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.