The end is in sight!

I cannot believe how fast the end of the semester has come. Is it really December?! This semester has been filled with methods, models, strategies, theorists, web-questing, direct instruction, information processing, social interaction, group projects, and TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY! Thinking back to my first class with Dr. S over the summer (literacy and technology) to now, I cannot believe I am actually comfortably using much of the technology that I have learned. Dr. S is truly an inspiration when it comes to trying new things. All that I have learned have definitely opened my eyes to planning more effective, engaging, and motivating lessons for my students.

I was happy to actually TEACH the lessons that I have made in methods this semester. I am fortunate enough to work as a permanent substitute teacher in an elementary school where I have free reign to teach students the lessons I am working on. This semester I concentrated on 4th grade science in particular. My students were AMAZED at the web-quest I used. Never, have the students, nor the teacher, used such a tool in the classroom during a lesson. I really think I am able now to teach other teachers in the building how to incorporate all my new, and effective skills. I feel I now have a strong grasp on the differences, and the importances of using the different models to create meaningful lessons for my students. There are so many ways to teach!!!!! I truly feel like I have mastered these three types in particular, and feel confident I can use them in the future with no problem.

This course was definitely a ton of work, but without hard work, you cannot truly succeed. I am so proud of my accomplishments, my learning, my mistakes, my interactions with my classmates, and most of all everything I learned from Dr.S.

Thank you Dr. S for everything you have done for me, and our class this semester! I look forward to keeping in touch with you in the future, and of course as my personal technology reference!!!!

October in a nutshell

Phew!!!!! I cant believe how fast October went, and how fast we are going already in November. This month I have learned ALOT about strategies, methods, lesson planning, using more technology, IPM, and more. I finally was able to use technology such as "voki" in a few different classes (the kids went crazy over it!) I am so happy to see such a reaction from all age groups. Its amazing how focused an entire class can be when they see something "cool" like a "voki". I was so impressed how the students followed the directions the "voki" gave them, and how they were so mesmerized by what it was talking about. Its nice to see students learn in different ways!

I was really excited to share this technology with my co-workers as well. They have never seen it before, and were really excited to use it. They were definitely pleased to see how easy it is to use. Its great to be able to teach THEM something! I wonder what else I will be able to teach other teachers?

My web-quest is essentially finished. It was definitely a lot of hard work. I had never done it before, so it took a lot of trial and error to get it just right. This is something else many of my co-workers have never seen/heard of before. Hopefully I will be able to spark some interest in them to create their own!

Finally, I was able to get my fieldwork done in a 4th grade class. I was able to watch science and math lessons throughout the month. After learning about the different strategies and methods in our class, it was awesome to see how they worked when used in a classroom by another teacher. I saw ALOT of DI lessons especially in math. Once basic skills were mastered, I was happy to see other activities being done, like group math games. Its amazing to see how different lessons need to be taught for different concepts. I remember being the same age and pretty much always being "talked at". There was hardly any collaboration at all. Times have definitely changed!

As we roll into November I definitely feel more confident in my planning, and in the different methods and models as a whole. I wonder what other aspects of technology Dr. S will have us use/collaborate on? Wish me luck!

Moving on to IPM

As we move away from DI lessons (our foundation) to more complex lessons, we explore IPM (Information Processing Model). When we think of IPM we need to go back and think about our theorists and constructivism. (learners building upon prior knowledge and are actively involved in their own learning)

When I think about IPM, I think about science experiments. I remember being in Junior High and High School and being totally engaged in the different labs we had to do for science class, because we were engaged in the process. Our foundation was already laid out in class through our teachers "DI" lessons (although we didn't know what the was back then!) However, we did know that when we got to do labs were were involved in our own learning, problem solving, and evaluating.

Now as I am learning and planning my own lessons for students, I am keeping in mind how powerful those experiences I had were. I want to re-create experiences for my students in the same way. This is to be done using the IPM. Once my foundational skills have been laid with my students, I can have them become active in their own learning. There are so many different tools (especially technology) that can be used throughout this whole process.

I am excited to learn more about the IPM and how I can use it to engage my students in meaningful lessons, and incorporate them in their own learning!

WHY DI ISNT ENOUGH!

What an awesome video! After reflecting on everything we have learned in class and watching this very powerful video, I think it is safe to say that DI has its purpose at the correct time and place. As we have learned for the past several weeks, DI's purpose is to lay down that strong foundation for new skills and concepts. Once mastered, (Automaticity) places like the Long Island Children's Museum is a fantastic place to dig deeper into learning.

I was blown away at all the different activities the LICM had for children of all ages (even those really little ones!). Its amazing how children can learn so much from hands on activities. After watching this I also think its super important for children to not only learn from their teacher, but other adults, such as the people at the museum! Learning is everywhere and why not absorb as much as you can from different places AND people.

Overall, this was a very powerful video to demonstrate why AFTER DI lessons, teachers can reinforce with powerful learning experiences such as this to build upon those solid foundational skills.

On a quest-a "web-quest"

I am still in the process of creating my very first web-quest. I am nervous because I have never created one before, but excited to be able to have an interactive finished product to use during my lesson, and with other students in the future. Wish me luck as I dive deeper into these new technology skills!

Voki Voki Karoke!

I have officially made my first "voki". I am proud to say that I actually created one to use with the 4th grade class that I worked with today. I created one for the class to look at before we started our writers workshop lesson. They were thrilled because they had never seen anything like it before. I was happy to see such a great reaction. Many of them asked for the website to make their own at home. I was glad I could recommend a website that is appropriate for them to use while at home or in school.

Since I got such a positive reaction with this "voki", I will definitely be using one for my anticipatory set during my lesson, especially because this is the class I will be teaching. The excitement of seeing children's reactions over your work is contagious! I hope that I can keep using my skills from this class to create more engaging and solid lessons.

Learning a LESSON or two

We are now flying high in the world of lesson planning! I have finally figured out my topic for my first lesson, which will coincide with my web quest: 4th grade plant parts and their function. I chose this because I have worked in a 4th grade class for 3 years, and love the science curriculum! I specifically like the topic of plants. Since we needed to pick a direct instruction lesson, I thought this introduction to plants would be perfect. I love the idea of being able to bring in real plants, as well as the use of the outdoors to incorporate into my lesson. So far we have worked on our drafts. I feel like I am finally coming into a firm understanding of the different aspects of the lesson, and its purpose. I am still working on incorporating new technology into my lessons. My first endeavor is to create a "voki" for my anticipatory set. I am excited to use this because what I have seen before with these, they are very engaging! I hope the next few weeks will solidify any other uncertainties I may have. I am looking forward to creating my E-Porfolio to use during interviews and want to include all my work from this class within that. Wish me luck!!!!