Mid Semester Check-In

So far, this class has been one of the most beneficial I have taken in my teacher education courses. I think learning to incorporate technology has to be taken seriously by all new teacher candidates. Unlike previous generations, using technology can no longer be optional. Students today and in the future will be increasingly technologically literate, and producing a teaching force that isn't would be a huge mistake on the part of teacher educators. Luckily, most teacher candidates today have a lot of personal experience, including myself. I look forward to incorporating as much technology as my student's needs deem necessary.

Digital Scavenger Hunt

This is a Social Studies scavenger hunt. We were required to find images that represented our list of things: a map, a calendar with an important date, a newspaper, a piece of technology created in the last five years, something showing similarities and differences, a sign showing direction, a political sign with bias, an object that has changed the world, and an inanimate object older than 40 years. It was made using a digital camera, Adobe Photoshop, and Picasa Web. I liked doing this activity. It was a nice reminder that no matter how old students are, they love to go outside and be active. I don't think I would use a scavenger hunt activity with my students,but it was a successful activity in teaching me how to use Picasa and Google presentations.

Web 2.0 Tools

Learning about Web 2.0 Tools is a good idea for this class. They are great resources: free and easy to use and easy to apply across any classroom. I recently used Wordle in one of my tutoring sessions. My student, Eduardo, had done a research paper and I copy/ pasted his essay into Wordle to assess his word use. The largest word (which is also the most used) was "I." Knowing that, I encouraged him to construct sentences in different ways to cut down on overused words. It was a fast, easy way to see his word usage very clearly. I was happy to have been assigned the Wordle presentation because I got to use it so quickly.

Inquiry Based Activities

Working on an inquiry based activity was good practice for me. I liked working on creating an assignment from top to bottom, and like including a website and thinking about what standards were relevant.
I think after working with a few assignment activities, the inquiry based activity was my favorite, and overall the most successful in term of classroom usage.

Webquests

Using WebQuests for the first time was a beneficial activity. I liked the structure of all of them, with the detailed instructions and tasks for teachers and students. In another class this week, I gave a presentation about authentic activities in Educational Psychology, and introduced the concept of WebQuests to the rest of my class. All the other students really liked the idea of "cookie-cutter" assignments they could change and use for their own benefit. They are great resources!