23 February - Vidcast Reflection

The name of this vidcast is: An Introduction to Eighth Grade U.S. History 1. The core curriculum that this particular vidcast addresses is: Social Studies - U.S. History 1.

The reason I chose this particular topic is because I think that it would be a great way to bring technology into the classroom. This would also be a great way to capture the student's attention. All too often students complain about history being boring, well this is a way that students can use more than just one of their senses. They will not only be listening but watching. The students will be able to also put pictures with the facts that they are learning. Using a vidcast as an introduction will also give the students a sort of "head's up" as to what is to come. I believe that students will listen more to something that they can relate to no matter how "cheesy" it is presented to them. T.V. and movies are a great way to do that. When you are combining pictures with words and music the students are more likely to pay attention and get something out of it.

Some potential drawback are that there is just so much information to cover it is very hard to squeeze hundreds of years of history into a short couple minute movie overview. The students may miss a lot. Another drawback is that often times when a teacher turns on a movie, not matter how short it is, the students will zone out and sometimes simple fall asleep. So when that happens, the student is getting noting out of it because they are not actively participating. Another drawback is the amount of time and preparation that goes into creating this. I'm not sure I would have to time to do this for all my section because there is other things that will benefit the students more that I, as the teacher should be spending my time on.

Future for a vidcast series would include section introductions. Like I discussed earlier, it is very important to capture the student's attention in the beginning. Using technology like this would do just that. In a series I would, time allowing, make a vidcast story to appropriately introduce each section that will be discussed and learned about in class. The vidcast that I made for this project is an introduction to the core for the entire term. I would like to further discuss each section, breaking it down and pulling out the important themes. I think that for the most part the students would love this. I do feel it would capture attention and they would want to know more about parts that sparked their interest. I think bringing technology into the classroom is an important part in reaching the kids of today, for technology is something they know and can relate to.

16 February - Vidcast part 1

What:

We learned about the different types of vidcast software that is available for us to use both in our assignment and our classrooms.

So What:

It is important for me to succeed right now as a student to know what kinds of application are available for me to use. We learned about the different types of vidcasts that we could do as well. I think that this is a fun way to put together a project. This would be a great tool to use in other classes to present information when doing class projects.

Now What:

I think that this would be a great tool to use in my future classrooms. Bringing technology into the classroom is a great tool to capture the students attention. This would be a great tool to use for showing examples and giving introduction of a unit or lesson. The variety of different types of tools that offer vidcast programs will be able to keep things fresh. Students won't have to use the same tools and will be able to use what will work best for them.

9 February - Podcast

What:

This assignment we learn how to create a podcast and then publish it to our class website.

So What:

I'm not real sure how I would use this assignment in my classes now. I don't feel that at this point in my college career I would use this. I think that to learn about podcasts are important for me now. I like that I am able to take to time and learn about this particular piece of technology. It will definitely help me in the future.

Now What:

As a teacher I think this would be a great way to have the students take what they have learned in lecture or what they have gathered during research and present it in a fun and creative way. I feel that if the students are enjoying themselves they are more likely to get more out of the exercise. And really that is the point, to use whatever means to get the students to learn and prepare them for the future. Students, in general like to use technology because it's something that they are used to and helps them connect to the material they are learning.

2 February - UEN

The UEN website is an excellent tool that is available for teachers, parents and students. When I began my education classes I was asked to create a UEN login however no one took the time to walk us through all the site has to offer. However this assignment has given me the opportunity to learn about what all the UEN website has to offer. In our education classes we are taught over and over again to not "reinvent the wheel" and use lesson plans that are already created and just adapt them to your classes. This site offers just that, several different lesson plans for different topics and curriculum specific.

Having the curriculum all mapped out is a wonderful asset for teachers. This is a great tool because teachers can develop lesson plans that flow and will better prepare students for upcoming objectives that they will need to know. With history it's very important to follow a curriculum because everything builds on the lesson previous. Having what is expected of each lesson in one place will save so much preparation time. The fact is is that there is so much for teachers to cover and sometimes things need to be left out to focus on things that are higher on the priority list. Having the curriculum post on a readily accessible website allows teachers to combine things too save some time and spend more time on things that will inevitably require more time.

Another great tool is the interactives. Not only will students have fun but they can make visual connections. They will be able to have fun learning. This would be a great review tool. Students will not only be learning something and using their critical thinking skills but expanding their knowledge base and enjoying it. It's important to keep students attention or they are likely to zone-out and stop learning. I can say that I had fun going through this tool, it was so easy to use and interesting. I think that it is so important to make learning fun and to help the students make connections between the history that they are learning their own lives. Interactives do just that, they help the students put history in action.

The Pioneer Library has so many different tools that can be used in the classroom. I really like the CultureGrams. This would be a great tool to use in a World or US history class. This would give the students a better understanding of the make-up of different countries. I plan to use this in my classroom. I also plan on using movie clips of documentaries in my classroom. I strongly feel that students learn better if they have many different outlets to learn from. Not only that but having these different outlets broaden student's knowledge base. Technology is the "wave of the future" and I plan to use as much technology as I can and still be affective in my classroom.