Midpoint Check

I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable with everything we have been going over. I'm really enjoying the activities we are doing and already coming up with ideas about how I can integrate these technologies into my future classroom.

Scavenger Hunt

I really enjoyed this activity! Our group did our project on Social Studies. I also have never used Picasa before and I think it was an extremely easy online device to use to share pictures online. This is a much simpler way to create a picture slideshow then doing it through powerpoint. I had a difficult time downloading the pictures from my phone to the computer so I ended up e-mailing them to myself and my group members. There was probably an easier way to do it, but I just did it the way that made sense to me.

Google Docs

I absolutely love using google docs! I was just recently introduced to it last semester and it was so helpful. Students are always going to have to do group projects and I remember as a child it was always a hassle to have to meet up with your group at someone's house and do a project. There were always conflicting schedules amongst the group members. It only gets worse when you get to college because everyone is so busy with school and work. Google docs provides a way where you don't physically have to be with your group to get your project done. Everyone in the group can take part in it on their own time. They can also add comments to the document if they have a question about something that someone else wrote. It's just a great tool for any kind of group work.

Webquest

I believe Webquest's should be integrated into the classrooms. "Death by powerpoint" is getting extremely old in the classrooms now a days. Bringing in a Webquest gives the students interaction instead of just sitting and listening to the teacher lecture. It would give them motivation and when students have motivation they are more inclined to learn and participate. Some Webquests also require the classroom to work in groups. Therefore, it helps with cooperative learning in a team. It also promotes higher-level thinking skills and keeps the students engaged during class. Making sure students are engaged and learning are two important factors in being a teacher.

Website Evaluation Correction

I found website evaluation very beneficial. Anyone can go create a website but it doesn't always mean that the website is accurate. It is important to see if the website is factual and objective or completely biased. As a future educator, I would encourage my students to do website evaluations so they can understand that not everything they see published is true. I would have them check for accuracy, domains, and currency. As students progress through grades they are going to have more and more opportunities to do research on the internet and they need to be able to identify what is true and what is not.