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Posted on July 11th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
I finished my webquest! It’s called Penguin Researchers and it’s designed for 1st graders toward the end of the year. To view my webquest, click http://zunal.com/webquest.php?user=31887
Posted on July 7th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
There wasn’t very much choice for TappedIn sessions last week, and I wasn’t able to attend the ones that were offered. So I attended two sessions tonight: the 7pm session on K-20+ Math Resources and the 8pm session on K-20+ Science Resources. Both sessions were hosted by Jeff Cooper (JeffC) and attended by several different people from around the world, some graduate students and some currently teaching, some elementary and some secondary education. The purpose of both sessions was to explore and share some of the resources that Jeff and the other participants have used in the classroom related to both math and science (they kind of overlapped a little).
During the Math Resources session, there was only one other participant and we explored some of the math sites that are relevant in the classroom. The first site we looked at, mathway.com, is a site where students can enter math problems, from very basic math to calculus, and can get the answers and step-by-step solutions. We talked about how this, and other similar sites, have really shaken things up in the classroom. Technology can be very useful in the classroom, but sometimes harmful, too. Tools like Mathway are great resources, if they are used constructively. Students who have missed a day or two from school can catch up and see what they have missed, step by step. It allows for practice with immediate correction and it lets students manage their frustration if they run into problems. The downside is that students could use this tool to copy the answers to their homework without learning the steps. Our techniques in teaching the material have got to change along with the resources available.
Some other sites Jeff introduced were arcademicskillbuilder.com and mathforum.org. I remember playing Math Blaster games when I was a kid and they really got me interested in multiplication and division. Arcademic Skill Builders has some free online math games for kids. Math Forum is a site where you can network with other teachers and find great tools for building math concepts.
The Science Resources session was quite a bit bigger than the previous one. There weren’t too many teachers attending who were currently teaching science, so Jeff gave us some links to explore and posted a list of resources from previous discussions. Brainpop.com is a site that has videos on all kinds of science material (and all other subjects). I registered for a free trial, but it’s only for 5 days. The videos are informative, easy to follow, and geared toward students. They would be great for use in middle school or high school classrooms.
My favorite site was yucky.com. It has information on all the gross things related to the human body, like snot and eye gunk, as well as worms and roaches. You can search by bodily function or by body system, like the endocrine system. It’s a great site for kids (especially boys) and really gets them into science!
Jeff also showed us a whole bunch of science fair resources, like Science Fair Central ( http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/). These are great sites for teachers and parents to find science projects or for students to explore on their own.
I really like when TappedIn sessions are smaller because the discussion stays focused and there’s not a lot of repeating; however, when there are more participants, you are more likely to be exposed to more resources and ideas. I enjoyed both sessions a lot because the links and ideas provided could easily be used in any elementary classroom and I learned a lot about teaching and integrating math and science. TappedIn is a great tool for professional development and collaboration between teachers and students all over the world. Very cool.
Posted on July 7th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
I looked at Webspiration last week and I thought it was really awesome tool for visual and interactive learning, so I was glad to get an assignment where I could actually create something using this site. It was really fun to create a concept map, if time-consuming.
My concept map is based on my assumption that integrating technology in pedagogy enhances content. It details some of the benefits and dangers of technology and some of the technological tools and instruments for use in pedagogy. I started by just brainstorming a few words that came to mind when I thought about technology, visible thinking, and interactivity… like connections, communication, and differentiation. I really believe technology is useful in the classroom, but only if it is used right!
To view my concept map, click:
http://www.mywebspiration.com/view/154453a1324a
Posted on July 4th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
As a visual learner, I am totally down with visuals in education! Some of my best work in a poetry class I took came from finding random pictures and using them as inspiration. Pictures can not only make abstract ideas more concrete, but they can inspire abstract thought from something concrete. Creativity, big picture thinking, and flexible thinking are all things I really hope to develop in my students.
While pictures are great, I think charts and graphs are the most helpful tool in teaching a diverse group of students, especially those logical/mathematical learners. I worked with a second grader who had a difficult time comprehending big ideas in the stories she was reading. I showed her how to create graphic organizers and concept maps, and her comprehension improved dramatically. Simplifying and organizing those main ideas can sometimes be the key.
I think when teachers use visuals in their lessons, students respond better and understand more, but when students are responsible for creating their own visuals, they really make connections and internalize the concepts. Having to think about the most important information and boil down the complex storyline, idea, or event into a succinct and easy-to-read (and remember) visual is very beneficial.
I looked at Webspiration ( http://www.mywebspiration.com/ ) and it is so cool! Webspiration has awesome templates for creating study guides, charts, and other graphic organizers. I am including an activity in my webquest where the students look at two different species of penguins. The Compare/Contrast template on this site would provide a perfect medium for students to create a comprehensive chart and print it off! I don’t know how well 2nd graders would do with this type of technology, but you never know until you try! Modeling this site and the procedures for creating a visual representation would help students understand, though.
P.S. I couldn’t find any TappedIn sessions I could attend this week. I will hopefully attend one Monday and post an update about it soon.
Posted on June 25th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
I downloaded a video called Animals Profiles: Penguins from United Streaming. (http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=8F1B8BEE-D394-4B13-A4F1-6B7EEC0E2E60&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US) It’s a 15-minute narrated film on penguins with interviews with a zookeeper. There is footage of the birds in the zoo and all kinds of penguin facts are discussed. The zookeeper shows some penguin down feathers and talks about the different species of penguins. It’s really informative and pretty cool.
I will definitely use this video for my webquest project on penguins. It is broken down into 13 segments so I can link students to different sections, ones which fit the project. There are sections on physical features, behavior, and diets.
The videos on United Streaming are amazingly useful. There are so many different subjects and styles of video, from documentaries to animated stories to songs. I like that you can search by topic or by grade and that there are teacher resources for creating lesson plans, quizzes, and writing prompts. United Streaming is an awesome way to integrate video clips and technology into your classroom!
Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
Here’s a link to my photostream on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tantospeak/
It’s a compilation of photos from some of my travels, including England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and Canada. I get to add Ireland and Prague to it in August!
Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
Google’s explanation of Google Earth is so right – it’s like a video game! I know a lot of people who love to use Google Earth, and students are always up on the latest technology and really appreciate when teachers take an interest in things like this.
Making connections with students is so important. If a student has no idea what countries on the other side of the world look like, how are they supposed to learn about their history and culture? Showing students Google Earth images of distant cities can help open their minds to all the interesting things that are out there. Teachers can use Google Earth during history, geography, astronomy, and even literature lessons to spark students’ interest and help them connect what they are learning from books.
The coolest thing I saw was how to use Google Earth to explore volcanoes. I vividly remember our unit on volcanoes from when I was in 3rd grade. Our teacher showed us lots of pictures and even a video, but how cool would it be to see active and dormant volcanoes from around the world at the touch of a button?
The mash-ups I checked out are pretty cool. Most of them combined Google Maps with something else. Since most people use the Internet as a phonebook/atlas nowadays anyway, it’s pretty nice that there are sites to help find locations of cool things. There are mash-ups for everything – Secret fishing holes! Restaurant finders! Cell tower locations! I may have to sort through a lot of them to find one that’s useful. Or I might try creating my own!
Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
Podcasts are generally audio files, but can also contain video and pictures. They are a great tool, if used wisely. Playing podcasts for your students can help them gain a perspective that they may not be privy to otherwise. They are far more interesting than learning from a book. We actually use podcasts in another UMW class I am taking. We can listen to the author of our textbook expand on important issues by going to a website and searching through her podcasts. They provide great little tidbits – they are generally only about 6 minutes long – and they are accessible from anywhere.
The connections that students can make with the global community through podcasts are so incredible. Not only can students listen to what others have to say from all over the world, but they can create a podcast and let their voices be heard globally. Some classrooms set up pen-pals with students in other countries, but how cool would it be to set up podcast-pals where students can actually hear other students?!
Helping students to create their own podcasts is even more valuable than accessing others’ podcasts. Motivating students to create something of their own and publishing it either on the web or through the school’s direct dialer system can engage students much more than writing reports. Teachers can introduce podcasts in one lesson, perhaps creating a screencast for instructions on how to create one, and then podcasts can be one option for other projects throughout the year. Tapping into students’ creativity and performance skills is one way to help keep students engaged in the classroom.
Students can create podcasts of their history reports, record their fiction stories, or create a student-run newscast of current events. Teachers can create podcasts of lessons to post online so students can revisit them for review. There are many tutorials and guides on how to create a podcast. I didn’t have time this week to try it out, but I’ll be sure to learn how to do it by the time I’m in the classroom.
Finding podcasts suitable for young children was kind of difficult. I found many podcasts for high schoolers and college students (like one on quantum mechanics), but finding ones for elementary schoolers proved to be a bit tough. I like the Poem Present podcasts from The Education Podcast Network (http://poempresent.uchicago.edu/). Allowing students, both ESL and English speakers, to hear poems read by the original author is so important to appreciating and understanding the work.
I also like the podcast on electricity done by 4th graders at http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=20057&title=4th_grade_podcast___Electricity that I found on TeacherTube. TeacherTube is such a great resource because you can find all kinds of videos and slideshows to use in the classroom,students can upload their own podcasts to demonstrate learning, and parents can view them from home. Conducting science experiments and recording the results via a podcast with video is extremely educational.
Posted on June 12th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
This week we experimented with screencasts using the free website screencastomatic.com. Let me just say this was THE most difficult program/website I have ever worked with – and I have multiple emails conversations with the tech-help guy to prove it! The site is very easy to use, and I understood exactly how to make a screencast, especially after watching the helpful tutorial. But the website must not have been compatible with my laptop (or my two computers downstairs!) because I tried for 6 hours before I finally got to the screen where I could start recording my screencast. But I refused to give up! I ended up with a screencast with garbled sound, though. :[ I think maybe a headset with a mic might work better than my built-in laptop mic? I don’t have access to one, though, so you guys will have to bear with it. My screencast is on how to create a budget in Excel. You can view my screencast at http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cQ1lqRfVR
I think screencasts could be pretty useful in the classroom, providing I had access to a computer that could produce them. I am going to be an elementary school teacher, though, and I think screencasts might be more effective in middle/high school classrooms. I don’t really see assigning my 2nd graders a project in Excel and leaving them with a screencast for instructions… However, higher level teachers could assign students to create their own screencasts on a topic that they could then use to teach the class. This could assess students’ practical understanding of the topic and also help them learn since teaching something new is often the best way to understand it yourself. This could also be used to assess students’ ability to give and follow directions.
Additionally, I think screencasts could be used to communicate with parents or students who have been absent. If they have access to a computer, the teacher could send a quick screencast for parents or students to view. Teachers could use this to show parents what students are learning, and then parents could be better able to help their children. Absent students could visually see a demonstration for an assignment – an important method for those visual learners. All in all, screencasts may be helpful in some areas, but I don’t think I’ll be using them any time soon…
Posted on June 7th, 2009 by ktrautman.
Categories: ITEC501.
This week in ITEC501 we created several things:
1. A social bookmarking site on PortaPortal. This is really a cool tool because it acts just like your personal bookmarks on your home computer, but they are available to you from anywhere. No more emailing myself tons of links! I will soon start adding sites on classroom management, lesson plans, and more. To visit my social bookmarking site, follow this link: http://guest.portaportal.com/KatTrautman.
2. A slideshow presentation on VoiceThread. This site allows you to upload numerous types of media, from powerpoint presentations to photo slide shows with audio commentary. This week we created a slideshow on Internet safety and copyright information. To view my slideshow, follow this link: http://voicethread.com/share/530881/
3. An RSS through Google Reader. This was an optional exercise, but it was the answer to my prayers! I have been viewing my classmates’ blogs individually by clicking on each link through blackboard. This was very time consuming and so annoying! I set up an RSS that let’s me view new postings for all my classmates’ blogs and saves me a ton of time and effort.
This week was kind of crazy, but the things I am learning to do and use are so helpful!
P.S. Last week I created a Web Portfolio in order to organize my information, present my assignments for ITEC501, and provide readers with helpful ideas and links. I can modify and use my web portfolio when I apply for a teaching position and when I need to communicate with parents or students. To visit my web portfolio, follow this link: https://sites.google.com/a/virginia.edu/kat-trautman-s-web-portfolio/Home