Module 9 Blog

Technology is going to be a very useful tool in my classroom. From the reading I found that class websites will be very helpful. If students miss school they will know what they missed and they will be able to access the work at home. The class web page will also let parents see what is happening in the class. I also like the blogs because the students will get to write exactly what they think and let everyone see their opinion on the work. I also like it beacuase it will help everyone understand the assignment and they can comment oneach others blogs. Another helpful tool is the project based learning. This will get the students into the work and give them a better understanding of what we are covering for the project. Doing project based learning will give the students a chance to review the work again and make sure that everyone really understands the material.

Webquest module 8

I have never used webquest, but it looks very interesting. I learned that webquest is an online tool for teachers to present information for students. Webquest takes a lesson and separates it into stages to make the lesson more understandable. Webquest organizes the lesson so everyone can understand what to do. Webquest also gives the student a chance to include online resources with their projects.
I would use webquest in my classroom to help organize information from a story. If my students do not understand the story, I would use webquest to break down the information and organize it for the students.

Chapter 9 Blog

I was familiar with most of the material covered in chapter 9. I use my computer all the time for email, research, and basic internet access. The part of chapter 9 that was new to me was creating and evaluating web sites. I always read through the sites to see if it seems like a good site, but I have never actually evaluated it. I have come across sites that don't seem ligitament so I just got to a different one. I have also never created a web site. The rubric in chapter 9 will be very helpful in evaluating a web site. This chapter will help me to be able to find good and bad web sites in my classroom.

Chapter 8: Academic Softwares

                Academic softwares are very useful for both students and teachers. As educators, being able to identify which programs apply to our grade level and how to operate those softwares successfully is important.  From the reading, I have been introduced to Tutorials and Drill & Practice Software(s). I feel as though this type of program would work in any grade level since there is a wide range of course material covered through the software. Teachers may use the software in the classroom according to their lesson plans because there are Tutorial softwares that cover every subject (math, grammar, reading, etc).
                The Tutorials and Drill & Practice softwares are great for students because it allows them to access the activities on a one-on-one basis. This allows the students to work at their own pace and is an advantage to all students as well as teachers. Students with learning disabilities are also aided through these types of programs because it allows them to follow in-class lesson plans, as well as work at  pace that works best for them.

 In the future, I plan to teach Kindergarten and first grade and feel as though Tutorial and Drilling & Practice Softwares will be a great tool to help reinforce the material covered in my lesson plans.

Chapter 8 module 6

I was very interested in all the different ways to use softwares in the classroom. The software I would most likely choose for my classroom would be the drill and practice, educational games, and integrated learning system. Students need to review the material more than once and I think that the drill and practice software would help with this. I would have students use this software for different subjects to help this review the work and get a better understanding of the material. The educational games would be great to kepp the students interested and then they are more likely to learn and stay active in the work. I think that the computer games would work great for math. Letting students do math lessons with games would be a great way for them to learn math while having fun. I also like the integrated learning system. I would use this throughout the year in different subjects to see which students were progressing and which students were struggling. This program will also give the students different things to do with different subjects to help them understand the material better. One subject I think the ILS would be helpful in would be reading. It would help students understand nouns, pronouns, etc. and they would have more practice with it to understand how to read and write better. I think that these programs will help teachers out and I plan to use them in my classroom to help make my kids better students.

Chapter 7: Administrative Software

        The reading for Chapter 7 was about understanding administrative and academic softwares work and how they apply to the job of educators.  ISTE's NETS emphasizes the importance of being able to use administrative and academic softwares properly, in order to improve teaching, productivity and learning in schools. As future teachers, we must be able to select and know how to operate software(s) that can be used in our classrooms.
          The chapter reading explained the purpose of administrative softwares and how they are narrowed down into two catergories: Productivity software(s) & classroom management software(s). The two different softwares are used by educators as helpful tools in the classroom that help manage school and classroom tasks. An example of an administative software is the word processing program. Through the software, educators may use transparencies, activity sheets, study guides and class notes to help support productivity in their classroom. Learning about theses types of softwares will help us address the NETS*T standards required for educators in the school system.

Chapter 7 blog

I know that computer software is a big partof teaching and that the teachers must know how to use the programs well. I didn't realize that there were so many different programs available for teachers. As I was reading I was very familiar with most of the software but the portfolio software I am not familiar with at all. I didn't know that there were so many different ways to keep students information. Knowing about these programs is very important and I think that the portfolio software is going to be a good program to use in teaching. I hope to learn more about portfolio software and understand the programs that will help me in my classroom.