Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Final Internet Safety PLE

For the final internet safety project I chose to talk to my oldest sister. She is thirty years old and has two daughters which are four and two. I decided I was going to talk to her about cyber bullying. The reason that I chose this topic is because I had never really heard of it that much until last semester and this semester and I think that it is something that kids could easily get caught up in. It's a horrifying idea to me that children do this to one another but then I thought that it is also something that can be totally prevented. I shared some of the videos that were suggested in class with her as well as some that I found on my own. I talked with her about how my nieces may be young now but she needs to talk to them about this to either completely avoid it or if asked to do it or if someone is doing it to them that they need to come to her. I can't stand the thought of any kids getting hurt like this and I hate to think of the internet as being another medium for kids to be mean. I think the talk went really well and my sister realized that it's never too early to talk about internet safety with your children and cyber bullying is a part of that internet safety. She also agreed that it is important that we teach children at an early age our guidelines for using the internet so they know their boundaries now. Talking with my sister helped me to think more on how I'm going to talk with my own kids when I someday have them, and how important it is to be informed of what is going on out there so that we can serve our children well.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Two things I learned

I really enjoyed sharing the presentations.
The biggest thing that I learned was that there are so many ways to integrate technology and it really can be integrated into any subject. I really enjoyed seeing the variety of lessons show in presentations.
The other thing I learned about was how to use a Smart Board or a Promethean Board in a classroom. It made me really want one in my classroom. I think that they are really useful and can be integrated in a fun way for the students. It is a really interactive type of technology! Excellent for younger students especially!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

What I learned

What I learned from watching Michelle's project presentation was how easy using i-clickers in the elementary classroom can be. I also learned that that is how some tests are going to be given now so it is important to learn how to use them in my classroom. Like I've said in previous posts, because technology is such an integral part of our students' lives we really need to learn how to use it ourselves and incorportae it into our classrooms.

Internet Safety Reading

For my fourth article I chose to read "Leave It Alone" by Elder H. Burke Peterson Emeritus Member of the Seventy. I really enjoyed reading this article and one of the most important things that I learned from the reading is that "I plead with you to leave it alone. Stay away from any movie, video, publication, or music—regardless of its rating—where illicit behavior and expressions are part of the action. Have the courage to turn it off in your living room. Throw the tapes and the publications in the garbage can, for that is where we keep garbage." The reason that I felt this was so important is mainly because of the part where it talked about throwing it out regardless of it's rating. I think oftentimes we justify reading, watching, or listening to things because it's not R or X rated when in fact it is still filth.
This assignment was really good for me as I hope to one day be a mother. This is something that I realize I need to think about now rather than wait until I am confronted with a situation. I plan on sitting down with my children and setting standards for the type of media they view and how long they view media in general. I do want to point out to them that not all media is good and that it can be used to their advantage but they need to careful of deceptions within media.
I hope to use this newly remembered knowledge to my benefit and the benefit of those around me. I do not wish to be pushy or greater than thou but I do think that I can set an example to my peers and family simply by choosing not to participate in that type of media myself. I think that it is an excellent way to bring the spirit closer to you and also probably free up some time as well.

TechPowerPoint

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Psych Reflection #3

For my final reflection I chose to observe my mentor teacher, Mrs. Bernfeld. During the practicum I was able to learn a lot from her and watching how she taught. Some of the things that she incorporated into her classroom and her teaching style were distributed practice of many concepts, she used a lot of levels of the Bloom taxonomy, and I believe that she helped the students achieve expectancy x values.
When Mrs. Bernfeld would teach a new topic or concept, she would always teach it as a unit so that the students could have plenty of time to learn it and practice their understanding of it. This helped any student who would get behind to have practice more and students that were advanced were able to help others or get better at what they had just learned. I found this to be a really important and helpful way for her students to really understand and feel comfortable, as well as allow her to assess their how much they were able to fully grasp.
As I mentioned above my mentor teacher was also very good at incorporating the aspects of Bloom’s taxonomy. They were many instances when the students were able to analyze and evaluate new scenarios and situations, then after they had really looked at the concept they were able to apply it to their knowledge that they already had. All of these things allowed the student to remember the new information better. L
Finally, I think that my teacher did an excellent job of helping her students to understand that if they really believe that they can do something, then they can. The students were always encouraged, no matter how far behind they were, to continue trying and to continue to do their best, because that was all she wanted from them. I think that this class was so successful because of this encouragement.
I’m sure that I am looking at my teacher through rose-colored glasses because I feel that she knows so much more than me, but I still truly believe that she was an excellent teacher. I’m sure there are things that she could improve on as any teacher could improve on something, but I think that for this particular class she has done an excellent job of teaching to their needs. I hope that I can incorporate these practices into my own teaching so that I can really help my students succeed.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Final Psychology Questions

1. The divorce rate in the United States is the _______ in the world.

2. _______ is an understanding that other people are people too, with their own minds, thoughts, feelings, etc.

3. Aggressive children tend to believe that violence will be ________, and they use aggression to get what they want.


Answers: 1- highest, 2- theory of mind, 3- rewarded.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

My Technology Enhanced Lesson

For my technology lesson I taught the students about what an inference is and how to make one. I was able to first teach them using a book that requires students to make an inference for it to have meaning to it. At the end of my lesson I showed them how, using my own background knowledge and textual clues, I came to the conclusion that I did and inferred what I did. To further reinforce the importance of inferences and how to make them, I used a quiz from the internet. In this quiz there is a sentence given to the students and then four answers that could be what you inferred from the sentence. This was a really good way to teach them better about inferences because I was able to use the projector so that all the students had access to the technology and the words. It was also a fun way to teach them inferences so that they didn't get bored repeating the same things over and over. As a class we were able to get 15 out of 15 on the quiz and I think that the students really enjoyed using a fun website to learn something new.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Technology Enhanced Lesson

The content that would be taught would be Standard 3, Objective 1, Indicator C which talks about students investigating how forces applied through simple machines affect the direction and/or amount of resulting force. By the end of this lesson students will be able to identify all six (or seven if you don't include the gear with the wheel) of the simple machines.

The pedagogy used would be class discussion so that I can observe how much the students are understanding and they can ask questions for anything that they are unsure of. While all the students will have their own computers I don't expect them to work quietly. I will encourage small group discussion to answer the multiple choice questions asked on the website, as long as they stay on task.

The technology used would be the rotating set of classroom lap-tops. There is a website that has four different rooms. Within these rooms there are everday objects that students can click on to find what simple machine makes this work. Multiple chioce questions are asked to guide the student in choosing what they think is the simple machine used. An example is a toaster and the handle on the toaster that is a lever. We would explore one room as a class and then the students would be free to roam throughout the rest of the website. They will have strict rules to not deviate from the page. Students would be able to have fun and work interactively, exploring how they feel necessary for their learning.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Technology in the Classroom

Since being in the practicum, I have noticed that Deerfield Elementary in the Alpine School District greatly values technology. Last year one of the 5th grade teachers received a grant for all of the fifth grade classes to get a classroom set of laptops, smart boards for all of the students, as well as other increased technology. At this time there is more technology in the fifth grade than other grades but the school has plans for the future and for the other grades.
I am in a third grade class and there is quite a bit of technology available to them. They have listening and recording centers, a projector, a video camera and digital camera for them to share with the school, and a few other things. The school also has a Mac Lab that has about 40-45 computers in just that room that is available to all the classes. Overall I think that this school understands the importance of technology and is trying their best to make it available to their students.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Psych 301 Teaching Reflection

Louisa McSweeney
Reflection on Teaching

While Michelle and I were planning on teaching the parts of Social Constructivism that we were in charge of, we decided to use the different theories of learning on our students. We not only wanted to teach them what the strategies were and how you could use them but also wanted them to put them into practice. I feel that we were successful in our approach because I think that the students were able to really understand the definitions based on the activities we had them do.
We used collaboration, cooperation/cooperative learning, and jigsaw in the first activity. In our activity we had the students discuss the differences between collaboration, cooperation, and cooperative learning while actually participating in these theories of learning. By doing this it was much easier to explain the differences between the three by referring back to their activity.
We were also able to bring in different teaching strategies that we learned in other lessons such as concept mapping (where we showed a way to remember the difference between collaboration, cooperation and group work). Along with the previous we used distributed practice (they practiced the principles multiple times throughout the lesson), and positive reinforcement (the treats).
It was great to be able to bring in different principles and strategies from others lesson to strengthen and improve the teaching of our own lesson. I can definitely see how a combination of the differing strategies can be used within one lesson plan.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Psych 301 QQ T/F

Psychology QQ True/False
1. T/F The essential difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation is the person’s reason for acting.
2. T/F Goals should be kept very general.
3. T/F Arousal involves both psychological and physical reactions.
4. T/F Mastery-Oriented students have a high fear of failure.
5. T/F When the goal is simply performing students tend to only care about finishing.

Answers: 1-T, 2-F, 3-T, 4-F, 5-T

Monday, February 23, 2009

TPACK Questions

The Content the class will focus on comes from 4th grade Social Studies, Standard 1; Objective 1; Indicator B. This states that students will understand the relationship between the physical geography in Utah and human life by examining the forces at work in creating the physical geography of Utah (e.g. erosion, seismic activity, climate change).

The Pedagogy that I will use for my classroom will be to have a group discussion where we list on the board the types of natural forces that we found shaped the geography of Utah. I will then have the students write in their journals about the different landforms they found and how they think they might change if the force continues to work on them.

The Technology that will be used for this lesson is Google Earth. At each site of the land formation I will allow students to click on that place and have a picture and some information on that site pop up. Included in the information will be what forces of nature have acted on it.
I think that it is a great way for students to actually see the site of the land formation that I want them to look at. By knowing what force formed it and what the formation looks like today students will more easily be able to fulfill the journal writing assignment.

Virtual Tour Part 1
































Location ActivityGoogle Earth Content
1. Timpanogos CavesStudents will find that deposition and erosion formed these cavespath trail, students will click on the site and information and a picture for this site will pop up.
2. Arches National Parkdeposition and erosion formed these.path trail, same as above
3. Great Salt Lakeevaporation from Lake Bonneville formed thispath trail, same as above
4. Salt Flatsevaporation and faulting formed thispath trail, same as above
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:I will use path trail to mark the different places around Utah the students will be discovering. They will also have the terrain box checked.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Psychology Quiz Questions-Matching #2

Psychology QQ Matching:

1. Arousal

2. Constructivism

3. Cognitive Apprenticeship

4. Motivation to Learn

5. Utility Value


A.) Suzy knew that she needed to listen in class in order for her to understand the information given to her.

B.) Bobby knew that if he didn’t pass his English class he wouldn’t reach his goal of graduating in May.

C.) The sound of the bell caused my stomach to tense up because I knew that I hadn’t studied for the test.

D.) Joey watched and listened to the Head Nurse because he was an intern and she was an expert in the field.

E.) Sarah wanted to learn French because she was going to Paris next year and thought the language would benefit her while she was there.


Answers: 1-C, 2-A, 3-D, 4-E, 5-B

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Matching Questions, Psych

Quiz Questions wk 3, Psychology 301

Matching
1. Development
2. Identity
3. Adolescent Egocentrism
4. Assisted Learning
5. Zone of Proximal Development

A. Phase at which a child can master a task if given appropriate help and support

B. Orderly, adaptive changes we go through from conception to death

C. Providing strategic help in the initial stages of learning, gradually diminishing as students gain independence

D. Assumption that everyone else shares one’s thoughts feelings, and concerns.

E. Principle that a person or object remains the same over time

Answers: 1-B, 2-E, 3-D, 4-C, 5-A

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

TPACK Question wk5

The content that I chose to focus on for this week once again came from the Utah core standards. The first standard was number 1 Objective 2 which states, students should develop language through viewing media and presenting. This will be achieved once the digital storyboard is complete. I then used standard 8 Objective 6 which states, students should write in different forms and genres. We achieved this through the use of poetry to present our story.

The pedagogy that was used in our project all had to do with language arts. Our main emphasis was on poetry and I think that this could lead to a fun project for our students. It would be a good final project for a poetry unit that the students will be able to really show all of their creativity. I would have my students write their own poems and then create a storyboard to really show what they're poem is meant to represent. They could really become creative and have the storyboard be something that you wouldn't have thought the poem was about at first but a deeper interpretation of it.

We haven't used too much technology yet other than the basics. We were able to use the internet to find a good poem and pictures to go along with it. We will be using a program to record our narration and our song when we are ready to complete our project. Finally the use of a digital storyboard is technology and that will also be done in the next week.

Storyboard



Wednesday, February 4, 2009

TPACK Questions redone

The content I chose to focus on comes from the State Standards for 3rd grade Science. It came from Standard 1, Objective 1, Indicators A-C. These indicators focused on the physical appearance of the Earth and the Moon, the physical properties that make them up and where their source of light comes from.
The main sources of pedagogy I used were observation, data collection and data analyzing. Students were to look at photos of the Earth, Moon and Sun and find the connections to the asked questions. By looking at these photos students were able to find the shape of the Earth and the Moon to be spherical, a property of the Earth to be water as it is blue and that the source of light for the Earth and Moon comes from the Sun. Pictures that they were able to look at helped them to explore the Earth, Sun and Moon in a way that puts them outside of our atmosphere. After observing and collecting the data, the students were able to come to the above conclusions.
The technology that we used for this science study was Celestia. This was a fantastic way for students to be able to explore the universe outside of the earth. They were able to move around on the program as if they were in space. This enabled them to look at the Earth, Moon and Sun at different angles to see the different physical properties of each, and the effect that they had on one another. I feel that this program greatly enhanced the content and pedagogy trying to be taught and practiced. The students were able to do all of the exploring and coming to a conclusion on their own.

Psych Modules 15-17

In terms of Operant Conditioning, what does the “A” stand for in the acronym “ABC”?

a.) Antecedent

b.) Active

c.) Aversive

Correct Answer: A

Which of the following answers describe the Premack Principle?

a.) First: low-frequency, Second: high-frequency

b.) First: high-frequency, Second: low-frequency

c.) Waiting for perfection

d.) Positively reinforcing progress

Correct Answer: A

Which of the following is not one of the four skills that can increase student learning?

a.) Listening to the lecture

b.) Planning out assignments

c.) Working alone and in groups

d.) Copying another students work

Correct Answer: D

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

TPACK Questions

Content: our content was from UEN core standard 1.1.a-c for the third grade.
Pedagogy: Students were making their own observations, acquiring their own data, and analyzing what it meant.
Technology: Celestia

Tech Savvy Teacher

Tech Savvy Teacher:
In today's society it is really important that we, as teachers, introduce our children to the use of technology all around us. They are going to be growing up in a world where their future jobs will more than likely require them using technology. Technology has also increased the amount of learning that can be done in a given amount of time. Today's children are learning things faster and better than when we were growing up.
This week, as a part of our science unit we explored the appearance of the Earth and the Moon. We focused on the 3rd grade Core standard 1, objective 1, a through c. Using the computer program Celestia, students needed to find answers to the following questions: What is the shape of the Earth and the Moon? What are their sources of light? What are their physical properties? (i.e. what do they look like?)
Students were broken up into groups of two or three and were assigned to work on computers. First, they made predictions to the questions asked. Then, using the program Celestia, they observed and collected data to answer the research questions given. As a group, they were to collect evidence that confirmed or denied their original predictions. Their findings were recorded in their science logs. After returning to the classroom, we discussed and analyzed the data. These were some of their findings:

"The Sun lights the Earth and Moon." (Mark)



"It is blue, because it has a lot of water on the surface." (Luke)


"We found the Earth is a sphere.” (Meghan)

"The Moon is also a sphere." (Meghan)


"It is gray and white. You can see its craters." (Ben)


Using hands-on technology, students were able to do the work of learning. They were able to make observations from the appearances of the Earth, Moon, and Sun in relation to each other from outside our own atmosphere. Rather than looking simply at pictures they were able to look at them from different perspectives and angles. This stimulated the learning process and gave students the chance to really get engaged in the material! Overall, the use of the technology Celestia enhanced the learning of the students by making it an interactive activity. It is difficult to come up with ideas to help make the study of space a fun and interesting activity. If students are able to do the work themselves and see real photos the amount of learning will be increased in a shortened amount of time.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Microbe Zoo

One of the math/science technologies that I chose to explore is called the "Microbe Zoo". It was a really fun website that I think children would certainly enjoy. It was cool even for me to learn about all the ways in which Microbes affect us. Not only are they everywhere in our environment but they are actually helpful to us. One of the places in the "Microbe Zoo" that I explored was the "Snack Bar". I love chocolate and to know that Microbes help that process along is somewhat scary but at the same time is fascinating how nature works in such ways. I think that learning about Microbes is really a good way to show students exactly how science and biology works in our everday lives.

TPACK

So far this tutorial has been the most motivating and exciting for me from any of those that we have explored so far in this class. The more I continue taking classes for elementary education the more I realize how integral technology is in the classroom. I find it almost an obligation for me to learn how to use technology in the classroom. I feel this way because I think that by the time our students that we teach enter the workforce they will be completely surrounded my technology and will be at a disadvantage if they don't understand it. I even see it happening at this time so it only makes me further feel that the workforce will get more and more technologically advanced as time goes by.
I really enjoyed these tutorials because there were ideas that I hadn't thought of that I really feel I could use in the classroom. I felt that the "Brown Bear" style book that the kindergarten class did was very creative. It was simple enough for all the students to participate in yet it created something professional that they could be proud of it. I also felt that having the computers in with the students for their use was great. Not only is it useful because they will eventually need to learn computer skills, but the programs that computers provide are also great. I think that programs can be used to increase chilren's reading or help them in the speech, etc. I have seen in other classrooms, computers used to help teach scientific principles and show graphs and videos. I also really liked the ice cream lesson because it was such a fun and creative way to teach that principle and allow the students to be hands on. They didn't have to just listen to a lecture on freezing points but instead were actually able to experiment and observe it happening.
I feel that TPACK is something that all teachers should have. Not only is it important to know content well or just how to teach it but it is also important that students can incorporate it into their daily lives. Technology is the future and I'm ready to get on board. It will allow students to learn so much more in such a short amount of time that I think it can only increase their time to learn even more information.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Psych 301 Quiz Questions Week 1

In the term "g intelligence", what does the g stand for?
a. genetic
b. general
c. geometric
d. grammatical

The correct answer is B

Which theorist came up with the "theory of multiple intelligences"?
a. Cattell
b. Horn
c. Gardner
d. Spearman

The correct answer is C

The average IQ score is:
a. 85
b. 115
c. 140
d. 100

The correct answer is D

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

RSS and Web 2.0

I had never heard of Web 2.0 or RSS before this class, but I now know how useful of tools these things really are. As I said previously I am not technologically savvy but I do like to make things easy and efficient. To know that I could create a blog to communicate with my students or to other students outside of e-mail is great! I also believe that it is a great tool to communicate with parents and allow them an efficient and simple way for them to speak with me on any concerns or questions. I believe that technology should be embraced and used to enhance our teaching and the education of our students.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

PsychReflection1

I decided to create a Goodreads account for something new that I wanted to learn. The reason that I chose this particular website and group to start is that it is helpful in another one of my classes so I feel that it’s something that I might actually use.
The initial set-up was fairly simple except when they wanted my e-mail address and password so that I can add friends it kept denying me. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure it out as it is necessary for my other class to add my teacher as a friend. I also had some struggles when I tried to upload a photo to personalize my account more. For now I have simply given up on it as it could be that my internet is just really slow. I plan to try and do it on campus; however, it will probably take me some time to do it because I have to load a picture of me on to a campus computer in order for me to upload it and I’m just not sure of when I will really want to take the time to do it.
I’m excited for this new opportunity I have to find some really good books to read. I don’t have much time for leisure reading but once I do I will be able to keep up to date with what is new and supposedly good. I think that this website is a fabulous idea for people of any age and taste. Just from what I have looked at and observed on the website so far I can see that it is a great tool for me to use.
I did think it was really funny to see that Twilight was on the “worst books list” and the “best books list.” It shows that people are really willing to share their opinions and their views on the book and I feel that it is done in a respectful way. I hope that through this website and by writing opinions of my own I will be able to find some really good books that could perhaps change my perceptions on things and I will become a better critical thinker of what makes a book good.
Overall I would say that this was a really good choice for me because it was simple enough for me to set-up as I am not that great with technology and something that I will really use.

My Technology Background

I don't have much of a technology background and it will become obvious to everyone throughout the semester. We had a computer at home but I didn't use it much other than to check my e-mail or listen to music. If an error on the computer came/comes up I immediately made/make someone else deal with it. I don't really know that much of a computer's potential. In middle school I did learn how to type and in high school I had a computer class where I learned how to create things such as a website and such but the knowledge didn't really stick as I didn't see it as being applicable. Obviously I was wrong and hope to improve on my technology skills. Since coming to college I have taken a power point class and I learned a little about Excel but not that much. While I now know more about these programs than I did before I would still like to continue to learn more and how I could implement them into my classroom.