week 11

Here are the links for my lesson plans:

• Science lesson plan: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddcbhwk9_1fkvj89c5

• Language Arts: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddcbhwk9_2f8stj2cd

• Math: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddcbhwk9_3gbc3kpd6

Also, I watched the videos for the PLE this week.

week 10

As I watched these three videos, I was impressed with the variety of technology these teachers used. Probably my favorite example was the technology activities helping the students to learn more about spiders. They took pictures using "spider cams" and then scanned their images into the computer so they could put them on a website. The best part was that the website was used to collaborate with an entirely different classroom a few states away. I love this example because it illustrates how technology can connect learners and create meaningful experiences (even across a great distance!) I also enjoyed watching about how the kindergartners (in the "Brown Bear Brown Bear" video) could use the computer to draw pictures to create patterns and make stories in an easy and accessible way. This was especially impressive to me since these were some of the students that had higher needs. The last video was an excellent example of how KidPix provides students with good opportunities to use drawing tools on the computer. Something I noticed about this specific activity was that it enabled students to interact with their teacher and with each other as they drew using KidPix. Overall, I thought that watching these videos helped me to understand even more options to increase my use of technology in the classroom.

week 9

First of all, when I visited two different preschool classrooms, I noticed how much school funding really influences the technology that is available. One school had very few resources, with only a CD player, an overhead, and a VCR (with the tv). While these are decent resources, they seemed outdated in comparison to the other class, which had those resources as well as several new computers (along with updated educational programs), a projector, a digital camera, and access to bigger speakers than just a CD player.

It was interesting to see the teachers' differing attitudes about technology. The teacher with fewer resources seemed more indifferent about its effects in helping the children learn and did not seem as concerned about how to integrate technology with lesson plans. The second teacher who had access to more resources displayed a very healthy and balanced approach to technology--she acknowledged how beneficial these tools were in helping her to teach and also in helping kids to discover the world from different perspectives.

I think the biggest way that technology influenced both classrooms in a preschool setting was just how much music played a significant part in the kids' experience. Both teachers had access to technology that could play music, and although better funding equates to better quality of music, teachers can still grab kids' attention so much and teach so much by using this tool regardless of its quality. So although it is nice to have more up to date technologies, the most important part is using the technologies that are available and incorporating those into the lesson plans.

It is very interesting to see how different teachers view technology and I hope that when I become a teacher, I appreciate whatever resources that are accessible to me.

Also, I completed parts 1 and 2 for this week (the mid-course evaluation and the informed consent).