Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Promethean Boards in Education
My school district is working towards the purchase and installation of Promethean Boards for all classrooms. Currently all 7-12 grade and special education classrooms have them installed. This summer they will be installed in the 5th and 6th grade classrooms and, keeping my fingers crossed, 3rd and 4th grade will receive them next year. We have started to receive some training on the basics of what they can do and how to use them. So far what I have learned has gone beyond my wildest dreams. I am so excited about the potential they will bring to my classroom. The Marzano Study on Promethean boards has shown that they increase student achievement across grade levels and subject areas. I feel this at large is due to the student interaction they bring. I believe students will be more attentive to any lesson involving the board than they would be to a traditional lesson. In addition, the resources that will now be at hand for me as a teacher will be a huge asset to my curriculum.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Podcasting
Last semester I took a class through Wilkes that introduced me to podcasting. The type of podcasting I was required to do for that class focused on creating a podcast giving my opinion on a topic. At that time the thought of using podcasts with my third grade students had not really crossed my mind. After researching podcasts for this discussion I started to come across so many ideas for using podcasts in the elementary classroom.
I can see podcasts as a potentially huge motivator for my students. For example, I feel I could get better writing/stories out of my students if they could produce their final draft into a podcast rather than just a final copy that would go into a class book. Parents could also have access to the podcasts so they could listen to their child’s stories.
Creating podcasts can also assist students with their fluency. Quite often students can improve their fluency by simply listening to themselves reading.
I can see podcasts as a potentially huge motivator for my students. For example, I feel I could get better writing/stories out of my students if they could produce their final draft into a podcast rather than just a final copy that would go into a class book. Parents could also have access to the podcasts so they could listen to their child’s stories.
Creating podcasts can also assist students with their fluency. Quite often students can improve their fluency by simply listening to themselves reading.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Google Applications
I am very excited about all the great tools that Google has to offer and a little shocked that all this time I thought Google was simply a search engine. I had no clue Google had that much to offer. Several of the applications I could see myself using with my students, parents, and team of teachers.
The two that I will certainly be putting to use this next school year is Google Calendar and Google Custom Search Engines. The calendar I plan on using with the parents to help keep them informed of upcoming activities in not only our classroom, but also the school district. Google's Custom Search Engine will help me to feel more secure in allowing my students to complete the the research need for our Solar System unit and Author Studies. The search engine can be accessed not only at school, but also through their home computes as well.
The two that I will certainly be putting to use this next school year is Google Calendar and Google Custom Search Engines. The calendar I plan on using with the parents to help keep them informed of upcoming activities in not only our classroom, but also the school district. Google's Custom Search Engine will help me to feel more secure in allowing my students to complete the the research need for our Solar System unit and Author Studies. The search engine can be accessed not only at school, but also through their home computes as well.
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