Samantha+Sample

EDU 240 Sam's FINAL ** 1.    As **//COGNITIVE MEDIATOR//**, the educator helps students to become independent learners who construct meaning by combining new information with their own background knowledge.
 * TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
 * Discuss two assignments that you completed using a South Dakota State Standards topic in your major area of study. Describe each program and then tell how you could use that program with your students to enhance their technology skills when you start teaching.

A. One of the assignments was a scavenger hunt. This assignment had me looking up sites that were accurate and easy to understand for the grade level I had (4th). We had an example to go by and so really what we had to do was find the sites and hyperlink them onto the assignment we were creating. I would hyperlink in the website and under the link would be a list of questions that my students would need to answer. All of the answers would be found in the hyperlink. Basically, the kids were hunting for answers, but there were many sites to go to. My students would more likely stay on task since they are constantly going to new sites and looking for new answers, versus reading through a paper I handed out to them. They would discover new websites in the process. I could even use the technology to show them how I created it by introducing them to hyperlinking. If anything, my students will be getting more hands on experience with the internet and finding out exactly how useful this tool is.

B.Another assignment we had was creating a Powerpoint. My topic was body systems so I had a lot to say. This program is amazing in that i can have a ton of information, but seeing one slide at a time makes it less overwhelming for my kids. If they need to take notes, they'll only see a few sentences to a paragraph at a time versus pages of information. Also, it allows me to keep their attention. I can change the color of the font and the style of the font; I can have cool backgrounds or pictures that can do animation. The words can even do animation. I can add in video clips for enhanced learning too or even music. My students will stay paying attention than they would if I lectured. They will also absorb more because their brain is not falling asleep from boredom, but instead focused on the screen. It is kind of like tv. It's something to watch and see different information yes, but also different styles and animations. I can even incorporate powerpoint into the classroom by having my kids learn how to make one. During a small group project, for instance, they can make a powerpoint on the topic at hand and present it to the class. Making a basic powerpoint is easy and they could investigate other options powerpoint equips us with. **    2.     As **//RESEARCHER//**, the educator seeks to improve educational practices within the school setting, using an inquiry approach to serve students more effectively. Oh my goodness, this class has helped me so much! While I didn't find the textbook to be very helpful since I am more hands on when learning about technology, the researching sites and making a presentation were amazing tools. Researching sites opened my eyes to what is out there in today's world. I had absolutely no idea there were so many tools for teachers. Even if I don't understand many sites completely, I do still know they are available to me. I learned a lot from this class. Google Docs, Earth, Map, etc were completely unknown to me. I didn't know TeacherTube existed. All of these sites that we visited have been super helpful and I know that as a teacher I will incorporate these sites into my classroom. These sites simply have made me a better teacher candidate because now I know where to find certain things to help me teach these kids better than I could have before this class. As for the presentation, I learned a lot. I had to research about my topics because I was only familiar with one of the three. In doing so, I learned a lot. Not only that, but putting together the presentation took lots of time and patience to get it to where I knew it would come across best to my audience. I used tutorials and visual aids to help since I know students learn really well from seeing it. Being a teacher I need to be able to present to the class and with kids it is a little bit easier than presenting to my peers so this project helped me fight my fears. I think overall I am a better informed teacher candidate and I worked on my technological and presenting skills and it has been very helpful. 3.    As **//COMMUNICATOR//**, the educator is skilled in modes of communication that will enable effective communication and collaboration with other educators, parents, and families.
 * How has completing research in this class (reading the textbook, researching sites on the Internet, creating a presentation for class) helped you to become a better teacher candidate? **
 * Discuss one Internet site and one technology program that will help you to communicate to your students and their parents when you become a teacher? Describe how you could use each one to communicate to either students or parents when you are teaching.

A. Newsletters will be one way I will communicate with parents and students. Most likely the newsletter will be more for the parent and letting them know what the class is up to so they can stay informed. If we, as a class, have a party coming up and need volunteer parents or if we have a project that needs extra supplies we can send newletters home asking for donations of supplies. The newsletter can tell of upcoming things that the kids will be doing or if the school is putting on a play or skit, etc, the parents can be informed so they can come watch their children perform. The only downside to newsletters is many times the children will forget to pass it on to mom and dad.

B. Wikis and blogs are ways to keep parents informed. Wikis have been used by other teachers for parents to see what is going on, but I am still figuring out how to connect it to parents so I would probably use blogs. With the blogs I can get on the student's site and respond or just evaluate it on paper. The parents can be emailed the link to see what their kids are answering and how I am grading them. Also, I can get on each kids blog and post about upcoming events or information the parents should be aware of. **  4.     As **//EVALUATOR//**, the educator maximizes students’ learning by using a full range of formal and informal information-gathering processes in order to respond appropriately to student individual differences.
 * Discuss one web site and one technology program that you used and evaluated this semester? Why did you find each one useful and how might you use them in the classroom when you start teaching?

A. Awesome Sites was a helpful tool because it allowed me to check out tons of websites and decide for myself if they were useful or not. It was a quick introduction to a vast number of sites. Instead of researching each one in depth we got to quickly assess it, but deep enough to tell our opinions. This helped me for classroom prep because I know which ones I liked and will use and which ones I won't. We uploaded Awesome Sites onto our portfolio so I will always know which sites to use from that list. In the classroom I will use this either by having my students go there or by finding things on there that I as a teacher will need in order to help teach my students better. One of the sites on Awesome Sites was Google Map. I had never known about it because I always used a regular map instead. I thought this was really cool and since then I have used it a lot. You can figure out how to get there from a far distance or if you are within the city you can narrow it down to street maps. In the classroom I can use it for learning geography or art or math. I can teach the kids about a city and tell them to find it or tell them to draw me a map of their neighborhood or I can get a map and put on miles so the kids will have to figure out how far away they are from this place. Various things can be done with Google Map.

B. One of the really cool things we evaluated early on this semester was Microsoft Publisher. This is a program that I had never used in the past, but I really liked it. We used it for the brochure and newsletter. The cool thing about this program is that it gives you different templates and you can go out and search for others online for free. I had been very nervous about having to create all the boxes and design it, but happily they already had that taken care of for me so I just had to do the research and format it correctly. It definately made life easier. When it comes to teaching, I may send newsletters home and so this will help me make them. I can also use newsletters as assignments or have the kids make one. During certain units in the classroom I may make brochures for study aids or leave areas blank for the kids to fill out. If I were to teach 8th grade science I could give each kid an element in the periodic table and have them create a brochure on their assigned topic. There are lots of creative ways to incorporate brochures and newsletters into your classroom. **