Tuesday, December 15, 2009

PLE

I have completed steps 2-4.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Internet Safety

1. The article I chose to read is entitled "Let our Voices be Heard" written by Elder Ballard.
2. The video resources that I watched depicted stories of cyber-bullying. I watched videos about consequences of gossip spreading through the internet, the reprocussions a boy suffered when he rated girls in his school on a website, and a girl who got her email account hacked into. I also watched a couple videos on girls that became involved with older, dangerous men through IM relationships. I watched several other videos with adolescents who have been taken advantage of via negative means of the internet.
3. I actually got a lot out of watching these videos and reading the article by Elder Ballard. Elder Ballard's article enlightened me on the powerful effects that the internet can have on the family. He discussed how the influence of harmful media can deteriorate an individual as well as a family. The videos that I watched were poignant, especially since they were relayed in children's voices.
4. I interviewed my mom about cyber-bullying. She was completely aware of the subject and even told me a few things that I didn't know about it. Although she has had no personal experiences with cyber-bullying, she has been more than informed by talk-shows such as Tyra and Oprah. The stories that she told me were terrifying and I believe these stories has made her fearful of the internet in general. I reassured her that safety precautions as well as internet awareness can prevent a lot of these cyber catastrophes. I believe that we both came out of this experience better informed and more aware.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Lesson Plans

Math Lesson Plan

Science Lesson Plan

Writing Lesson Plan

I am an ElEd major however I am not in my practicum therefore I am unsure of what is expected for the PLE this week. Just to be safe I read through one of the websites for the ECE majors.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

PLE 10

The most important thing I learned from these videos is to never underestimate students and their technological competence/capabilities. I think often times teachers set their expectations lower than they need to be. I believe it is always important to make kids stretch and accomplish things that they may have once believed to be out of their reach. This class, for example, has made me realize that I am not as technologically incompetent as I once assumed. Another important thing that I learned is that students are not as apprehensive about using computers as adults often are. In all of the videos that I watched, it seemed as if the students dove into the projects with little to no anxiety or hesitation. Perhaps it was because the teacher taught with such confidence and ease. I loved all of the students’ responses to the technology-based lessons. You could tell it was something that each student was excited to participate in. Overall from these videos I learned that infusing technology in the classroom has the potential to be productive, somewhat simple, and fun.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Technology In the Classroom

I am an El Ed major although I am not currently in a cohort. I completed my first cohort last winter semester so I will reflect upon the technology displayed in that 1st practicum classroom. The teacher did not have any computers in the room, however the school did provide her with a laptop and printer. The main use of technology in the classroom was her audio amplifier. She always had a microphone clipped onto her shirt that would amplify her voice and play from speakers within the classroom. She raved about this voice enhancer. Although there were not any kids in the classroom with known hearing problems, she felt it really helped the overall teaching and learning experience. I have completed both parts 1 and 2 of this week's PLE.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Google Earth Evaluation

I watched Stephanie, Meagan, and Jessica's google earth tours.

I think that implementing a Virtual Tour in the classroom would be very effective if done correctly. Although I feel fairly comfortable with Google Earth I think I would have to further my understanding if I wanted to teach it to a classroom full of students. I think that time is a relevant issue. I found this activity to be very time consuming and although I learned alot I am not sure that it is time-effective. I do think, however, that this type of lesson would really appeal to certain types of learners that may not respond well to other teaching styles.

My Virtual Tour

My tour delves into four different and prominent world religions. Here is a link to my tour. World Religions Tour

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Standard 1
Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world.

Objective 2: Evaluate how religion has played a central role in human history from ancient times to today.

Identify key tenets of the major world religions (i.e. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism).

I believe that this will be a fun topic for the students. Exploring different cultures and religions will be enhanced by the use of google earth because it will heighten their understanding of where these religions are prominent geographically.

Virtual Plan



Location Activity DescriptionGoogle Earth Content
1. Mahabodhi Temple in Bodygaya IndiaView photo of Buddhist temple. Note defining characteristics (geographic location, aesthetics of temple, etc.)

Visit the following site and record 5 facts that you learned about the Buddhist religion: http://www.buddhanet.net/

2. Temple Mount in JerusalemView photo of Islam temple. Compare similiarities and differences (geographic location, aesthetics of temple, etc.) between the Islam and Buddhist temples.

Watch the movie at the bottom of the blog which can be accessed by the following link:
http://islamicmultimedia.blogspot.com/search/label/TV Show





3. Peruvudaiyaar Koil (Peruvudiayaar Temple) in Thanjavur, IndiaView photo of Hindu temple. Compare similarities and differences (geographic location, aesthetics of temple, etc.) between the Hindu and Islam temple.

Navigate around this site and write down three things that stood out to you when learning of the hindu religion/culture.

http://www.hindukids.org/



4. Karaite Synagogue in JerusalemView photo of Jewish synagogue. Compare similarities and differences (geographic location, aesthetics of temple, etc.)


Visit this site and scroll through the pictures. Note the things that stand out to you and try to identify certain objects by their traditional Jewish term.
http://sami119.tripod.com/shemaisrael/id5.html