Week 7

Learning about Digital Cameras

This week we talked about using digital cameras in a class. Along with computers cameras can be a very helpful tool with many lessons.

What Cameras Mean to me

I don't think I have ever used a camera for any of my classes, but I love using them. Cameras can document your many adventures. They can hold a lot of pictures at one time and are far better than the disposable cameras. With digital cameras you can put a memory card in and when it's full put another one in. So you are always using the same camera many times. Another thing that is great about digital cameras is that you can to do anything you want to your pictures with just a click a few buttons.

I always have my camera with me. When I am with my friends we take tons of pictures and I'm glad that we do. I can look back at them in years to come and remember what we did that day.

Future Uses

I'm not sure how I will get enough cameras to use in a class, but I think that I could use them in many way. I know that I will want tons of pictures of my classes. Along with my personal wants I can use them to take pictures that can be used in the classroom. So things that I would want to use them for are like taking pictures of the seasons, field trips, and taking pictures for art related projects.

As for using them with colleagues, I could use pictures for slide shows of things I do in my class. I can share with my colleagues my ideas in a clear way, so that they can see how they would do it. Cameras have great uses and can be great for a class room and teacher.

Videos

I am so impressed by the mash up, I could not ever create anything like that. The way they collaborated all the videos is crazy. They would have to be super dedicated and creative to create the music that they did. It shows that you can do all sorts of creative things with technology.

The top ten video was very informative. I really liked it! I never thought about half the things they talked about. It's nice to get tips from teachers that you couldn't get any where else. I know that these kinds of tips are the ones that really make a difference.

Week 6

Internet Use in Classrooms Review

I definitely think that the Internet can be use full in a class room. It should be utilized as much as possible. The Internet has vast amount of information, yes there is a lot that is not important, but you can find information about anything at just a click of a button. It costs hundreds to collect that information in books, money that can be saved by using what is free online. There are thousands of sites that range from kindergarten learning to twelve grade.

When we do use the resources online we need to make sure that the site is safe. Each site should be safe for any elementary student to look at. If we did not review the site first we may put up images or information that is too mature for children to see. What children see is very important and if we allow inappropriate images invade their minds they may end up with serve problems. Along with affecting the children we affect their parents. Parents don't wan their children to see bad images, if they find out that they do they could cause legal problems and you could lose your job.

When you let children surf the Internet make sure they have a guide to go by. Give them many sites to choose from or put blocks on their computers. They need to be as safe online as they should be in a classroom. It is our job to check sites and make sure that they are appropriate for your students.

Questions for a Website Safety!

Did you link to this site from a site you trust?

Is the spelling and grammar correct on the page?

Who wrote the pages and are they an expert?

How can you find out more about the author?

Is the author's e-mail address included?

Is there a date on the page that tells you when it was last updated? If so, is it current?

Does up-to-date information matter for your purpose?

Does the information contradict something you found somewhere else?

Video

There are a few things that I like about this video. I like the rules that are given and how they are worded. They choose, probably, the most important rules that have to do with being safe on the Internet. The other thing that I liked was the music that went along with it. It worked with the video in a good way. I just didn't like that it wasn't very creative looking. They could have made it more "kid like".

Week 5

When I started my page on UEN I liked the idea of having a place to find information for my class. It is really helpful to have a "home base" for my resources. With having the curriculum at my finger tips is very nice. I can just get onto my page and link right to the information. I knew that UEN held all that I needed, but I never took the time before to venture through it. Along with having the curriculum available I also have access to vast amount of resources for teaching.

I really liked the Pioneer Library link. It has so much information and information that is legitimate. I can find information on sites like google, but there is no guarantee that they are true. It is the same with the numerous search engines on UEN, they provide good information that I would feel comfortable sending my kids to.

I will use this site to give my kids options in information sources. I know they will have this option when doing a project. Along with my students, their parents will be able to look at the things we are learning about. They will have access to that information. I will use this as well to keep track of what I am planning to teach.

Last I want to talk about the ability to look at lesson plans. I have to admit that I am scared to teach, I don't know what to teach. With the lesson plans available I can look at the different options there are to teach a topic. It gives me the hope that I can get use to teaching and find fun creative ways to teach that subject.

Video

I really liked the idea of this video. We need to support children in going to school. They are our future. They will create the world in forty years. It was interesting how he would introduce the topic, but I really liked it. All he said is true, children our the future.

Week 4

What's new this week?

This week we explored the UEN website. We created our own pages and looked at the many applications we can put on our page.

Me as a student

I don't know how I will use UEN right now. Other than this class and when I get into the program I don't think I will be using this for my other classes. It is nice though, to have a site that direct you to anything you may need for a lesson. I was very interested in the three site we went to. The library, the media site, and the tech support site. I know as I start to work in the program these tools will be very helpful to me.

It is very nice to know where things are now. I knew that UEN had helpful tools, but I never looked at it too much. I didn't think I would need to until I became a teacher, which is pretty true. The site has a lot of information available for teachers and in a quick orderly way.

UEN for me as a teacher

I really like the pages we set up. It's nice to have that available for the future. The personal page is great, I can edit things with out people being able to see all that I do. I can create pages and assignments and keep them to my self and post the ones that I like. It has great apps. for kids to use as well. I can have my students get on my site and look at different things.

I can use this as well with other teachers and parents. I can post the sites we are going to that week and assignments that I want to use in my class. I can also look at my colleagues pages and see what they are doing in their classes.

Video

I really liked this video. It didn't pussy around the reality of things, President Obama said right out what is important and what is to be expected of kids at school. I like that he said that you need to do this for yourself. The best people fail, but get back up and try again. They practice what they do until they do it well. That is how it is at school. You have got to practice all you do so that you can be good at it.

Another thing that I liked was that these kids will be the next generation to do great things. they will be part of history and make this world better than it is, if they just work hard at school. They have to take responsibility and do the best they can.