Lesson Plans

  I decided to write about lesson plans and as I think about what I am going to write I notice that many times when I blog I often complain!  And unfortunately I'm going to do that again today!

  I haven't had much experience with writing lesson plans, except for the ones that I have needed to hand in for my classes.  But my fiance is a teacher and I see the time and effort she puts in for her lesson plans and I find it funny that all that time goes into something to really just please the administration.  I agree with the fact that every teacher must be following a plan with an objective and the NJ standards.  But my fiances school is being assessed by some organization (QSAC i think she said) so she and the other teachers have to change their lesson format to include many different items.  She must include the standard, objective, essential question, activities, and assessment..................all in one of those little lesson plan boxes!   I find it funny because we all know that most teachers do not teach with their lesson plan book on their lap, so why must we write step by step instructions?  It's almost a waste of time.  I think that something needs to be done to lessen up on the lesson plans.  It does not have to be bare bones, but i think its nuts spending more time on writing the lesson plans than the actual lesson?  I know it wont probably always be like this, and still its my fiances second year, but I truly know what she means now when she says " Just because teachers have the summers off, doesn't mean they work any less."  Writing lesson plans is proof of this.

I'm excited to create a webpage. I've tried to do it before but it seemed very complicated. The Scholastic site seems like an easy to manage and create site. The one thing that upset me was I tried to work on it at work yesterday and it came up blocked (I'm still racking my brain to figure out what key word was found to block it). So it was sad to know that if i stay in the district I am currently in, it will not be as easy for me to complete the upkeep of this site since it is blocked.

In college many of our professors had their own websites, which made it easy to view the assignment or syllabus that I sometimes forgot about or misplaced!

But creating a website will eliminate those late night phone calls to friends to figure out what is due the next day. It will also allow the parent to help the student, they can know what is due and when without having to ask the student questions a lot!

Im excited to complete my website and become confident to use one in the future.

I think using websites in your classroom is an amazing idea for teachers to implement in their classroom.  It keeps teachers up to date with technology, it allows students to have access to assignments, homework, contact information at anytime.  It also is an excellent way for communication through students and the teacher, and even parents and the teacher.

  At different grade levels different items can be included on the website.  In the younger grades it can have very few links, but included could be daily or weekly homework assignments, a calendar of the schools events that month, a copy of that months classroom  newsletter, and maybe links to interactive games that they can play and practice at home.

  In high school grades you can include all of the above and add other things to it.  Include online resources for assignments, and places for students to blog.  

  A website can be a life savor when it comes to many things.  If students forget their homework assignments, they can look online.  Parents can write you emails with comments and concerns.  

  Overall it's something that takes a little work to keep up to date, but would go a long way in your classroom.

Kidspiration is a software that kids can use online that forms as a graphic organizer.  I've actually used Kidspiration before when creating my first WebQuest and mPower project for a previous class I've taken.  I used it to help with my pre-work and thinking.

  I think it's a great way for students to organize their thoughts and do it in a fun way.  I think anytime you can incorporate the computer kind of engages students a little more.  When I first saw the "web like" graphic organizer it immediately made me think of writing and writers workshop!  I definitely used those when I was a child.  But they can be used for all sorts of subjects.  You can use them in math to group different shapes.  You can use them in science to link the different states of matter.

  Its a great way to organize ideas, and even better.............ITS NEAT!  A nice alternative to some of those students with messy handwriting.

I published my WebQuest last week and I offered it to one of my current teacher-friends to complete with her 2nd grade class.  I'm interested to see if her students can follow the WebQuest and see their final products.  My friend has told me her class is familiar with the computer and they do make weekly trips to the computer lab for different tasks.  She said that she has not completed a WebQuest with them yet, so this will be their first one.  I'm anxious to hear what she says to me over the next two weeks, as it is kind of an assessment of myself also!

WebQuests

  This week our main focus was to read and study different WebQuests on the internet to better inform ourself and prepare us for creating our own WebQuest.  For my former degree I took a technology course where I had to create a webquest.  I totally forgot about it until now.  I worked hard on the different components for each section and based mine on a United States Social Studies lesson.  At the time when I created it, WebQuests were a new term to me.  And after I created it, I never visited it or thought about it until now.  As a teachers assistant I don't hear much focus on this type on learning.  I think the reason it's not practiced often is because of the teachers confidence with the internet and technology.  Many teachers cringe when technology is used and get overwhelmed with the always changing programs and learning tools.  Therefore most teachers stick clear of using the computer with their whole class which puts WebQuests out of the picture.  

 I think WebQuests would be very engaging and exciting for students because they often like to get out of their desks and learn in different ways, and the computer is something that excites them.  I still wonder what grade WebQuests would be suitable for.  When I created mine it was for upper grades, as I assumed they would have the computer knowledge.  But as you get to the younger grades I wonder how young these could be started.  Maybe 3rd grade?  Im thinking in third grade they could navigate through the pages with guidance but could not do it on their own.

  I hope that as teachers become more comfortable with different types of technology they utilize these different types of learning in their classroom.  I know the big thing right now is SmartBoard technology which has some teachers exciting and others horrified.  But as we grow to be more comfortable I hope WebQuests will be used more.......and hopefully this assignment will inform me enough to have me experiment with my own class and try it more than once or twice this year!

Internet Safety

  Internet Safety is a topic that is important to children of all ages.  I think we focus internet safety primarily for younger kids 14 or younger.  But the reality is once they reach a certain age, and using the computer and internet becomes of an independent activity those children are just at just as much risk as the younger children.  

  Once students get into high school using the computer or internet usually is not monitored by an adult.  From then on students have a lot more access to internet sites.  Students curiosity can sometimes get the better of them as they search for things that lead them into other things.  Students also have peer pressure from their friends to do certain things which can be carried over onto the computer.  A group of teens may sit down in a chat room and find another person to talk to and while they may be having a good time leading this person on and it is a big joke, one of those teens may go back again and really get to know this stranger.

  While most computers at school are blocked of these potentially dangerous sites, computers at home are not.  Along with students, parents need to also understand the dangers of the internet, and something that's becoming popular now is cyber-bullying.  Parents need to monitor their students use on the computer and regularly check the history of different internet sites visited.  If able to, they can block certain websites and keep their students clear of certain dangers.

  As I watched the videos I was happy that there were videos aimed at different levels of students.  The first video with the words and questions is a video aimed at an older audience, and the last two videos were aimed at a younger one.  I don't think that students would take the first video seriously enough at an older age.  I loved the animated video rap, I think elementary students would love to watch that, and you could play it a few times for them to listen to, and finally to enjoy, and maybe even learn the words to.  The third video I felt was a little dated, but had a good message.  Pictures weren't clear and the audio wasn't anything exciting to keep the students interested.  My biggest problem with these videos was the fact they were posted on YouTube.  If you were a teacher and wanted to show these in your class as a lesson, or an introduction to computer use, many teachers could not access these at their own school computer.  Many school computers have sites blocked, YouTube being one of them (and for good reason).  While it is a good place to post videos and educational bits, it also has free range to MANY other things.  So my point is that having it posted on YouTube could be a problem for teachers because they don't have easy access to it.

  I know at the school I am an aide at we have 2 nights a year about internet safety and cyber-bullying for students and their parents to attend.  Our media specialist, administrators, and teachers attend the night and talk about the dangers of the internet and how to avoid, or report anything that may happen.  We also use this time to introduce safe websites that we use at the school that they could bookmark at home for their own family.

  Internet safety has to be a partnership between the school and parents.  If this is done, then there will be a better chance for safety in the home and at others homes.