WebQuest

Prior to this assignment I have never heard of webquests; honestly at first I struggled with the concept behind them and its purpose. However after much research and viewing many different examples of webquests, I finally have a better understanding of how they work. I found it interesting to search through different subjects and topics of web quest on the Internet. I came across many topics that my students are learning  currently in class. I can’t wait to share the idea of webquest to my cooperating teacher; hopefully the children can have the opportunity to complete a web quest. I think it is a good idea for my fourth graders because they still struggle with their researching skills; that is why webquest is such a great tool because all the links are provided at ease for the students, so they will not waste as much time asking which website to go on. Instead they can spend time reading and gathering their facts. 

This week as a part of my technology course, I had the opportunity to use the two programs Inspiration 9 and Kidspiration design. I was actually excited about these two assignments because I love learning about new programs that I can incorporate in my lessons and the classroom. Both programs reminded me of lessons and activities I have come across and used on the smart board.

I found Kidspiration to be a really great kid-friendly program that I think would be wonderful in the classroom. Personally I think a draw back to the program is the scary sounding voice that speaks when you hover over a tool. I think that a voice is great for younger children but why didn’t they use a sweet kid-friendly voice? I think it would be more appealing if they used even a child’s voice instead of the one on the program. Other than that I found it to be a really wonderful program that was easy to use and navigate. I especially liked the math activities they had; it’s a great way for children to interact with the computer to understand harder math concepts in an easy way by being able to move around manipulative.

            Inspiration was also a good program, but it had less appeal than Kidspiration. I found it to be a bit duller and not child-friendly. Even though it wasn’t as appealing as the first I still found the templates they offered to be really nice. I could definitely see potential with a little sprucing up. I was excited to see a cinquain template because I just taught a lesson on cinquains and this program definitely would have added a lot to my lesson. It was easy to add pictures to my template once I completed it and I could see my students having a blast with it. What I didn’t like was the presentation part of this program, I wasn’t able to have a lot of creative freedom designing it and honestly I did not see the point. I much rather prefer power point or the smart board.

            Overall I’m glad I was introduced to these two programs and I hope to learn more about them and how to use them to their fullest in the classroom.

I think this cartoon is hysterical, but sadly so true! Children expect everything to be animated and technology based. Do classrooms even use chalk boards anymore??

Word Processing/Newsletters in the Classroom

Word Processing/Newsletters in the Classroom

            Technology encompasses children; in this day and age children are introduced to technology in-utero. From a very young age children are being taught how to use many different forms of technology, therefore it almost seems like a necessity in the classroom. Word Processing is a very important skill to teach children how to use, on the computer. It allows students to gather their thoughts and explain their ideas in a clear, organized fashion.

            During the process of having to create and write my own newsletter, I couldn’t think of a better way to get students excited about writing. This would be a perfect way to get students engaged in current events, school activities, important dates, issues, classroom logistics, etc.  The options are endless and the most important part would be having the students get involved and giving them a voice. Letting the students create a team for a monthly newsletter would be a wonderful way to have them practice writing, editing, word-processing, teamwork and much more!

            Newsletters, for a class, can be an excellent way to get parents involved.  Parents can have the ease of reading a newsletter for the month and be aware of what their child will be learning. It is extremely important for parents to be knowledgeable of what is going on in the class and what is expected.

            I really enjoyed having the creative freedom to design my own newsletter and I can only imagine the endless possibilities of a newsletter in my own classroom one day!