Internet Resources: A Whole New Beggining!

I honestly never knew the fantastic oppertunities that are actually out there on the web today until this week. I have gained so much knowledge exploring web page after web page of information and ideas to expand my classroom physically and mentally. Many children love to learn by having their own hands on expieriences, and honestly, so do I. But one would have never have guess that you could actually obtain this type of interaction with a computer. As our generation goes more and more high tech. our oppertunities rise higher and higher to obtain a greater education that the internet provides. Many of the educational based websites I explored were very informal and helpful. I could easily invision myself using their available tool in my classroom. For example, there are educational safe web sites that have videos that can teach you and your students more about a certain subject. Also, you can use a eductational video web site to inform your students of current events. Or you could even give your student these web sites and let them find the current event and present it to you! Maybe you are working with a younger group of children. There are still great sound websites to choose from. You can use these sound websites to help children learn what sound each animal makes, or how to pronounce a word. The use of a website like this does not just have to stay in the classroom, but also it would be helpful to send it home with the student's parents so that they could help the child learn while they are at home. This could also promote more family unity in the home by getting the parent involved in his/her child's education. One of the most amazing aspects of using these wonderful webistes is by useing chating, emailing, and Volp. Through these educational websites, students and teachers alike can communicate with students and teachers from all over the world. You can expand your classroom by getting to know another classroom in Europe and learn about what they are learing currently in your Geography class. You can even have a one on one pen pal session, so that each student can have a pen pal to discuss educational topics with. What a great oppertunity our current technology has provided us!

Getting Creative with Blogging (link included)

Using Blogs in My Future Classroom

In order to prepare our future generation for the real world that they will be apart of, we need to incorporate as much technology in their learning as possible. Blogging is a great way to teach students because they can start with basic knowledge of a computer and the Internet. There are many different educational blogging website for a child's personal use and they can learn form other blogging websites as well. David Warlick's article called "Bloggers Who Help You Teach" gives teachers many options of educational blogs to choose from. This opens up a whole new avenue of learning! Students can use their blogs in my classroom to share their knowledge about subjects they are learning in my classroom. Since a blog can be collaborative, it will be easy for groups of students to combine their individual projects so that those interested in their topic of study can see all aspects of their work. Again, those who are interested in the topic of study can comment on the blogs of the student working on the certain project. Through commenting, students can gain knowledge they never explored before, or they can help other students in their own quest for knowledge.

One way that I would use blogging in my classroom is by having students answering open ended questions to different novels we have explored in the classroom. Once a week, my class could go into the computer lab and blog in that class period. I could give them a grade, not only for the content, but for participation. This could be an easily earned grade and can motivate students to give blogging a try! As a fourth grade English teacher, we would be reading small novels, therefore, I could ask the students opened ended questions to allow for their own personal input. For example, "How do you think this character should have acted in this situation?" "Would you have done something differently?" "Why or why not?" This question would then stimulate the children into creating their own rightful opinions and engage them in the novel. Also, student can also enjoy reading what their friends thought about the situation in the novel and how they would have handled it. The blogging we did in class could also be shared with students from a town, city, state, or country! The children could also explore what someone elsewhere thought about the novel they explored in class. This is truly exciting, not only for students, but teachers as well.

Students Engaging in Inquiry and Project Based Learning: The Use of Questioning

Inquiry and Project Based Learning: Letting Our Children Teach Us

Inquiry-based learning is centered around the children asking questions about what surrounds them in life and taking the steps to resolve those issues. This type of learning has some a long way since Socrates and has developed into a very popular style of teaching in today's society such as Montessori schools. This type of learning is effective because not every question has a specific answer and so children are given the opportunity to not feel self conscious about answering because there is not a definite answer, there can actually be many. The term inquiry means "...a seeking for truth, inforamtion, knowledge -- seeking information by questioning" (Project Based Learning). This can be used in the classroom effectively because there are so many different ideas that a teacher can come up with to stimulate the children's minds. Naomi gave a great example about questioning children about a recent novel that they might be reading in class. Asking them questions to stimulate their critcal thinking skills. This would be useful in the classroom because it would involve all students and because of the nature of inquiry based learning, the students would not have to have a "wrong answer". In turn this would make students more comfortable in the classroom and more willing to get involved. Ultimately, children would have better grades because of the easily earned participation grade on Fridays. Valarie, who wants to teach younger children could have the students draw pictures of thing that they would like to invent on day. This assignment would help excerise the children's mind causing them to think outside the box. The key is to get students of all ages involved in the process of learning as a whole as well as individual. This excitment about learning helps todays students become more involved in the workforce. For example with the new technologies invented everyday, the work force must learn the new technology.
Project based learning is centered completely around the students working together on a given project in order to solve problems and answers questions that they are given on a subject. John Dewey was of the first to really come up with this concept but he was not able to successfully apply it because of the lack of technology during his time. Project- Based Learning is a very good way to make learning come alive to students; it helps bring something that they might have only seen in a book seem real. This concept is readily available today because of the advance of technology and is used on a daily basis in classrooms around America. There are many aspects to project based learning. It involves the student directly with the issue at hand. When the student gets involved in their project they have a real life expierience. While students are working together in a project based learning atmosphere, they learn leadership skills and communications skills that they can put to use in their everyday lives. For example, there might be disagrements of argurements that the group must work through through the project. Students can put into their projects their own thoughts and opinions and determines answers on their own. This creates a feeling of accomplishment, not only for the student, but the teacher as well. All in all, everyone has learned something important. Katy thought of the idea that students could create a model solar system together. As the students create each planet, they could get hands on expierience and learn the different aspects of each planet and the solar system as a whole.

What are the keys to success?/5th

Essential Question: What are the essential keys to success in our world?

My essential question meets the constructs of Essential Questions because this question can be used by people today and people most likely used it in the past. People have pondered this question for generations because everyone wants to be a success. Also, one can put thier own ideas and input into this question because it is entirely open ended for interpretation. This question can easily be related to one individual person or a group of people.

Unit Questions:

1.) How can I use resoarces such as, money to help me be successful?

This Unit Question Applys to the Following:

• 13) Economics. The student understands the impact of supply and demand on consumers and producers in a free enterprise system. The student is expected to:

(A) explain how supply and demand affects consumers in the United States; and

(B) evaluate the effects of supply and demand on business, industry, and agriculture, including the plantation system, in the United States.

2.) How can accademics help me achieve success?

This Unit Question Applys to the Following:

• (2) Scientific processes. The student develops abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry in the field and the classroom. The student is expected to:

(A) ask questions about organisms, objects, and events;

(B) plan and conduct simple descriptive investigations;

(C) gather information using simple equipment and tools to extend the senses;

(D) construct reasonable explanations using information; and

(E) communicate findings about simple investigations.

• (3) Scientific processes. The student knows that information and critical thinking are used in making decisions. The student is expected to:

(A) make decisions using information;

(B) discuss and justify the merits of decisions; and

(C) explain a problem in his/her own words and propose a solution.

3.) What kind of occupation am I interested in the future?

• (14) Economics. The student understands patterns of work and economic activities in the United States. The student is expected to:

(A) analyze how people in different parts of the United States earn a living, past and present

My unit questions meet the constructs of Unit Questions because it contains the main ideas of what incorporates success. They also incorporate Bloom's taxonomy in that they allow for the child to have basic knowledge and skills to understand the importance of their future success. It also allows the student to get creative and involved in the questions by applying it to themselves and finding their own creative way of answering the questions. The Phyco-Motor domain is also involved in that it allows the student to act on these questions and begin to dive into their education with a new purpose. Through these unit questions they can put more effort into their education and learning and even act by using projects and voluntary activity. Through the Phyco-Motor domain in Bloom's Taxonomy the student can learn the skills provided in Howard Gardener's Multiple Intelligences by thier expieriences in their active learning.