Lesson Plan Presentations

The lessons plans that were presented in class were all very good. I am going to choose a few of them to write about. I loved the presentation on The Watsons Go to Burmingham, this book is a book that I read when I weas in the seventh grade and the way that this group taught it , but using internet to do a quick search, but also using real hands on projects to sum it up was a great idea. I feel like if that lesson were taught to a group of high school students it would be very beneficial. I also enjoyed the lesson on website design. Although I was not the most cooperative I think that this lesson is something that if taught like our "teachers" taught us can be helpful to a student later in life. The lesson on the symbolism of Romeo and Juliet was a very well thought out lesson. Using things that are common in real life, the "teachers' were able to show the symbolism as well as the difference in time in history. Overall I really enjoyed all of the lessons; even those few who strayed from a lesson had really good points as to why they would teach that lesson. And CK is cool.

Voice Threads

I do not feel like I will use voice threads in my classroom. i can see how it would be beneficial to some classrooms, maybe speech, but i do not feel it is useful in every classroom. Voice thread utilizes several really cool technologies but I just do not feel like i will use it.

Publisher

- How did you feel about creating a brochure this week?
I liked the brochure idea. I think that this is something I might really do in my classroom when I start teaching.
- Is there any muddy point that you need to review?
Not really I felt like it was pretty self explanatory.
- How do you feel about Desktop Publishing?
I like it. I think it is really easy to use and allows you to be creative.
We have created a brochure and a resume. What else do you think we can do with Desktop Publishing?
Flyers. I have used it twice to make flyers this week alone.
If you have to create one thing for your classroom, what would you create by using Publishing and why?
The brochure telling about myself or handouts regarding casswork and the kids. I think this is a really good way to communicate with parents.

PPT

The project is going ok. Monnie and I have worked on it both together and on our own. We are doing the role of technology in the classroom. Monnie is great help and a really good partner. I have a really good partner, but I will always be an independent worker first. I just would rather do it alone.

Technology in Education

How far should educators go in matching the technology used in instruction and classroom activities to the technology their students use?
I think going completely technology driven in the classroom would be a bad idea, because it causes the students to lose contact with people and social skills may suffer.

Are online chats and instant messaging of value in the classroom? Do they add to student learning, or do they distract from “real” instruction?
I think they can be helpful, but they can also cause harm to certain types of students.

Are there benefits to asynchronous, text-based communication over synchronous, face-to-face communication? In what situations?
Yes, in situations where a student may be shy or timid this could be very helpful.

Does using podcasts with students really enhance learning, or is it simply a newer version of passively delivering information?
Both. Using podcasts may really be helpful to some, but for most students i feel like it is same old same old.

Does videogame help develop your studying? Why or why not? Explain. What skills can you gain from it? Do you agree with the article? If you have children, would you let them play videogame every day? Why/why not?
Yes it can. You work on hand eye cordination etc. I agree with the article, playing games some is helpful inmany ways. Yes, buut not all day. I feel liek it is good stimulation for the mind.

Del.icio.us

I feel like this website is a complete bust. I personally do not feel like it is of any help to me; if I want to bookmark a site I can do so without the use of this site. This website is providing a service that is readily available to most users already. I just do not feel as though this site is very useful and I do not plan to use it in the future for personal use or classroom use.

Wiki and Personality

I do not feel like Wikis are a good tool to be used in the classroom, because any uninformed person can get on and post their opinion and call it a fact. I would not use wikis in my classroom because of the aforementioned reason.

I feel like learning in a communtity atmosphere could be helpful, but could also cause problems for some students who do not feel comfortable talking and sharing with others. This method is helpful becauseit allows students to help students. In order to confirm or deny that community is more efective than traditional there would need to be a study conducted and results published.

As far as the personality type being a factor in learning I completely believe that it has an effect on learning abilities. I feel like knowing the personality of your students would be very helpful in teaching, but I do not feel as though a personality test should be needed to do this. I feel like through getting to know your students it would be very helpful to know their personality. people are more or less likely to engage in certain activities due to their personality types and that could either help or hurt them in their quets to learn.

Spreadsheets

I think that spreadsheet is very useful to teacher, especially for grade books. I think that using it in the classroom might be different than using it for your class, I think it would depend on what class you were teaching as to whether or not it would be useful in class. I think that as a teacher we use spreadsheet to make recording grades etc easier on ourselves. Spreadsheet can be programmed to make calculations repeatedly, where as a calculator requires number to manually be entered.

I think that Spreadsheet works well for all three functions expressed in the text, storing, calculating, and presenting. I think the main reason so many people use spreadsheet is because it combines all three of those functions. I can't think of any other spreadsheet function that does not fall into one of these three categories.

Inspiration

I looked through the inspiration website and thought that for the majority of subjects it would be very helpful. However, as a high school Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, for me I do not feel that Inspiration would be a great help because it only offers curriculum for core classes. I think that for an elementary or middle school classroom Inspiration would be a great help. I found several charts and graphs that would be helpful in teaching to visual learners. By using the graphs, charts, drawings, and games a teacher would be allowing several different mediums to learn through. I would use this program if I were teaching at a lower level, but I feel like it would undermine the abilities of older students.


Writing activities that would make the best of technology in the classroom would include activities that required some knowledge attainable through the computer. By having discussion boards like we have in this class it makes it where the other students can provide information to help in your writing, while also allowing the students to give evaluations to each other and help critique the writing from a peer point of view. Technology is incorporated into feedback every time a student sends another student an email or comment regarding the class.

Blogs in the Classroom

What do you think about using blogs? What and how do you think blogs would be useful for education? Some people think using blogs in classrooms is a waste of students’ time. How would you respond?

I think blogs are a good way for teachers to involve their students in their curriculum through technology. I think that in today's society technology is one of the most important things a student needs to learn; if a student can better acquaint themselves with technology while also covering a core curriculum, I think it is a great idea.

What are some ways that you could use he technology ideas in Chapter 6 to support your curriculum and student learners?

I think that the ideas in this chapter are useful in many ways. I think it would be good to use blogs for some assignments, saving paperwork etc. I think that it would also be good for students to be able to talk and interact with each other and their teacher without having to be in a classroom.

Just A Little About Me

My name is Allison Fisher and I am from the small towen of Sadler, TX. I have lived my whole life in Sadler, with the exception of last year, which i spent in Huntsville at Sam Houston State University. I am the oldest of three kids; I have a one sister and one brother. I have alwasy been involved in agriculture and plan to continue my involvement through the teaching field. I am very close with my family and they are one of the most importnat things in my life. I love softball and myspace. I have two English Bulldogs and one Toy Poodle. I plan on graduating in the Spring of 2010 with a degree in Agricultural Sciences and Technology.