Kiera's Korner

Class 9: Lesson Plan 2

2009-07-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed being able to see the many different lesson plans that my fellow classmates have come up with, I will be sharing mine next tuesday.

Good job to all of you! I've seen many creative and fun ideas!

Class 7 & 8: Google.com and Website Evaluation

2009-07-14T17:24:00.001-07:00

I have never seen a google account document like that of which we used in class last week. I was neat to see that we could all put our input on one page and have others that were in the group be able to view it as well.

With the assignment that we had this past week to evalutate different websites I found it to be very useful. Looking at the four different rubrics for evaluation and what we should be looking for as teachers for a valid website. I know from my experience that challenge that presents itself when looking for a valid source that actually serves its purpose. I found that I had to do some searching sometimes to find the author, and when the site was last updated, but all of the websites that I used appeared to me to be good ones with valid information. I feel that this was a good assignment for us to do first hand and not just talk about!

Class 6: Webquests

2009-07-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

I had never heard of a webquest before this class, I know that may be odd. The level of technology was limited to us when I was in elementary school, it was the time that the internet was still on dial up, and not everyone had a pc in their home. Nowadays it is more uncommon not to have a pc in your. It was neat to see all the different styles and subjects of webquests, and I feel that the evaluation was beneficial to us as future teachers.

Class 5: Digital Pictures

2009-06-30T17:40:00.001-07:00

I found the guest teacher who came in and talked with us about the photo editing program to be a very good thing to listen to. I had never heard of the program Picasa, but I find it to be quite cool! I am partial to photoshop because I have worked with it more, but it was neat to see another program that can do a lot with photos too. I want to play around more with this program.

Class 4: Power Point and Copyright

2009-06-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that you could save Power Point presentations as a web page, this will be a really neat resource that I can use for my students in my classroom as a fun way to present information to them, and it would reduce transition time, and help them to be more alert.

Today in class I also learned how to create a power point that links to other pages within the power point, or even other power points. I am learning so many new things each day that I want to incorporate into my classroom; I hope that somehow I can remember them all! It would be fun to create a quiz for the students to play; I have seen them before, but not any that the teachers created themselves. It amazes me all that this one program can do!

That Copyright quiz was hard! It amazes me how much I do not know about copyright. Even as teachers we need to be careful, if you have any question about if you are copyrighting material or not, then it is advised to use only 10% of that persons work.

I enjoyed class tonight, it was neat to see some things that I can do with current computer programs!

Class 3: Lesson Plan 1 - ABCs for K-1st

2009-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

For my lesson plan I went on uen.org and found an idea where I can teach the ABCs and letters to Kindergarten or 1st grade (during the first of the year). Manipulatives (magnetic alphabet letters) would be used in class. Ideally I would have a set for each student. We would identify the shapes of the letters and find common lines and curves in each. I would also read Chicka Chicka Boom, then go on to have them sort the letters using a venn diagram. I also found a fun game on the smart tech website after searching for abcs on http://www.smarttech.com/ . My real lesson plan goes more in depth than I have time and space for here. If anyone would like a copy of it I can email it to you as well.

I also enjoyed being able to hear what everyone did for their lesson plans, everyone had lots of great and exciting ideas!

Class 2 Cont'd: Blogs

2009-06-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that I like how cute everyone's blogs are turning out. I know that some others who are in my class in Price were a bit leary to become a blogger, but I think that everyone has done a great job with it. I think this is a good and interesting way to "post" assignments for class, but I think it will be a positive one so that we can look back and see what we have been posting about what we have talked about in class, and different methods in which we can incorporate technology into our classrooms

Class 2: Lesson Plans and Technology

2009-06-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

This last week in class we talked about many different ways that teachers can incorporate technology into their every day lesson. We were able to watch a video/interview that gave some fun and interesting new things to do with a smart board. I have had some opportunity to work with smart boards, I have seen them be used for group quizzes, kindergartners creating stories on notepad, and many other fun activities that incorporate this wonderful technological device know to teachers at the "smart board".

Whenever I have seen students use some form of technology in the classroom I see how well they respond to whatever is being taught. In that same kindergarten class that I was in they children would have the computers as part of their stations, they would each have 15 minutes to complete reading and literacy activities. Many of the students were at a 1st grade level by April. It was amazing to see how well they respond, and how easily they use technology. They are growing up during an era that will not be able to live without it.

Class 1: Today's Students

2009-06-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we was almost a silent film. I found it very interesting and eye opening in some ways. I am not a big technology buff, and have never been a big fan of the idea of using a computer and so much technology in my classroom. I'm a bit leary to the idea because I don't want my students, or my own children to lose a love or use of reading books. I found the signs that the children held in the videos moving, proclaiming questions such as "Will you let me explore the internet" and use many of the positive aspects that technology has brought us today. I'm only 21 years old, but I feel old fashioned because I am scared to try and incorporate all of these technological sources in my classroom. I need to take advantage of what is out there, and introduce my students to them, our world is becoming more and more technologically advanced, and those who don't jump on the bandwagon will probably be left behind in the dust.

A little about me..

2009-06-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Kiera, I amd 21 years old and in the elementary education program through USU Price. I have one year left until I will be done and receive my Bachelors Degree. I have been married almost a year and a half, to my husband Daniel. It has been an interesting marriage so far, until a month ago my husband has been working in Green River, UT, and I would usually only see him maybe once during the week, and then sometimes on weekends. It has made us close. Daniel will be returning to school in the fall in pursuit of an engineering degree. We don't have any kids yet, but we do have a kitten named Bella who is full of life! :)

First Post

2009-06-09T18:34:00.001-07:00

Hi all, here is the first post for our blog for this class. This should be fun to be able to blog for some of our assignments and I plan to keep this for when I become a teacher. See you in class!