Blog 4

I plan on teaching Social Studies to students in either Kindergarten or First grade.
One of the technologies I think was very effective was the SMARTBoard. It is such a great way to teach and it helps the students to really get a hands-on with what they're learning in a technological way. I think it will excite the children and make them want to learn.
Another technology that I think is effective is the Kidspiration. The children can do an in class project using the computers and create their own unique ideas and have a lot of fun doing it.
The last technology that I think is effective is the Google Earth. Students will have so much fun experimenting with this and searching all different places of the world. I think it will most definitely help them in Social Studies when we do projects.
One technology I did not find useful for my student level would be the podcast. I think it may be too advanced for students so young to try to understand how to do.

Blog 3

Most of these things are very beneficial to use in the classroom. Children have more fun learning when the material is put in a perspective that they can understand.

I think online games can be very educational for students and help them learn, on the other hand though games can get addicting. Online games for young children could help them, but it may distract them too much from really learning the material.
I think Interactive Whiteboard Activities are one of the best ways to get students involved in the classroom and helps them understand the material better.
I think Simulations/Role Playing is good for students because it helps them get the real feel for what they are learning, which will help them so much more when trying to understand the material.
Virtual Reality/Worlds are a way for students to be creative and independent in their own little world, but it can also be addictive. People can get so addicted to this that it completely affects their social life. I feel like this is one thing that children don't really need. Socializing and working with other students is way better way to learn.

Blog 2

I plan on working with children in kindergarden or grade one. I do not have a certain content area yet, but I chose Social Studies for my newsletter. I chose chronology and heritage. I had them make a small timeline of their favorite events in the past few years, I put pictures of 4 different presidents and had them put them in order, and I also put pictures of 4 different holidays and federal holidays and had them determine which was which.


I thought it was important for them to understand what it means for things to be in chronological order and I also thought it was good for them to know there are important holidays other than the ones they are used to celebrating. The word processing is a great thing for teachers and students to use because it provides a lot of tools to use to make an assignment or project much more efficient and easy.

Blog 1

Honestly, I think Wikipedia is a great source of information and I have been using it as a homework/paper writing/fact learning guide since I was a freshman in high school. I think that most teachers over react when they don't let their students use it because they say a lot of pages have false information. I really don't agree with that though because whenever I use Wikipedia, their information is almost always the same as another website's. There are also editors that go in and delete the facts that are false! So I believe as a student and a future teacher that Wikipedia is a blessing.


As a future teacher, I would encourage my students to use Wikipedia because I believe that is truly is a great source of information.

Pictures

my favorite dog merlin!

and my favorite flower- a lily