Final

How-To For Veteran Teachers

One of the first things that I would tell a veteran teacher about integrating technology is the importance it plays in the classroom today. Many veteran teachers feel that previous methods will work just as well, so it is important to let them know about the academic benefits that integrating technology has shown in research. I would also explain to them how easy and fun it can be once they get the hang of it. They should know that they can always ask for help and shouldn't be left to figure out things on their own. I would also let them know that technology will help prepare thier students for many of the advances they will see in the future workplace. I would tell them that technology lessons do not always work out so well in the beginning, and they will have good and bad days until they figure out ways to manage it's use in the classroom.

Some of the ways that they can start introducing technology into their classroom are:

1 - Texting Polls and answers - Students will love using things like polleverywhere.com because they will be allowed to use their cell phone in school. The educator also gets to ask a question and get automatic feedback from the class to see if they are understanding a concept. This can be done using the students names or anonymously so students are not pressured if they are unsure of the answer.

2 - Podcasts - Podcasts can be used to explore further into a subject if a student wishes. They can also be used to help students grasp a concept if they have trouble reading a text and getting the meaning. Many podcasts come in series that give helpful tips and hints that students can use to help with homework and everyday things.

3 - Blogs - Blogs are a great way for students to use technology to create an online type of journal. They will also enjoy submitting assignments this way. Students can see their fellow classmates posts and can comment on them. This will help if they get home and need help on a homework assignment or just want to say that they liked what another student wrote. Students should be instucted before using blogs that only positive comments should be made on these posts.

My Classroom Website

Here is the link to my Classroom Website:

http://www.quia.com/profiles/tbogart11

Tips for Technophobic Teachers Article

WebQuest

Here is my WebQuest about Famous Athletes & the importance of exercise.

http://www.questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=79272&l=79272-090329231104&pt=student&p=introduction

Web Quest

Web Quest

View more presentations from Megarama.

Gabcast

Here is my Gabcast with some of the kids that I work with. I didn't get to go anywhere exciting this Spring Break, so I just interviewed them about Educare and our field trip.


Gabcast! *Tanya's Technology* #2 - Live From Educare

Educational Podcasts

1 - Super Why! by PBS Kids from I-tunes - Elementary School
2 - IMAX Under the Sea 3D from I-tunes - Middle School
3 - Teaching with SMARTBoard from I-tunes - for teachers
4 - Electronic Field Trip Webisodes from I-tunes - Middle / High School

Numbers 2 through 4 are actually video podcasts, which are something new that I-tunes has. I thought that was really neat. I watched a few episodes of the IMAX podcasts since I love the ocean and sealife. I thought that this would be a great resource to use in the classroom when doing an ocean lesson, or something related to that. These podcasts follow the journey of a film crew and scientist as they are making the new IMAX 3D movie. It shows the underwater life as well as how they interact with the locals in the places they visit.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a great tool to use in the classroom. It is not just for the teachers. The students can have accounts and share websites that they like as well. Social bookmarking works great because favorite websites are not saved to one computer now. You can access your account from any computer. Social bookmarking can work great with lesson plans. You may know that in a few weeks you have to do a lesson on Gettysburg and you happen to come across a great website that you could use for the lesson. You can now add that to your list and share it with others. You can also see what other teachers recommend in that area.

Wikipedia Article Change

I am a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority here on campus, so I decided to see what Wikipedia said about sororities and fraternities. I think that both groups tend to get a bad image for things that happened in the past (like hazing), and I wanted to make sure that the site had the facts straight about this topic. Hazing is strictly forbidden and a chapter can lose it's charter for it. After the first sentence I entered in, "It is more than just physical acts. Hazing can be mental and emotional. Any activity that ridicules, humiliates, embarrasses, causes mental anguish, confuses, frustrates, or causes undue stress can be considered hazing." I made this change on Saturday, March 14, 2009. I will check back tomorrow to see if it sticks. Here is the link to the site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternities_and_sororities#Hazing_issues

I just checked the site again, and my changes are still there!! March 16, 2009.

*Poll Everywhere*

Create your own sms poll at Poll Everywhere

Google Docs Survey *Reading*

Here is the link to my survey about Reading. Thanks to everyone for taking it!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cGxCNWF2WEt2ZVYyXzZxNHFsSG5XS3c6MA..

Pros & Cons of Blogging in Education

After looking at many websites showing some of the pros and cons for blogging, it became clear that there are far more pros to using blogging in the classroom than there are cons. I think this is very important to point out to teachers that are wary of new technology and that only focus on the negatives. One of the pros of blogging was that the student has personal ownership of what they have written. They have thier own site with thier own posts. Many students will think that this is really neat and will enjoy doing assingments on the site. There is also no spell check and grammar check on blogs. This means that the students will have to look over thier work to check for errors. I know that I am even use to Word automatically correcting my mistakes. Another pro is that the posts are public for the teacher and other students to see. This may mean that the author student will take more time composing the work. This also gives other students an opportunity to comment of each other's blogs and work together on assignments. Blogging also gets the student writting regularly, but in a more exciting way other than a journal. Some of the cons of blogging are that some students will have problems coming up with ideas to write about. Another one is that feelings could be hurt if a student feels that something negative was written about thier blog. Also, some students do not have as much experience on the internet as others and will become confused.

The website that is used for this post is:

http://wrt-brooke.syr.edu/net/archives/2005/02/pros_and_cons_o.html

Recommended Educational Blogs

Here are a few blogs that I found that you will hopefully find useful. Just click on them and enjoy!

http://borderland.northernattitude.org/

http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com/

http://www.teachinghacks.com/

http://bionicteaching.com/

http://blog.core-ed.net/derek/

http://www.thethinkingstick.com/

Gabcast Blog

Gabcast! *Tanya's Technology* #1

Why I chose to become a teacher!

When I began college, I was very confused about what direction I wanted to go into. My mother is a nurse in Unicoi County, and I thought that it would be a very rewarding career. I went through all of the general education classes and applied for nursing school. I got into the nursing school here at ETSU and even completed a full year of it, but it still just didn't feel right to me. During all of this time, I was also working at South Side Elementary School as an Educare teacher. This was my dream job! I loved everything about working with the children. I realized that nursing wasn't for me when I couldn't bear the thought of quiting my job to start my clinicals. I started education classes that summer, and have never been happier! I feel that teachers are extremely important to the future of our children, and I am honored that I will be trusted with this responsibility soon!