When I Become a Teacher

iPad assignment.

Scramble Challenge:

This application could be used to support vocabulary. Students can play the game and find as many words as they can. Once the game is over, students can look at the list of words they found and write down any words they aren't sure of and look up the meanings of those words.

WebQuest

Lesson Plan

CSO's
RLA.O.4.1.1
identify and practice appropriate vocabulary:

• multiple meaning words
• synonyms
• antonyms
• homonyms
• content area vocabulary
• context clues

RLA.O.4.1.8
interpret and extend the ideas in literary and informational texts to summarize, determine story elements, skim and scan, determine cause and effect, compare and contrast, visualize, paraphrase, infer, sequence, determine fact and opinion, draw conclusions, analyze characterize and provide main idea and support details.

RLA.O.4.1.12
recognize and explain the defining characteristics of genre in literary and informational texts:

• fairy tales
• folk tales
• myths
• poems
• fables
• fantasies
• biographies
• short stories
• novels
• plays
• legends
• autobiographies
• magazines
• newspapers
• textbooks
• essays
• speeches
• electronic databases
• reference materials

Role: The Altitudinist- WebQuest

Elementary WebQuests

Your Role

___Efficiency Expert

___Affiliator

_X__Altitudinist

___Technophile

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Grow School Greens	Allows students the opportunity to develop professional skills by seeking permission and finding funding for their projects. Gives students the opportunity to work together and develop a plan. Each student is given a particular role and must accomplish tasks that fall within that role.	Large number of steps and information given all at once.
Where is My Hero?	Shows students that everyday people can be heros	Allows for little creativity. Listing, interviewing, and looking at various websites are the only tasks. Does not develop critical thinking
Underground Railroad	Offers fantastic creativity. Students must write journals from the perspective of their character. Includes website research to support their learning and help them develop their character Encourages collaboration	Possibly not enough structure to the directions.
Ice Cream	Collaboration! Students are required to listen to all ideas and collectively agree to one idea Students research a skill and then practice that skill- supporting their learning	I don’t see the connection to language arts
Ancient Egypt	Proper research websites are provided so students know they are gathering valid information Students are given 4 topic options to allow for variety	Students are not required to locate information on their own, all information they need is provided for them. This does not allow for self-sufficiency or learning through research.

Social Media ban, right?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10309421-238.html

This article discusses the cons and invalidity to banning sexual predators from social media sites. It explains that it would offer a false sense of security- because maybe the worst predators are the ones that haven't been caught. The author also says that some people listed as sexual predators are people who have urinated in public or are streakers, or teens who have had consensual sex. The article lists statistics to support their argument. The article only gives one side of the argument, it does not cite any other ideas or arguments to defend their position. The article references other articles but it does not link us to that article.

I can understand both positions. Parents want to know that their children are safe on the internet and they might be all for banning registered sex offenders from social media sites. However, there would be a huge sense of false security because children and parents would feel like they were protected from ALL predators- but they are really only protected from the people registered as offenders.

Storybird

Classroom chaos by lsands2201 on Storybird

Wikipedia Article

Article is a stub and not completed. This article states only a few references. The references are various education sites regarding their deaf education programs. The information there is clear; however, there is not a lot of information there. The information is neutral and factual. There are gaps however, and not a lot of information. The few references listed seem to be reliable. There are no discussions listed under the discussion tab. I would rate this as partially reliable. 1. Although the information is accurate, there is not enough information to support the information. 2. The article doesn't completely define what deaf education is. 3. There are no contributors that are talking back and forth on ways to improve the site.

What is Wikipedia??

What is Wikipedia?

• Wikipedia is a web-based collaborative encyclopedia project

How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?

• There is more chance of a project being accurate when collaborated with many people. It helps cut out biases and more objectivity

Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation?

• Volunteer group of editors and administrators

Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia?

• He felt that more authority needed to be given to experts

What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page?

• people may add inaccurate information or even misspell words and small minute details.

What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal?

• Wikipedia is a constantly changing and constantly used source of information

Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful?

• Wikipedia gives people the opportunity to collaborate and it offers a unique and free source of information that is available to all people

Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising?

• Accepting advertising may make vandalism to grow and may make it harder to control and monitor entries and articles

How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?

• Wikiscanner exposed governments and businesses that were editing the information on them in order to make themselves look better, so it helps monitor the site and articles and to try to eliminate biased information.

Wikipedia: Friend Not Foe

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/archival/EnglishJournalArticle2.pdf

3 things I learned:

• wikipedia has tutorials for prospective editors on structure, format, and style
• there is a discussion forum for each article that encourages debates about editorial choices
• footnotes provide commentary along with the citations

2 things that surprised me:

• i never thought about the idea of looking through encyclopedias for gaps where new research might be possible.
  
• articles are ranked based upon certain criteria. less than 2,000 articles have achieved the highest honor of "featured articles"

1 question I have:

• why do teachers automatically write off anything new instead of trying to discover ways of using new material and technology to encourage critical thinking and judgement.

Website Validation

Website validation

View more presentations from Aurora0919

Words... words.... words

"I didn’t know then that I was beginning a lifelong love affair with the first-person voice and that I would spend most of my life inventing characters to say all the things I wanted to say." (Shultz, 2011)

I have grown up around dyslexia. Never diagnosed but it is a family trait that I have become familiar with. My mom always came up with creative ways to try to help my brothers read better and to not mix up their letters. I often mix up numbers and have to have people repeat their phone number multiple times as I write it down. I never understood my brother's struggles with words though. Words have always been so magical to me and I have always been good at spelling. My brothers and my dad are not. My dad's dyslexia is unique in that his eyes read at a diagonal down the page instead of straight across, randomly jumping and causing him great confusion and frustration. He was in 3rd grade before his teachers realized he couldn't read. It is important for teachers to be educated in how to help their students. How to identify if a student is struggling and different ways to help them. Never is it okay to view a child as stupid or unintelligent. All people have brains and all people can use those brains. Our job is not to condemn, but to find the necessary tools for each of our students to succeed.


The website, http://www.sc.edu/scatp/ld.htm, had some interesting information. But I did not learn anything new. At my college in KY I was majoring in Deaf Education and we toured a technology factory that discussed many different options for many different disabilities and different learning options.

Two ways to use technology with students with disabilities is to allow them to use a word processor in order to write a paper, or use software that helps them organize their thoughts and ideas. There are also many ways to help focus students, my mom always used a ruler going across a page in order to help my brother's eyes stay on the correct line.




Citations:
Shultz, P. (2011). Words failed, then saved me. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/with-dyslexia-words-failed-me-and-then-saved-me.html?_r=1

http://www.sc.edu/scatp/ld.htm

Webstie Evaluation

http://www.dhmo.org/

• Is the information biased in any way?

The information is only about DHMO, there is no other side to the information

• Does the site rely on loaded language or broad, unsubstantiated statements?

yes

• Is emotion used as a means of persuasion?

They try to use fear.

• Does the site offer more than one viewpoint?

Not that I can see

• Are there links to other or alternative viewpoints?

no

• Does the site's information seem thorough and well organized?

yes

• Does the site clearly state the topics that it intends to address?

yes

• Does it follow through on the information it has promised?

Yes

• Does the information seem complete and consistent?

Most of it.

• Is the information well written and easy to understand?

Seems to be

• Does the Web site offer a list of further in-depth resources or links to such resources?

Any link leads you to more information on the same site

• What's the copyright status of material found on the site?

Copyright by Tom Way

• Is it important that the information you're looking for be absolutely current?

Yes current information is important

• Is a reference date provided to show when the material was put online, or when it was last updated?

Yes. Last Updated: October 27, 2011

• Do the links work?

yes

Before you saddle up and ride out into cyberspace, it's a good idea to stop and consider whether or not the Internet is even the best place to go. Ask yourself:

• Can I get the information faster offline?

no

• Does the online material I'm finding suit my needs?

It could be useful

• Am I able to verify this information?

no

Stats

Special Education Level 1 is the most peaked. Asian Level 1 is the least peaked. There is not a bimodal score.

Internet = anti-social?

"McKenna et al (2002) and Bargh et al (2002) found that people who met on the internet liked each other more than those who met face-to-face first, even when, unbeknownst to the participants, it was the same partner both times." (Owens, 2009)

This article discusses the internet and its effect on social life. Many people are scared of the internet because of the anonymity. There is a certain danger to being online and not physically seeing who you are talking to. However, this helps people share their true feelings more often than if they could see who they are talking to. The internet gives people the opportunity to present themselves however they want to. Sometimes this is by showing who they really are, and sometimes it is by showing themselves as a really likable person in order to make people trust them... Although many relationships are formed through the internet, it is important for students and adults to realize that the relationship they are forming may be a person who is completely different in real life.

Related Source:

Citations:

Owens, L. (2009). Internet and anti-social behavior theory unfounded.Psychology: suite 101, Retrieved from http://laura-owens.suite101.com/internet--anti-social-behavior-theory-unfounded-a111897

Glasbergen, R. (Artist). (2010).Toon347. [Web Drawing]. Retrieved from http://www.glasbergen.com/cartoons-about-social-networking/

chart

Visual Literacy

"So, in this great circle of communication, you go from the emotional end of music and painting and art -- the visual forms of communication -- to the written communication and spoken communication. Finally, you end up at math, which is the most precise. It forms a beautiful circle of communication. But it's all part of the same circle." (Daly, 2004)

What a beautiful statement. It is important for teachers and school faculty to understand the importance of communication and the importance of ALL communication. To understand that it doesn't stop at english and writing a 15 page research paper. Communication has become so much more than that. At my previous college I was studying Deaf Education. They stressed the importance of non-verbal communication. Visual communicaion is imperative in the Deaf World because they do not hear verbal communication. However, non-verbal communication is emerging into everyday life and into the hearing world. Simply photos can be used to make someone form an opinion on any given subject. True communication occurs not when you use all of the right words. True communication occurs when you have the skill to effectively communicate your thoughts, ideas, and opinions without having to use written language. If we are not taking the time to instill these concepts in our students then we are not teaching them to truly communicate. We may be teaching them how to talk, or make-up enough words to finish a paper, but have we captured the true essence of what they are trying to say? Are we teaching the "beautiful communication story", or are we teaching students how to fake their way through life?

Related Source:
Creative way to communicate an idea using no words.

Click here to view

Citations:

Daly, J. (2004). Life on the screen: visual literacy in education. Edutopia, Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/lucas-visual-literacy

Romanf. (Artist). (2011). Nonverbal communication project 1. [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=240474&title=Nonverbal_Communication_Project

Voki's in Education

Media Literacy Entry

"Moreover, many recent studies identify persistent barriers to integrating new technologies into instruction, including lack of training and help for teachers and insufficient access to functioning technology" (David, 2009)

This does tend to be a struggle. Many of the teachers in education today struggle with technology and fight to keep up with an ever increasing pace of technology and news ways of teaching it and integrating it. But even more than that is the issue of availability. School notoriously do not view technology as important and often do not have the extra funds necessary to modern technology. Therefore students are not given proper opportunities to learn while using technology. It is important for teachers to receive proper training and the proper technology needed to make our students successful and media literate! As much as some insist on denying the fact that technology is important and not a necessary expense, the fact is- technology is everywhere and it just gets more complicated everyday. If students are not given the proper tools then they are going to be less successful in a technology-oriented world.

http://www.medialiteracy.com/
- This website is all about media literacy! There are discussions, resources, teaching areas. This is a good tool to have while wading through the debates regarding technology and its importance!


Citations:
David, J. (2009, March). Teaching media literacy. Educational Leadership, Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx

http://www.medialiteracy.com/

Teacher of the Year!

"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot, irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it."
-- J. Bronowski,

Seven-Powered Lens

"By sequentially focusing seven increasingly strong lenses on the news media, beginning with a close-up look at a news photo, students learn to apply powerful cross-disciplinary skills of visual, news media, and information literacy to analyze current political issues..." (Abilock, 2003)

This author is discussing the importance of knowing how to analyze photographs to understand what is trying to be communicated. It is important for students to be able to look at photographs and see why a photo has been used and whether or not the photo accomplishes its purpose. This author discusses a "Seven-lens" look at photos. Starting with what is seen and finishing with what the teacher can teach through each activity.

Until our photo analysis activity in EDUC 2202, I never thought about the importance of analyzing what I was seeing, I didn't realize that I inferred things through images without even thinking about them. I never thought about what techniques could be used with color, distance from focus, and objects included. It is incredibly important for students to be able to differentiate between what is actually true and what is just put in front of their faces to try to influence them.

Who Controls the Media?
This organizer describes the major media controllers. These companies control everything we see. If our students do not have the ability to analyze photos then they will never know the truth of what is happening.

Citations:

Abilock, D. (2003). A seven-power lens on 21st-century literacy. MultiMedia Schools, Retrieved from http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/consult/articles/PowerLensSingle.pdf

(2007). Who controls the media. (2007). [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.nowfoundation.org/issues/communications/tv/mediacontrol.html