Week 14 Internet Safety

For this part of the assignment I decided to talk to my mom and then talk to my dad after. When I talked to my mom I was really surprised at how much she knew about the internet and what goes on. I think she did a really great job with helping her children know how to use the internet in a safe way. We talked about a few things that she wasn't aware of and I showed her the video that BYU made for kids and internet safety. We also talked about the need for parents to let their children know and understand what goes on on the internet and how they can avoid dangerous situations.

When I talked to my dad I was surprised at how much he knew and how much I learned from him while talking. He had a lot of great insights about the internet. We talked about how it is important to let children know about it so that when the situation comes up they aren't clueless. Children need to be aware of what can happen and how to handle the situation. We talked about how the internet is such a wonderful thing, but can be very harmful at the same time. Kids need to know how to use the internet so it isn't practical to say that we will keep them away from it. The internet is a wonderful tool when used correctly.

10 Hour Project

I chose to learn a new song on the violin throughout the semester. I have been playing the same song for quite a while now, and I haven’t made much progress. I decided that I would start a new song this semester and see how much progress I could make. The song I decided to do was the first movement of Concerto 3 by San Saens. I knew that there wasn’t any way I would be able to finish the whole movement in 10 hours, but I wanted to see how much progress I could make.
Listening to the song was the first step I took. By listening to it, I knew that I would be able to get a feel of how it sounded. Next I tried playing through as much as I could. I made a million mistakes but it helped me get a feel of the song. Next I decided I would take a section at a time and try to master that section. I was very surprised at the amount of time it took to perfect one section.
Through out the semester I went to my violin lessons and got feedback from my teacher. He would give me things to work on and I would go home and work on those specific aspects of the piece for the next week. As I went back to my lessons, it was apparent that I had focused on specific things in the piece, but there was always something new to work on.
By listening to the piece, working section by section and receiving feedback from a more knowledgeable other, I was able to perfect a few sections of the piece within these 10 hours. I know that I still have a lot of work to do and that it will take many more hours, but I am excited to have the whole piece perfected!

Learning Log
February 16 – 10 min
February 19 – 20 min
February 24 – 90 min
March 3 – 120 min
March 9 – 45 min
March 10 – 60 min
March 16 – 45 min
April 6 – 60 min
April 9 – 60 min
April 10 – 90 min

My Personal Learning Theory

As I was thinking about my learning theory, I realized that it is a combination of both the behavioral learning theory and the cognitive learning theory. The behavioral learning theory focuses on events that happen to the child. The outcome of learning is a change in the child’s behavior. On the other hand, the cognitive learning theory focuses on mental processes. It is using the understanding that we already have. Learning cannot be directly observed. My learning theory consists of both of these theories mixed together. I believe that learning takes place when a change in behavior takes place, but I also believe that learning occurs inside the child. Sometimes learning can’t be directly observed.
One of the main aspects of the behavioral view is reinforcing the students. While I was in the schools I noticed that students reinforcement was a huge deal to get them motivated. The best way to motivate the children was to have a variable ratio reinforcement schedule. When the teacher reinforces after a varying number of responses, the students won’t know when it is going to happen. This will help them work for longer periods of time. I think that this is extremely important in the classroom because the students are motivated, but they aren’t being reinforced constantly. This allows for some intrinsic motivation. This type of reinforcement is positive reinforcement because the teacher is presenting a desired stimulus after the behavior.
Another behaviorist point of view that I completely agree with is the Premack Principle. This principle states that a more-preferred activity can serve as a reinforcer for a less-preferred activity. This is a great way to help motivate children. It is saying that as soon as the students finish the worksheet or test, the students may participate in an activity that they enjoy. Some students in a classroom need to be reinforced after each step of a task. This is called shaping. These students may have a hard time concentrating unless they are constantly being motivated. Teachers may even need to make a task analysis, a task broken down into steps, so the students know exactly what is expected of them.
Students can also be reinforced when they see other students succeed and be reinforced for a task. This is called vicarious reinforcement. When teachers are constantly praising and reinforcing their students there will be a positive attitude in the classroom. One aspect of reinforcement that I have noticed is the fact that it changes through out the grades. First graders will need to be reinforced a lot more than sixth graders. Sixth graders are more likely to be intrinsically motivated.
There are also many aspects of the cognitive view of learning that I think are crucial aspects of the classroom. Since learning has to do with mental processes, teachers need to be aware of all of the different parts of the Information Processing System so they can help students move information from the sensory memory, where information from your senses is held, to the working memory, where the information is only help for a short amount of time. To remember the information the students need to know how to move the information from their working memory to their long-term memory.
There are different strategies I believe should be practiced within the classroom to help students remember material more efficiently. One of the most important ones to me is elaboration. When students connect new knowledge to already existing knowledge they are more likely to remember it. They are coming up with their own way to remember it and it becomes more meaningful to them. There are many other mnemonic strategies that are used to remember information. Examples of these are loci method or associating items with places, and acronyms. Teaching your students these methods and understanding them yourself with result in more learning and growing in the classroom.
In conclusion, learning may be observable and it may not be. Learning is frequently taking place as students are interacting with their peers, a more knowledgeable other, and even by themselves. They are constantly connecting new knowledge with prior knowledge and making meaning for themselves. I believe that is important to incorporate both types of learning theories in the classroom. Each student is different and unique. We as teachers need to learn how to adapt and incorporate different types of teaching styles to best help all the students in our class.

Week 14

While watching many of the presentations in my group I realized that there are multiple ways to use technology. One way I heard that I hadn't thought of before was recording the class singing the song. She said that they really enjoyed it and loved hearing themselves sing. I also really liked the interactive PowerPoints that were used. Seems like those would be really fun for the students and the teachers. Rachelle said that everyone in her class understood R controlled vowels after the first lesson. She said that isn't normal for her class, but the PowerPoint really enhanced their learning.

Week 13

I learned a lot of new ideas from watching all of these different PowerPoints. While watching them, I was very impressed with the creativity of the lessons using technology. I would have never thought to use Iclickers! I also noticed that PowerPoints seem to be the most popular technology to enhance lessons.

Technology Integration

Technology Integration

View more presentations from audreyc.

Week 13

Internet Safety Questions

1. For my fourth article I decided to read Fighting Internet Filth by: Mario Hipol. It was a great article on what you can do to prevent your family from viewing filth on the internet. It also gave great tips on what to do if you or your children do come across offensive material.

2. The most important thing I learned from the reading is that we shouldn't keep our children from using the internet, but that we should keep them informed about how to use it. There are so many helpful aspects of the internet that are essential to know, but there are also many negative aspects to the radio that we need to be aware of as we are parents and teachers. We need to stay updated, and keep our children informed on how to use the internet in a safe way.

3. What I have read has made me more aware of all of the dangers of the internet. My parents were really good at limiting my time and keeping me informed about what is safe and what I should stay away from. I want to do the same thing for my children so they can stay safe. As time goes on, there are more and more things that we need to be aware of. As a teacher and parent I want to help my children and students stay safe while using the internet. I want them to know that there are many useful things on the internet, but that they need to be careful. In my home I will put my computer in a high traffic area and have limits to the time they can spend on the internet every day. I will also check the history often so I can monitor where they have been.

4. I can use what I have learned to help my friends and family by sharing it with them. I have already shared a lot of the information with my parents and friends because there are many things that I read and watched about the internet that I wasn't aware of. It is important that those who know about the dangers of the internet share it with not only their children, but with everyone they know. It is important than everyone is educated about the dangers of the internet.

Week 11

I haven't been able to do my technology enhanced lesson yet, but I have a plan for it and I'm doing it on Friday! We are currently learning a lot about air. I am going to teach a lesson on hot hair rising. As I am teaching this lesson I am going to have a PowerPoint about the subjects that is interactive and fun for the kids to watch. I want to have lots of pictures of a bunch of different hot air ballons. As they are looking at the pictures I am going to have them think of what they would want their balloon to look like. After the lesson is over, they are going to make their very own ballons. (out of paper) Once they are done making their ballon they will get the chance to take their very own picture of their balloon. Then I am going to make a short PowerPoint of their work. This will be exciting for them to see their own work that they did on the screen!

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan

We are currently working on teaching the parts of a story. These parts are setting, characters, problem/solution, beginning, middle, and end. These parts of a story could be introduced using a powerpoint. I also think that after reading a book, we can go through each part of the story using a powerpoint showing examples of each of the parts using that particular story. It would be fun to have this be an interactive powerpoint and have the children write down their answers on their white boards before showing them the answers on the powerpoint. The children will be excited to see if their answer is the same as the one on the powerpoint. This makes the powerpoint more interactive and exciting for the children.

If time is available, it would be fun to have the children draw a picture showing each part of the story. You could take pictures of these and make a slideshow to show the students. The students would be excited to see their work on the screen and it would be a great review.

Week 9 Technology Inventory

My experience in the practicum so far has been amazing! I love my mentor teacher and my school. As I was doing this inventory, I was very surprised at how much my classroom had. There are 4 computers in the classroom, but I haven't seen them used very much for teaching. I have only seen a few students use the program Waterford and play some educational games. We also have a TV and VCR/DVD player that we have used once to show a short movie. Other than that, I haven't seen too much technology used in this particular classroom. They don't have a projector or a SmartBoard. My particular teacher doesn't use PowerPoints. I have only been in the classroom for a few days and I haven't seen much technology used yet, but there may be some that are planned for the future weeks. 

I think that the computer time for the classroom is really important and my class gets to go once a week to the lab to work with the teacher that is in there. I haven't been able to observe what they do in their yet, but I am sure that it is very useful and will help them become more tech savvy. 

My Virtual Tour

Here is a link to my virtual tour! Enjoy!

Virtual Tour Link

Social Constructivism Lesson Plan

Objective: Students will be given 6 different colors of paper and will make fraction strips of paper representing whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8 in 15 minutes.

This lesson is an example of a Cognitive Apprenticeship

Hook:

The students will walk into the room and find a tray of brownies at the front of the classroom. They will wonder what they are for and be very curious. Once everyone has taken their seats explain to them that you are going to break them into different pieces to represent fractions of the whole. Show the students how you would break them in half. As you are showing them, be sure to speak out loud and explain what you are doing and why. Once the brownies have been cut, let each student have a fraction of the brownie. (Modeling: the first step in cognitive apprenticeship)

Instruction:

At the end of this activity, students will have explored their fraction strips and will understand what a numerator and denomenator of a fraction represents. They will also see the relationship between whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8. They will also understand that the larger the denominator, the more parts the whole has been broken into.

1. First students will be given 6 sheets of different colored paper. Tell them that these pieces are whole pieces of paper. Model for them how to write whole on their piece of paper. Have them write whole on one of the papers.
2. Next, show the students how to cut one of the pieces in half and write 1/2 on both pieces of paper. As you are doing each step, be sure to model for the children. After you have showed them, talk them through doing their own. Be sure to remind those that may be struggling. 
3. Do these same steps with each piece of paper. (make strips that are 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8)
4. As they cut the pieces of paper, tell them to talk themselves through each step. Also, remind them to write the fractions on the paper. After watching the teacher model, and coach them through the steps, they should be able to use self talk and talk their way through the steps. Eventually they will be able to do it with inner speech. (Scaffolding: step 3)
5. After all of the pieces of paper are cut, guide them by asking them questions about each piece of paper? Why are the pieces of paper with the largest number on the bottom, smaller than the rest? As you are asking each question have them articulate their knowledge and put it into their own words. (Articulate: Step 4)
6. After students have explored their strips of paper by them selves, have them write down why they think the largest number on the bottom is the smallest piece of paper. (Reflect: step 5) 
7. At the end of the discussion all of the students will understand that the bigger the number on the bottom, the more parts the whole has been broken into. Ask them to explore new ways to apply what they are learning. Give them an assignment to go home and find different ways that fractions are used. ex: cooking measurements. (Explore: step 6)

This lesson plan is an example of Cognitive Apprenticeship. In this lesson, the students are learning skills and gaining knowledge from a more knowledgeable other, who is the teacher. The cultural tools used in this lesson are the symbols used for fractions (number system), and the language that the teacher is speaking. Cultural tools play a very important role in cognitive development. As they are learning fractions they are developing their "cultural tool kit". The teacher is within the Zone of Proximal Development as she teaches the children about fractions. Most of the children have most likely never dealt with them very much. The children are doing a task that they are able to do because the teacher is there helping them. If the teacher wasn't scaffolding and working through the steps with them, then they would wouldn't be able to accomplish the task. The steps the teacher takes to scaffold in this lesson are: first they model and work through the task with the brownies. Second, the teacher coaches them through cutting their own strips of paper. As they are cutting the strips she is encouraging private speech. Last, eventually the students will be able to accomplish the task using inner speech. They will be able to apply what they have learned and find other examples of fractions. The dialectical relationship between the learner and the teacher (more knowledgeable other - MKO) is constantly happening. As the teacher is modeling she is the one speaking. Later in the lesson she models and talks them through the task. After that, they walk themselves through the steps by themselves. At the end they have a discussion. The teacher is asking the questions and directing the discussion while the students participate in a conversation with the MKO. 

TPACK QUESTIONS

CONTENT: The content I used in my virtual tour was 4th Grade science Standard 5, Objective 1a, 1b, and 1c. The students will be able to describe the physical characteristics of wetlands, forests, and deserts. They will also be able to describe them and look at an example of each.

PEDAGOGY: Children will have the oportunity to explore an example of a wetland, forest and desert in Utah. They will be able to move around and make observations. They will also be able to compare them to each other. It also helps them because they can visit websites and view pictures.

TECHNOLOGY: The technology I used for this tour was Google Earth. This program allowed me to teach about wetlands, deserts, and forests in an interactive way. They students can explore each location and make observations. They can also click on additional pictures and links to learn more. This lets them view the different sights. It isn't possible to visit each one, but it is possible for them to experience the next best thing.

Virtual Tour Table

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1.State of Utah	Today we are going to explore the characteristics of wetlands, forests, and deserts in Utah. What do you already know about each of these?Explore Utah and look at all the different physical characteristics.	Children will explore and click on many different pictures and sights about Utah.
2. Pariette Wetlands	This is an example of a wetland. What are some of the characteristics that you can see? Write down some of your observations. Click on the link to learn more.	Write down observations. visit link http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/pariette_wetlands.htm
3.Dixie National Forest	This is an example of a forest. Describe what you see here. What do you notice? Don't forget to write down some of your observations! Click on the pictures to find out more about Utah Forests.	Be sure to have your Geographic Web checked and click on the blue boxes to look at pictures.
4.Great Salt Lake Desert	This is an example of a desert. What do you notice? How is this different from Pariette wetlands? Write your thoughts down. Click on the W to visit a sight about the Great Salt Lake Desert.	Click on the Great Salt Lake Desert and read the information. They will also click on the Wikipedia link and read additional information.
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	At locations 2, 3, and 4 I will outline them with a polygon so the students can see the boundaries that they will explore for each location.

Developmental Cognitivism Lesson Plan

 Objective: Students will be given 6 different colors of paper and will make fraction strips of paper representing whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8 in 15 minutes.

Hook:

The students will walk into the room and find a tray of brownies at the front of the classroom. They will wonder what they are for and be very curious. Once everyone has taken their seats explain to them that you are going to break them into different pieces to represent fractions of the whole. Have someone come up and cut the brownies in half. Repeat this step until the brownies are cut into enough pieces for the whole class. Once the brownies have been cut, let each student have a fraction of the brownie. 

Instruction:

At the end of this activity, students will have explored their fraction strips and will understand what a numerator and denomenator of a fraction represents. They will also see the relationship between whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8. They will also understand that the larger the denominator, the more parts the whole has been broken into.

1. First students will be given 6 sheets of different colored paper. Be sure that everyone knows that these pieces are whole pieces of paper. Have them write whole on one of the papers.
2. Next,have the students cut one of the pieces in half and write 1/2 on both pieces of paper.
3. Do these same steps with each piece of paper.
4. As they cut the pieces of paper, be sure that they are exploring writing the fractions on the paper.
5. After all of the pieces of paper are cut, have them explore the different sizes and the numbers that are written on the paper. Which piece is larger?
6. Explain what numerator and denominator are.
7. Why are the pieces of paper with the largest number on the bottom, smaller than the rest? Have them explore and answer this question.
8. After students have explored their strips of paper by them selves, have them write down why they think the largest number on the bottom is the smallest piece of paper. Then discuss as a class. 
9. At the end of the discussion all of the students will understand that the bigger the number on the bottom, the more parts the whole has been broken into.

This lesson is stage-based learning because it is part of the preoperational and concrete-operational stage. Some of the student will be able to solve hands-on problems while others will not be able to think them through yet. Each child is unique in the way they learn. The teacher will model a little to help those that may not be able to think them through yet. There is also more than one activity so that students can identify with at least one. Piaget believes that to know an object or to gain knowledge, you have to act on the object. In this lesson plan, the students are able to manipulate their own pieces of paper. The lesson involved action and not much teacher intervention. Social interaction isn't necessary for students to gain knowledge, but it is sometimes necessary to guide students away from egocentricism. In this lesson, the students didn't work in groups very much, but at the end they had a discussion about what their discoveries. 

Accommodation and assimilation are both apparent in this lesson. When students are cutting up the papers and realizing that the bigger the number on the bottom, the smaller the piece of paper, they are most likely experiencing disequilibrium. They have always thought that a bigger number will mean a bigger piece of paper. After experiencing this disequilibrium they will have to accommodate their existing schemes and make sense of the new situation. Assimilation is also happening has they are exploring their pieces of paper. They are using what they already know about numbers and trying to make sense of the fractions. Piaget believed that children gained knowledge on their own and with little teacher interference. This lesson was more of a discovery learning lesson because it didn't have much teacher intervention. The reason there is a little is because some of the children are still in the preoperational stage and need assistance working through tasks. Other than the little intervention, the students are working on their own and making their own hypothesis. The students will also be mastering the operation of classification while they are performing this task. They are learning how to focus on the characteristic of how big the strips are and comparing them to each other. 

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Our sound didn't turn out quite as loud as we had planned, but here is the finished product!

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Just in case the other one doesn't show up!

Behaviorism Lesson Plan

Behaviorism Lesson Plan

 Behavioral Objective: Students will be given 6 different colors of paper and will make fraction strips of paper representing whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8 in 15 minutes.

Hook:

The students will walk into the room and find a tray of brownies at the front of the classroom. They will wonder what they are for and be very curious. Once everyone has taken their seats explain to them that you are going to break them into different pieces to represent fractions of the whole. Have someone come up and cut the brownies in half. Once they have broken the brownies in half, tell them thank you and they will receive a brownie at the end. As the students watch this they will be eager to participate in the activity. This is an example of vicarious reinforcement. Once the children have all helped and observed give them all a fraction of the brownie. 

 

Task Analysis:

At the end of this activity, students will have explored their fraction strips and will understand what a numerator and denomenator of a fraction represents. They will also see the relationship between whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8. They will also understand that the larger the denominator, the more parts the whole has been broken into.

1. First students will be given 6 sheets of different colored paper. Be sure that everyone knows that these pieces are whole pieces of paper. Have them write whole on one of the papers.
2. Next, model how to cut the one of the papers in half. Then, have the students cut one of the pieces in half and write 1/2 on both pieces of paper.
3. Do these same steps with each piece of paper.
4. As they cut the pieces of paper, be sure that they understand why they are writing the fractions on the paper.
5. After all of the pieces of paper are cut, have them explore the different sizes and the numbers that are written on the paper. Which piece is larger?
6. Explain what numerator and denominator are.
7. Why are the pieces of paper with the largest number on the bottom, smaller than the rest? Have them explore and answer this question.
8. At the end of the discussion all of the students will understand that the bigger the number on the bottom, the more parts the whole has been broken into

 

As students are doing all of these tasks, be sure to reinforce them at each step. You can tell them they are doing it correctly by using positive praise which is a form of positive reinforcement. This will help them get to the final goal. This is called shaping. As you are reinforcing them after each step, you are practicing a continuous reinforcement schedule.  If you decide to only reinforce some people at certain steps this is an example of intermittent reinforcement schedule. When you use this type of reinforcement they are more likely to maintain their behavior without expecting to be reinforced. If a student refuses to participate in the activity and won’t cut his paper, a private reprimand may be needed. While the class is working walk over to the student and talk to only that person so no one else can hear. This is important because it won’t embarrass the child in front of the whole class. 

TPACK questions

Content:
The content we used for our storyboard was 3rd Grade standard 1 Objective 2b, which says:
Use a variety of formats (e.g., drama, sharing of books, personal writings, choral readings, informational reports) in presenting with various forms of media (e.g., pictures, posters, charts, ads, newspapers). As students ready different books, and poems, they will have the opportunity of presenting them in various formats. One of them will be by making a storyboard and movie. They will compile pictures, words, and other forms of media to present in their movie.

Pedagogy:
We decided to do poetry interpretation. The children would pick a poem that they had read for that particluar unit, and then they can collect different pictures that represent the interpretation of their poem. They can also draw pictures of what they think is appropriate for their poem. They will be able to present their poems when the project is complete.

Technology:
Children will use a program called photostory to complete their project. They will take all of the pictures that they have collected or drawn and put them together to make a movie. They will be able to use the software to make a slide show of their pictures, add voice over, and music.

Storyboard

Cognition Lesson Plan: Fun with Fractions

3^rd Grade Standard 1 Objective 2 

Objective: Students will understand that the larger the denominator, the more parts the whole is being divided into.  

Lesson:

Sensory Memory. (hook) To get the concept of fractions into the students sensory memory, have a large cookie at the front of the room. Show that as the whole cookie. Then have examples of the cookie being broken down into all sorts of different fractions all the way down to 1/8 of a cookie. They will be able to see, taste, and smell the cookie so that it will briefly be in their sensory memory. You will be able to grab their attention because it is a cookie and most kids love anything that has to do with sugar!  

Working/Short-term Memory. Next, show each of the students what a whole looks like. For example, show them a whole piece of paper. (provide each student with a piece of paper so they can do this activity with you) Then divide it into two pieces and explain that the paper is now 2 halves. They have divided the paper in half. Continue to do this process until you have gotten to 1/8 of a sheet of paper. This is just to introduce the activity and get the idea into their working memory. They will have seen the each of the fractions, but chances are that it won’t stay in their memory for long. (This is an example of mass practice because they are practicing the concepts all at once) 

Long Term Memory. To get the information in the children’s long term memory the teacher will have the students do one last activity. For this activity you will use the loci method. Take the children outside. Also, take a white board and marker outside so you can show them each fraction. Have the children split into halves. Make sure that each group is far enough away from each other so it is obvious. Next, have them split again into fourths. Continue doing this until you get to eighths. You can explain that every time the class is split they are going to have a larger number on the bottom and each part is smaller. Doing this will help the children remember the location they were at so that they can think back to it and remember what they did. The students have also used elaborationbecause they have performed the task themselves, and they have seen three different examples.  

Decay and Interference. To avoid interference and decay, be sure to review what the children have learned each day. The information is in their long term memory, but they will need to review and keep it active so that they will be able to retrieve what they have learned. 

Procedural Knowledge: The students have acquired procedural knowledge because they have performed tasks on their own that have to do with fractions. (The assessment for this lesson would be observing each of the children as they perform the task outside to make sure they understand the concept) 

Link to original lesson plan click here

Content, Pedagogy, Technology

The content that we focused on in our science lesson was friction. We wanted them to find out that rubbing objects together creates heat because of friction. 

The pedagogy we used was to have them explore the different materials for themselves. By exploring the subject by themselves, they are more likely to understand the concept. It is also more likely that they will be able to remember the information. It fits the content because they are exploring the different factors that determine the heat. 

The technology that they use is the temperature probe and the computer software. This is appropriate because it measures the temperature of the objects. They will be able to watch the temperature rise by watching the graph. This helps them understand what is happening when the objects are rubbed together. 

Tech Savvy Teacher Article

As your students and our students make their way through this new age of technology, who is there to teach them about technology? That is precisely why we, as teachers, are striving to achieve the title of “Tech Savvy Teacher”. We believe as Tech Savvy Teachers we will be able to prepare our students to enter into a world that relies heavily on technology. So, you ask, what is a “Tech Savvy Teacher”? A Tech Savvy Teacher knows how to use all kinds of technology tools to enhance the classroom. They also know how to use the tools to engage the children in their own learning. Not only does a Tech Savvy Teacher know how to use these technologies, but they also know how to access the newest technologies that are emerging every day.

(The graph and picture of rubbing with no lotion)

For our science activity we decided to explore temperature and friction. This falls in the 3^rd grade standard 5, objective 3, which is: Demonstrate that heat may be produced when objects are rubbed against one another. We used temperature probes, computer software, our hands, lotion, and carpet. First, we connected the temperature probes to the computer and let the software read the initial temperature, which was 23.7 degrees Celsius. Next, we rubbed our hands over the probe and took a picture of the reading, it rose to 29 degrees. In between each reading we let the probe cool down to the original temperature. Then, we saw the effects that lotion would have on the same procedure, by putting lotion on our hands and rubbing the probe between our hands, the reading this time was 31.2 degrees. Lastly, we rubbed the temperature probe on carpet. This showed the greatest increase in temperature, which was 34.1 degrees. This showed the heat than can be produced by varying amounts of friction.

(The graph and picture of rubbing with lotion)

Students would be able to explore friction and temperature to a greater degree with the technology of temperature probes. They would also be able to watch the graphs that were produced using the computer software. This data that they see on the graph can be collected and analyzed, leading to their own conclusion. Instead of just saying friction causes heat, they can see the actual numbers and the line on the graph that the measure of heat produces. This also provides a hands-on experience instead of having a teacher lecture the same material.

(Below is the graph and picture for rubbing the probe on the carpet)

Exploration

One of the science technologies I explored was google sky. I have used google earth before, but I had never even heard of google sky. I was amazed at how much detail there was and how far you could zoom in on the pictures. It was really fun to explore all of the different galaxies. They also have a link where you can explore the solor system and all of the planets. This would be useful to show all of the students where all the planets are located and what they look like. You can also explore all of the different constellations. I think this would be a helpful tool in the classroom and that children would love having a virtual tour of the sky!

Week 3 TPACK

TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge. I had never heard of TPACK before so I learned a lot! Basically, TPACK is a integreation of pedagogical, content, and technological knowledge. Pedagocial knowledge is the knowedge that teachers have about teaching. Content knowledge is knowing facts about something specific. Technological knowledge is knowing how to use different technologies. Putting all of these together gives you TPACK. It is the knowledge of how to use technology to teach a specific topic while meeting pedagoical needs. It is necessary for teachers to have this knowledge so that can use the right kind of technology to teach specific topics in their classroom. By using the correct tools, they can hold their students attention. It will also help them teach in a variety of ways. Teaching with technology tools helps the students be hands on with their work. It is more likely that they will remember what they have learned if they have done the experiment themselves.

Observational Learning Report (IP&T 301)

     For this project I decided to observe my choir teacher. The reason I decided to observe him, is because he teaches in away that I have never been taught before. the first day we walked in, there was a list on the board of what we would be doing that day. In addition to the songs that were listed, there were also specific times next to the songs and the measure he wanted us to go to in the song. (4:35 Ave Maria, m. 47) At first I thought that this seemed a little too specific but as we started class, I was very surprised at how well it worked. 

      As we finished each song listed on the board he would point to the next item on the board and everyone would go there. There wasn't any time that was wasted. When he had us stand up and down he always gave us something to do or say so that we stayed on task. I have been in choirs before where there are huge amounts of time wasted on standing up and sitting down because everyone thinks that it is the best time to talk. this particular teacher is quick on his toes and always filling every second of our time and his. 

     As a learner, for the first few days I was a little confused about the way he approached things, but there were a lot of people who had him previously and knew exactly what was expected of us and how we should go about doing it. 

     I really like the way he goes about teaching and the strategies he uses. He is every efficient with the time he is given and he doesn't have to do much talking. We all knew what was expected of us and he only explained it bit by bit as went along. I don't know if this type of teaching would work for all types of classes, but I was amazed how well it worked with our class. He has been teaching for quite a while and I think that he has gained more and more experience with this type of teaching. 

     For choir and this particular class I don't think that I would do anything differently. But, if I were to use some of the same strategies in my elementary classroom, I would have to change them a little bit. I think that children would need to know what was expected of them by me actually telling them. I wouldn't have half of the class that had been there before to help the others out. I really like this strategy of listing the agenda on the board with times. I believe that this would be very effective in any type of classroom. It would keep the class on track and the students would know what to look forward to. I also really like the way that he kept us buy in transitions so that it kept our mind going. I think that this would be a very helpful strategy to use in any classroom. 

     I found the way that he taught very interesting and refreshing. he taught in a way that I had never been taught and I think that I learned a lot from it. He uses his time efficiently and accomplishes what he wants to in each class period. I think that these strategies can be used in all classrooms and would be very helpful!

Week 2 - RSS and Web 2.0

I have learned so many new things from the online tutorials this week. Before this class I had never heard of RSS or Web 2.0. There are many different parts to web 2.0. Some of them that I found most interesting were blogs and wikis. I had never thought about using one as a teacher, but I realized how useful they are to keep in touch with families and other teachers. If a teacher keeps a blog and keeps it updated, parents and children can go visit it to stay updated. Another great way to use blogs in the classrooms is to have the children make their own blog and keep it updated. This will give them the opportunity to share their learning with friends and family. It will also give them a chance to reflect on what they have learned. I also thought that it was a great idea for the children to read blogs from other sschools in other cultures. That is an excellent way for them to get to know other children in different cultures.

RSS was also a new concept for me. It means really simple syndication. I think that RSS is a fabulous idea for keeping up with the news and other websites that you may be interested in. I also think that is great for keeping up to date with your school and other schools around. I didn't know that it was even possible to have all of your websites in one place at one time. It must save a lot of time!

My Technology Background

I don't have a lot of formal instruction with technology, but I love to figure new things out. My family has always used Macs so I love using all of the different programs that are available. My favorite program to use is iMovie. I wouldn't say that I am an expert at technology, but I love figuring out how to use it. I think this class will be very informative and useful for me.