Comic Book Fun!

Class was actually a lot more fun that I anticipated it would be. I initially thought class was going to be a review on how to edit pictures in Picasa or something, however we got the opportunity to mess around with a really cool comic program. Comic Life is a truly wonderful tool in promoting creativity. As I was creating my comic book for geometry I found myself thinking of all kinds of different ways I could portray shapes and terms of geometry. The way I look at it if I started to think of all kinds of new ways to portray an idea with this program, just imagin what kids could do.
I really believe kids would absolutely love this program! It allows so many different forms of creativity and authenticy that it is hard to not enjoy what you are working on. If I had a program like this when I become a teacher I would have my studnets use it for all kinds of projects. Specifacilly for those subjects that tend to not be as exciting. (Like math.) By using this wonderful tool I think that I would be able to change attitudes and feelings about subjects that tend to be difficult.
Overall Comic Life is a great tool!

a. Discuss the potential benefits of the computer tutors.
b. Are there any concerns or weaknesses?
c. How would you better design those tutors?

This week in class we took some time to look over different web based tutors that are designed to help kids and teachers learn all kinds of different subjects. I believe that computer tutors have both, good things and bad things about them. Some of the good things I think come from computer tutors is that the activities are usually quite engaging. I think that kids who struggle to pay attention in class might really benefit from online tutors. With such a high level of engagement I believe kids who struggle to pay attention will find it easier to do so with an online tutor. I also think that the learning that goes on with most of the tutors use a variety of methods to target different learning styles. I believe that this is important because we are all different and as a result we all learn differently.
Some of the concerns I have with some of the activities are that some of the activities are too easy. When I say easy I mean that the answer to questions are too easily found. I believe that a little effort would be good for any student. Another concern I have with some of the online tutors is that the material presented is in a fashion that is difficult to understand. While most tutors were simple to use and navigate some were very difficult to understand what the site was trying to teach.
If I were to design an online tutor I would design it in a was so that kids have to search out the answer rather than be presented with one. I am a big fan of Piaget and one of his key ideas is that children construct their knowledge. My online tutor would be based on this idea. I would provide a website in which kids are presented with a problem then they would have to explore ideas and possibilities to find a solution.
In conclusion I think that tutors are a great tool to reinforce learning but I would never use a tutor to present new material.

Instructional Architect

Class today was pretty good. We had a guest lecture who talked to us about all of the good information and cool tools available on Instructional Architect. What I really like about IA is that their is a wide variety of lesson plans and web based sources available to teachers. I have seen websites like this before, however, they usually cost money and are not so freely available to the public. The tools that I thought were the most useful were the lesson plan developer and the resource manager. What I really liked about the lesson planner was that there were not all kinds of useless tools or categories that you had to fill in in order to make the lesson plan. This allowed the user to create a lesson plan very efficiently. I also liked the way the resource manager kept track of your noted sources; I felt like it was easy to use, read, and understand. After getting acquainted with WebQuest and Instructional Architect I would have to say that I will most likely use Instructional Architect when I have to develop and create my final lesson plan for the semester. I will also more than likely use IA in the future to find resources and tools to better develop my own lesson plans.

WebQuest

In class today we learned about and explored the website WebQuest.org. This is a pretty old website but some of the lesson plans and tools offered appear to be very helpful. The lesson plan I chose to explore was a Solar System Sweepstakes lesson. The basic idea of the lesson plan was to let your students become spokesmen for each planet in the Solar System. They had to come up with reasons why a person would want to go visit the planet that they are representing. Initially the activity seemed kind of boring to me but I found that as I got more into the more I enjoyed it. When I approached the task of advertising my planet I started out with general questions but as I started to look at why a person would want to visit my planet I realized I needed to provide more detailed information about the planet to make it more attractive. By the end of the lesson I had really refreshed my memory and I learned a few new things. Another aspect of this lesson that I really liked is that it can be geared to appeal to everyone.
What I like about the activities provided on WebQuest is that they really get kids involved with what they are learning. I think that the lessons provided on the website could provide some great scaffolding for any teachers lesson plan. In the future I plan on using WebQuest to get ideas for lessons, as well as to get ideas to develop them further. I think that WebQuest is a great tool and resource a teacher could use to better the education of his/her students.

Web site evaluations

Today in class we had the opportunity to go and explore some educational websites we found to be personally interesting and to complete some evaluations about those websites. I will say that initially I thought that this activity would be kind of a waste of time but after taking the different surveys I can see their merit.

1. What form(s) did you like/dislike? Why?
The form I personally liked the most was the Midlink Magazine Web Page Evaluation form. I felt that this evaluation form covered all important materials one should pay attention to in looking at a website. I also like how it is split into categories so as to illustrate to the user what areas a particular website might be strong or weak in. The form I liked the least was the form found on http://www.bv229.k12.ks.us/bvn_lmc/web_site_evaluation_form2.htm. This form in my opinion was too vague with its questions and really didn't do much to help the reader identify if the website being evaluated was a good website or bad website. (It creates a conclusion based on opinion rather than identification.)

2. Were there any hidden secrets about a website you discovered by using an evaluation form?
As I started to look at the websites more in depth I discovered that many of them never site where they got their information or even if their information is up to date. I also discovered that a lot of websites had organizations cited rather than personal authors. I think that these thing are important for a user to recognize because they may be looking at information that is out of date and is no longer valid or they may be looking at material posted by an author that might have some alterior motives.

3. What is the value of using a web site evaluation process?
I believe the value of website evaluations is that it gets the user to look at a website in greater detail and identify if that website is truly valid. I think that in order to make sure you are teaching the right stuff you had better be getting that stuff from a legitimate website and website evaluations help you identify those websites.

4. Are there times you would/would not use a formal evaluation
I think if I was just surfing the web I would not really worry about filling out any forms on a website because I am just having fun. However, if I had the responsibility to teach a classroom full of twenty five kids I would defiantly want to fill out a form to identify websites that were valid. I would want to do this for two reasons. First I would want to make sure I was teaching the correct information to my kids. Second, would be to be able to show administrators and parents, if concerned, where I was getting my material and that it was truly valid.
Overall this activity taught me to make sure I take a closer look at the details when I am looking at any website to determine if it is valid or not.

Spread Sheets and Forms

Well I was not in class on Monday but after talking with a few friends I was able to find out what was covered. It sounds like spread sheets and online surveys were the hot topic of the day. So I decided that I would go explore what all the fuss was about. Now I feel like I am pretty knowledgeable about spreadsheets but I had no idea that their was a form/survey tool on Google documents. I opened up the forms and created my own little survey. It is titled the best and I basically created a survey using questions from each option available on the software. I must say that I was really impressed with not only the fact that you can write so many different questions but you can also look at the data you receive from each answer on a Google generated spread sheet. Talk about AWESOME! I was blown away with the coolness of this tool. I could defiantly see my self using this tool in the future with my classrooms. Some of the ways I would use it would be to see if a particular assignments were too difficult. If parents are satisfied with what their child is learning in my class. And I would use it to find out what my kids would like to learn about. Anyway I am sad I was not able to be in class and see what everyone else did but I am really glad I went off on my own and explored it myself.

To check out my little survey go to:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cDBGTU50MEVkUnBaek9UQzBmYmtnT2c6MA..

Microsoft Word and Google Documents

Class today was more of a review for me but I still learned a few new tricks. At the beginning of class we discussed some of the tools available on Microsoft Word. One tool that we learned about that I had no idea existed was the "add comment" tool and the editor tool. These tools are very useful in that they allow the author to see the changes made to their document. I think that in the real world this would be very useful in helping say an author start to recognize areas where they need to improve their writing. In the classroom I could also imagine this tool being used to help students collaborate and check each others work. With the comments they could also provide input to help fellow student improve their work.
The other application we learned about was Google Doc's. I have used Google Doc's for some time, but this is the first time I have used it to collaborate with another person. I think that this is an awesome idea and needs to be used more in schools. What I think is so useful about this application is that you don't have to deal with multiple copies of a single document. The one document is in one place and everyone can see it. I think that the only draw back to this application is that a collaborator could possibly add or delete too much and since everyone is using the same document their is no way to see what the original document looked like. So their is a greater element of risk involved when using Google Doc's but I feel that the availability of the program to any user and the convince of the application make it worth it. If I were to use Google Doc's in my classroom I would first use it to teach my student to back up their documents. This is a practice that I believe everyone is going to have to learn better in the years to come as we get more and more into a digital world. The other application I would use it for would be in group projects. I would outline some simple rules for the students to follow and then have them work together to produce a final project. I think that Google Doc's would be a great tool to check on the students and make sure that they are doing what they are suppose to.
Overall today's class was pretty fun and I learned something new.

YETC Lab 2

Today in the YETC lab I really feel like I learned a great deal and will remember a lot more of what has been taught. I really enjoy being able to apply what I learned in class. For my session today I usually spent anywhere from five to ten minutes on any particular program. The programs I looked at included, stellarium, xmind, celestlia and phun. All these programs had something different to offer. The program I had alot of fun with was the Phun program. Phun is a great physics teaching tool. It is a virtual world that illistrates and showes how gravity air and other physical properties affect objects. I especially liked the interaction and creativity one could use to create new objects and manipulate them in different ways.
I think that especially for the sciences the programs I experimented with would be some great tools for my learners. An example in which I would use one of these programs is if I were to do an Astronomay section in my classroom. For my class I would use stellarium to show the different constellations and where they might be in the night time sky. I would also use celestlia to show my students the different planets and their movements throughout the solar system. What I like about these tools is that it allows students to have more options to look around and explore. They are also very user friendly so I am sure after a couple minutes of lecture on how to use the software kids would understand how to use it and be able to go off on their own.
This section was very meaningful to me because it further enforced my learning from last week plus it was alot of fun. If I were to offer one suggestion for the class I would make sure we all got an oppertunity to explore the YETC and then have us make up our lesson plans. To me that would be a better way of allowing us get more exposed to what is out their and then allow us an oppertunity to practice what we have learned.

YETC Lab Introduction and Presentation

You know the saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover." Well I should have applied this idea to my thinking of the YETC Labs. Before this class I had attended the YETC labs a couple of times and I even noticed some of the teaching materials that they had on display, but my idea and understanding of it were very limited. Let me just say that I am now amazed at shear volume of resources that are available through the YETC.
During our tour of the YETC we were shown all kinds of different digital tools available. Some of the materials we talked about were things like the Gutenberg project. Which is an online project to digitize thousands of different books. We also talked about one of the many add-on's that are available on FireFox to be able to download live streaming videos. One of my personal favorites was the free astronomy software called Stellarium. I really loved this tool because it was free and I think it would be a great tool to help my students learn more about the constellations and where they are at in the sky.
As we were walking through the YETC I kept having ideas for lesson plans and ways I could utilize the resources available at the YETC. One thing I really like about the YETC is how you are able to use so many different forms of media. For example, I think that using say a video of the space shuttle for a presentation on NASA would be a lot more interesting to a group rather than just a picture of the shuttle. Another thing I am defiantly going to look into are the many different teacher improvement videos available. I know that I am a visual learner and to have the opportunity to use visual sources to improve my teaching is a definite plus.
One thing I have noticed and it is something that I brought up in class, was how the elementary school I am at right now only has computers in the library and students only use the library once a week. I think that it is sad how their are so many different resources available online but schools simply don't have the funding or means (i.e. computers) available to their students to help them in their per suits of learning. I hope that when I become a teacher I might have resources available to allow my students to utilize the Internet and the resources available their.


YES ----I think that another day of YETC exploration would be an awesome idea.

Technology in the classroom
During class today we discussed and explored the tools that are available on the UEN website. Initially I thought the UEN website would be very limiting as to the tools it offered to us as teachers but I was quite wrong. After spending just a few minutes on the website I had answered questions that I previously use to have. One of my biggest concerns becoming a teacher is knowing what and where the core curriculum requirements can be found. UEN is awesome in how it not only provides teachers with the core standards but when you go into the lesson plan creator it provides a section where you can go and look up and see where your possible lesson plan might fall into. I think that this will be an extremely helpful tool to me as a teacher especially when it comes time to show administrators how I am using and teaching core curriculum subjects and material.
Another thing I discovered on the website was the very useful resources available to my future students and parents. I think that having an electronic means to let kids and parents reach me is going to be extremely helpful especially if kids need help on their homework or if they are struggling to understand something.
Overall I was greatly impressed with the UEN website and look forward to possibly using it some day to help my students excel in their academic pursuits.


Lesson Plan Overview
Grade Level Chosen: 5th Grade
Subject: Science-Geology formations and behaviors of volcanoes.
Lesson plan title: Push through
Refrences:
http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/5842.aspx
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/chemistry/lesson-plan/335.html
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=2695

Something worse than snow?

In the many different and varying types of weather we receive in Cache Valley I believe I have found the worst one. Now the reader might be asking his/her self. "Is it the snow? Is it the cold? Is it the inversion?" My answer to all these questions is NO. I believe that the worst kind of weather we have received in Cache Valley is that freezing rain. Now let me just back my reason for this new hatred of natures fury. I live with my wife at the bottom of old main and on my strolls home I usually walk down the steps and then cross the field. As most of you people out their know their has been snow on that hill for the last couple of weeks now and I have become very accustom to use certain tactics in order to navigate to my humble home in safety. Well after this recent rain things were defiantly different. As usual I headed down the stairs and made my forty five degree turn onto the "snow". Well after my first five steps I felt a noticeable difference in the way the terrain usually behaved. It was like walking on a solid piece of ice. So needless to say I experienced a little bit of panic but figured that I could continue on ward. I again took a couple of steps forward however the hill was getting steeper and I could feel my feet start to head down. Unfourtunatley I am not a skier so after a few seconds of free sliding down the hill I landed on my knees. Even after my fall I continued to slide down the hill another fifteen feet. Talk about embarissing! :( Well after my fall I said, "the heck with this" and decided I had better head to the steps. Despite this decision the ice was still present and I fell a couple of more times before my feet were safley on the sidewalk of the steps.
So the weather I hate about Cache valley is the blasted freezing rain. I just hope we get some snow so that my ego and knees can experience some relief.

Hey Makenna and Ashley here are some of the sections in our article I found kind of interesting and some of my own thoughts concerning those things. I look forward to seeing what you guys think.


Hamstra used a software application called DyKnow Vision to let her students analyze various passages from the books on computer screens at their desk. She then posted their work on a large-screen monitor at the front of the classroom (the computer lab, in this case), and the students discussed the displayed examples. Hamstra has also had students analyze similar passages using pen and paper.[1]

[1] School had some high tech stuff is this the same everywhere?

"were deeper than with pen and ink," Hamstra says. "The focus was really sharp. There's something about changing over to an electronic medium, something about that screen. It's psychological. It's a generational thing."[2]

[2] I really agree with this paragraph. I have seen in my self how you can express yourself more on the computer than you can by just writing.


A survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people (ages 8-18) mainline electronic media for more than six hours a day, on average. Interestingly, many are multitasking -- listening to music while surfing the Web or instant-messaging friends while playing a video game[3].

[3] Interesting statistic about how much media and digital stuff kids are getting into.


One way of competing with electronic distractions is to optimize lessons for the MEdia Generation's rapid-fire meme-hopping tendencies.[4]

[4] Make our lessons better.


A recent survey by CDW Corporation shows that teachers are more likely to use technology to ease the administrative requirements of K-12 education than to utilize it in instructional applications. More than 85 percent of respondents in CDW's Teachers Talk Tech survey say that while they are adequately trained on Internet, word processing, and email software, 27 percent have little or no training with integrating computers into lessons. Nonetheless, the survey indicates that more than 70 percent of teachers at all grade levels believe computers are an important driver of student learning.[5]

[5] From this survey it sounds like teachers know technology is important but are not utilizing it in their classrooms especially to enforce their lessons.


Consequently, teachers spend most of the day in drill-and-practice mode, preparing for standardized tests.[6]

[6] Standardized testing is hindering teachers abilities to integrate technology into the classroom.


More than half the students in a nationwide survey by the National Governors' Association said their classwork is easy, and two-thirds reported they would work harder if their coursework were more interesting or challenging.[7]

[7] Class work is easy but not interesting or challenging.


The theory behind Logo was that children, by actually creating their own learning environment, would retain far more knowledge than they would from ordinary teaching methods.[8]

[8] Theory is that by kids creating their own learning environment, they will retain far more knowledge.


The problem, Kay told me in a recent email, is largely with "the difficulty of adults to adjust to new ideas. I don't mean really new ideas like computing, but ideas new to the human race, like science and how it uses mathematics, or even slightly older ideas like reading and writing. Teaching the latter is still a struggle, despite its relative antiquity (and despite the fact that we know very well how to do it best). And real mathematics and real science are not yet taught in elementary and even most high schools."[9]

[9] A big part of the problem of technology getting into the classroom is the adults adapting and using this new technology.


"Kids are bombarded by media," says Blake. "They're completely high tech, and they don't know a different way. When you hand them a book, they're going to say, 'Is this all there is?'"[10]

[10] Technology is the way kids think.


. "This is a mix-and-match generation," Blake says. "I'm looking at these things as a way to hook into what they're doing outside the classroom. When they see that I know how to use the technology, they think, 'This is going to be cool.'"[11]

[11] Mix and match generation.


But in the end, the best way for students to learn about the world they live in is to have a hand in creating it. "The key to teaching is keeping kids involved," says Ryan Ritz, the computer science teacher who first brought the DyKnow system to the Park Tudor School. "They like everything being electronic -- it's speaking their language."[12]


[12] Keep kids involved and interested in what they are learning.

Here we are

Well this is the first posting for my new blog.