blog 7

The class in Elluminate actually wasn't that bad. It did have its glitches though and I got a little restless sitting in front of the computer from 4:30-7. I can see this being used in lieu of a class at times but not often. The whiteboard feature does not really accommodate a lot of users and at times it was difficult to hear the professor. However, I did like how quickly she was able to respond to our questions and problems. I also liked how she was able to show us exactly what she was doing so it made it easier for us to follow along. It did have its good features.

blog 6

I thought the article "Let Kids Rule the School" by Susan Engel was really interesting. I think that when students have an opportunity to take control of their learning they develop their own interests and retain the information better. Sometimes when students become passive learners and strictly memorize what the school deems important students lose interest and sight of what is important to themselves. For instance a student in the article says that "I did well before [the Independent Project]. But I had forgotten what I actually like doing" (p.2). When control is given to the students they become more interested in what they are learning and become active participants in the seeking of new information. As in the article, the students were allowed to come up with their own curriculum framing questions and concentrated on these. These questions were things the students wanted to know more about and things the students found interesting. I found it to be a really great thing that the students who participated in the Independent Project were able to accomplish more than what the school expected of them. The students also performed better in subjects that they had previously been doing poorly in. It's important that the students have some say in their education, after all it is their education. 

blog 5

I know that we're supposed to be blogging about our unit. I'm not really sure what to say so this will probably just be me rambling on for a little bit...just a heads up. Our unit comprises Spanish, history, and earth science. It's a little frustrating trying to get all of this done when I really haven't ever made a lesson plan before. I'm taking curriculum and instruction now where we're working on a unit and lesson plan. I really have no idea what I'm doing. I also find that sometimes it can be difficult working in a group when everyone has different schedules, I just like to get things done and not have to rely on other people. That said, I think my group is working pretty well together. This assignment is just adding stress to my life...aaahhhh. But I do see the positives: learning to work in a group, creating a unit/lesson plans, and collaboration.

blog 4

Our unit combines Spanish, history, and earth science. I think it can be a little difficult at times combining these three subjects. It's hard when I'm trying to explain something from my content and trying to relate it to another content area when I don't really know a lot about the other subjects; it's difficult seeing how we all fit together but it can be done. Our group is working well together and I think we have a definite direction where we think we're headed.
To involve the community we were maybe thinking of some type of field trip where students can explore caves or mines or a trip to a Spanish restaurant where students can explore that culture.

blog 3

After going over all the copyright laws I was surprised by how many there actually are. As a student you don't think about the illegalities of getting a photocopy of some pages out of a workbook. But as a teacher, if you distribute the material you and the school can get in trouble. I mean I guess there is some leeway because some of the copyright laws were based on "fair use" but I feel like there are still a lot of laws to think about. As a future teacher this will affect what I do in the classroom. There are laws based on what movies can be viewed as well as what and how many photos can be used. This would affect me because if I was making a Powerpoint but wanted to use more than five pictures from one artist I couldn't do that. There's a lot to think about.

Blog 2

The section I reviewed was The 21st Century School. I found it to be really remarkable that through the use of technology the students performing at grade level in math went up from nine to 62 percent in three years. Some of the students said that the use of technology gave them a feeling of independence. However, the laptops were also used for personal use during lessons (AIM, MySpace) which was in one respect frowned upon but it also helped the students learn how to multitask-which one teacher said was a skill needed for future work. I did like how the school used the technology in a variety of different ways, such as checking answers, blogs, Google Docs, and excel. I found it funny how the assistant principal could monitor the students' use of the laptops. I think this school was affected in a positive way by its use of technology. The students are learning multiple skills and are also being challenged. I think this also makes learning more accessible to students because it offers a variety of ways to get a lesson across. I think if technology could be used like this in more schools it would be a positive thing and move students forward.

Blog 1

From this class I hope to first learn how to use the different technologies. I would like to become more comfortable with technology. Also, I would like to learn how I could use technology as a benefit to my future classroom to enhance learning and make class interesting.