Advice

It's no surprise that the younger a teacher is, the more likely they are to know about technology in the classroom.  After hearing a current teacher of two years talk to the class about how she uses Smartboard regularly, it made it seem all the easier. She discussed how easy it was to create your own games and activities and also explained that though it is simple, it shouldn't always be used.  She showed the class just how important it is to know about technology.  She gave examples of situations she has been in and how technology, such as the smartboard, has helped her.  It was inspiring to hear a new teacher talk so fondly of not only her technology experiences, but her whole teaching experience as well. 

Discovery Education Video Streaming

It is usually a challenge to get a group of children to sit down and focus on a lesson for more than 30 minutes.  When standing up in front of them, the teacher can see the look of boredom in their eyes and knows that he or she should do something fast to regain their attention.  This would be a good time to have a whole video or a segment ready to present. 

Discovery Education makes this easy for educators by supplying them with thousands of videos.  However, it does not just stop there.  This is different from sites such as TeacherTube because it allows one to pick and choose which parts of the video they want to show and feel are relevant.  Teachers can search the website for specific subjects and use the video in their lesson.  The site is much more efficient than most because of the search and segment capabilities.  With an endless supply of video lessons, Discovery Education is a site every teacher should have bookmarked on their computer. 

SmartBoard Notebooks

SmartBoard notebooks are a wonderful addition to computers in the classrooms, labs and even at homes.  The software allows anyone, teacher, student, parent, to create a lesson.  It gives so many options to make the lesson even more successful by allowing the user to add links, images, and interactive buttons.  The buttons are beneficial because even if the student does not have the benefit of using the large SmartBoard, he or she can still have the same interactions one would while using the large board.  This software has some similarities to PowerPoint (such as adding images, links and animations), but the SmartBoard software is a step up.  It has a gallery of thousands of pictures and buttons that can make the game or lesson fun for the child to use.  Hopefully, the SmartBoard software can be installed in all computers in a school because it would be a shame for any teacher or student to not be exposed to this program.

Teacher Tube

In today's world, it can be hard to find appropriate videos to assist with lessons. YouTube has many videos but not all of them are classroom acceptable.  TeacherTube has videos that other educators have posted with lessons on any subject imaginable. 
For instance, children are supposed to know the Presidents and their accomplishments. Though this video doesn't name the accomplishments it  does have a song with a familiar tune that helps them memorize the Presidents in order. 

USI.7      The student will demonstrate knowledge of the challenges faced by the new nation by:

c)   describing the major accomplishments of the first five presidents of the United States.

Another subject that children are required to know are their multiplication tables and square roots.  Here is a video found on TeacherTube helping children remember their multiplication in a fun way. 

3.9       The student will recall the multiplication and division facts through the nines table.

Also, with TeacherTube, the viewer can upload videos that they've created on the site to help the other members.  With sites like TeacherTube and the previous sites mentioned in prior blogs, teachers are given plenty of options on how to teach a lesson and how to make it creative.   

SmartBoard Lessons

SmartBoards give teachers an opportunity to create or edit a lesson and share it with their students.  There are thousands of lessons that take as little as 5 minutes to make.  There are different options as to what type of template it could be. There are tiles, vortex, matching, multiple choice  and those are just a few.   And after creating a lesson, you can save it on your own computer and have it for a later time.  It allows teachers to be as creative as they want in giving their students the best possible lesson.  And it is not just limited to one subject. You can create a lesson in any subject as long as you know the material. 
Students can also do these lessons on their own (depending on the template style) from the classroom computers.  It may not be as fun as going up to the actual SmartBoard and getting to use it, but it still gives the same lesson but with  just a  little less flair. 
SmartBoards are replacing powerpoint lessons all over the country and it is no wonder why.  The SmartBoard gives a better presentation also allows the teacher to have a bit more fun while creating an unforgettable lesson for their students. 

Google Custom Seach Engine

Google's Custom Seach Engine is another technological advancement that should be incorporated in the classroom.  Google's CSE is something that every teacher should have.  It allows a person to create their own search engine with the sites they approve of. For teachers this is perfect for the classroom.  One wouldn't have to worry about inappropriate sites coming up or incorrect information being given. The teacher can find the sites that they find acceptable and then their students can only use those.  It helps the students stay on the same page with one another and the teacher as well. 


Virginia History Google URL:

 <div id="cse" style="width: 100%;">Loading</div>
<script src="http://www.google.com/jsapi" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
  google.load('search', '1', {language : 'en', style : google.loader.themes.SHINY});
  google.setOnLoadCallback(function() {
    var customSearchControl = new google.search.CustomSearchControl('016829228860478613354:fwntchnagx4');
    customSearchControl.setResultSetSize(google.search.Search.FILTERED_CSE_RESULTSET);
    customSearchControl.draw('cse');
  }, true);
</script>

Flickr photo

Ashton at Wide World of Disney

This is my 5 year old nephew Ashton. I chose this picture because 1- He's adorable (even if I am a little bias) and 2- I'm very family oriented and think it's important people know :)

Flickr seems to be an easy to use website. It was simple to download photos and share them.  It appeals to a wide range of ages because everyone has photos they like to share. Also, for those people who don't have a social network, Flickr is one of the best ways to show off their photos. 

In the article "The Promise of Social Networks", it also states that Flickr is simple to use. It also promotes the use of it in classrooms.  The article begins by saying that just like any other new technology, there is always the chance that the user could become frusturated and lose site of the goal.  However, because Flickr is so easy to operate, it would be hard to lose patience while using it. 
It does appear that Flickr would not be as useful in an elementary setting as it would be in a secondary education setting.  Middle and high school students do more projects where photos are used and referenced than elementary school students.  This does not mean however, teachers could not find a way to bring it into their classroom. Some photos might be necessary in certain lessons and being able to bring them up on one site would be helpful.  It could also be used to show parents what is happening in the classroom instead of just telling them.  Just like with any other new technology, in order to bring it in to the classroom, it might take a bit of creativity from the students and teachers. 

Netvibes and Delicious

Websites such as NetVibes and Delicious allow users to access their favorite websites through bookmarking.  Delicious gives users the opportunity to save their favorite sites to one page.  They can upload this information by signing in under their account and simply finding the site they want.  NetVibes has somewhat the same idea but shows a bigger picture of the sites however, does not seem to organize them as well as Delicious (delicious gives tags to find sites under categories).  Both are very helpful, especially to those who are not always on just one computer. 
Classrooms could use these sites by making one page for the class and saving helpful review sites. This way, during computer time, teachers could bring the site up and allow the children to decide what area they want to study and choose what site they want to use. Another option is to give each child their own sign-in and during computer time in the lab, the  students can sign on and use their favorite review sites.  The only problem with this would be, depending on the age, the children might want to add some sites that might not always be "school appropriate". 

Engage Me response

The article "Engage Me or Enrage Me" could not have been more accurate.  There is absolutely no doubt that trying to engage children in the classroom is difficult. There are millions of other things children would rather be doing than sitting in a classroom listening to lectures and watching demonstrations.  Many teachers are beginning to incorporate technology in the classroom.  However, it is going to take more than an hour of computer time and more than  one lesson with the smartboard for students to be engaged. 
 It is a teacher's job to not only help students grow intellectually but find fun ways for them to do so.  By giving children a blog, a teacher is opening up a  world of opportunities.  For example, imagine teaching a fourth grade classroom and just finishing a reading assignment. The educator has two choices; to assign a written report of the book or to use technology to report on the book. If students have a blog, teachers can give assignments and have students post them on their blog. A child can respond to a book or lesson using their blog and by doing this they are not only sharing their ideas with their teacher, but with their peers.  This would be easier than trying to get those shy children with a fear of public speaking to stand up front. 
Another option is to make a class blog.  By having this a teacher can assign a topic each week and have one student respond with their opinions and views. It could also be used to help keep parents updated on what goes on in the classroom. 
Giving students this option can help engage their attention because it is not another typed book report; it is an opportunity for them to explore their creative side and open up to their peers and educators.

More than anything, this future teacher wants to be educated on all the options for media use in the classroom so my classroom will have nothing but engaged (not enraged) students.