don't know for certain it doesn't hurt to make sure that what you want to use is available or to get the proper permission.

Fruits of the YETC!

I was amazed at how many resources the YETC has available. I haven't been in there since my freshman year and I think it has broadened in what is available. The open computer labs with endless amounts resources available. Video downloads such as Reading Rainbow, Magic School Bus, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. It was really surprising that many of the resources available can be down loaded on a portable hard drive and kept forever. I loved the websites he showed us. I can easily see how I will be able to incorporate those asessts into my lesson plans, and make them much more memorable and engaging for my students. I also enjoy the welcoming atmosphere Nathan creates. He is open to question and loves to help and that is obvious in his passion for education and helping future teachers.