Reflection on Scavenger Hunt

I really enjoyed doing the scavenger hunt, at first it was really difficult to think of what I could do because I had the ABC's but then I started thinking about how I would use this in my classroom and since I am teaching kindergarten, I thought that creating a them would be beneficial to help think if pictures. For fruit you could do A is for Apple, B is for Banana, C is for Cantaloupe, ect. This would help introduce a lesson for students who may not know what fruits are. I chose the theme, all about candy!!! So my pictures included the types of candy that you could find at Wal-mart or a gas station. Children love walking down the candy isle, and why wouldn't they, it's so colorful and fun to see the multiple different treats available to eat. I was really impressed with all the different names/types of candy. I didn't even know that half of them existed. I really enjoyed doing the scavenger hunt as a theme to create pictures that go along with the ABC. I would definitely use this in my classroom to help students use creativity when developing a new lesson and also helping them learn important concepts that maybe difficult to grasp. It's a great activity to incorporate multiple uses of technology and the internet. They use a camera, computer, picasa,and they can learn how to use a web 2.0 site like smilebox which was really easy to navigate through and learn how to use. Overall, this was a fun, interactive activity and I really like it!

Smilebox Scavenger Hunt ABC

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Scavenger Hunt ABC

Storybird....

At the begining I was really confused because I didn't understand why we were put in groups of two, with the two people being from a different program/level of teaching. I am an Elementary Education major and I was grouped with an English High School Education major, but now I can see why it was important to gain even more knowledge from the opposite end. Our web 2.0 website is Storybird, which is a website that I have never heard of. I was able to get on there, create an account, and just play around for a decent amount of time. I was able to get an understanding of the website and learn how to use it. I was able to learn why I should use it my classroom, but again I find it more appropriate for higher grade levels in Elementary Schools. It is a website where people can create interactive storybooks by using artists pictures. It is really easy and fun. I could see myself creating books for my students and reading to them some other books that are appropriate, but for kindergarten-2nd grade, it could be difficult for them to create a book and think of how to use their words along with pictures. There are ways to create books together as a class and that would be great to do with the younger grades. I also thought it would be great for parents to get involved and create an all about me book for their child and then the child could read it to the class at the beginning of the school year so students can learn about one another in a fun interactive different way. I was really impressed with some of the art and images that people could upload to create a storybook along with some of the stories that I see actually being published and read to children.

Wiki's

Before class today, I had never heard of a Wiki and I definitely didn't know what they were, how to use them, or what they were used for. I was able to learn all of these things about Wiki's today in class. I was pretty impressed with how easy it was to work with the Wiki since I am not that tech savvy of a person. I liked that we were able to look up some information about Wiki's and the youtube video helped me understand what they were used for and scenarios for how they could be used. Now that we are developing our own Wiki, I can see the uses of it for collaborating, but I also find it a little difficult and frustrating when your trying to add things but can't because other people are editing. I would have say that this is the only downfall for me when using a Wiki. I like that you can add links and then other people could contribute in other links. I see the benefit for this in schools but I am not sold on it for younger grades. I know that I will have a degree for Kindergarten-6th grade but I am primarily interested in grades kindergarten-2nd and I feel that these students will not benefit from this. I think it could be confusing, especially for those students who have never used a computer before or the internet and there will be some. Since I am in the Urban Multicultural Cohort, we visit schools who are mainly low-socioeconomic status and some of these families will not have a computer or the internet, therefore, students will be coming into the schools and using these for the first time. So I just find it a little difficult seeing myself using something like these with students K-2nd grade. As a teacher, I can see myself using Wiki's with other colleagues and it being a simple easy way to collaborate on lesson plans, projects, and daily activities. I think in this case it is more realistic for me to utilize the Wiki just as a teacher. I'm unsure that I would be able to use these during my internship but I am interested in learning more on how to incorporate this in the lower school grades.

Reflection on Evaluating Website

I think this activity helped me to learn more about a website. I really thought about the five criteria for evaluating websites and that they should have accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity, and coverage. I looked at the website www.starfall.com. I have used the website myself and have also talked with teacher who use the website to help with their activities/lesson plans. I have even been in classrooms where I have seen students on the computer at this websites doing an interactive books and games. So that is why I chose to evaluate this website. The activity helped to assist me in meeting the learning objectives associated with the evaluation of websites to use in my classroom because it allowed me to look at the website piece by piece, part by part, and really understand the website. I had only accessed the website prior to gain information, knowledge, or help with activities that I did with my private Pre-k class so it was interesting to see the criteria that it met and what it didn't. It was interesting to learn new things about the website because there were places that I had never accessed and also to see a new website that they have made called more.starfall.com. It's a new website that offers even more resources to teacher and parents to use. So by doing this evaluation I was able to learn even more about the website and now as an intern in Kindergarten, I have the opportunity to visit this site and do even more!!

Learning Expectations for this Course

My learning expectations for the TPTE 486 course, is that I am excited to be learning how to utilize and and incorporate technology in the classroom, however, I am discouraged because I am learning how to us a Mac computer and learning how to access all that Google has to offer. I feel as though I am already off tract because I don't know how to do certain things on a Mac. I am definitely trying and willing to learn because I do want to purchase a Mac laptop at some point and I know that a lot of schools have incorporated them into the classrooms. So I am excited but nervous. I have already learned a lot within the two classes because I have never heard of google docs and I think it's awesome. I expect by the end of this course to understand and be able to use the multiple things that Google offers which includes doc, blogger, pictures. ect. I am glad that we are learning not only how to use and access these things but also understand how they work and why they are important. I expect to gain ideas for lessons and also ways in incorporating different technology from grades K-12. Overall, I just expect to learn the things that will benefit me as a teacher, in today's society, technology is booming and our students may know more about things than we do, so i just want to be current with the technology to engage my students and get them involved in their learning process. I am looking forward to what this class has to offer and I honestly can't wait to learn more than what I expect.