What?
This week we discussed the uses of a digital camera in the classroom. We are to take ten picture with our group based on the Core Curriculum for our grade. We must also write the Pros of camera use in our reflection.

So What?
Being able to use a digital camera in the classroom can help a teacher obtain the following (Pros):

• Help visual learners learn better.
• Improve computer and technology skills.
• Help students develop reading, writing and math skills faster.
• Give students confidence in the work that they are doing.
• Show parents and other facutly members what your classroom is doing each day.
• Help the students remember what they have learned clearer.
• Show students how to be responsible.
• Show students that they can be trusted.

I chose these specific pros because I believe that they are the most important ones that should be seen in a classroom. Students who love to learn, are trusted in their learning, and are able to learn through their own learning style will enjoy learning more. I have seen students in observations, and my own schooling that do not like to learn because they never understood what was being taught. They are almost always in trouble and feel like nobody cares about them. By showing kids that you can trust them to be responsible with digital cameras may help them learn better. It is also a way to get away from the normal "I lecture, you listen" senario and let the students explore and learn on their own.

Now What?
I have never really though about this much before. In elementary school, my third grade class was each given a disposable camera to take pictures with but we had to wait for them to be developed. Being able to use a digital camera in my classroom will help me and my students and their parents communicate better. I will be able to show parents what their students are doing and the students will be able to take pride in the work they have done. I will also be able to get to know my students faster if I have a picture of them to go along with their name.

The pictures that they students will take will be a great reminder of the things that they have done during the year. I don't remember a whole lot about my elementary years. Being able to see the pictures and what they have learned will hopefully help my students remember a whole lot better than I have.

Video
This weeks video, Mashup, was awesome. I loved how the different clips were used to create one giant song that actually sounded like a song. I found myself keeping time with the beat. Being able to pull things together into a mashup in my classroom will help me be the best teacher I can be.

Internet Safety

Internet Reflection

Why we should or should not use the internet in education?

The internet is an important tool that when used properly can provide a vast amount of information for the user. Begin able to use it in education will help students and teachers learn more and to communicate better. Teachers can find information for lesson plans, activities, and questions their students may have. They may also motivate their students to find those answers for themselves. Students are able to use the internet in research, games, and activities that will help them learn and develop.

Why we should evaluate the sites we use?

The sites that students and teachers use need to be evaluated to determine if they are reliable and accurate. Students who know what to look for can better judge the content that sites are trying to provide. Using the eight questions below and the Internet Safety Web Activity, students will be able to understand the sites they are using and whether they are safe and reliable.


Internet Safety Questions

1.Are there links and do they work correctly?
2.Don't have to subscribe or add any software to use completely?
3.What is the domain? (org, com, edu, gov, mil, etc.)
4.Does the URL lead to a personal home page? (personal name, tidle, percent sign, the words user, member or people)
5.Is it easy to navigate and follow?
6.Is the grammar and spelling correct?
7.Is it up to date?
8.Does it have an author that can be contacted?

Ways to keep students safe while surfing

•Use UEN as much as possible. Other sites such as google are only about ten percent accuracy when it comes to information.
•Always have an adult present when surfing the web. If you come upon anything that you should not, an adult will be close by that you can tell.
•If you do not feel good about it, do not use it.
•Remember, if some sites want you to give them your personal information, do not visit them ever again.
•Use the internet safety tools in the tools menu/internet options link. If you do not know what to do, have a grown up set them up.
•Always get your parents/guardians permission before going online.

Video Relfection

I really liked this video because it has the most important points about internet safety in it. It isn't very long and the music adds to it. The pictures were somewhat random. The only thing I would probably change it the rule that scrolls across the screen left to right in really big letters. It's kind of hard to read.

UEN

what?
This past week we learned how to use UEN and Pioneer Library. We had to explore and discover what was at our fingertips in these programs and search them with the scavenger hunt and reflect on it. Since I posted my reflection last week, I am just going to post a normal blog.

so what?
Being able to use these resources is a great advantage for me and those around me. I know that the resources are reliable and informative. I would recommend them to anyone. I believe that we are learning about these sites because they are reliable and teacher recommended. Teachers use it everyday.

By using these sites, I'll be able to search hundreds and thousands of different articles on specific subjects and get as much information as possible. I have used Pioneer before through my library. I absolutely loved using it for papers. I did not have spend hours at the library doing research.

now what?
In my future classroom, I will gladly let my students explore Pioneer and UEN as much as they like because it is reliable and accurate. I also liked the interactive games that are appealing to children and adults. I have learned that children learn better when they have visual stimulations.

I will also use the lesson plans and the core curicullum daily in my classroom. Having them at my fingertips will help keep my life a little less stress free. I will be able to refresh my memory of the core curicullum and get more ideas for lesson plans. It can be easy to adapt lesson plans from other grades under the same standard to the grade level of my students.

video reflection
Oh my gosh!!! I absolutely loved this video because it is completely true. Children need to be able to move and express themselves in ways that schools are no longer allowiing. I have seen first hand what children who are encouraged to be creative and follow their dreams can do. They have a better love of education and enjoy learning more. I have noticed that because children are not given the oppurtunities now that they used to get to run and express themselves, more of them are being diagnosed as ADD. If children are able to move more instead of sitting at a desk reading and writing all day, they will be happier and more focused.

UEN Reflection

After having completed the Scavenger Hunt, I am completely brained out but I understand why UEN is important for a classroom. Being able to explore these things now has helped me to realize the vast amount of resources that are available to me that are reliable. I have used Pioneer before through my local library but I didn't realize the extent of it. I really liked that both of these sites are centered around children and families. The content was child appropriate yet it was engaging for adults.

I loved the Pioneer Library and the resources that it had. I was amazed by how much information there was and how easy it was to access. The biggest thing that I did not like was how often I had to login because I wasn't on the site constantly. It became rathar annoying.

The core curriculum and the lesson plans that are available on UEN are such a huge help to me as a beginning teacher because they will give me ideas and help for my own lessons. I will be able to understand what I am expected to teach to my students and ideas on how to do so. I like that they are available to me completed and organized by grade and Standard/Subject.

I am not so sure about the interactives. They were hard to find for a certain age group. They were listed under the standard that they applied to in the grade that I selected. It would be a lot more efficient if all of the links were listed together like they are but with better organization. Have the grade or age level and the standard(s) that they apply to.

Overall it was a good experience. By using these resources in my classroom and with my students, I will be able to be a better teacher. I will know that all of my information is accurate and that my students are learning that information. By letting my students have access to these sites, I am hoping that they will have a better understanding of what they are learning and that they will be able to explore and find answers to their questions.

Video Reflection
It was interesting to see what the President had to say about education in our country. I liked how he encouraged the students to believe in themselves more than anything. I did not think, however, that it was directed towards a younger audience. Lower elementary students probably wouldn't have understood what he was trying to say and probably wouldn't care if they did. To me he was addressing teenagers whose lives suck because of family situations.