While reading through chapters 5 and 6, I was happy to notice that I have used many technological tools beyond the basic programs. That being said, there are still many programs that I would like to learn more about. The programs that I am not as familiar with are PDA's, GPS -for the classroom use, animation, adding sounds / graphics, and also desktop publishing. I am interested in learning more about desktop publishing and finding ways to allow my students to create documents in more creative ways.
Over the last few years, my district has done a good job when it comes to teaching us how to use data collection tools. We have been provided with step-by-step instructions on how to insert grades into our electronic gradebook, open access for parents to view, publish grades, add comments and make reports. If there are problems with anything, teachers and administration are there to assist. We use a program called SchoolMax and I noticed that it was mentioned in the textbook. This program includes the electronic gradebook and student information such as name, date of birth, phone numbers, address, medical information and class schedules. Having all of this information within the SchoolMax system makes it very easy to access necessary information whenever it is needed. All the teachers have to do is login to the system from any computer.
We just started an online computer-based testing program called Discovery Education. This program allows teachers to give the students the tests three times a year and gauge their reading progress. It not only gives individual scores but also allows teachers to see the percentages of students who exceeded, met and or were below standards. This information is collected and available to the teachers as soon as the students finish the online test. This instant data allows the teachers to guide and drive their instruction based on their students’ areas of need. I also have the students read nightly and fill out a daily summary. At the end of two weeks, they take a quiz on a free on-line program called www.bookadventure.com. The only drawback is that the students can only choose books that are on the Book Adventure Quiz list. It is somewhat limiting but the list grows all of the time. They can take the quiz two times and I take the highest score. Each student is assigned a number and later I can go into the system to record their scores.
Near the end of the year I teach my students researching skills in order for them to write an Expository paper on a country of their choice. I believe that they should know how to use an index and table of contents while looking through a book or encyclopedia. At the same time, I also provide them with strategies on how to effectively search for information on the Internet. I use websites such as www.onekey.com, country database websites, and also electronic encyclopedias (World Book), atlases and dictionaries. The technology allows the students to have an abundance of information at their fingertips. Yet with all of this information, the students and myself included, can become overwhelmed. Part of allowing the students to use the technology includes teaching them how to filter through all of the information in order to find out what is important and specific to their topic. Using keywords and creating questions they'd like to have answered helps.
Next year my school will be starting a new reading series in which the textbook and other supported materials will be available online as an ebook through a program called Think Central-Story Town. I think this will help students stay more accountable because they can access any textbook reading homework from a home computer. Not every student has internet connections / a computer, but this prevents many students from saying that they forgot their textbook at school. The stories within Think Central also have an auditory feature that can read the selection to the students. This will help differentiate instruction for students who learn best by hearing the text and or reading it from a computer screen. This could be similar to what the girl, Sam did in the video about Digital Natives.
I feel that these types of technologies help not only the student, but also the teacher and sometimes the parent. SchoolMax saves me time and keeps information organized. Having online grades allows the parents to be updated on their child's progress and tends to provide them with the information necessary to help their child improve. Technology tends to be engaging for students and also a time saver for teachers. This allows teachers to spend more time planning interactive lessons and teaching in general. Also I introduce the year teaching geography and therefore I'd like to incorporate Google Earth into the unit.
Visual Picture Dictionary:
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/search-results.php?s_search_box=pomegranate&s_search_result=pomegranate
This website provides visual ways to express new concepts and I plan on using this next year.
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