Reflection #1 of Part II

My Reflection is a Podcast :o) Click to Listen.

Technology Project Plan

My plan for my Technology Project is to create a website with a wiki, and perhaps a blog, and video.
I will be able to use this website when I am a teacher or a student teacher. It will give students, parents and other visitors an idea of what our class is like and the different things the students are learning.
I look forward to creating this website. :o)
My podcast link

Assignment #3

My partner is Emily Stuart. And we created a Google Custom Search with many Educational websites/tools for teachers. We chose our toolbox because it seemed most efficient and user friendly. We were unable to manually organize our websites. The Google Custom Search asked us to enter the websites and tag words, then it created the engine for us.

Tools for Teachers Search Engine

Here is our search engine website, these are our tag words:
art, science, lesson plans, history, wiki, foss, web, k12, biology, educational videos, video, math

http://www.fossweb.com/  <--This site is an excellent site for science curriculum. It is geared towards K-8 grades. FOSS is a researched based science curriculum. It is full of information for parents, teachers, & school districts. The FOSS curriculum can be sent to your class and also there are many activities right on the website. I would definitely use this website when teaching science lessons.

http://teachertube.com/ <-- This site is many educational videos that teachers and educators have uploaded for others to see and learn from. This is an excellent alternative to youtube.com. I could use this website with any subject. Showing a video for an anticipatory set is a great way to introduce a topic.

http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/  <-- This site was created by a teacher who has taught for 40 years. It has good solid information for teachers. It has teaching ideas, other links for teachers, computer wallpapers for teachers, a creative teaching page with great ideas for teaching, and a virtual teaching page. This site has won lots of awards for being a good educational site. I would use this page perhaps when I need some new ideas, and a little inspiration and flavor in my teaching.

Bob Spankle's, "Caught on Video" Article - Required

This article is very eye-opening, and I now want a Flip Video Camera. I learned of all the things it could be used for by a teacher in a classroom. It seems it would be so helpful for teachers, in student teacher conferences, reflecting on students' thoughts, hopes, and dreams, etc., helping student's with homework, and capturing what a student has completed for that day and then showing their parents what they learned. This Flip camera would be another great communication tool between teachers and parents. Like the author said, "A picure is worth a thousand words."

Required Reflection on ActivBoard & Clickers

I thought the ActivBoard was really awesome. In a way it seemed easier to use than the SMART board. I liked the features of the ActivBoard, it seems simpler than the SMART board. The Clickers are amazing, and such a great tool for all levels and grades. They seem like they are greatly useful when teaching and asking for understanding of a subject.
I look forward to using an ActivBoard or SMART board in my classroom.

Reflection #6

I was just thinking how many teaching opportunities we have outside the classroom. To take your class for a walk, you can point out the different leaves, trees, the animals that may live inside the trees, the animals in the woods or that live near by, the ivy that grows on the tree, the sky, clouds, sun, rain, snow, then expand, what is snow, where does rain come from...etc. I can think of lots more, but my point is, I think it's important to have interactive learning experiences like this, and it's good to get kids excited about the world around them, (especially these days) so they don't get sucked into TV, videogames, computer games, etc. Let's raise up environmentalists, scientists of all types, astronauts, people that will change the world for the better.

Reflection #5

I was looking at teacher websites and found this website, www.teachingheart.net/tquotes.htm
I thought the quotes were really encouraging.

Then I found this book that looked really good. It's called, You're God's Gift to Teachers: Passages of Biblical Encouragment. I think it will be important to have Biblical encouragment when we become teachers. I love books and tools like this one.