Fostering Online learning with educational websites and apps

Discussion Question:

What are webquests, virtual field trips, and video conferencing?

Webquests are online inquiries by students that are designed and guided by teachers. In a webquest students follow an electronic map or take an online tour, moving from one web resource to the next. This allows students to get more information and to learn more about a single topic. Virtual field trips are field trips students can take without leaving the classroom. It can take students all over the world! Video conferencing is a very powerful learning technology that offers real time access to people and places that students can not go to. I think that virtual field trips are a very cool thing. I know when I was in school going on a field trip was the best thing ever. I feel like having a virtual field trip would be good for schools that can not afford to take students on real field trip. This would aloud the students to feel like they really went somewhere and allows the students to use their imaginations.

Tech tool 6.2

Delicious is a web based social book marking tool that organizes all of your bookmarks in one place. Also you can sort and send these bookmarks to peers and friends. Good reads lets you organize your favorite books online. Good reads has many resources for teachers and students. Good reads is a very cool website. I went on it and it gives you good recommendations of books that you can read to the class or books the students can read. I feel like I would use both of these resources inside and outside the classroom.


Summary of chapter 6
Chapter 6 is about how you and the students you teach can  successfully use online information, digital content, and educational websites as tools for teaching and learning. The first part of the chapter talks about managing information electronically. The first tool it talks about is how teachers can book mark websites and how they can use cloud which allows them to share documents and pictures. The next big thing was social bookmaking with allows teachers to share their bookmaking with students or other teachers. As well as information alert with comes up on the computer when the teacher gets news. It also talks about how teachers can organize their web resources. They can use a standards connector which allows teachers to use web resources that are linked to curriculum in the classroom. Then it talks about webquests, virtual field trips and videoconferencing which I talked about in the discussion question. It also talks about online learning and virtual school which has become a very popular thing. I know when I was in high school I knew a few people that did Florida virtual school and I as well took a class online to. It was very interesting. The last and final thing the chapter talks about is educational websites as teaching resources which list a bunch of resources teachers can use and how well they are and how good there information is! I really liked this chapter it got more into the technology side of teaching and what teachers can use and how to make when using the internet easier to navigate and to use and the internet becoming s smart and important tool in the classroom.


Sources:

1.  Maloy, Robert W. "Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps." Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. 133-48. Print

2. "Education." Baseball Hall of Fame. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014

Engaging learners with Digital Tools

What are search engines and how do they work?

Search engines retrieve information from the internet. It is a software program that uses networks of computers to access information from databases. Search engines are used for searching useful information online. One very popular search engine is Google. Everyone uses Google to search things on the internet.


Tech tool 5.1

Tech tool 5.1 is talking about websites teachers can use to get pictures and sounds. Every student knows that having pictures and sounds make the teachers presentations a lot more interesting and fun. The website I decide to explore was Flickr. Flickr is a photo sharing website. The site is very good fo teachers to use. One thing teachers can do is create a group and can invite students and or other teachers to share there pictures. I feel like using Flickr when students are working on group projects could be a good idea. They can have the students each make their own accounts and they can all share pictures or add pictures of what they think needs to be in their project!

Chapter 5 is about how teachers and students can realize the possibilities of the network of computers and the internet as well as developing a new mindset about it. Also in the chapter it is talking about how there a new literacy since the internet has become a big part of the classroom. The ones the books talked about are digital and information and media. It talk about how to many students rely on Google for doing there research when they can access bigger website and even databases. Another main point in the chapter was how search engines worked and how they are used. Another big thing was how teachers are teaching students how to search things on the internet and how they can evaluate the information and make sure it is the right information. I feel like this chapter did a very good job at explaining the internet. I really liked how it talks about how to teach students how to search properly and different short cuts they can use.



"PhotonQ-HacKIDeming SOLE." Flickr. Yahoo!, 03 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2014


Maloy, Robert W. "Engaging Learners with Digital Tools." Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. 98-128. Print.

Designing Lessons and Developing Curriculum with Technology

Compare and Contrast the student learning objectives and Understanding by Design approaches to lesson planning.


Student learning objectives are emphasize specific skills and information the students will learn in the classroom and will use as in the classrrom. In Florida the Sunshine State Standards are the learning objectives in the school here. Then their is Understanding by Design which is an approach to cirrumicular development set forth in a series of books by educators. The UBD has three componenets which are Identify desired results, Determine acceptable evidence and Plan learning experiences and instruction. Of course once you become a teacher you want all of your lesson plans to be successful and you want your students to learn and enjoy it. That is a huge reason why I want to become a teacher. Technology wraps up in all of this because that is how teachers can make their lesson plans more engaging! I completely  agree with this and how teachers can incorporate their planning online. There are many tools teachers can use to plan their lesson plans online.






Tech Tool 4.1


One thing I really like about this book is the tech tools. I really think it is awesome I love how they have an option for apps. When I was reading chapter 4 I came across an app that is called My lesson Plan. This app allows teachers to use pre-established templates to support lesson planning and the lesson plans are made by other teachers. You can even have the app fit the requirements of your school district or school. I think that is really awesome and something I would love to try in my classroom one day! As you can see I am a really huge fan of apps!











Chapter 4 is about how teachers can incorporate the state standards and their lesson plans with technology. While I read this chapter I got a lot of good information about apps and other websites teachers can use online to make their lesson plans. Also in the chapter it talks about how teachers can use different approaches to assessments. For example teachers can use test and performance assessments before, during and after the lesson to see what the students new before the lesson what they are learning and how well they retain the information. I really like this chapter thought it was full of very good information about more apps and websites that teachers can you! I can not wait to see what comes next!




Maloy, Robert W. "Designing Lessons and Developing Curriculum WithTechnology." Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. 74-91. Print.


"My LessonPlan." App Store. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.