4/26/10

Today was our last class! We were given a scenario to act out either the part of the teacher, the PTA parent, or the principal to talk about using technology in the classroom. Half of the class used cameras to record their discussion, and the other half was supposed to use science sim to chat. My group was supposed to be using science sim, but we had a lot of technical difficulties so we ended up spending the entire time trying to get it to work right. So I guess what I learned is that technology can be a great tool in the classroom, but if it doesn't work right then we will end up wasting time- although I guess in some cases we can learn new things by problem solving when it doesn't work. All in all, what I learned in this class was that balance is the key to using technology in the classroom. It's great to try new things, but if we completely rely on one tool then that can lead to problems.

4/19/10

Today we went into a classroom in Edith Bowen to see how a teacher implements technology in his classroom. It was exciting to actually see how great these resources can be. He uses ipods, websites, a wii, other computer games, and other technology. I wished that I could have been a kid in that classroom! They probably don't realize how lucky they are to have such great resources available to them. One thing that I got out of our visit was that it is possible to keep the students on task even when they are using things like ipods, and that is good to know since that is one of my concerns.

Then we came back and did website evaluations:

1. What form(s) did you like/dislike? Why?: I liked the "MidLink Magazine" evaluation because it wasn't just a yes or no, you could rate criteria from 0-4. That was better because some websites partially met the criteria and there was a way to record that.
2. Were there any hidden secrets about a website you discovered by using an evaluation form?: One of the websites looked legitimate, but I realized that there was no author or creator mentioned with contact information and the website was not run by a familiar organization. In this case I would want to verify any information I found on that site by checking others.
3. What is the value of using a web site evaluation process?: Evaluations can be used to determine the credibility, usefulness, and quality of a webpage.
4. Are there times you would/would not use a formal evaluation?: Yes, if I was just playing around or not researching something I would not worry about using a formal evaluation, I would just informally check for certain things. I would use a formal evaluation when deciding whether or not to use a website in my classroom.

4/5/2010

Today in class we talked about webquests. I like the idea of being able to have more options online that are not available in the classroom. There are just some things that we cannot physically explore in the classroom, and I think virtual explanations could be the next best option. However, I do not think that I would use these webquests very often; I believe that it would be better if the students used them as a supplement to what we do in the classroom. I have not used this exact thing in my school experiences, but I have done the same basic things on my own without specific instructions like they give. One problem with it is the children could easily be off-task and use the internet for other things than the project. I do want to implement inquiry-based lessons because when the students honestly have questions and are allowed to investigate the topic on their own with the teacher guiding them, what they learn will be more meaningful to them. I would just rather use hands-on, personal and group exploration than virtual exploration, but I guess that virtual exploration is better than none at all.