Week 9 update

I have completed my midcourse evaluation and informed consent.

Classroom Technology Inventory

In visiting with a Kindergarten teacher at Amelia Earhart Elementary I was able to see that there are a lot of resources available for teachers, that I wouldn't have guessed. Amelia Earhart has always been pretty tech-savvy, and now that they have been changed to a Title I school they have received more funding and now have even more technological resources in the classroom. Each of the classes even has a Smart Board!

I talked to her a lot about the additional time that implementing technology requires. She was emphatic that the extra time was well worth it. The kids get so excited and really WANT to learn. Plus it is all things that you can keep in your inventory and use in later years.

I am actually really excited to implement technology into the classroom now. She gave me several examples of things she has actually used in her Kindergarten classroom and now I am able to think of several ways to incorporate technology into my lesson plans.

Week 8 - Science Challenge

Kate - Phases of the Moon
Lizzy - Community Culture & Relationships
Kaylee - Weather

I think this is a great resource to get ideas from other teachers and what they are doing in their classroom. I also really like the idea of posting that on a class blog or wiki so the parents can see in more depth what we are doing in the classroom. I can't believe how many resources there are out there that I just had no idea about!!

Science Challenge

Week 7

My Standard and objective is 3rd Grade Science 1.1 Describe the appearance of Earth and the moon - c. List the differences in the physical appearance of Earth and the moon as viewed from space. I will use Google Earth and Sky for them to explore the appearance of the earth and moon and Kidsperation to have them chart the things they learn.

TPACK -
Content: Describing the differences in physical appearance between the Earth and the Moon
Pedagogy: Observing, describing, and classifying. Because the children cannot do hands on activities with the differences between the earth and the moon obviously they can't touch and feel the moon, but this way they can observe what the moon looks like and make and list distinctions between what they see and start inquiring as to why it is different.
Technology: Like I mentioned before since they cannot have a hands on activity with the appearance of the earth and moon, Google Earth and Sky will give them the best look at the subject matter.

PLE #6

Caroline - Cultures Around the World
Kaylee - Natural Disasters
Lizzy - Nature

I thought it was a really interesting idea, and one that I had never been exposed to. Like many of the other assignments it was a lot of work, but I'm sure the second time around wouldn't be nearly as bad. I really think it could be an extremely beneficial tool for the classroom!

My Virtual Tour

Here is my Virtual Tour on Clocks.