Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Educational Blog: "What Makes A Learning Experience Unbelievably Satisfying?"
I read the educational blog entitled "What Makes A Learning Experience Unbelievably Satisfying?" by Ben Johnson. I really liked this blog because it focuses on not boring the students. Johnson outlines various ways in which a teacher can interact with the student and better engage them in the learning process. Some things that I learned from this blog are actually things that seem like common sense but I think are commonly forgotten. For example, Johnson stressed the importance of giving positive reinforcement constantly to stroke the childrens' confidence and make them feel successful. Another point that he touched on was creating tasks for the students to do individually so that they feel needed. The basic jist of his blog was to treat each child like they are extremely special and consequently they will have an "unbelievably satisfying experience." After reading Johnson's blog, I posted a comment speaking from a student's perspective. I just basically said that I am a student who is studying to become a teacher. I know from experience that all the points Johnson touched on in his blog are very true and too often teachers forget to utilize those personal relation skills to better reach the students.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Podcast
I created a Podcast explaining how I intend to do this technology project. Being that I intend to be an ESL student, teaching vocabulary is an essential part of my job. So, earlier in the semester when we watched a clip about teachers using the flip videos with the students acting out various words, I got really interested. That same day, Alice and I decided to use the flip video and act out some random words we found on the internet. The activity was really fun and helped us to get better acquainted with the words, had we not of acted them out as well as said them on the video (giving their definition). Being that this activity was helpful and fun for me, I decided to experement more with the flip video for my project. After acting out vocabulary and stating the definition, I will make a video (with music) to present the words to the class. I will present them using the Smart Board.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
NU Educators Panel
* Three Questions I would like to ask the NU Educators Panel members:
1. What plans do they have for the future involving obtaining and using new technology?
2. How much money do they budgit each year for updating and purchasing new technology?
3. How important do they think technology is to their University?
1. What plans do they have for the future involving obtaining and using new technology?
2. How much money do they budgit each year for updating and purchasing new technology?
3. How important do they think technology is to their University?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Response to Peer's posts
Reflection # 7
What: Last week in our class, Technology in Education, we were asked to do an assignment with the flip video. Alice and I were partners and we decided to act out some vocabulary words. We got on google and looked up weird random words that we had never heard of. Then, we took turns videotaping and narrating as the other person would act out the definition of the chosen vocabulary word. It was really fun and a good activity to do to actually learn and remember the meaning of the word. Once we were done recording, it took about 10 minutes, we uploaded the video onto the computer and were then able to create a slide show of the different words we acted out, which we shared with the class.
So What: I had never used the flip video before and was impressed with how easy it was to use and how helpful it can be for teachers. In doing this activity, I realized that technology should be included to make learning more innovative and creative.
Now What: Now that i've had experience with using the flip video, and have seen how easy it is to use, I will definately try and use it when I become a teacher. It makes for fun and creative activities which only foster a better learning environment. As a student myself, I really enjoyed being creative with the assignment. This made me realize that students, in general, would prefer to be creative in the learning process. So, I hope to carry over what I've learned to my future classroom!
So What: I had never used the flip video before and was impressed with how easy it was to use and how helpful it can be for teachers. In doing this activity, I realized that technology should be included to make learning more innovative and creative.
Now What: Now that i've had experience with using the flip video, and have seen how easy it is to use, I will definately try and use it when I become a teacher. It makes for fun and creative activities which only foster a better learning environment. As a student myself, I really enjoyed being creative with the assignment. This made me realize that students, in general, would prefer to be creative in the learning process. So, I hope to carry over what I've learned to my future classroom!
My Weebly Page
I created a page on weebly.com com entitled Mckenzie's Education Page. My page is in the beggining stages as far as what I would like to create. I hope to (as a college student) create a page that is helpful for other education majors, like myself, who could use some help from someone who is in the same boat as theirselves. The reason I decided to create this page is because, as of recently, I have heard about and stumbled accross various helpful sites for teachers (that I would like to remember and use when I can). So, I decided to create a public site, in which I can keep a record of the cool sites, as well as help other college students. The Weebly is a really great site because it is super easy to create your own website. It has a drag and drop website editor which allows you to add creativie applications to your page. The thing I like best about Weebly is that it's free and available to anyone! So, future teachers feel free to check out my site!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
"Caught on Video"
"Caught on Video" by Bob Spankle is a great blog which outlines a variety of ways in which teachers can use the video camera in the classroom. Some of the ideas that I liked in the blog and could see myself incorporating into my classroom were the following:
* Never write another long note for a substitute teacher, rather video tape the instructions and email it to them.
* Have a student record the way in which to do a math problem correct. That way they can review the method when needed.
* Film all presenters and presentations so you can re-use the presentation in later classes.
* Film important lesson highlights so absent students can review them and not get behind in class.
Spankle wrote in his blog the following: "Video begs for reviewing and rewinding much more than a letter grade could ever hope for." I think this statement is key to the idea that the video camera is useful in the classroom. I think this because repetition is a student's best learning tool, so if the video camera encourages the students to rewind and re-watch something over and over until they get it, who can argue that it's not helful in the classroom?
* Never write another long note for a substitute teacher, rather video tape the instructions and email it to them.
* Have a student record the way in which to do a math problem correct. That way they can review the method when needed.
* Film all presenters and presentations so you can re-use the presentation in later classes.
* Film important lesson highlights so absent students can review them and not get behind in class.
Spankle wrote in his blog the following: "Video begs for reviewing and rewinding much more than a letter grade could ever hope for." I think this statement is key to the idea that the video camera is useful in the classroom. I think this because repetition is a student's best learning tool, so if the video camera encourages the students to rewind and re-watch something over and over until they get it, who can argue that it's not helful in the classroom?
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