Technology Tool #2: Man vs. Wild Game

This tool is http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/game/game.html. This interactive game comes directly from the Discovery Channel's program "Man vs. Wild" hosted by Bear Grylls. The game starts out saying that Bear Grylls needs you (the game player) to cover for him and go into Kenya. You need to make certain choices to get through Kenya, survive, and find civilization. Through the interactive game, clips of "Man vs. Wild" are shown to guide you. This game is great because Bear actually teaches the students about the wildlife in Africa and its harsh environment.
Pros about this game would be that it is educational and it has actual pictures and videos of Africa and its wildlife. Also, it introduces the students to a very educational and exciting TV show. So, instead of going home and turning on Power Rangers, they can go to the Discovery Channel and watch Bear Grylls explore the world in the wild. A con about this game would be that, if the students guess all the correct ways to go about the game, they won't be sent to a different route and the game could be over quickly. However, there are many different ways to play out this game that they can just start over. Also, if the student picks all the wrong ways to go about the exploration, the game could end very quickly. This tool would impact the curriculum because it allows the students to see Africa in its most natural state. They are exploring it, making their own choices as to where they are going, and can learn on their own. Along with this tool, I can have a worksheet that they fill out for them to tell about their journey, or they can take notes on what they learned while they were exploring Africa and turn the notes into something more. I would tell the parents that I chose this tool because it was educational and a great way for the students to interact with the continent of Africa. From using this tool, I have learned that, if there are vultures in the sky, it is very likely that there is some kind of animal (i.e. food) on the ground below them, so it would be smart to follow them if I needed food. Also, I got special instructions from Bear himself when I was in need of help.

Technology Tool #1: www.Africam.com

The technology tool is http://www.africam.com/. This website has live webcams located at random natural locations in Africa. You need to create an account to access the webcams, so for my classroom I would create an appropriate class account. There is, however, one thing that I don’t like about this website. It shows 1-2 commercials before allowing you to view the webcam. Luckily they are appropriate for students to view, but it’s worth sitting through commercials to see the webcams. I think these live African webcams are great because, if I were doing a unit on Africa, the students could view live what was going on in Africa. I used this website in the 7th grade and thought it was way cool. Almost every time you click on the Flamingo cam there are birds there. Sometimes, you can even see an elephant on the elephant cam (I’ve only caught one once). There’s even a webcam that’s 12 hours behind schedule. So if you were to want to watch an Africa webcam, but it was dark in Africa at the time, you could click there and view it while it was light out.

From this tool, the students can learn about the terrain of Africa, and also get to see the African wildlife while they are actually in the wild and not in a zoo. From watching this webcam, I learned about the natural behaviors of certain wild African animals. I also saw what kind of environment these animals live in (very hot and dry). I feel this website would be a great way to teach the students about the wildlife in Africa. The students may actually be so interested in seeing live footage from Africa that they may even access the webcam from their home computer and watch it in their free time. A pro for using this tool is that the students get to experience Africa's wildlife through the use of a computer. A con of this tool would be that some students may get side-track and go to other websites (which is why walking around and keeping the students on task would be very important here). As the teacher, I could hold contests to see who sees the neatest things from the webcam. This would encourage the students to use the tool at home and possibly even get the parents involved as well. This tool is so wonderful for getting the students excited about the African animals without taking a trip to the zoo. This way, the students can see these animals in their natural habitat and not in cages at the zoo.

Week 3: Social Networking Reflection

How will these tools help me communicate with my students? These tools are great with communicating with my students. By allowing my students to interact with these tools, they will get a greater understanding of the material because they will be engaging with it instead of taking notes while I lecture. They will be open to exploring the tools and having fun while learning. I feel that when students are engaged in the learning process, they retain much more information because they are excited about it.
How will these tools help me communicate with my students' parents? I think that, with the parents, I could communicate with them through the students. As homework assignments, I could instruct the students to go home and give their parents a tour of the tool. If it is a virtual tour, the students would act as a tour guide. If it was something else, the students would show the parents around the tool so they knew what we were learning in class.
How will these tools help me communicate with my colleagues? I could collaborate with my colleagues about different tools I've come across that have and that haven't worked. It's always great to talk with other teachers and share ideas, and with these tools, I can share with the other teachers the tools that I think are great for the classroom.
In which ways might I employ these tools to achieve classroom objectives? All I'd have to do is take a look at the objectives and find a tool that fulfills that objective. For example, if one of my objectives was about learning about Egyptian tombs, I could find a tool that was possibly a 3-D exploration through an ancient tomb. That way, the students could use the tool to explore the tomb by themselves instead of me lecturing about the tombs. The students are able to search for the objectives on their own as long as I provide them with the tool to fulfill that objective.
What are the pros and cons of the tools? Some pros of the tools are that they are engaging in learning. If the students are engaging in the learning process, they are more excited about learning and can explore information using the tool on their own without being bored. Also, (as long as the students stay on task) it is harder to get off task with the tools because the students are so curious and involved in learning. However, if the students were doing something other than learning through the tools, they may daydream or do other things that would take them off task. Some cons of the tools is, of course, some students may not have computers at home or have the knowledge of how to use computers. Also, for those students that would need accommodations in learning, it would be difficult to incorporate the same sense of the tools into something that didn't involve technology (if that student needing accommodations couldn't read/see/etc.).

Week 2: Introducing Technology

How will these tools help me communicate with my students? By using these tools in the classroom, the students will be able to view, in the classroom, my instructions on certain projects by going online and looking at the rubric for that specific assignment. If the students have computers at home, they will be able to contact me at any time during the day via email. They will also be able to view anything about the class (assignments, upcoming events, homework, etc.) from home, which is especially good if a child is sick. If the student does not have a computer at home, they can go to the local library or go over the house of a student who does have a computer. Overall, by allowing the students to access these technology tools, the line of students in front of my desk every day will be much smaller (hopefully!).

How will these tools help me communicate with my students' parents? The parents of the students will be able to contact me via email with any questions they have. Also, they will have access to the class website, so they can view their children's' school work (if it's posted online), upcoming assignments/units/field trips, as well as keep posted on their child's grades.

How will these tools help me communicate with my colleagues? My colleagues and I will all have access to a calendar of meetings and grade activities. We will all be able to contact each other via email, and stay organized when it comes to meetings and news regarding the school.

In which ways might I employ these tools to achieve classroom objectives? I will be able to open the students' eyes when it comes to technology. The students will be able to feel more comfortable with using these tools, which will prepare them for the upcoming grades, which will require much more work using technology. The classroom objectives would be achieved by teaching the students to reach those goals by using technology.

What are the pros and cons of the tools? Some of the pros of the tools are that it would allow me to communicate better with the students, parents, and faculty. The students would become more familiar with using the tools and they would be able to use them better in the future. Some of the cons would be that not every student and parent has access to a computer. These students may feel left out and embarrassed in class, and the parents may not have access to their child's assignments like other parents may have.
Video Reflection: I have mixed feelings about the fractions video. I think that by showing your students this video, it is not a very effective and appropriate way of teaching math. However, if you were to teach fractions to the class, and then teach the class the words to the rap, that would help the students a lot. They could memorize the words and, chances are, they would know that rap for a long time. You could even take it a step further and have the students make their own rap about math, or make their own rap video.

Week 1: My Ideal Classroom

First off, my ideal classroom would be happy. It always made me sick to walk into a classroom with bland walls and no color whatsoever. My classroom would have enough on the walls to be exciting, but not so much that it would be distracting. I would have a comfortable rug in the corner with a chair for me to sit in while I read to the students as they would quietly sit on the rug. That corner would be the reading corner (but with a more fun name than "reading corner") and I would have bookshelves full of books for the students to choose from. I would try to make that area as comfortable and relaxing as possible, because it is hard for anyone to concentrate on reading when they are anxious or uncomfortable.

I would also have an art center. This wouldn't be a major area, but it would be where I kept the scissors, markers, glue, tape, etc. so the students would know where to find everything. I would NOT keep a stapler over there, because that would stay on my desk. I know scissors are probably what I should be most nervous about, but I have this huge fear (and I don't know where it came from) of a student stapling their finger! :/

My desk wouldn't be cluttered with the students' work; there'd be a special area for that behind my desk. The students' desks and chairs would be in groups, and I would rotate these groups ever month so the students could get to interact with all of their classmates throughout the school year.

The students would be, well, children. I don't expect them to act any differently than I did when I was their age: excited, talkative, curious, energetic, hungry, etc. Kids are kids, and I don't like it when 3rd grade teachers expect their students to act like proper 40-year-old Englishmen. I knew a teacher like this, and she was constantly disapointed in herself because she felt as though she has failed as a teacher since the students were acting out. I think it's important to be honest with yourself and accept that the students won't always be great, but it depends on the classroom management techniques used that will really be reflected by the students' behaviors.

I would love for the parents to really care about their children and their children's education. Weekly to biweekly communication, I feel, is very important (more or less, depending on the student). Naturally, I feel I'll worry about the students when they leave my classroom and go home. I'd like to know that they are being loved and told by their parents that they are proud of them.

I would like my colleagues to behave in a professional way, but still be friendly. I think gossiping is immature and doesn't promote a healthy work environment. The students aren't the only people I would see at work, and so I would like to maintain good relationships with my colleagues, as well as see them put forth the same effort in maintaining the relationship. I just think I'd like my job a whole lot more if everyone was pleased with everyone else (even though this isn't always what happens).

I would use several teaching techniques. I have a crazy imagination, so I think it'd be fun to dress up as an old woman and suprise the students when they come in for recess, and I would read to the students in character. Or if we were learning about Egypt, I could dress up as an explorer or a mummy. I will also try to adapt my lessons to all types of learning styles, and if I were teaching a younger grade, I would do this by having stations/centers.

As far as technology goes, I would use computer programs (if computers were available in the classroom) for the students to use during free time/indoor recess. I would also do a class website for the parents to follow (and students too) so they know what's going on in class and what their child is learning. Maybe I could even scan their work onto the computer and have pages devoted to each student.

What content will I teach? That depends on the grade! I plan to follow the curriculum, so, that really depends on the grade. At the begining of each school year, the students will come together as a class to create their own class list of goals for that year. Then, at the end of the year, I will bring that list out and we, as a class, will see if we achieved the goals we had set. It's not really a matter of what I teach, I just want to teach the students and touch their lives. Of course, I would like to teach what the curriculum expects me to teach, but I really hope to teach the students much more than what is in the curriculum. I hope to teach them about themselves, about relationships, and about so much more. About the video... I don't know if too much technology should be part of the classroom. I think that if it is limited to only accessing it in the classroom, that's fine. But this video really got me thinking about those students who don't have computers at home. I think that it is only fair to have technology in the classroom that is only required to access in the classroom.