Reflections

At the begining of this course, I said I most closely related to Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and I still believe this to be true. While we have learned about several different learning theories, I still think students have distinct ways they learn. Therefore, I have chosen not to modify my theory of learning.

An immediate change I have already made in my classroom was the implementation of voice threads. My students were able to successfully create and use the voice thread application on an assignment about winter holidays.

Two technology tools I would like to implement in the future would be virtual field trips and the use of Kidspiration, which is a program to help students create concept maps. Both of these will help students create and organize their thoughts in order to use them more successfully in their studies.

A long term goal I am making will be to integrate the use of Promethean boards in my classroom. Just before Christmas, we received word that our school will be receiving them through the stimulus monies. We will also receive several hours of training specifically for these boards and I am also trying to convince my principal to send me to Atlanta to become a certified trainer on the Promethean Boards. This technology will completely change not only the way my students will be learning, but the way I plan and construct my lessons. I think it will be a win/win situation for everyone involved!

The other long-term goal I want to make is by using some sort of student-lead technology each week in my classroom. I would like for the students to either blog to each other or create a voice thread about a topic we are studying at the time. This will provide the students an opportunity to build a classroom relationship as well as providing an opportunity for the students to jigsaw their information. I think both of these long term goals will prove to be successful strategies in the classroom!

Voice Thread

lease take a look at my voice thread & leave a comment!
http://voicethread.com/share/784087/

"It's Shake N' Bake and I Helped!"

I believe that this week's collaborative resources suggested in the book Using Technology With Classroom Instruction that Works are very valuable to the cooperative learning theory. I was really impressed with the Revolution game! My class is actually getting ready to discuss the American Revolution and I think this would be a wonderful way to impress upon the students the decisions everyone involved had to make. I also love that each person in my class can take on a character and play each other interactively.

I was also impressed with Dr. Orey's suggestion of Jigsaw learning. I explored the Jigsaw.org website this afternoon and while it was not interactive as I expected, it did give some great ideas of incorporating social learning into a classroom. This is really nothing new to experienced teachers. In fact, I suggested it to my student teacher for next week's vocabulary lesson. She thought it was a really cool idea!

I love that kids love working together and learning from each other. I believe if the teacher sets it up properly on the front end, there shouldn't be too many problems once the students get started. It is a great way to learn and have fun!