Animals

Although this does not have anything to do with technology, it is my blog so I can post whatever during this time to..I hope. Anyways this is extremely random but I have been reading some tweets on Twitter from random people and everyone seems to be talking about their dogs or puppies or that they just got one! It makes me miss my dog so much! I do not have a dog up here at school where I live, but my family does at home and she is the best dog. I am obsessed with her. I recently was watching a show on Animal Planet where these poor dogs and other animals are suffering at the hands of their owners. Chained up with no food or water for weeks. It is awful what some of these animals go through and it really brings me to tears. I just hate to see them suffer like that for no reason. I also am trying to slowly come off eating animals. I know some of them are bred just to be killed and then eaten so they don't really suffer but lately I am not really okay with that either. I am slowly trying to eat less meat and less meat because I just feel so bad for those poor things. I have completely stopped eating anything that comes from a pig. Cows I am working on and I do still eat chicken. I do not like anything that swims though or comes from the ocean, yuck! Anyways it just was so sad to see these poor helpless animals suffer like that, when it doesn't need to be done. I feel like if you cannot afford to take care of an animal the RIGHT way, do not get one! It is as simple as that people. Also because I am really into animals and keeping them around at least trying to (there are way to many on the endangered species list) I could also incorporate that into my classroom. Through projects and getting involved. That would be a great way to get the students thinking about other things that can be related to school and saving the planet. Well after this rant, here are some pictures of my dog and my uncles dog (who I am also obsessed with and want to keep)

This is my dog, Maxey.




This is my Uncle's Dog, Beau.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

I really enjoy having a Twitter account. I had an account before I started this class and I really enjoyed it then as well. My thoughts on it so far are really this- it is a way to see what other people are doing, discuss things that are happening currently whether in the news or pop culture. It is also a way to connect with others and find interesting topics you have with others (#_____) whatever you want to discuss. I will admit that I do follow many celebrities on Twitter and it is interesting to read their updates on what they are doing/where they are, etc. That sounds really creepy, but they are celebrities! Within the classroom I think it could be a very useful thing. Also just within the schools. If many of the teachers within the schools had Twitters there could be status given, you can tweet at one another possibly about a field trip, something with technology, etc. The possibilities are endless really. Overall it really is just a tool to communicate with others. It allows you to talk/post/read/write about yourself and/or others. Tweeting at someone and then having a conversation is very simple and easy. The only drawbacks I see to Twitter thus far- it can be addicting as well as creeper. Sometimes I find myself looking at these tweets and I feel like I am a stalker! HA. Also I just think it can be hard for some people to get used to it and understand it. At first it is a little hard to understand exactly what you are supposed to do on there and how you can communicate with others. Although, once you get the hang of it, it is hard to stop! I also think by the time I get my own classroom most of the students within the classroom will have a Twitter account and we could have class discussions after school is out if there are questions, etc. I think it is a great tool to have within the classroom and would help in all those ways.

Photoshop.com Album

Week Four Photoshop Express slideshow!

ABOVE

Week Four Lab- Creating a slide show in Photoshop Express. I have created a slideshow of a few different images I have uploaded off my computer that I have taken over the past year. I enjoyed this lab very much. I feel it will be very helpful to me in my future teaching career. Say I went on a vacation or went scuba diving and took lots of pictures of animals, nature, the ocean, etc. I could then upload them to a site like this, create a slideshow of each subject of the pictures that were taken and then post it so my students in the classroom could see. Through this there could be projects, homework assignments, etc. They could even show their families and feel good about what they are learning about through techonolgy. What a great idea! Here is the slideshow that I created, again these pictures are random and just over the past year. (with all the requirements of course)

creative commons image and post

I believe that a great way to incorporate images into the classroom is to just add images about what you are teaching for explaining. I think it is important for students to be able to create their own images in their head when reading a story or using their imagination. I also think it is important to provide images to students to help them understand things and feel good about what they are learning. I think certain images that are important in the classroom are positive posters, images that provide encouragement to students as they are learning during the school day. To incorporate images into the curriculum that I will be teaching would be to pair images with things we are doing, again. So for example when talking about a history lesson or something within in social studies, provide an image of what is happening or ask the students to brainstorm and draw what they think the image would present. I have found an image that I feel would be beneficial to have in the classroom, a positive image that encourages students to feel good about themselves and think about others. I feel this would be positive for the students to look at each day of school. This image is a poster from a company called The Equality and Diversity Shop Ltd. They sell posters, books and other images for classrooms to provide positive feedback to the students. I found this image by searching the Creative Commons website and this image was something that was licensed to be able to use within a blog post such as this. This image came from the website of http://tedsonline.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=27_1_12





Candice's Photobucket page

website

I found a website that I have in my RSS feed (which I do not yet have working on my page on the class ning, but it will be up shortly) on education and lesson planning with technology and how to incorporate technology with the students within each lesson. They also have templates on the websites to follow and ways to see how technology really is useful within the classrooms no matter what grade.

In response to Dean Shareski's article

After reading "Student and Teacher Blogging that Succeeds" I found it very interesting. I think that all the points there were raised within the article are very prevalent and understanding. Blogging does need just as much time with writing the posts as it does with reading the posts. Also relating to how students make friends and do things in real life to their blogs is a good way to get students to understand exactly what blogging is, and how it is beneficial to each person that blogs. Dressing up the blogs and adding each owns personal flare really allows the students to connect with that they are writing and reading and feel positive about that they are doing in the blogging world. I think that teachers are doing a great thing with introducing blogs into the classroom. At the higher elementary ages I think it would be important for homework assignments, sending messages, group projects, all connected over the blogs. As many people in the world have blogs, why not bring the classroom into it as well. This article should be read by all teachers and those who want to become teachers in order for them to understand what and how blogging will be the most beneficial to the students within the classroom, and also in their future education.

technology integration

Currently, I am not placed in a school yet, but I will be later in the semester. Last spring though, I was placed in a school. The technology within that school and within the classrooms was different then what I had growing up in my school district. Although in the school I was in in the spring had about three computers in each classroom and the students were allowed to use them only when they were done with the work for that hour, or if the assignment involved typing or searching information. The students (at least when I was there) were not given a lot of instruction on what to do on the computer or how to do things, they seemed to just already know, as this was a 6th grade classroom. I will say that the teacher and student interaction with technology and the computers was lacking, there was none. The teacher used an overhead to put notes on the board, but really that was all besides the computers. This was an inner city/urban setting. Most of the students had access to a computer and Internet connection at home and they seemed to use social networking cites (twitter, facebook, myspace, etc.) although not for classroom/school relation. I know previously though in classroom I have seen smart boards used. Which were a great way to include the students in a hands on lesson and the students seemed to respond very well to being able to touch a "computer screen" on the wall. I feel the more students are included in technology within the classroom, the more they will find it fun and interesting and apply themselves to what they are really learning.

In response....

I have decided to make a blog post about ALL of my group mates blog posts :)

each of us seems to have a different background information for technology and what we know. With this said, it seems that each of us has something different to offer and have learned over the years little by little, or in some cases, a lot by a lot. I feel it is a good opportunity for us, each coming from different places to feed off of each other, ask questions and possibly learn more from different people. Technology in the classroom is extremely important, as now everything is online and done online that schools need to be caught up. This is a good opportunity for us all to learn how to be the best teachers we can be to our students through technology.

heatlhcare in schools?

After catching up on the news this weekend and watching some interesting television. I realized that political topics, also effect the classroom. For instance, national health care that is being discussed within the government. I was thinking about it and realized that there are going to be many different types of children within each classroom. Some with more privileges than others. Included in this is those whose families have health care, and those who do not. I am not sure why it has finally clicked, but it has. I think this would be extremely beneficial for many of those within the urban districts and schools. Because it is an area of lower income there could be many without this health care. This means that when their children get sick, they do not have the means to care for them through a doctor or something else. Yet, if they had health care that was affordable, their children would not have to miss school or fall behind simply because they do not have health insurance or coverage. There is obviously much more to this debate, but I feel it is important to take schools into this because without students, there would be no teachers, and therefore, no schools.

Week 1- What I know about technology and what I want to learn

My background in technology is about average. I use the computer for networking, homework, projects, etc. I know basically the "simple stuff" just at the surface. Many things within technology confuse me a little, but I am wanting to learn more. I also know PowerPoint in ways of creating a discussion or sharing information. From this class I would like to learn just more about what I can use within the classroom involved with technology. How using technology within the class will help students further their education and why it is important in this ever changing world. I also hope to just become more enlightened on technology and education and how the two connect.