I feel really good about taking this class and that I am learning a lot.
I do also feel pretty stupid sometimes too. I am not technologically savvy. I did not have a blog and had no clue how to add other blogs to a feeder. I do now though and love it!!! I really enjoy reading about others' thoughts of DE and how it applies to their lives. I was very nervous in the beginning of taking this course and setting up the programs. Now, I really am excitied about this course and all of the infinite resources that abound. I have begun to use many of the sites in my classroom. It is nice to know anytime I am struggling with teaching a concept, a discipline problem (or whatever else) there are resources that I can turn to. I explored tappedin and viewed others thoughts about fieldtrips, classroom management and so on. I am feeling more comfortable and confident with the knowledge I am gaining through this class. ANY TOOLS or equipment I can add to my professional development is only beneficial to me.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Week 3 Is DE for everyone? Pros/Cons
Is DE for everyone?
Distance Education is for everyone and there are vast opportunities that exist. Some of the opportunities for me are that I can learn and take classes while I have a full-time job. It is an amazing opportunity for me. I would not be able to take evening classes because of my job/taking care of my family. As an educator, there are many sites that I have discovered are wonderful tools to utilize in my classroom. I really like the Tappedin site and how you can post questions and receive many responses back. I like the OLDaily site and the informative articles that can be found there. I found a site to use at OLDaily with games that my students would like.
Pros/Cons of DE
For me, there are only really advantages, I will use DE often in my practice as an educator. Collaborating with others to share ideas is a huge benefit for me, as well as finding new sites to incorporate into my curriculum. I will continue to use DE in my practice even after I take this class because as an educator, you are a lifelong learner. I continually learn and apply new things in my classroom that I am learning from my online courses this semester. The only disadvantages of DE that I experienced were not knowing how to set up a blog/feeder/use tappedin properly (thats all ha-ha). These are all mistakes that I could fix and learn from though.
Distance Education is for everyone and there are vast opportunities that exist. Some of the opportunities for me are that I can learn and take classes while I have a full-time job. It is an amazing opportunity for me. I would not be able to take evening classes because of my job/taking care of my family. As an educator, there are many sites that I have discovered are wonderful tools to utilize in my classroom. I really like the Tappedin site and how you can post questions and receive many responses back. I like the OLDaily site and the informative articles that can be found there. I found a site to use at OLDaily with games that my students would like.
Pros/Cons of DE
For me, there are only really advantages, I will use DE often in my practice as an educator. Collaborating with others to share ideas is a huge benefit for me, as well as finding new sites to incorporate into my curriculum. I will continue to use DE in my practice even after I take this class because as an educator, you are a lifelong learner. I continually learn and apply new things in my classroom that I am learning from my online courses this semester. The only disadvantages of DE that I experienced were not knowing how to set up a blog/feeder/use tappedin properly (thats all ha-ha). These are all mistakes that I could fix and learn from though.
Ch. 3 Kearsley
Ch. 3 Kearsley
Kearsley states that email is the foundation for all forms of online learning and teaching. Through email, you can post and respond to questions in a quick and timely manner. I have found that it is much faster to communicate with most people through email, than by phone. Most people check their email much more throughout the day than any phone messages they may have.
According to Kearsley, the second most commonly used capability for online education is a threaded discussion system. I enjoy using the threaded discussion board this semester because it is an open communication line with your instructor and all the other students taking the class. It is interesting to read the comments posted by others. I especially like the Help Forum under the discussion board because I found a couple of feed addresses that I was unable to find on my own. I really needed the help setting up most of the programs for this class because they are new to me.
Kearsley states that in most school settings, students rarely get enough opportunity to practice skills or knowledge they learn. I completely agree with this theory. The typical school day in my classroom is full of concepts to be learned, but limited amounts of time to teach most days. According to Kearsley, computer simulations can change this situation significantly. I am looking forward to offering students the availability of online simulations in science especially. I want to find more science simulations of investigations/projects to use with each of my core content areas.
Kearsley states that email is the foundation for all forms of online learning and teaching. Through email, you can post and respond to questions in a quick and timely manner. I have found that it is much faster to communicate with most people through email, than by phone. Most people check their email much more throughout the day than any phone messages they may have.
According to Kearsley, the second most commonly used capability for online education is a threaded discussion system. I enjoy using the threaded discussion board this semester because it is an open communication line with your instructor and all the other students taking the class. It is interesting to read the comments posted by others. I especially like the Help Forum under the discussion board because I found a couple of feed addresses that I was unable to find on my own. I really needed the help setting up most of the programs for this class because they are new to me.
Kearsley states that in most school settings, students rarely get enough opportunity to practice skills or knowledge they learn. I completely agree with this theory. The typical school day in my classroom is full of concepts to be learned, but limited amounts of time to teach most days. According to Kearsley, computer simulations can change this situation significantly. I am looking forward to offering students the availability of online simulations in science especially. I want to find more science simulations of investigations/projects to use with each of my core content areas.
Ch. 2 Kearsley
Ch. 2 Kearsley
According to Kearsley, school and college systems with many locations in region or state are likely to lease high-speed data communication lines using fiber optics. The communication lines that we have the opportunity to use in technology today are amazing. Even at the elementary level, students are using email, messaging, and many online activity sites to communicate through. Email is an amazing tool that I use in the Kidbiz3000 program I teach. Students read articles and complete activties/thought questions/poll votes after reading. The last thing students can do with this program is respond to an email question. My students love emailing and voicing thier opinions.
Kearsley states, that luckily most educators need little understanding of infrastructure to engage in online teaching. I am happy that I have made it this far in setting up and utilizing the programs within this class. I feel like I am learning a lot and sometimes wish I was more savvy with these programs.
Kearsley states that the major value of Internet is to provide a gigantic online library system. Students are not limited to resources in the classroom/school library, but have infinite amounts of resources at their fingertips. I am motivating students in my classroom to read, through an interactive solar system bulletin board and students use the internet with this activity. As students get to research various planet facts, they are excited and enthusiastic about learning.
According to Kearsley, school and college systems with many locations in region or state are likely to lease high-speed data communication lines using fiber optics. The communication lines that we have the opportunity to use in technology today are amazing. Even at the elementary level, students are using email, messaging, and many online activity sites to communicate through. Email is an amazing tool that I use in the Kidbiz3000 program I teach. Students read articles and complete activties/thought questions/poll votes after reading. The last thing students can do with this program is respond to an email question. My students love emailing and voicing thier opinions.
Kearsley states, that luckily most educators need little understanding of infrastructure to engage in online teaching. I am happy that I have made it this far in setting up and utilizing the programs within this class. I feel like I am learning a lot and sometimes wish I was more savvy with these programs.
Kearsley states that the major value of Internet is to provide a gigantic online library system. Students are not limited to resources in the classroom/school library, but have infinite amounts of resources at their fingertips. I am motivating students in my classroom to read, through an interactive solar system bulletin board and students use the internet with this activity. As students get to research various planet facts, they are excited and enthusiastic about learning.
Ch. 1 Kearsley
Ch. 1 Kearsley
Online Education has many benefits for students and teachers. According to Kearsley, the biggest single change that online education brings about is an increased tendency toward collaboration among students and teachers. I am looking forward to the collaboration of ideas and thoughts that can enhance my classroom. Through the establishment of blog addresses, I have already discovered many useful websites to use as learning tools with my students. Kearsley states that, online education involves levels of connectivity, community, and knowledge sharing that are rarely seen in school settings. I enjoy hearing about other students' perspectives of what Distance Education is and how it can be applied to positively impact education.
I work with young children on a daily basis, so what is the purpose of games for young children? Kearsley suggests that young children love to explore, and online classes often use this approach. Learning can be made to be more exciting for children through the application of games and multimedia technology. I am looking forward to enhancing my third grade curriculum with new games and videos that will make learning daily concepts entertaining and fun.
Online Education has many benefits for students and teachers. According to Kearsley, the biggest single change that online education brings about is an increased tendency toward collaboration among students and teachers. I am looking forward to the collaboration of ideas and thoughts that can enhance my classroom. Through the establishment of blog addresses, I have already discovered many useful websites to use as learning tools with my students. Kearsley states that, online education involves levels of connectivity, community, and knowledge sharing that are rarely seen in school settings. I enjoy hearing about other students' perspectives of what Distance Education is and how it can be applied to positively impact education.
I work with young children on a daily basis, so what is the purpose of games for young children? Kearsley suggests that young children love to explore, and online classes often use this approach. Learning can be made to be more exciting for children through the application of games and multimedia technology. I am looking forward to enhancing my third grade curriculum with new games and videos that will make learning daily concepts entertaining and fun.
About Me
I teach third grade and love technology. I hope to become a better teacher by taking this class. I would like access to more resources and information that I could incorporate into my classroom. I hope to collaborate with other individuals and share ideas to find more tricks/tips to teach with. I hope to utilize the ideas/structure from this classroom, to make learning more interesting for my students.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Story from Gator
The story I chose to reflect on this week was from OLDaily "Kid's Page" (www.cia.gov/kids-page/). The article was informative and is something I could incorporate into my third grade classroom. Some of the concepts I teach in Social Studies are government, laws, and safety. This article could inform children about the CIA and how they protect us. I think that this would be an interesting subject to talk about with my students.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tapped-in "Tips and Tricks Tour"
The "Tips and Tricks Tour" took some time for me to understand. I really like the collaboration and exchange of ideas that can be gained from this tour. This site is informative and can be of assistance when questions arise and then there is someone who can advise and give tips.
Week 2 Technology flood
There was much less stress this week. I was able to enjoy mostly every assignment now that I have everything up and running.
OLDaily Story
The OLDaily is an interesting site to visit and I enjoyed reading the articles. I chose to reflect on the Learning4Content Project which is a funder that I would like to check into. I teach at a Title 1 school district. Title 1 was cut drastically this year and any additional projects or funding that can be added to our school district would only have a positive impact on the success/growth of students. Reports conclude that the project has already exceeded it's target for educators.
Citation- Learning4Content project Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily
Citation- Learning4Content project Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily
Week 1 was confusing, but informative
Week 1 was hectic and unsettling for me because I have never used many of the programs/services that we had to familiarize ourselves with. However, I am enjoying all of these new avenues in Technology and learning about many new things to use in my classroom.
Week 2 Do we all agree on what Distance Education is?
I really enjoyed reading other ideas of what Distance Education is. I am in complete aggreement that it is a fantastic approach to teaching/learning. When you have a job, family, schooling, and daily chores there is no time/energy left over to commute to evening classes at a campus. At the end of the day, all you need is a computer and your set for your class work. It is nice to see that others have such a postive belief of the benefits that Distance Education encompasses.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Distance Education
Distance Education focuses on connecting learners and teachers through a unique way of communication. Students who may not be able to attend classes physically, still have the opportunity to create a positive educational experience that best suits their needs. Students use a unique and special way of communication by electronic and administrative arrangements. Rather than using traditional teaching methods, students are extending learning through locations away from the classroom with computer technologies and other methods of communication.
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