The Grand Finale

I always knew that when I became a teacher technology would be a part of my classroom. But now I know of many more tools that I can use and that makes me even more excited to get my career started! I now know how to create games on the SMART board and ways to have students collaborate with each other! As I continue my education and even when I begin my teaching career, I will continue to look for new technologies to use in my classroom to help my students achieve. My philosophy will be realized in my classroom by my attitude. As I am writing this blog, I feel as if I am glowing..that is how excited I am! I believe that as a teacher my motivations and everything else that pushes me to become a teacher will be shown by my actions and even the glow on my face!!

Games and Apps in the Classroom

This week I set out on a hunt for games to use in the classroom to help students learn and have fun at the same time! I wanted to have some games that could be played on an interactive whiteboard, so during my hunt I found these three!

Multiplication Grid Challenge

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SpeedGrid/Multiplication/urikamultires.html

This game could be used in a third, fourth, or even fifth grade classroom. You begin by choosing your goal. I set mine as answering 8 questions correctly in 2 minutes! There is a grid of numbers displayed with a multiplication problem at the bottom. You are given the product and have to find the factors that go along with the multiplication sentence. There were a few of them that even made me think(such as the one displayed ? x? = 224), so I do believe that there should be a way to adjust the difficulty of the problems, but the game is completely free!! This will get students extremely comfortable with multiplication and it is a fun way to get there! 

Anatomy Labeling

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/health_games/body_parts/labeling.html

This game starts out very simple and leads to more complex pictures.There are 3 levels in the game. The picture above was on level 3, level one consisted of labeling the parts of the face(eye, ear, nose, mouth, etc.), and level 2 was parts of the body(leg, arm, head, neck, etc.). The last level would be great for middle school children, but the first two would be great for elementary level children. This website also had many other games that would be great for all ages!

Explore the Solar System!

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-system-explorer/en/#/review/solar-system-explorer/game.swf

This game pulls up a birds eye view of the solar system and allows you to click on the planets and gives you information on each one. This would be a great game to show students how the solar system and each planet looks. When pulling up each planet it even tells what each one is made up of . Kids around the age of 8 or 9 would enjoy this game!

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology is imperative when conducting a classroom. Some children may not be able to comprehend a lesson by being lectured, but they may learn by seeing examples on technology. If I notice that after a few lessons, a student is still not comprehending what I am trying to tech I will try to find something online to help them better understand. 

Different Strokes for Different Folks

For example, one day I begin teaching my students about multiplication. Many students are comprehending what I am teaching, but there is a small group who cannot grasp the concept on day 2. At this time, I can pull them over to the side and let them work together with computers to play games and see if that helps them to understand the concept better.

Technology Integration

In my classroom, I hope to be fortunate enough to at least have a SmartBoard.  Most classrooms these days are equipped with one, and in my opinion it makes learning more fun for the students. In order to integrate more technology tools into my classroom though, I think that logical thinking needs to take place.

• Do I want this in my class because it would just be neat to have?
• Will this help my students learn?
• Is this something that can be used easily for students this age?
• What can I do with this device?

As I become a science teacher, there will be many technology tools that I will be using to help students to understand the concepts better. I can remember even when I was in middle school, we watched brain pop videos and that made it much more clear to us as to how science worked.
To ensure that integration is done smoothly, there only needs to be one new device integrated at a time. You don't want to overwhelm yourself or your students. Maybe sending home a survey for parents to fill out with questions that will let me know which tools they feel is appropriate for their child to learn most efficiently will be something to take into consideration.
I am very excited to get into the classroom and discover many new tools to use to help children not only learn about science, but enjoy it!

There is fun to be had...if you choose to!

Educational Theory and Technology

My theory of educational technology follows mainly with constructivism. According to constructivism, students build their own knowledge by experiences and reflections. In a classroom, you can present the material to the best of your ability and more than likely there are still going to be students who choose not to pay attention and not learn. The students who choose to pay attention build upon their knowledge, and those who choose to be distracted by something else choose not to build on their knowledge. Just as in a classroom, a cruise ship captain can set sail, but cannot make everyone get on board before the ship leaves the port. Occasionally there may be passengers who are left behind for a while.

Goals for Students

I hope to prepare my students to work with other people not only face-to-face, but also online. I hope to teach them how to research effectively, prepare them for life after high school, and ensure they are critical thinkers. These goals relate to the standards by making sure my students are collaborators, critical thinkers, and much more!

This is your captain speaking!

Educational Philosophy

Some reasons to create an educational philosophy are so your potential employers can see what your beliefs about your profession are. It is also important to have an educational philosophy for yourself. It may be a good idea to keep your philosophy printed off and somewhere in view in your classroom as a reminder to yourself why you started teaching and what you want to accomplish throughout your career.

Goals

As a teacher, I want to make a difference in many children's lives. I want to show love to those who may never experience love in their home life. I also want to express to each and every individual that no matter their circumstances they can always rise above and overcome any hard time. I want them to know and understand that the present is only short-term and that after they graduate high school they can better themselves and have a family of their own. I also want to pay special attention to those who try their hardest, but never seem to grasp the concepts fully. I want to ensure each student masters each topic to the best of their ability before moving on to another one. But I will never forget to also pay special attention to those who have good home lives and can grasp each concept with nearly no effort. I want to make each student feel as if they matter and are loved inside my classroom. I want every one of them to know that their future is so bright if they want it to be.

Technology

Technology will fit perfectly into my classroom. I want to make sure every student has fun learning. What better way to have fun than playing games?! What better place to find educational games than online?! I believe that through using technology students will be more interested and will truly learn more that way instead of just memorizing the material.

Metaphor

The metaphor that I have chosen to represent my view of teaching, learning, and technology is a cruise ship's captain. As the captain of my classroom, I will be sure there is entertainment for our journey, I will guide the ship in the way it should go, and I will be sure the passengers(students) are ready to get off the boat and board on the next one with excitement and high expectations!