Title: Scaffolding for Struggling Students
Author: Sara Kajder and Glen Bull
This article was about using blogging websites to enhance the education of students who are struggling with reading and writing in schools. I thought it was an amazing idea because many students have trouble writing formally and not in first person. By using blogs, the students can write about their thoughts and ideas in an informal setting, therefore the pressure of creating a perfect essay is taken off of them and they can write for fun. Many people are intimidated by the formatting of an essay and using word processors to create that essay. The blogger is an easy to use tool where all the students have to do is type. I also think its a great idea because the students will want to write better because the audience is all of their peers, not just their teachers. Students wouldn't want their peers reading a bad essay so it would probably make them work harder on it. I think it is also a good method to communicate thoughts and ideas on certain readings or aspects of the classroom.
Q1: What could I use blogging for in my classroom?
A1: I think I could use blogging for all sorts of things in my classroom. I think it would be an effective way for students to introduce themselves instead of having to stand up in front of the class and do it. I also think it would be an effective way of getting student feedback on activities done in the classroom. Using it to write little, informal research projects would work well too, such as assigning them each an important person in history to get background information about.
Q2: How could blogging pertain to reading discussions?
A2: I think blogging could really increase reading discussions in the classroom. Instead of having the students write a final essay or do a final presentation, they could just blog, whenever they felt like it about their thoughts and ideas. I think this would increase critical thinking and the joy of reading, rather than just reading the book to be able to write the final essay. Blogging could definitely help with many aspects of school, reading is just one of them.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Software Review: Learning.com
Web Browsing: Research and Citing Sources Grades 6-8
Browsing Basics:
K-12 [5]. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5a]. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
K-12 [6]. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
K-12 [6a]. understand and use technology systems.
K-12 [6b]. select and use applications effectively and productively.
URL's
K-12 [1]. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1a]. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
K-12 [2]. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
K-12 [2a]. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
K-12 [6]. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
K-12 [6a]. understand and use technology systems.
K-12 [6b]. select and use applications effectively and productively.
Web Searches
K-12 [3]. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
K-12 [3b]. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
K-12 [3c]. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
K-12 [4]. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
K-12 [4c]. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
K-12 [5]. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5a]. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
Validity and Sourcing
K-12 [1]. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1a]. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
K-12 [2]. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
K-12 [2a]. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
K-12 [2b]. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
K-12 [5]. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5a]. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
K-12 [5b]. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,
learning, and productivity.
Review
This series of mini tutorials helped me learn a few things that I did not know before. I learned how to effectively use keywords and phrases to better my search results instead of long sentences like I was using before. It also helped me determine which listings would be most beneficial to me and which ones wouldn't. Before this exercise I didn't know much about the copyright laws and and what information you could legally use but after the tutorial on validity and sourcing, I understood it much better. I already knew a lot about browsing and URL's so I learned the most from validity and web searches.
The barriers that you could face using this program in a classroom is time constraints. These lessons took a really long time and for children to be able to sit that long and concentrate would be a huge task. Also, there aren't enough hours in the school day to go through an entire lesson and do this lesson on the side. It just takes too long and therefore would inhibit the success of the students.
I didn't really have too many problems other than paying attention. I felt that it would be better off used with younger students because of the cartoon character and the language. I felt bored and the audio was extremely slow so I was getting impatient. Other than that, I did not have any problems.
(2007) Learning.com. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.learning.com/index.htm
(2007) www.iste.org. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm
Browsing Basics:K-12 [5]. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5a]. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
K-12 [6]. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
K-12 [6a]. understand and use technology systems.
K-12 [6b]. select and use applications effectively and productively.
URL's
K-12 [1]. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1a]. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
K-12 [2]. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
K-12 [2a]. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
K-12 [6]. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
K-12 [6a]. understand and use technology systems.
K-12 [6b]. select and use applications effectively and productively.
Web Searches
K-12 [3]. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
K-12 [3b]. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
K-12 [3c]. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
K-12 [4]. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
K-12 [4c]. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
K-12 [5]. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5a]. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
Validity and Sourcing
K-12 [1]. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1a]. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
K-12 [2]. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
K-12 [2a]. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
K-12 [2b]. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
K-12 [5]. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5a]. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
K-12 [5b]. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,
learning, and productivity.
Review
This series of mini tutorials helped me learn a few things that I did not know before. I learned how to effectively use keywords and phrases to better my search results instead of long sentences like I was using before. It also helped me determine which listings would be most beneficial to me and which ones wouldn't. Before this exercise I didn't know much about the copyright laws and and what information you could legally use but after the tutorial on validity and sourcing, I understood it much better. I already knew a lot about browsing and URL's so I learned the most from validity and web searches.
The barriers that you could face using this program in a classroom is time constraints. These lessons took a really long time and for children to be able to sit that long and concentrate would be a huge task. Also, there aren't enough hours in the school day to go through an entire lesson and do this lesson on the side. It just takes too long and therefore would inhibit the success of the students.
I didn't really have too many problems other than paying attention. I felt that it would be better off used with younger students because of the cartoon character and the language. I felt bored and the audio was extremely slow so I was getting impatient. Other than that, I did not have any problems.
(2007) Learning.com. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.learning.com/index.htm
(2007) www.iste.org. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Area, Mass, and Volume, OH MY!
Title: Area, Mass, and Volume, OH MY!
Author: Bob Albrecht & Paul Davis
This article was about teaching students how to calculate area, mass, and volume. What made this lesson so interesting is that the teachers used a tangible model to show the students what area, mass, and volume really meant, and why it was important. They used pennies as the model. The way technology fits into this is that they went to a certifies website to find out the dimensions of a penny such as its diameter, thickness, composition, and mass. This in itself introduced technology to students. I feel that these days, technology is used widely for recreation but by bringing it into the classroom it can prove to students that the Internet is a way that they can broaden their horizons and figure out so many things they otherwise would not know. I feel that by including this "tangible" lesson into their classrooms, these teachers increased the students knowledge of the subject. It helps greatly to be able to see how your calculations contribute to the real world instead of doing a problem out of a math book. I feel that these students would have learned more and in a more effective way by doing this lesson
Q1: How would I use technology in my classroom to benefit a math lesson?
A1: I personally believe that little songs help children remember things better than just trying to memorize them off of a sheet of paper. When I was younger I remember learning songs about division and multiplication that helped the steps of it all stick in my head. I think that with the internet, you can find a song related to math like these ones and have it play in your classroom with the click of a button. If you didn't have the internet in the class you would have to find it on your personal computer then save it to a disk, then play the disk in your classroom, assuming that there is a CD player in there. The internet just makes things so much quicker to accomplish.
Q2: How could I encourage students to use the internet on their own to research something of their interest.
A2: If all the students had access to the internet while not at school, I think it would be neat to show them how to correctly research a topic of their choice (with parental supervision). I think I would relate this lesson to history. I think that anything in an elementary school history book can be explained in greater detail online. I think it would be neat to introduce a topic and have the students pick out little things from it and research them online. Those little things could be definitions, important terms, places, important people, anything. I think that by having to learn something themselves first, it helps increase their interest in that subject before you even teach it.
Author: Bob Albrecht & Paul Davis
This article was about teaching students how to calculate area, mass, and volume. What made this lesson so interesting is that the teachers used a tangible model to show the students what area, mass, and volume really meant, and why it was important. They used pennies as the model. The way technology fits into this is that they went to a certifies website to find out the dimensions of a penny such as its diameter, thickness, composition, and mass. This in itself introduced technology to students. I feel that these days, technology is used widely for recreation but by bringing it into the classroom it can prove to students that the Internet is a way that they can broaden their horizons and figure out so many things they otherwise would not know. I feel that by including this "tangible" lesson into their classrooms, these teachers increased the students knowledge of the subject. It helps greatly to be able to see how your calculations contribute to the real world instead of doing a problem out of a math book. I feel that these students would have learned more and in a more effective way by doing this lesson
Q1: How would I use technology in my classroom to benefit a math lesson?
A1: I personally believe that little songs help children remember things better than just trying to memorize them off of a sheet of paper. When I was younger I remember learning songs about division and multiplication that helped the steps of it all stick in my head. I think that with the internet, you can find a song related to math like these ones and have it play in your classroom with the click of a button. If you didn't have the internet in the class you would have to find it on your personal computer then save it to a disk, then play the disk in your classroom, assuming that there is a CD player in there. The internet just makes things so much quicker to accomplish.
Q2: How could I encourage students to use the internet on their own to research something of their interest.
A2: If all the students had access to the internet while not at school, I think it would be neat to show them how to correctly research a topic of their choice (with parental supervision). I think I would relate this lesson to history. I think that anything in an elementary school history book can be explained in greater detail online. I think it would be neat to introduce a topic and have the students pick out little things from it and research them online. Those little things could be definitions, important terms, places, important people, anything. I think that by having to learn something themselves first, it helps increase their interest in that subject before you even teach it.
Starting With The Basics
I am Staci Nieves from Carlsbad, California. I currently attend the California State University of San Marcos. I have wanted to be an elementary school teacher since second grade. I have always had a passion for children and wanted to use that passion in my career some day. I have always enjoyed going to school as well, therefore, I decided that the perfect job for me would be a teacher, where I could make an impact on the lives of children. I am a very independent and motivated person. I am always dedicated to everything I do and make it a priority to do my best in everything that comes my way. My interests include my current job, working for the Youth Sports Department for the City of Carlsbad, where I get to work with children on a daily basis. I have been working at this job for the past 6 years and I absolutely love it. I also enjoy spending time with my family, when I am not at school or work. My uniqueness as a candidate comes from my personality and my experience in elementary classrooms. I strive to to try my hardest in everything that comes my way and I think that teaching students to have that same mentality will help them succeed in school. Since my senior year in high school, I have been a huge part of my former fourth grade teacher's classroom. I did an internship in high school where I was at Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad every other day for 2 hours. I helped out with every subject and would always take small groups of students to actually teach them the material myself. The students and I grew to have an amazing relationship during that year. They treated me as if I was their second teacher and since I was still very young, I could relate to them in certain aspects of their lives. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I still try and go visit the classroom, even though there are different kids, as much as I can. It is difficult when I attend school full time and work the remainder of the time, but seeing the kids and knowing they are looking forward to the next time I come makes it a huge priority from me. Seeing the impact I can make on children's lives is the main reason I am pursuing a career in teaching. I want to be the teacher that students remember when they are older and the teacher they learned the most from but still enjoyed. I know that I can be a great teacher and cannot wait for the opportunity to do so.Nieve005@cougars.csusm.edu
http://stacinieves422.blogspot.com/
Subject Area - Staci Nieves
Although, I have not had enough experience in all of the elementary grade levels to choose a favorite, I know for a fact that I enjoy working with fourth graders. I feel that at this level they understand how to act in a classroom and are familiar with the routine of school and homework but are still eager to learn and enjoy coming to school. I feel that the older children get, the less interested they are in learning and the less fun they have while in school. The subjects I am interested in are Math and Writing. Math has always been my favorite subject in school, therefore I enjoy teaching it. I also feel that the math learned in fourth grade is the math you take with you for the rest of your life. It is crucial to know how to multiply, divide, and understand fractions because these simple calculations are used in higher math levels and in every day life. Writing is also a huge part of one’s life and it is extremely important to know how to put your thoughts on paper in a structured, creative, and appropriate way. Writing is also used in everyday life and in higher education. The writing skills that fourth graders learn such as creating a five paragraph essay and using correct sentence structure are skills they will need in high school, college, and future careers. I feel that the fourth grade is a critical point in a child’s life, in which their brains are functioning at a level where they can learn so much more and comprehend a wide variety of material that will stick with them as they grow.
Sample Fourth Grade Math Problems
Teacher Biography - Cari Baesen 
I am Cari Baesen from Murrieta, California. Currently I am a student at California State University San Marcos, participating in the Integrated Credential Program. I am studying to get my multiple subject teaching credential and bachelors degree in Liberal Studies. I have spent many years in college taking the time to find myself, and discovering what path is the right one for me. Although my passion for teaching began long ago, my family did not have a background in education so I found myself often searching for answers. Holding high expectations for myself, I have always managed to get through even the hardest obstacles, like having a family of my own and continuing to strive for a higher education. Throughout my education, I have noticed that not all teachers are the same. Many have various differing qualities, however, many teachers lack some of the important factors that I believe each successful educator should have. A caring, compassionate, patient, flexible, consistent and positive teacher that holds high expectations for his/her students is very important. It is my one of my goals to display these qualities to my own students. I have worked as a nanny, tutored autistic children, observed many different level classrooms, helped raise my nephew, and also have a child of my own, and in my own experiences with children I have begun to noticed the differences within each child and am fascinated with the opportunity participate in the upbringing of our future. My hearts belongs in working with young children, and although there were many other routes I could have chosen, I believe that the future of our society lies within the hands of our young students. I am ready to make a difference. I am a person of many ideas and plenty of creativity. I believe that during these days knowledge of a multicultural society can lead to a successful pathway of equality for all students. Creating an atmosphere for which each and every student feels welcome is very important not only for equality, but for the well being of each individual. I am ready to take part in growth of our youth, and am excited to discover not only what changes will arrise in education, but also how I will be a part of them.
baese001@csusm.edu
Subject Area - Cari Baesen
Sitting at the beginning of my journey, I am thinking that I want to start my teaching career in First Grade. Though I am definitely open to any experience, I feel that the amount of knowledge that students gain between the time they enter and the time they leave the first grade is so substantial and I want to be a part of that. I am interested in learning more about Health Education and Physical Education because they are two subjects in which education does not seemed to be focused on. Writing and reading, along with math, history and science are all very important, but everyone already knows that. Health and Physical Education are very important for children of all ages and should be practiced each and every day. A healthy student is a happy student who is eager to learn. I am interested in learning a lot more about them both, in order to pass down my knowledge into the hands of these little ones. Most children have plenty of energy and are open to learning many things. I want them to know that learning is fun and can result in a healthy, successful life. It is important for children to feel excited about coming to school and learning new things, physical education is a way for children to do so. It’s a chance to get out of the classroom and engage in outdoor games and learning exercises. This can also make children think outside the box and utilize new skills. Health education is important for many reasons, but overall I believe that when children are given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves they should have to right knowledge to make the healthy choice.
Below is an interesting article for parents that are interested in what their 1st grade student is learning within the classroom. I found it interesting to read the article from a future teacher's perspecitive.
Health Education and Physical Education, often taken to lightly, have standards just as math, language arts, history, science and all of the other subjects do. Below are links to help familiarize you with these standards:
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Week 2- We're Poppin' for Math
Title: We're Poppin' for Math
Author: Brenda Levert
This article was really inspiring. To give you all an idea, it is about middle school students planning a popcorn sale and using math to do it. Brenda stated that her main issue is that students don't like math because they always think they will never use it in the real world. This is her way of showing that math is used in everyday life especially profit, cost and revenue. These students actually had to calculate how much all of the supplies cost, and figure out how much they should sell the bags of popcorn for to not just break even, but make a profit. this reminded me of an assignment I did in 7th grade. We all had to design and make our own water park and figure out how much it would cost to build it, maintain it, and pay workers and then relay that to how much we should charge to get in. The popcorn idea seems way more fun because it something easy to visualize and it gets the whole school involved. It also very realistically relates to jobs the children might have one day.
Q1: What kinds of math activities like these could I incorporate into my elementary classroom?
A1: One way I think would be good to incorporate math into the classroom is to have a class store. I could stock it up with pencils, erasers, folders, and other goodies that children in elementary school like. Two people could run the store each day or even week and the students can earn money (points) for being good, turning in all homework, helping others, etc. They can spend this money on the store during time set aside for it or at lunch or recess. I think this would give the children a way of understanding subtraction and addition in a more realistic fashion.
Q2: Is there any way we could relate real world concepts into other subjects by doing an activity like this?
A2: I think that incorporating activities like these into history really makes the children more interested in it. I think I would do a bead exchange for 4th grade history (where they learn about Indians) You can have different colored beads be worth more than others and have the children learn all about bartering and trading like the Indians did (I'll give you this for that, etc.) I think it would work great and give them an idea of what daily life was like for Indians when there wasn't any paper money.
Author: Brenda Levert
This article was really inspiring. To give you all an idea, it is about middle school students planning a popcorn sale and using math to do it. Brenda stated that her main issue is that students don't like math because they always think they will never use it in the real world. This is her way of showing that math is used in everyday life especially profit, cost and revenue. These students actually had to calculate how much all of the supplies cost, and figure out how much they should sell the bags of popcorn for to not just break even, but make a profit. this reminded me of an assignment I did in 7th grade. We all had to design and make our own water park and figure out how much it would cost to build it, maintain it, and pay workers and then relay that to how much we should charge to get in. The popcorn idea seems way more fun because it something easy to visualize and it gets the whole school involved. It also very realistically relates to jobs the children might have one day.
Q1: What kinds of math activities like these could I incorporate into my elementary classroom?
A1: One way I think would be good to incorporate math into the classroom is to have a class store. I could stock it up with pencils, erasers, folders, and other goodies that children in elementary school like. Two people could run the store each day or even week and the students can earn money (points) for being good, turning in all homework, helping others, etc. They can spend this money on the store during time set aside for it or at lunch or recess. I think this would give the children a way of understanding subtraction and addition in a more realistic fashion.
Q2: Is there any way we could relate real world concepts into other subjects by doing an activity like this?
A2: I think that incorporating activities like these into history really makes the children more interested in it. I think I would do a bead exchange for 4th grade history (where they learn about Indians) You can have different colored beads be worth more than others and have the children learn all about bartering and trading like the Indians did (I'll give you this for that, etc.) I think it would work great and give them an idea of what daily life was like for Indians when there wasn't any paper money.
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