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.