How to attend a Conference when you can't go

This assignment was at first difficult because I was unsure how to navigate the site and what exactly I was looking for. I soon came upon part of the website that was very helpful. It was handouts from the presenters and where they got their information from. Not only was this their sources but often times they included a rubric or handouts for students. This can be very beneficial as a teacher who could use help integrating technology into their classroom.

This site also talked about the professional aspect if teaching and how to prepare oneself to give presentations and other little tips about public speaking. It also gave some links to professional organizations that are open to teachers. One of these is MACUL. This is a valuable group to be apart of because of their many resources that you can only get if you are a member. These include a reduced rate for the conference and also other memberships to resources that teachers need. It also gives you a base to start research if you aren’t sure how you want to integrate technology into your classroom. Another group that is good is the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). This group has a lot of credibility and it holds many events like its professional development workshops. One that looked very interesting to me is the how to write a grant workshop since all schools can use more money for technology. There are many more workshops like how to get young students using the computer and many about digital photography which is one area I an interested in getting into and getting my students excited about.

I think this was overall a good assignment. It was hard getting started but I learned a lot about what is going on in the technology world and how many resources there are for school districts and individual teachers. I really hope to attend a couple conferences before I finish my internship year so I am better prepared to really get my students immersed into technology.

Ideas for Science Fair

If you are having trouble thinking of an experiment look online and see what other things people have done in the past. I have many books in the room that also have some fun experiments. Think of what you find is interesting and what to learn more about as a starting point. This will make the activity more enjoyable for you!

Homework for 2/28

Don't forget to bring library books for tomorrow.
Study for Vocabulary test.
Start getting ideas for science fair next month.

Information Literacy Assignment

I decided to search for weather activities for elementary students because this is a common subjects that needs to be taught. When I just typed in weather activities there were a lot of sites but once I typed in classroom activities on weather I got some better sites. One that seemed to be especially good was http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/teacher_resources/activity.html This site seemed to have information on a lot of different weather related topics. It also gives explanations for the teacher and has fun hands on activities for students. It also gives the national standards that it teaches.
This lesson helped me learn to be more specific when I search and also how to use quotation marks and plus and minus signs and what their purpose is.

Rss Feeds

I think that Rss feeds can be very helpful in a classroom. Not only can I use them for myself to gain new information about teaching strategies but I can also use then to keep my students up to date on current news. I can have my students subscribe to a feed like BBC and have them do assignments on certain stories or just to bring them in to discuss them. I can also have a feed myself to keep students up to date about what we are doing in class when they are home or if I have posted something new. This will also help parents who don't have time to go to a website or read their email. I could use it as a quick reminder for students and parents about assignment, or upcoming events.
I think some RSS feeds that are important for me to have as an educator would be something like the NY times education section in order to stay up to date about breaking education news and also the RSS feed for my school district so I would know what was happening. Also a feed from science sites could be helpful as well.

Social Bookmarking

I looked at Furl and compared it to Delicious. It seemed to be pretty much the same. They both allow you to save articles and to group them so you can easily find them. In Frul you can comment on a article and also just clip a certain portion of a website. One cool thing is being able to rate a site or article. You can also get an RSS feed about other people and what they are bookmarking. I think it is really cool that you can comment on others articles too.
I think this could be a good tool for the classroom but it would take a lot of time to put it all together. If you need students to look at particular websites then they can see the ones you choose for them. For younger students that is a great feature because you can limit what they are seeing and make sure they are getting the information you want them to know. This is also a good way to assign research for homework. Students can see what you want them to look at and not waste time looking at bad sites that are too complicated or too simple. I also think this is a good tool to use as a professional because I can bookmark lesson plans I find even if I can not use that particular plan at that time. I can also get feedback from other educators.

My First Post

I am hoping to use this blog to bring the parents into the classroom and make sure they know what is going on there even when they are not there. This will be beneficial in many ways for myself, the students, and the parents. I will be able to give homework help, talk to parents, and post important dates. I am hoping to keep this up to date and make students and parents feel that I am approachable and easy to get ahold of.