What's going on here?

This picture was posted by our teacher on our class website and we had to look at it and answer the following questions:

What's going on here?

By looking at the picture it looks to me like they are fishing. But it's hard to tell because the water is so muddy. I say that I think they are fishing because there are a lot of nets in the water, and also the floating balls look like giant bobbers from a fishing pole.

What are they doing?

It looks like they are fishing together.

HOW DO YOU KNOW if you have the correct answer?

I do not know if I have the right answer and I cannot know for sure until I know where the picture came from and know more about what's happening.

What visual clues did you use?

The visual clues that I had are that there are tons of people together, they are in the water, and there are a lot of nets and giant bobbers.

slides 8-11 of power point

visit this site to see my power point:

http://www.slideshare.net/chairey379/wordle-lesson#stats-bottom

Lesson Plan Synonyms

I designed a lesson plan that I could use someday in my own classroom using technology. I am an English minor so I decided to use English as the subject...

Lesson Plan:

Goals:
My goal through this lesson is to teach the children what synonyms are and creative ways to show the different words together.

Objectives:

• The students will be able to list different synonyms of words
• The students will be able to use the internet to create visually pleasing presentations of their synonyms

Materials:

1. Paper- to take notes and list words
2. Pencil- to write
3. Computers (in classroom) -for online work

Lesson Description:
The purpose of this lesson is to take the knowledge I have learned about technology and online programs and use it to help my students better grasp the concept of synonyms. This is something like I have never done before so it will be new and exciting for most students.
Blooms's Taxonomy and how I am utilizing it:

Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate, Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.

Define: we will be defining a synonym
List: the children will make a list of different synonyms
Discuss: We will discuss what a synonym is and have the kids discuss examples
Create: We are creating a visual representation of the words
Design: the children get to design their own synonym word page

Lesson Procedure:
Introduction-
Start by asking the children to describe an object (i.e. ). Write the words on the board and ask them which words are similar to each other (tell the students to take some notes for their English binder). Then go on by asking if anyone knows what a synonym is

syn⋅o⋅nym

 –noun

1.	a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another in the language, as joyful, elated, glad.

(Dictionary.com)
Give some examples of a synonym and ask the students to give some examples.

Main Activity:
The focus of this lesson is to get the student thinking about what a synonym is and also how they can use technology for fun in school.

• Tell the students to take out a paper and a pencil and choose one word.
• Tell them to brainstorm words that mean the same thing, such as small, tiny, petite, little, miniature.
• Then after you have given them time ask them to put everything down and face forward
• Show the power point presentation on how to create the Wordle synonym diagram
• Tell them to get onto a computer and go to the class website-on the website have a link to Wordle
  
• Tell them to go to wordle and follow the steps from the power point
• Finally have them share their final product with the rest of the class
  

References:
http://officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm

My multiple Intelligences!

my two highest multiple intelligences are interpersonal and visual/spacial. I like being around people and working with them in groups and I also like to have diagrams and charts and things I can see for my learning.


Different Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner:

Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence -- well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words

Mathematical-Logical Intelligence -- ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to discern logical or numerical patterns

Musical Intelligence -- ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber

Visual-Spatial Intelligence -- capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence -- ability to control one's body movements and to handle objects skillfully

Interpersonal Intelligence -- capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others.

Intrapersonal Intelligence -- capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes

Naturalist Intelligence -- ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature

Existential Intelligence -- sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.

google docs is a pretty cool feature!

Before I watched the videos about Google docs, I was thinking, "we don't need anything else to complicate a class." But after watching the video about it, I think it's a pretty cool new thing.

It's a great way for teachers and students to communicate with each other. You can get a paper to your teacher without having to print it out and they can correct it and write comments on it and send it right back to you. And another great thing is you can be on any computer wherever you are because it doesn't save the document to your computer but to Google docs, all you need is the internet, which is available almost anywhere these days.

It is also a great new technology tool for students to learn about. It is using the Internet as a form of education instead of checking Faceboook or updating Twitter.

It is a great source for teachers to use because they can stay organized with all their students documents without having to have hard copies of anything. They can be out of state but still be able to communicate with their students about their homework. Google docs has ways for teachers to stay organized with different folders for each class and different document choices. Teachers can look at other Google docs to get ideas for lessons and projects, they can create sites for their teachers and they can join discussion groups.

Students can even upload pictures from their computers onto their documents to add a little touch of something else. It helps the student out because they will be able to access their documents anywhere without carrying around a bunch of papers!


Using different forms of technology such as Google docs, helps people with different multiple intelligences.
A quote from an article about multiple intelligences says this, "Through the serious and in-depth study of just a few subjects, rather than a minimal amount of attention to many subjects, Howard Gardner believes that students will develop a passion for exploring truly profound ideas." When using many different tools to teach a classroom, teachers should be able to foster to different multiple intelligences.

techology is the new century

After watching the learning to change video I realized that technology is going to be everywhere soon. I was surprised to see that out of 55 different jobs schools were rated number 55 because they used the lowest amount of new technology. I can see why they are pushing more technology in schools. Outside of school technology is so important to kids. It's everywhere. Kids are always on cell phones, on the Internet, playing video games, it's a part of their everyday life.

One man said, "Technology is not a choice." This is becoming more evident as we move forward in time. Technology is becoming more and more important and there is no way to avoid it. It's creating a whole new world for us where technology is the center. With new technologies we can access new things. It's time that they stop banning so many new technologies and start using them in school to increase the learning of the students. We are in the new 21st century now. In school we can use computers and new technologies to find new information, make sure it's valid, communicate this to each other and use the new information we've discovered.

I liked this last line of the video because as educators this is what we should be saying:
“It’s the dawn of learning that makes me very happy.”

My thoughts on technology integration...

Before this class I never really thought about bringing technology into the classroom. I was thinking, "I'm going to be an elementary teacher, why would I need to know all this stuff about technology, they're never going to use it!"

But now that I am in this class and we've watched different videos about technology and we are learning new things, I think it is important that we integrate technology into our classrooms. We can find many informative sites online but also there are so many resources for activities and interactive sites that I can use with my students.

My goals for this class are to learn as much as I can about new technologies in teaching so that I can use them when I am a teacher and to get a basic understanding of all the new technologies I am able to use.

Response to: Learning to Change, Changing to Learn - Kid's Tech video

Learning to Change video
1. Name five reasons young people want to use technology

1. New
2. Exciting
3. Challenging
4. Convenient
5. Available
   

2. Did you idnetify with any of the young people in the clip? why?

Yes, I identified with the people who always had to be with their phones. I think at this point i could live without it, but I always have my phone with me and when it's not with me i feel like there is something missing. And I also feel out of the loop because I can't communicate with anyone through phone calls or texting.

3. Do you agree that having instant access to everything via the internet helps you know yourself better? why or why not?

I don't know if it helps to know yourself better but in a way it does because everything is at your finger tips and whatever sites you go to on a regular basis tells you something about yourself. But I think that there are ways other than the internet to better show who you are. Like how you interact with other people.

4. Do you agree that technology helps pave the way to move forwards as a civilization? why or why not?

I do agree that it helps pave a way to move forward because as we discover new things our whole civilization is advancing and going forward as a race.