Class Reflection

The final blog will focus on a reflection of the class and what I have learned. This class has taught me several very valuable things. Overall, I enjoyed the distance learning format. I believe it was set up very well by Professor Luongo and had a good blend of online learning, as well as classroom meetings. The class helped me to become familiar with Blackboard and the St. Peter's email system (both of which can be confusing to operate). One of the most valuable things this class taught me was how to work in a distance learning format. At first it seemed like it may be difficult to keep up with the format, but Professor Luongo helped to make it less overwhelming and much easier to work with.

I also felt that class meetings were beneficial. I enjoyed hearing from my classmates and sharing ideas with them. It was interesting to work on an assignment over a period of time on my own and then see all the work that my classmates had been doing as well. Another thing that was great about this class was the exposure to all of the educational software. There is so much information and software out there that can be a great help to teachers that I was never aware of. After taking this class I am excited about using several of these great programs in my own classroom someday.

I enjoyed being in class with Professor Luongo and all my classmates. Good luck and have a great holiday.

Kidsknowit.com

I wanted to post the site that I presented last night on my blog that way all of you can get a chance to take a look at it if you would like. I'm sorry the page didn't work but when I got home it worked on my computer so maybe it will work on yours. It would be most useful for teachers that are working with younger students. I think that students could really benefit from the site. I think it's great that it's free and yet it isn't overwhelmed by a lot of advertising. The link can be found at the bottom of this post. I hope it works for you and enjoy.

www.kidsknowit.com

Thanksgiving Break

I believe that the four day Thanksgiving break comes at a very opportune time for students and teachers alike. The semester (or marking periods) can become very long from the beginning of September to the end of December. Students get a few short breaks in between the beginning of school in September and Thanksgiving break, however, I believe that Thanksgiving break goes a long way to help students and teachers rest for the end of the semester. The period of time in between Thanksgiving and winter break is typically pretty intense. This is usually when term papers are due and final exams are given. The Thanksgiving break comes at a great time for students and teachers to "recharge their batteries" and get ready for the final run of the semester.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and enjoy your weekend.

Webpage Rubrics

I thought that all of the web page rubrics that were presented last class were really good. Everyone did a really nice job and gave me some great ideas to work with when looking critically at the web site I will be critiquing. I enjoyed learning about different web pages and what makes some better than others. It was also good to see the differences in web pages that contain their own information and others that are simply portals to other sources of information. It is not necessarily a bad thing that a site does not contain any of its own information. A web page that has the ability to quickly and effectively send you to other web pages that you are looking for can be just as important as the informational pages themselves.

I really enjoyed seeing all of the web page rubrics presented in class, and they will help me to prepare my own web page rubric to be presented next class.

Curriki

I was just checking out the Curriki website, and I am very impressed by it. It is a great idea to have a place where educators can come together in order to share ideas. I really like the fact that you can collect lesson plans, worksheets, and teaching activities. It is also great that you can not only find items that would help you as a teacher, but you can also contribute to the site by uploading your own information.

The best thing about Curriki is that the ability to quickly and effectively share ideas and information. This will enable teachers to have access to great lesson plans and worksheets that have already been effectively used by other teachers. This can save educators a lot of time and enable them to really fine tune the activities to fit their classroom and their students. Curriki is a great site that will bring educators together to help each other and to share ideas. Ultimately, this will make us more productive and effective educators.

Election Fun for Students

After Professor Lungo posted the election site on her blog I decided to look for other resources that were out there for students to use regarding the election. One site I found was created by Pocantico Hills High School. It was a very simple site, but I also found it to be very effective. I enjoyed the site because the information was not lost by including a lot of confusing and distracting images and words. The list of activities was very straight-forward and plain for students of all ages to be able to see and understand easily.

I also liked the diversity in activities available to the students. Riddles, word searches, mazes, and puzzles were just a few of the different activities that students could find in the "Fun Things to Do" section. Another important section was "Reading All About Electing a President", in which students could get a better understanding of the process of electing a president. Overall, the site was very relevant to this time of year with the election taking place yesterday. I feel like this would be a great "change of pace" lesson to incorporate into the ordinary lessons of the classroom.

http://www.pocanticohills.org/election/election.htm

Computer Lab Favorites

When looking at the Computer Lab Favorites I decided to focus on one of the lessons that were provided. I chose the Social Studies section for grades 3-5. I liked how the lessons were divided up by subject and also by age group. The lesson I ended up looking at was one that took the students on an interactive tour of Ellis Island. The site starts with a slide that introduces the student to Ellis Island. I thought it was great how the students could experience the slide through audio, video, and photo. It also contained a map of Ellis Island that allowed the students to get an idea of what Ellis Island looked like.
The site continues to take the students on a stop by stop tour of Ellis Island. I think that a great way to use this program would be to have the students take the virtual tour then plan a trip to Ellis Island. It would be great for the students to be able to experience Ellis Island online and then in person. A good follow up assignment may be to compare and contrast what they saw online with what they experienced on the trip.
The Computer Lab Favorites site seemed like a good online learning tool for teachers to utilize in the classroom. The tutorial that I looked at was simple and easily understood and could be very beneficial.