Google Earth is probably one of the coolest gadgets I have used today! I first saw it used in one of my classrooms. My teacher had a hard time describing the area in detail so he decided to show us using Google Earth. We were actually looking at Paris, France in real time! I was so amazed that when I got out of class I went straight to my computer to play with it more. There is even a way to look at places from a street level! Apparently Google sent out cars to take pictures of the surroundings while driving down the road. I had to show it to everyone I knew!
Google Earth is a great tool to use in the classroom. It can also be accessed from your homepage if you have an iGoogle account. It can be used exactly how my teacher used it. Instead of making students imagine what a place may look like, let them see it in real life! It would almost be like taking them on a virtual field trip. Google Earth will definitely be a part of my future history lessons.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Bit About... Learning Games!
I absolutely can not stand sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture for over an hour. I find my mind wondering and I watch the clock constantly. I dread going to the class and can't wait until it is over. This is why I am a firm believer in learning games. I like having fun in the classroom. I don't mean cutting up and getting nothing accomplished. I mean having fun while learning something that might otherwise be pretty dry material.
Since I am teaching secondary school age kids I don't want to treat them like they are babies. I want to connect with them on a level that would be fun for them, not a third grader! In one of my previous education classes we had to come up with fun games to fit certain age groups. One of the games was similar to jeopardy where students were on teams and had to get the questions right for a certain amount of points. Another game was tic tac toe with two people being against eachother at a time. This game can work with groups also. Even when reviewing for a test a game can be played. Randy Pausch used the "head fake". Most high school students are all about competition. They want to do better than their friends! So what is the head fake here? By letting them compete, they will actually be learning too!
Since I am teaching secondary school age kids I don't want to treat them like they are babies. I want to connect with them on a level that would be fun for them, not a third grader! In one of my previous education classes we had to come up with fun games to fit certain age groups. One of the games was similar to jeopardy where students were on teams and had to get the questions right for a certain amount of points. Another game was tic tac toe with two people being against eachother at a time. This game can work with groups also. Even when reviewing for a test a game can be played. Randy Pausch used the "head fake". Most high school students are all about competition. They want to do better than their friends! So what is the head fake here? By letting them compete, they will actually be learning too!
A Bit About... iGoogle!
I recently created an iGoogle homepage for my education class. I must admit that at first I was a little skeptical about it. I am not really sure what my reason was for being skeptical but I soon changed my way of thinking. The igoogle homepage is amazing! It is like having another section of your classroom on google! I can create tabs that relate to certain topics and fill the tabs with fun helpful information for my students. On my homepage I have a Home tab with general applications, a Resources tab with different educational sites to visit, a World History tab with fun and interesting events from all over the world, and a fun and games tab where my students can go to relax and just have fun!
Some of the things you can add to your homepage include sticky notes, google reader, gmail, games, fun facts, calendars, clocks, etc. You can also add RSS feeds to the homepage. RSS feeds are used to publish frequently updated works. For example, an RSS feed that I added to my page is the New York Times. Each day the information on the feed will change. There are many other RSS feed applications that can be added. There are even sites where you can convert any website into an RSS feed.
Some of the things you can add to your homepage include sticky notes, google reader, gmail, games, fun facts, calendars, clocks, etc. You can also add RSS feeds to the homepage. RSS feeds are used to publish frequently updated works. For example, an RSS feed that I added to my page is the New York Times. Each day the information on the feed will change. There are many other RSS feed applications that can be added. There are even sites where you can convert any website into an RSS feed.
A Bit About... iTunes & Podcasts!
Recently I discovered something new about something that I use everyday. The something new I discovered was podcasts and the thing I use daily is iTunes! I thought that iTunes was just a place to buy and store music, but this is not the case. There is a whole other side to iTunes called podcasting. Turns out there is a podcast for almost any topic you can think of! There are even video podcasts for those of us that need the visual effects along with the information. (I am one of those people!)
Finding the podcast section is simple. First you go to the iTunes store and find the genres section. Look until you find podcasts and then go from there. There are many different categories to browse through. Since I am an education major I used the education section and then narrowed my search to K-12. The most common podcasts I found were about math and reading. Podcasts like these could be of great use in my classroom. There may be a student who needs a little extra help in a particular area, and since kids are so technology advanced these days, I could show the student a podcast. It would be a fun and easy way to learn!
Finding the podcast section is simple. First you go to the iTunes store and find the genres section. Look until you find podcasts and then go from there. There are many different categories to browse through. Since I am an education major I used the education section and then narrowed my search to K-12. The most common podcasts I found were about math and reading. Podcasts like these could be of great use in my classroom. There may be a student who needs a little extra help in a particular area, and since kids are so technology advanced these days, I could show the student a podcast. It would be a fun and easy way to learn!
A Bit About... Blogs!
It seems that almost everyone, everywhere is now blogging. Blogging is the new way to connect with people world wide. For those that do not know, a blog is a type of website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries such as commentary, events, videos, and podcasts. Creating a blog is simple! Just create an account, pick out your layout, adjust the settings to your preference, and start blogging. The instructions are step by step so you shouldn't get lost.
If you think that blogs are for personal use only, you are wrong! Blogs are for anyone and everyone. Teachers are even using blogs. There are even classroom and student blogs. One thing that I think is very cool is that classrooms can keep in touch with other classrooms world wide using their blogs! This would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom. It could engage students in a different type of learning. I plan to explore the benefits of blogging in my future classroom.
If you think that blogs are for personal use only, you are wrong! Blogs are for anyone and everyone. Teachers are even using blogs. There are even classroom and student blogs. One thing that I think is very cool is that classrooms can keep in touch with other classrooms world wide using their blogs! This would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom. It could engage students in a different type of learning. I plan to explore the benefits of blogging in my future classroom.
A Bit About... Ms. Mason!
As far back as I can recall I have always wanted to teach. As a child, I remember gathering up all of my stuffed animals and lining them up on my bed to have class! I'm not sure what subject I was teaching them then, but I know now that I will be teaching my future students Social Sciences. For those that do not know, Social Sciences is a broad area focusing on history. Aside from history I can also teach geography, psychology, sociology, political science, and economics. I also plan to attend graduate school for Social Sciences as well.
When I look back at my experiences during my elementary, middle, and high school years I can remember every teacher from every grade level that I have ever had. I remember the teachers that were dreaded and the teachers that everyone loved. It also seems like there were many more dreaded teachers! When I reached high school I encountered one of my favorite teachers of all. She not only taught her students, she inspired them as well. From then on I decided to make my thought of being a teacher a reality. I want to teach and inspire my students just as she inspired me. As for the dreaded teachers from my past, I decided to use their methods of teaching as examples of what not to do in the classroom!
I believe that the use of technology in the classroom is becoming a vital part in connecting with students in today's society. After all, I am 20 years old and my 7 year old cousin knows more about technology than I do! The kids are becoming more tech savvy by the minute! So, what better way to teach them than to use a method that they can relate to.
When I look back at my experiences during my elementary, middle, and high school years I can remember every teacher from every grade level that I have ever had. I remember the teachers that were dreaded and the teachers that everyone loved. It also seems like there were many more dreaded teachers! When I reached high school I encountered one of my favorite teachers of all. She not only taught her students, she inspired them as well. From then on I decided to make my thought of being a teacher a reality. I want to teach and inspire my students just as she inspired me. As for the dreaded teachers from my past, I decided to use their methods of teaching as examples of what not to do in the classroom!
I believe that the use of technology in the classroom is becoming a vital part in connecting with students in today's society. After all, I am 20 years old and my 7 year old cousin knows more about technology than I do! The kids are becoming more tech savvy by the minute! So, what better way to teach them than to use a method that they can relate to.
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