Erin+O'Connor

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Virtual Field Trips

I think that Virtual Field Trips are great way to introduce students to things they would not be able to see otherwise. Virtual Field Trips provide a wonderful way for students to learn about the world around them. Students can travel to museums, zoos, art galleries, and many exciting places across the country and around the world. Virtual Field Trips open up many opportunities for students to learn about things and places that they may never have been able to visit.  I thought virtual field trip on the whaling industry was interesting. I thought the site was very informative and presented the information uniquely interactive ways. Though, I did have difficulty finding answers to some of the questions.  I really enjoyed viewing the information on [|http://memorialhall.mass.edu/home.html] . I think this site would be a great way to introduce my young students to life in the 18th and 19th centuries. My students would really enjoy the animations and the ability to manipulate the different things within the site. I really like the wide variety of things that can look at and do on this interactive site. I think the website [|http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/]  would provide a great way to introduce students to a museum. The Virtual Field Trip could provide background information for students as they get ready to visit a museum. I already use the Library of Congress website ([|www.loc.gov]) to enhance my social studies lessons with the wide variety of information and Virtual Field Trips

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**Learning Styles and CAST Website Resources ** The results of the online Learning Styles Inventory showed that I am auditory learner. This is something that I already knew about myself. I have always found if easier to remember information that was told to me better then information that I have read. The website provided me with ideas on how to effectively learn new information utilizing my learning style. In the past knowing that I am an auditory learner, I have always read things out loud or listened to a recording of a lecture. The website suggested that I should also study with a partner to help me learn the new information. The CAST website provides a wealth of knowledge on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The site in divided into six major categories: About CAST, About UDL, Research & Development, Learning Tool, Professional Development, and Library. I quickly learned the three principles of UDL: (1) Provide Multiple Means of Representation, (2) Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression, and (3) Provide Multiple Means of Engagement. The Learning Tools section provides a wide variety of information on implementing UDL practices into the classroom. I reviewed in detail two components of this section: Lesson Builder and Teaching Every Student. Both of these sections provided information on constructing lessons to address students’ strengths and weaknesses. The sample first grade lesson plan titled “The Life Cycle of Plants” provided me with an alternative to the standard lesson that I have been utilizing as part of the first grade curriculum. I plan to incorporate these new ideas into my lesson and to share the newly formatted lesson plan with my colleagues during grade level planning. The concept of planning for all learners is very important for ALL teachers to embrace. I reviewed each topic in the “Activities” section of Teaching Every Student. I really enjoyed the “How the Learning Brain Works: Three Brain Networks” activity. Viewing the pictures and answering the questions really helped me to understand the concepts being introduced on learning the brain networks. It also provided me with a visual on how different people see the same image differently depending on the focus of the brain. I did not find the “Getting to Know You the UDL Way” as interesting. I liked the variety of topics to choose from but I still did not find this activity as engaging as the previous. Perhaps this shows how hard it is to create a lesson that actively engages all students’ interests and learning styles. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Overall, I think the website is very informative. The CAST site provides a wide variety of information on UDL in many different formats. It stresses the importance of providing choices for all students in order to address their diverse learning styles. I wish the website provided more information about helping students become more self motivated learners. Offering choices is a great concept however sometimes students are still not motivated to engage in the learning process. I wish the site would provide more strategies on how to motivate struggling learners.

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Glog Reflection

I really enjoyed using this new web 2.0 tool. I think it is a great thing to use with your students. It allows them to present their information in fun and exciting ways. It also, allows them to present their information in different ways. Instead of the plan text of a report, students can use videos, sounds, images, and links to get their point across bright and colorful ways. This will not only makes it fun for the students create but they will also enjoy viewing their classmates’ projects. There only thing I did not like was how hard it was to find your glog once you had signed in.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; text-align: center;">Reaction to Prensky Articles

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">After reading the 2 Prensky articles posted on Blackboard, I reflected and answered the following questions.

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">In his first article, “Digital Immigrants/Digital Natives” Prensky discusses several characteristics of the younger generation of students that set them apart from their parents/teachers/elders. Pick 2 of the characteristics and describe how they “define” the younger generation. Then, from your observations of your students/colleagues and the world around you, discuss what you’ve noticed about the younger generation’s (this means persons from birth –mid-twenties) use of technology. //Students today expect instant gratification. If they want a song, they download it off iTunes. If they want watch a movie or TV show, they access it through On-demand. If they want their friends to know something, they put the information on Facebook. If they want to know something, they look it up on Wikipedia or Google. Today’s students expect their learning to be just that instant and that interactive. This instant access to information was not available to most of the parents/teachers/elders during the years they were growing up. Students today are very ingrained into this new technological world.// //Students want their learning to be fun and exciting. Students today do not know life without laptops, cell phones, iPods, xBox, etc. Students have spent their whole lives playing highly interactive games and accessing a wide variety of information on the Internet. Many of these video games and websites are educational in design and teach children about letters, numbers, and colors. Students come to school expecting the kind of excitement in their classroom.// //Today’s students use technology in every aspect of their lives. They use it for entertainment through video games, iTunes, video streaming, and YouTube. They use it to stay in touch with friends through cell phones, Facebook, and Tweeter. They also obtain their information from places like Google and Wikipedia. These resources must carry over into the classroom so that students can use these exciting technology tools to enhance their learning.//

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Prensky’s second article discusses how an individual’s use and interaction with technology is actually changing the way the brain responds and processes new information. Pick one of the processes mentioned by Prensky and discuss your reaction to that here. What do these changes mean in terms of the way teachers/instructors/trainers should be constructing and presenting information to this new generation of learners? //Prensky states in his article that students have become better at reading visual images through the use of computers. I have seen evidence of this in my classroom. Students are becoming more visual learners. Pictures, images and animations are bringing printed text to life for students. Students are more engage in the learning process when visual images are included in the lesson. Students are no longer content to read long passages or just sit and listen as teachers provide lectures on different topics.// //I believe this means that teacher must strive to present new information in a variety of visual formats in order to enhance the learning process for all students. Teachers need to use all the visual tools available when introducing or reinforcing new concepts and/or ideas. Students should also be allowed to utilize these technology tools when they are presenting information they have learned.//

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Think about your own educational experience and the tools you used in your learning. Think about the processes that you encountered in learning (reading, writing, computing). **What skills did you develop that may not be important for the younger generation of learners?** Thinking about Prensky’s points, what do you believe teachers/employers need to be thinking about and learning to do to become effective instructors of the younger generation and to prepare them for life in this 21st Century? //The skills that I think will become less and less important as technology tool are introduced in to the classroom are spelling and handwriting. Today, students as young as eight years old are expected to have all reports typed on a computer. This begins to limit the need for good handwriting skills and provides a great resource for checking spelling accuracy. In my school, printing skills are only taught in kindergarten and cursive writing in third grade. The use of cursive writing is also becoming even more obsolete as today’s students communicate with emails not letters. The need to spell words correctly will never go away but a spell checker in a word processor limits the need to access a dictionary for the correct spelling of a word.// //Today teachers need to learn how to utilize these tools so that they can teach students how they can effectively be used. It is important that students know how to safely and ethically use the technology tools of today.//

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">What benefits do you see coming from the use of technology tools in student learning? //There are many benefits to using technology tools in students learning. The first way is by getting the children more excited about learning. Using interactive educational games help teach students content in ways that are fun and exciting for them. Technology provides many tools to help diversify a lesson and meet the needs of all learners. For example, an interactive whiteboard enables a teacher to provide very hands-on interactive lessons for a variety of content areas. Also, manipulatives can be used in many different ways using technology tools to enhance a lesson such as online math manipulative websites, interactive computer games and iPad applications. Some of the new technology tools provide students with fast and easy access to a wide variety of information. Today students can easily find the information they need on the Internet for class assignments, research projects, science fair projects, etc. However, it is important that teachers provide the proper guidance as students access the Internet. Technology tools can also enhance student’s learning by enabling them to instantly connect to the world them. Through the use of Web 2.0 tools students can share what they have learned from their community with people around the world.//

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">What observations have you made about the new generation of learners that may be of concern to you? Do you think the younger generation’s use of technology has hindered their development in any way? //There are two things that concern me about the way students use today’s technology. The first is that some students use the internet incorrectly. Some of things students are doing today are not only illegal but dangerous. Some students are using the Internet inappropriate when they provide personal information to unknown solicitors or by sending improper images or messages to friends in an email. It is important to teach students the correct and safe ways use the Internet. Another concern that I have is students are no longer writing complete sentences when they are communicating using some of the new technology tools. Text messages are usually short phases and abbreviated words. “Tweets” are also short abbreviated messages. I think it is very important that students write in complete sentence so that they know how to convey messages clearly. Some of the short cuts in writing are showing up in students’ work. Students need to understand the difference between “tweeting” and completing a detailed well written paragraph.//