Reflection on Chapter 13

Chapter 13 was a little boring, but I know it is very important for us to all know about copyrights, fair practice, and privacy. It is also important to teach the students about these things.
Ethan Zuckerman's Ted Talk was OK. It wasn't one of my favorites. I think he does say some good things about global communication. I think we should be thinking globally and not just about us. I have to admit, I don't take the time to be informed about what is going on in the rest of the world.
I do not like the idea of the Khan Academy. I think people, especially children, need direct instruction. I know I learn better with direct instruction.

Reflection on Chapter 12

I agree with Mr. C that distance learning lacks emotional support. I learn better with visual and auditory input. I did not enjoy my classes I took online as well as the classes I have taken in a classroom. I really like the discussions we have in our Tech. class. I like the give and take.
The "School Sucks" video was very intriguing, yet controversial. Since I already work in the school system I agree with some of the things he said, but I disagree about teachers not needing certification. I think there should still be guidelines for what a person must have before they can become a teacher.
I thought our powerpoints were all great. I was surprised with how different everyones powerpoint turned out. I appreciated the feedback. They were not as hard as I thought they would be, but they were a little frustrating.

Reflection on Chapter 11

Chapter 11 was interesting. I hope to use the webcam and microphones in my classroom when I'm a teacher. I think the webcam is a valuable tool that will give feedback to the students. It could show them what they are doing right and wrong. As Mr. C showed us with the Voki, the microphones are useful too. They can make learning fun and interactive.
I liked the new sites Mr. C showed us Tues. night. The Vocaroo and Voki seemed the easiest to use. I played with the Voki a little and it is neat. I'm not sure if I will use the rest.

Get a Voki now!

Refection on Chapter 10

I really liked the different ideas in Chapter 10 under Enhancing Classroom Communication. I hope that I am organized enough to make a classroom blog and keep up with it. I think it is a wonderful idea to have a website also. I'm not sure if you need both. What do you think? Although, a website would be helpful to parents. They could see what is going on in class. You could post homework and weekly news.
I am really enjoying this class. I do get a little overwhelmed sometimes because I'm one of those people who is not comfortable with the computer. Usually if it won't do what I want, I get up and walk away. But I am doing better with that now since I am taking this class. I am trying more things and having a little more patience. Hopefully, I will continue to do even better.

Reflection on Skype with Mrs. Mimi

I really enjoyed our Skype with Mrs. Mimi. She is passionate and energetic. I am currently working in the school as a teachers aide and I agree with most of what she says. I work in the Special Ed. room and we do not use technology very much. Sometimes we don't use the Smart board all week and when we do use the Smart board it is usually to show multiplication videos to the students. We have been using School House Rock. The kids really like it. I agree with Mrs. Mimi when she says teachers have so much to do all day that it is hard to find time to learn how to integrate technology into your lesson plans. I think a teacher has to have a great interest or passion in technology to make the time to learn new how to use it more. Otherwise it is so overwhelming that they don't know where to start. That is actually were I fit in, but I think this class is really going to help with that. I am doing more on the computer now than I ever did. I am excited to learn as much as I can.

Reflections on Chapter 9 and blogs

Chapter 8 was a little boring. Although, I did like how helpful the Academic Software Evaluation Rubic was with evaluating Poptropica. I had heard about most of the other systems and software except for authoring systems.
The first blog I liked was Mrs. Busha's class blog. She is a kindergarten teacher and her blog was very interactive. I'm sure even her students can navigate it. It was so darn cute too because it was all pink. My favorite color. The second blog was Comments4kids. This a great blog because it gives kids feedback, constructive criticism, and helps them learn about technology. The third blog was P5c Class Blog 2010/2011. They are doing a class Comic Project. The blog told about how the kids were doing their project and how they were sharing with each other. It was a nice blog. I commented on this blog and said I liked the idea of a comic project. It is very creative and will help encourage the kids to write. The fourth blog was BBC Learning  Scotland. They display their latest developments, production tales, and things they are learning in and out of school. They are doing an Olympic Dreams School Search; which is a project in the run-up to the London Olympics. The blog was easy to navigate and had some very interesting links. The fifth blog was The Greatest Middle School Social Studies Blog in the World. It has weekly post and weekly challenges. The blog was great and I think it was my favorite. I think my daughter would really like something like that for school. It was very user friendly and also had blog assignments for the kids.
This week was busy and hectic. I waited till the last moment to do my blog and that was not a good thing for me. I am usually more organized. I am very glad we get two days off school this week. I need it!