Blog Post #7

After watching these videos on how to incorporate project based learning and technology into the classroom, I have learned a lot about different ways teachers are using technology in the classroom. I love technology and everything we can do with it. Because of my dad’s job, I grew up constantly learning about the new types of phones, laptops and other devices. Being able to use and play with technology was a must in my house growing up. Because of this, I am confident in being around technology and using it, which I think is a good thing, so I can teach that confidence to my students. However, I have also seen the bad side effects of technology. Meaning that I see what happens when all the computers are down and as kids we didn’t know what to do because our devices were down. How were we going to entertain ourselves now? Or as my dad always says, “no one ever needed 100 copies of anything until the first copier was invented”, meaning that technology has caused us to work more than before. Having a little negative attitude about technology is one of my weaknesses that I hope I will not bring into my classroom. I don’t want people to think that I don’t like technology, because I do. I love it! I love learning new things about it and I love that as a teacher I will be able to bring some fun learning activities into the classroom that the kids will love to do and play with. I love that I will get the chance to teach the younger generation how to bridge learning with technology.

How to make a QR code

In this video I learned how to record my voice or a student’s voice and then be able to make it into a QR code. I think this would be a very neat idea to use as a teacher. I like the idea she mentioned on the video where teachers can record their voices reading a story and then have different ones set up at the reading center with iPads. Then, the students can go and listen to the teacher read the story and they can read it as often as they want. This would be great for the younger grades where they are not independent readers yet. In this reading center you could have them listen to the story and then answer simple questions that they could read and answer. Also, I think it would be cool if you had the students make a reading journal throughout the year. You could have them record themselves reading different stories throughout the year and make QR codes. You could then keep the QR codes in a folder in order and by the end of the year they could see how fluently they are reading.

iPad Learning centers

In this video I learned how to incorporate reading with technology and also a way to make it fun for the children. The students can use the iPad to record themselves reading a story or fluency words and then they listen to the video of themselves while following along to be sure they did not make any mistakes. I think this is a great idea because it would make reading fun for the kids since they get to use the iPad. Also, they can go back and see where they made a mistake and they can know what they need to work on. They can practice as much as they want, instead of going to the reading table and reading in a group to the teacher and then going back to their desk to do “busy work”. The teacher has the freedom to walk around the room and see which students need the most help and she has the time to sit and help that student as needed. I absolutely love this and think it’s a great idea!

poplet as a center

In this video I learned about an app you can download onto iPads that the students can use to make a reading web. Once they have read a book, they can take pictures of the book and place them into the web. In this video it was kindergarteners working on a poplet so there wasn’t a lot they could write in the web. However, if you used this app in some older grades then you could have students go into detail about the story. This is a great app that could be used at any grade level.


AVL

I have used the Alabama Virtual Library many times throughout my middle and high school career. But I have never thought of using it for the elementary aged students, especially kindergarten. In this video I learned a great way to use the AVL in the kindergarten classroom. The students using their iPads go to the AVL app and then find the elementary tab for them to use. Once they are there, they search a word from the list of words the teacher has given to them. They can then watch videos, look at pictures, and it can even read the text to them. Once they have done research on the word, they draw a picture and then write one sentence they have learned from what they have researched. This activity teaches them how to research things on their own.

Board Builder's

In this video I learned how students can research different topics and then make a power point type of thing using the smart board to share what they have learned with the class or other people. This activity is great for having students work together as a team and it teaches them how to take information and pictures they have taken from the internet and put together a presentation. Lastly, if the children are required to present it in front of the class it teaches the kids to be comfortable standing and talking in front of their peers.


AVL and iMovie in Kindergarten

In this video I learned that kindergarteners are using iMovie to make book trailers on books that they have read in class. They are not just making these trailers but they LOVE the process of it. We, as college students, do not like having to edit our mistakes but these students love editing. Also, I learned that kindergartners are using AVL to learn how to do research.


We all become learners

In this video they were talking about how everyone is always learning. Michelle Bennett was talking about how she had a kindergartner teach her how to do something on the iPad and it made the student feel proud to know that he knew something the teacher didn’t know and was able to teach her. Also, my favorite part of this video was what Michelle said about how everyone teaches each other. As a future teacher, this is very important for me to remember. I will never stop learning and my students will more than likely teach me more than I teach them some days.