Done!

We finally made it..last week of classes! It has been a long road but we all made it to the end and can see the light. Unfortunately, there is still a large amount of work yet to be done but for the most part, it's over! Now all that's left are a couple finals and our portfolio presentation. I will definitely miss the block. It's been nice seeing the same friendly faces over and over in the same classes. I think we all got comfortable with each other and became good friends. I hope we can keep in touch throughout next semester! :)

Wiki

     Our last project for the class was the wiki! It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I had to make a wiki for my job senior year and it was way more complicated than the one we made in class. I was intimidated when I learned we were going to make a wiki because I thought it was going to be like the one I made before that was so hard and took so long. I am glad it wasn't. I think the wiki is another great resource for the classroom. It would be a good idea to have a classroom website that parents can visit and interact with you. It is also good that you can edit the wiki so you can update it with what you are doing in class. You can always change the pages to incorporate what you are learning in class and change it to be relevant for what the kids are learning. You can also give students the password and log in to the wiki so they can update it with different things they are thinking of or anything that can add to the lesson. This will get them involved in learning and actively engaged in the classroom.
     

VoiceThread

    I like the VoiceThread technology. It kind of reminded me of the digital story but it was a little less complicated. I think VoiceThread is an easy way of asking students a question and getting them to respond to you. It provides a different way of answering questions rather than sitting down, raising hands, waiting to be called on. I think if students themselves got involved in making VoiceThreads, they would have a lot of fun with it. They could comment on their friends VoiceThreads and have their friends comment on theirs. Of course, I think the teacher would always have to monitor these VoiceThreads to make sure no one is saying anything inappropriate on theirs or a friends. But if everyone behaved I think VoiceThread is a good piece of technology to incorporate into the classroom.

Thanksgiving!

     It is almost Thanksgiving break! Which means good food, good company, and no classes. I can't speak for everyone, but I definitely need this time off. I am so excited to go home and enjoy the holiday with my family. I need a break from the getting up early and massive piles of homework.
    This break will be the rejuvination I need to get through the last 2 weeks of the semester and finals. It's crazy how fast this semester went by! We're almost there. :)
    I hope you all have an amazing holiday with your friends and family. Remember to always be thankful for everything you have in life. Never take it for granted. Enjoy!

iMovie

      I really enjoyed making the iMovie. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was really intimidated to start working on it, I thought it was going to be all technological and impossible to create. I'm glad it was a group project; certain things I wasn't sure of my group members could help me out with. This is definitely a great piece of technology to be used in the future classroom. You can put your students into groups and have them create their own iMovie. It can be integrated into almost any subject area. Our class integrated ours with Math, but it can also be integrated into Science, ELA, anything. I think students would really enjoy getting to tape each other as well. They could play director, actor, etc. It would be fun for them.

Technology vs. Hands on Learning in Classroom

     I recently read an article from the Classroom 2.0 website that debates the use of technology in the classroom. Our EDU315 class is based around the idea that technology should be integrated in the classroom and it is important that students get the use of technology, because we are entering the technological generation.
     The school that is discussed in the article is The Waldorf School of the Peninsula where their teaching philosphy is based on hands-on activities and learning through creative tasks. There are no computers, no screens, just simple pens and pencils and blackboards. Good old-fashioned learning.
    What is your opinion of this? Is no technology beneficial or hurtful for students? Are we too dependent on technology to do work for us? I just thought this was a really thought-provoking article. It raises many interesting questions that are worth discussing. Is there too much technology in our schools?

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?_r=1

My Own Smartboard Project

    I really enjoyed working with the Smartboard for our project. I think we had a really fun lesson to do and it was a good learning experience. One day we may be using a Smartboard in our classroom and it is important to know how to use it and have a variety of lessons available. Smartboard can be used at any grade level in any classroom, I think kids would really enjoy getting the chance to go up and draw on it and drag things around. Getting them actively involved in the classroom will make them excited to learn and will help them remember the information more.
    It is also important to practice a lesson before you do it. Sometimes technology doesn't always work out for you and the smartboard kind of gave us some issues. It wouldn't always go to the next slide when we wanted it to which was kind of discouraging. You have to be ready to roll with the punches when working with technology because anything can happen and something can go wrong. And that is okay; you just have to do your best and keep a positive attitude. That will get you through anything.

Technology In My Practicum

     In my practicum classroom, there is really no large piece of techology - no Smartboard, just an overhead project/camera my teacher uses to display what they are working on on the large screen. There is also a TV with a VCR used to play movies but that is it.
    While observing on Wednesday, I got the chance to go with the kids to recess. Because of the weather, they had to stay inside and inside recess is in the computer lab. I was very impressed with this room-so this is where all the technology is! They had multiple computers and each computer had it's own little laptop attached to it as well. Both had the same screens so the children could use either the laptop or the desk, whatever they felt more comfortable with. The children and technology are really impressive. Of course they know how to get online and play games and watch videos. I forget this is the technology generation, I don't even know if I was that good when I was younger. They are way ahead of me.
     It is always important to keep kids safe when surfing the internet though. They were only allowed to play educational games, ones that had no violence or fighting. The computers even had a folder labeled 'Fourth Grade' that had all games saved for the kids to play. The computers also had great fire-walls for protecting the children from bad internet sites-youtube was even blocked. I think this is important just so the kids don't find anything dangerous or harmful in the vast internet world.

Classroom 2.0

After signing up for a memership to Classroom 2.0, I finally had a chance to look around and discover new things around the website. This website is basically a way for teachers from all over the country to communicate, ask each other questions or give advice. I think this is a great way to learn new information about various technologies and gain new ideas to use in the classroom.
        I clicked around for awhile and came to the Discussion Forum section. This is a way for someone to post either a question they have or an idea, anything. Other members can then comment, giving suggestions or adding their advice. I noticed 2 post titles: Storybird and Skype in the Classroom. I thought this was very interesting because these 2 projects were incorporated in our Project #1 for EDU315. On the websites we used to explore, there was an example of a Storybird and Skype. I gave an example of how I would use Skype in my classroom (talking to pen pals). I didn't explore Storybird but I know some of my other classmates did and it is definitely a good tool to use in the classroom one day. Classroom 2.0 shows that what we are learning in EDU315 right now is really applied to real classrooms around the country. We need to know these technologies in order to be successful in our future teaching careers and reach out to the more technologically-advanced children of the future.

Smartboard Project

I thought LaJoie, Valerie & Iliana's Smartboard project was very well presented. It was professionally put together and I could definitely see myself using that lesson in my classroom one day. I think they set the bar very high for the rest of the class but we can all definitely do just as good. I've never really used Smartboard before, we never had it in my elementary classes. The first time I saw a Smartboard was 12th grade AP Psychology. And even then, we didn't really do anything with it, my teacher mostly put his slideshows on it and we copied notes from there. I think it would be a major responsibility having a Smartboard in an elementary classroom; the teacher would have to ensure students were using it appropriately so no one damages it. There are many benefits to using a Smartboard in the classroom to get the students actively engaged in their own learning.

Project #1

I have made it all the way to finally completing Project #1 for our EDU315 class. I must say when we first got on the website and opened the page for all the projects I was very overwhelmed. I didn't know how I was going to keep up with all the due dates and guidelines for each project. I thought I was in over my head a little. I guess what worked for me was just to get started. In order to complete something, you must start it first. I kept putting it off and putting it off and I knew I would have to do it eventually. I went to the library and started the project and did little bits each day. I think that was the best strategy. It helped me feel less overwhelmed. A little each day and eventually I finished it. I felt really good about getting the first project done. It makes me feel like I can accomplish everything I have to in this class. Also, crossing off that one thing on my to do list felt really good as well. :)

First Week of Observation

       Wednesday was my first day observing in a 4th grade classroom. I'm very excited to get to observe and experience the students in this class. I have never formally observed in a classroom before. Back home, I would visit my old 5th grade teacher and observe/help out in her classroom but I never had to for anything. It was just something I was interested in. I haven't been in the classroom for about a year so I'm very excited to be back and helping kids out.
       The class I'm observing has about 24 kids in it. There are slighty more girls than boys. My host teacher said that between the two 4th grade classrooms there were many behavioral problems with the students. It makes me kind of nervous but I know it will be valuable for me to see how teachers respond and deal with these kinds of students.
       It was kind of weird that the kids were all calling me Ms. Guasp; I'm kind of not used to that. But it was also kind of cool. It makes everything a lot more real, like when I have my own classroom I'm going to be Ms. Guasp. Kind of crazy :P

Raquette Lake

       I think our trip to Raquette Lake was a unique experience for all of us involved. For me personally, it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.
       I'm very much a homebody and used to everything being a certain way. I don't like to leave my comfort zone or the comforts of my home and explore new things. I thought this trip was going to be extremely challenging for me. It turns out, I was right. As challenging as the trip was, it was even more rewarding in the end to know that I made it through and accomplished being out of my comfort zone and exploring Raquette Lake.
      I think one of the greatest activities on the trip was all the team-building that we did with each other every day. All the games we played that required teamwork and cooperation. It brought us all a lot closer together. I found myself opening up to people even more than I expected too, I felt comfortable in my surroundings and the people I was with. I think that was the goal for this "get-a-away"; to allow people to open up and feel like they could trust one another and I definitely think that was accomplished. I think the people in my block (601) got closer and I feel more comfortable with all of them.
     This is definitely a trip I think the blocks should continue taking because it is a good way to get to know your classmates better and still get really great ideas for your own classroom. Being in touch with the environment, and being active outside is important to the students in the next generation. It's important that we always find ways to incorporate the environment into the classroom. Overall, I think it's kind of cool that we all got to experience Raquette Lake together. No one can ever take that experience away from us and I'm happy that I went and was able to make it through. :)

About Me

My name is Lindsey

Lindsey
Caring, considerate, intelligent, thoughtful
Daughter of Jules & Linda
Lover of friends, family, life
Who feels sad being away from home, happy being with friends & stressed at college
Who fears clowns, doctors & thunder
Who would like to see Barbados, an orca whale in person & Taylor Swift in concert
Resident of Cider Creek Lane, Rochester New York
Student
Guasp