I FORGOT GOOGLE DOCS!

I forgot to add google docs to the technology that I want to use as a teacher. It is one of my favorite things we have learned about this semester because it is so easy, and I need easy because I want to teach younger students. I love how I can receive my students documents through e-mail and it saves automatically!

this semester in CEP 416...

I feel that I have learned a lot of useful information this semester in CEP 416. I feel that I will use this information about technology throughout all of my teaching career. I really like the idea of having a class webpage. That way the parents of my students will stay informed on what is going on in the classroom and get to know me better. I think that communication with your students parents is very important and having a webpage will help. Another thing I think I will be using a lot of in the classroom is Wiki because I really like the idea of having all of my students work in one place. I also like how all of the students can have access to it, edit it, and can look at their classmates work.


I want to continue to explore SMARTboards because I have never seen one being used. I researched smart boards for week for my choice week and I really enjoyed learning about it. It is fascinating to me how much technology has changed even from when I was in school. Even though I did some research on smart boards, I would love to see one being used by a teacher in different classroom settings. I would also like to explore Prezi. I really enjoyed making a prezi presentation, but I want to learn more about it. I think it is a fun way for children to learn and I think it is something students would really love.

Last day of field placement...

Today I was able to help a boy write a story about his home life. It was a such a good experience to be able to help him and talk to him about his family. When I left for the day the boy said, "thank you for helping me today." It was so nice.
Today was my last day of my field placement and the teacher had every student go around and say something to me! It was so nice and they all came up and gave me a hug. It made me feel special and like I was a part of something.


Anyway, I just wanted to say that my best friend was in the hospital for two weeks and when she went back to school, some of her teachers told her she only had a certain amount of time to get the work in and it was not enough time, for her. Other teachers were understanding and would ask her what is wrong, actually caring. It just made me hope that someday I am one of those understanding teachers. My best friend really appreciates teachers that actually felt for her in a situation like this, and I hope my students can feel that way about me someday.

Keeping track of the writing process on Wiki

Check out my Wiki page here


I made my Wiki page a place where my students can keep track of their writing. They will post their brainstorming, peer review, revising, and final draft Google Docs in the Wiki chart. That way all of their writing process is in one place and they can edit it as frequently as they want. They will also have to upload pictures or resources they want to use that have to do with their writing. I made my Wiki page for students who are writing a personal narrative, but it could also be used for a research paper or any kind of paper. Wiki is different from Weebly because it is a page for several people. Weebly is mainly used as a website for one individual, but Wiki can be used by a whole class and each person in the class can edit it.

Some advantages to using Wiki in the classroom are that every student in a class has the ability to edit and update their class Wiki page. The students and the teacher can post any sort of link and even Google docs. It is nice for the teacher that all of their students work is in one place. I can just click through the links and look at my students work, and there is no wasting paper or space. Another important advantage to point out is that the students in the classroom can look at other students work. It is a good way to share their work with the rest of the class. A disadvantage to the Wiki page is that only one person can edit it at a time, so if there is a certain date all of the work needs to be turned in on and every student is trying to use the Wiki, it will not work. Some people might have to wait or try to do it earlier.

Collaboration

Parents are a huge part of their children’s education. Not only is the parent’s involvement important, but also it is the law. Part of No Child Left Behind is to increase parent involvement. This week, I did reading on collaboration and the main benefit to collaboration is that the teachers and the parents have the same goal. They understand how important the child’s education is and work together to identify problems, set goals, and try to understand that child’s individual learning needs. The parents know what is best for the child at home, so they can work together to put what is best into the school environment. The team works together to learn how the child is learning and then keep using that method to continue improvement.

With collaboration there needs to be respect between the parents and the teachers, so that if a problem arises then the they can work it out together before it explodes in to something bigger. It is the teachers job to make the parent feel included in their child’s education, and a way to do this is by letting them know what is going on in the classroom and how their child is progressing. It is also important for parents to be a partner in their child’s education because research shows that parent involvement increases a child’s test scores, attendance, and good behaviors. The parents also need to be involved outside of school.

When I went to an IEP meeting the teacher and the mom wanted something different for the student. The mom wanted the student to be in the general education classroom for every class, but the special education teacher thought the student would benefit from about 10 hours a week in the special education classroom. What would you do as a teacher to try to convince this parent that this might be the best way for the child to learn? Or would you go along with what the mom wanted? What would you do to make this collaboration work?

Wiki

Before CEP 416 I had never used a Wiki page. I really did not know anything about them, but I had heard about it a few times and that is why I decided to research Wiki pages for my choice week. I think it is important to note that Wiki pages are free. I also read that teachers really believe that it increases learning because students love using it because of the use of technology. Every student in a class has the ability to edit and update their class Wiki page. The students and the teacher can post any sort of link and even Google docs. When I am a teacher, I know that I want to use Google docs with my students so that they do not waste paper printing off copies and handing them in. With Google docs the teacher gets an e-mail from each student so I think that could get confusing having about 25 different e-mails, that is why I want my students to turn their Google docs in through Wiki. That way all of the assignments are in one place and I can easily access all of them. 

Some ways that students can use a classroom Wiki page is to set up ideas for projects, share links, share assignments, and portfolios. If you want your class to interact with each other the Wiki page is a great way to do that. A big advantage to a Wiki page is that students can save their work at school and if they have Internet at home, the student can get their work and continue working on it or show their parents. One disadvantage to the Wiki page is that only one person can edit it at a time. It is hard for every student to get his or her work on the page by a certain day if only one person can edit it. That is why it might be a good idea to set up certain times where students can put their work up.

LEAP FROG

Today during my field placement I noticed a lot of the students using leap frog. It is where you run a pen over the words in a book and then the words are read to the student. THE STUDENTS LOVED IT! It makes reading fun for them and they kept wanting to read!

observations...

Today during my field placement the students worked on sounds. They do sound cards where each student gets a card and they have to say their sound. For example, there is a /sh/ card and the student has to tell the class what sound that is. It is interesting for me to see because now that I have learned about letter-sound knowledge in TE 301, I see how the students who know their cards are the ones that are good at deocoding words. These students are smart and they are included in the general education classes. Many of the students are included in math, PE, music, computers, and art.

I feel like I am the only one, but I really like my field placement. I think the teacher does a great job of keeping the students motivated. They enjoy reading and writing and that is something I love seeing. I only need to go one more time, but the teacher told me I could keep going next semester.

SMART boards in the classroom

http://www.interactivewhiteboard.net.au/aboutsmart/casestudies.aspx

I did not know anything about smart boards and everyone kept talking about them, so I decided to research them for my choice week. Smart boards are electronic white boards that are used in the classroom to accommodate different learning styles. Teachers use smart boards through their computers by displaying images, text, and presentations that are projected onto a white board. Smart boards help children stay engaged because it is something different to use in the classroom and it is technology, and we all know children love technology. The main reason that smart boards keep students engaged is that the students can participate by pointing out the material using a pen or a highlighter. Teachers can do this also while they are giving the presentation to help the students understand better. Some good things about smart boards are that students can watch movies, video clips, and can easily print off what they worked on. Smart boards are large so they command student’s attention.

There are many disadvantages that I noticed while researching smart boards. One is that it takes a lot of time for teachers to learn how to use their smart board correctly. There is also the fact that teachers have to worry about software and projectors. If a teacher is not good with technology, then they might struggle a bit with a smart board. Not only does it take extra time to install it and learn about it, but also smart boards are very expensive. The cheaper smart boards are about $1000 dollars, but it cost a lot more money every time it needs fixing or a new projector bulb.

Take a look at my resume!

Resume 3

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Google Docs

The thing I like most about Google Docs is that it is just like microsoft word, but it gives you a link, so that you can share the doc with anyone on the Internet. You can also type in any persons email address and share the doc with that person. This is useful for teachers because students can send their papers through email. I think this is important because the students do not have to print their papers, they do not have to waste paper or ink. It is also a good thing because the teacher can open the document and write comments right on the document, so that the child can improve their writing skills. 

Another thing that I love about Google Docs is that it saves the document automatically after anything that is added to it. I remember several times in elementary school and high school where I forgot to save my work and would be so frustrated and mad at myself when I lost it. With Google Docs this problem would not happen. I also think Google Docs is much easier to use than micosoft word and if I think it is easier to use then so would a child. It is a good way to get children used to writing papers on the computer.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Today in my field placement the special education teacher and I had a very good discussion about her classroom. She told me that at the beginning of every year she goes around to the general education classrooms and introduces herself and gets to know the student. She does this because some day some of these students might be in her classroom. She explained to me that it is a good way for the students to understand that some students need more help in reading and writing than others. She introduced herself as the teacher who "is there to help students who struggle with reading and writing, concentration, and if they have behavior problems." She does not use the words special education. I think this is a really good thing to do when I become a special education student because she said that some students start to come to her classroom and talk to her about wanting to be in her classroom. She says many students will self refer themselves to her classroom because they think they need extra help with reading and writing. I thought that was really cute and I just wanted to share that with you guys!

The teacher also told me that tonight she is going to a meeting to talk to the general education teachers about who they think should be referred to special education. They are going to plan what assessments they can give and what needs to be documented to see if that child needs to be in the special education classroom. She said that after they do these assessments, then they will contact the parents.

Halloween Party and TECHNOLOGY

 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nk8A4J2mUP9AAMe6REK6QA8z1IsStZlqagqbu0PqYuX1PLp93VojFHYH8KZFDVlVy54QHAXoiSyv3WiMMQBAFVo3mqSNcAqk581_5ZRlTCsE0RlC67Pkl1Sku7EYSOMrm55o8LogrYQ/s1600-h/GIRLS+AT+PORT+SCHOOL+halloween+and+trunk+or+treat+050.jpg

Today I visited a classroom and they had their Halloween party. The students did a lot of Halloween activities. For example, coloring pumpkins, making ghosts, and making witches hands out of popcorn. There was a lot of food and it really seemed like the students were having a lot of fun. It is interesting to see the kids in a more informal environments when they are not doing work. There was one student that loved doing the artwork and stayed to himself, something I did not expect of him. One of the girls was constantly doing cheers and cheerleading for the class and I had never known before that she enjoyed cheerleading. All the students and teachers had a lot of fun and it was something that i really enjoyed seeing.

It was also interesting to see them using technology at their Halloween party. The students were able to play vocabulary Halloween games on the computer. The students loved doing this because they were able to use technology. All of the students wanted to do this activity first because of the involvement of technology and it really helped me realize how much technology can be beneficial to these students. If using technology gets the students motivated to learn then I need to use technology in my classroom.

CHOICE: CELL PHONES IN THE CLASSROOM

When I went to my field placement one day, the students were doing a project on how to take care of pets. The teacher went around to the students and took pictures of the students working together and of their projects on her camara phone. Later the teacher posted the pictures of the class on her website. I think this is a really cute idea because the students can have access to those pictures and also the parents can have access to them also. This is an example of the cell phone being a teacher tool, but I think the use of digital pictures on a cell phone is also a student tool. I think this because students can also document pictures, especially if students go on a field trip and wants to take pictures they can take them from their phone and then share the pictures with the rest of their class later.

Some other ways that cell phones can be beneficial to the classroom are that the students can use them as calculators. If you think about most student will have a cell phone, so it would be a lot easier to use what you have instead of having to go and buy a calculator. Students can also use cell phones as dictionaries. I know it is important for a child to get used to a dictionary, but once they know how to use them they should be able to look up words on the Internet. Today, students love technology and love learning with technology, so maybe if they know they can look up a word on their cell phone they will look up more words. If students need to look up something on the Internet they can do that on their cell phone also. If they are reading a book about a topic they need background information about then this can be very useful.

Some disadvantages to using cell phones in the classroom are that it can be a distraction. The teacher would need to have strict rules on when the cell phones can be used for pictures, dictionaries, internet access, and calculators because if the students can use the cell phones whenever they want, then there will be the distractions of the internet, texting, and making phone calls. It is the teachers job to be clear on when the cell phones can be used.

Personal Learning Network

I that my personal learning network has really developed this semester in ways that will be beneficial to my teaching. Some of the most practical technologies that I have learned about that I actually think I will use as a teacher is Weebly and Blogger. This is because I think having a class webpage will be really beneficial for my students and my students parents. One of the technologies I am still getting used to is Delicious. I think the idea of Delicious is really good because it is important to bookmark education blogs, so that I can improve my teaching and stay updated, but sometimes I think it would be easier for me to bookmark the blogs on my computer in a folder. I think this would be easier because I do not have to go to a website (which I would bookmark anyway), sign in, find blogs, and make sure I bookmark them correctly. I want to continue developing my PLN by learning about new technologies and learning more about the technologies I have already learned about.

My Zoho show on SHAPES with my voice!

My Zoho Show on SHAPES with MUSIC!

Shapes

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My Zoho Show on SHAPES!

My SHAPE presentation link: http://show.zoho.com/public/strucele/Shapes

Technology at my field placement

Today when I was at my field placement I helped a boy use spellingcity.com. Every week the students in the classroom have spelling words that they need to put into spell city. Spell city will help them learn the word by making sentences and playing games. It also helps the students find the meaning of the word, and then test the students on the words. I think it is a really good program for children, especially special education students, because they love working on the computers. It is something that they really enjoy doing and they are learning at the same time.
If you want to check it out click here

Lesson Plan

Today and tomorrow I am going to go to class thinking about what kind of lesson plan I want to do. Today I learned how to use Prezi and I realized that it is something that might be a fun way for students to learn. I could develop a history lesson or a language arts lesson on Prezi.

I was thinking about teaching special education students about sound letter knowledge. Something I have learned from my field placement is that many students know all of their letters, but they don't understand that a each letter has at least one sound. I might make a prezi or any video with all of the sounds that we have in English. For example, I would put CH and then have the sound that CH makes playing.

This is something that could be simply done with flash cards and a teacher saying the sounds, but it might be a more fun way for the students to learn. Children now a days LOVE technology and I think this way will help them stay engaged. This is just an idea in my head. I may not use this because when I am given an assignment I like to think for a few days on what I really want to do.

PREZI

My Trip to Chicago on Prezi

 

I picked to do a video on Chicago because learning about the arcitecture in the city is something I really enjoyed learning about and it is something that i think is useful for my students to learn about. I could contribute my story into a geography lesson or even a lesson on buildings in the United States, being sure to include the event of September 11th.

I really like Prezi because the layout is really cool. It is a modern looking layout and I think a lot of students would enjoy learning from a layout like that. It was my first time using Prezi and it was very easy to use. They had videos on the website that I watched that really helped me understand Prezi more.

Some disadvantages to Prezi are that I could not tell if I was saving my story or not. I would click save then would exit the page and my pictures would not be there. Another thing I did not like about it was that it was a new technology to me, so it was something I had to get used to. I had to get used to uploading the picture and being able to resize it and move it around.

JOB CARDS in my field placement

Every week during my field placement the class I am in does job cards. The teacher makes a job card specific to all of her students. There are several jobs on that card for example: read aloud, read silent, sound cards, word cards, vocabulary words, journal entry, and several more jobs. Each student’s card is different because each student is at different reading and writing levels. These students love doing theses job cards and are really motivated to get the jobs done. On the day that I go when they finish 10 jobs they are able to go to gym. If they do not finish 10 jobs, then they have to stay back and keep working. At first it seemed weird to me because maybe these students are not trying hard on their jobs and just wanting to get them done, but as I keep observing the class I am seeing how these job cards are helping these students reading, writing, math, and basic skills.

Exploring iclickers at the ELEMENTARY LEVEL

I had never used iclickers until I came to Michigan State and when I first started using them I wondered why I had never used them before. I really enjoyed iclickers because they were a fun way to stay engaged. I think that many elementary school students love using technology and I think this is a technology that will keep students focused on the material. Some advantages to iclickers are that it is a good way to show me how my students are doing without the added stress of a quiz or even a pop quiz. It will show me what I need to work on teaching better and what the students know. Another advantage is that it is good partipitation points for the students. It is a really good way for my students to get some easy points and I can even make up some type of extra credit questions to boost their grades a little.


When I was researching iclickers I came up with a few disadvantages for myself and for the students. One disadvantage that I might come across would be the unpredictable technology. Maybe one day one of the iclickers does not work, how would I give that student their points. It also might be difficult for the students to register their iclicker and it would be time consuming for me to register all of them. Another disadvantage would be the cost of the iclickers. Most likely every student would have to pay for their own and what if that student doesn't have the money to do that. In college, I know of people who would plan to skip class, hand their iclicker to another student, and still get the participation points. I don't think this would happen in a smaller class, but I think it is still something to worry about.


I think iclickers would be a good way to learn at the elementary level because you can use it in any subject. After I teach a lesson (doesn't matter what subject) I could ask my students five multiple choice questions to see who comprehended the lesson and who was paying attention. I really like that you can use iclickers in any subject, but I understand that the question cannot be that specific. I think that is a disadvantage to iclickers because you cannot ask open ended questions. It would be hard to really understand how they figured out a math problem because the work would not be shown. That's why I would make my iclicker questions participation points and then the real tests would show me more open ended answers. Using iclickers in the classroom is a really good way to use technology in teaching.

IEP meeting

Today I attended my first IEP meeting and I really enjoyed it. It was great seeing an individuals learning needs being met. They really focused on that child, what is best for him, and what the teachers can do to help him improve. I learned that IEP meetings with this family were not always easy. That the teachers needed to build the moms trust and now the mom is a partner in her child’s education. I really got a good look at the child’s progress from his first IEP meeting to this IEP meeting. As teachers we really need to build parents trust.

Photoshop.com Album: 9-28-2010

What I feel about copyrighting...

I think copyrighting is necessary, but hard and very time consuming. In the future I will not ever copyright my own pictures, but I will not steal others photos without citing the picture. The most difficult part was adding the photo and link to Blogger because every time it would not work! 

Copy Right!

This is the photo I copy righted at creative commons! You can view my picture and the copy right information at: http://s660.photobucket.com/albums/uu322/struness/?action=view&current=DSC08152.jpg

When I have a blog for my classroom....

 Photo Attribution:
"After View of My Classroom"
Liz (perspicacious.org)'s photostream
By: Liz Marie 


Someday when I am a teacher I would love to have a class blog. I would use a picture similar to this, but of my real classroom and maybe with my students in their chairs and I will be teaching. I would use this picture to make my blog to the parents more personal. I want parents to be able to go to the blog to keep up on what their child is doing in my classroom.

Tweetdeck!

I am really enjoying my tweetdeck and I use it everyday! What I like most is that it is really easy to update my facebook or twitter status. I also like how you can update both facebook and twitter at the same time.

One thing I do not like about the tweetdeck is that it can sometimes get annoying because every time someone updates a status it pops up and makes noise. I am sure I am change that, but I haven't looked at the settings or anything yet. 

Inclusion

Today I went to Averill Elementary School for one of my field placements. Overall I really enjoyed it and at first the kids were shy, but eventually they started opening up to me and me to them. There were only about ten kids in her classroom either in first, second, or third grade. They either have a learning disability, a cognitive impairment, or an emotional impairment. These students only come to the special education class for reading, writing, and spelling help. They are in the general education classes for math, science, social studies, gym, music, and art. Then in the afternoon the teacher has kindergarten students. I was surprised by how smart these students were and how motivated they are to learn. When the students were giving words to sound out they kept saying, “Give me a hard word.”

Child Study!

It's my junior year this year and it's the first year I am doing a field placement! I am excited to finally be teaching kids, but nervous that I am not going to be very good at it. I am working with a child who recently moved here from Iraq, but knows English pretty well. She has cognitive impairments, but does a great job reading and writing all the letters.

The first time we met up we did a few writing things and we read a book together. I look forward to giving her more assessments and figuring out what level of reading she is at. My goal is for her to learn and to benefit from working with me. I am nervous that I will not be good at teaching her, but I am going to try my best.

Webpage

I think my favorite thing we have learned so far is how to build your own webpage. I also think I am going to benefit from this the most because I want to make a really good webpage for my classes in the future. I will post information about me, what we are doing in class, things we are reading, and many more. I think it is a really good way to keep the parents informed!

Tweet Tweet Twitter

I've had my own Twitter for about two years now. I use my Twitter for following celebrities and a few of my friends. I have phases where I update a lot or never update at all. I really like Twitter, but always feel weird because I do not have many followers and I feel like I am talking to myself.

CEP 416 has opened my eyes to a lot of new things about Twitter. I love having the whole class to follow and talk to about the technology and the new things we are learning. It is so great to see us all introduced to new technologies and then get to talk about them quickly through Twitter. I feel like we are a team.

Another thing I recently learned about Twitter that I think I will benefit from is all the teachers and educational twitter pages I found. I HAD NO IDEA THAT THERE WERE SO MANY! I love reading teachers ideas and lesson plans and that is a good way for me to learn from them and do them in the future.

delicious

Just signed up for delicious! I have tons of bookmarks on my computer that are very confused and unorganized. Now I can organize them and put them into categories with delicious!

TECHNOLOGY

 My name is Erica Strucel and I go to Michigan State University! I am a junior and my major is special education. I am currently taking a class where I am learning about teaching with technology. I grew up using technology. As a child I would always play games on the computer and as time went on I started using the internet. I started with Livejournal, then Myspace, and now Facebook. I am used to using search engines and e-mail sites. At MSU, I use my computer for EVERYTHING! It is a great way to stay organized. I use ANGEL, Microsoft word, power points, and the internet.

So far, CEP 416 is a lot to take in. I had no idea how many websites there are out there to make your own website or blog. I've always looked up celebrity blogs, but now I am learning that it is important to read educational blogs or blogs by other teachers. I want to learn more about educational blogs and actually start reading them. That way, I can get ideas on how to become a good teacher. I want to have blogs in my classroom, especially one where I can update the parents on what is going on in my classroom. This way the parents will stay informed on what their child is learning. In CEP 416 I really want to learn how to create a good website that will help me in the future for when I become a teacher. A website where parents can really get to know me and my teaching style.

HEY!

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!