Making a crossword puzzle

Using software along with teaching subject areas can be an asset to a classroom depending on the program and the class. For example, Excel would be best used for a math classroom to have students make charts, graphs, and spreadsheets. Word can be used in just about every subject area. There are few exceptions to this. At the same time it can also be beneficial to teach the different softwares separate from the subject areas in a computer lab. By using a computer lab students can focus on how to use the software and where it can be incorporated in their school and other aspects of daily life. After learning this, then the students can apply this knowledge to the classroom. No, this project would not help students to learn how to use Excel and vocabulary. Excel should be taught for math and any other related courses, but definitely not for a project such as this. I found this to be extremely frustrating and feel that students might have as difficult a time. Next time I would have students use an online site that allows them to make free crossword puzzles. These sites would of course be approved by the teacher and the district. There are other options available for such a task, but using Excel is an absolute NO.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

While listening to Sir Ken Robinson talk about education, he brought up some points that I had not put any thought to. He stated that there were three areas of education: first, human creativity; second, we don't know about the future; and third, capacities for innovation. When we think about it we realize how important education is. It is incorporated into every aspect of our lives-family, friendships, work, and so on. Robinson compared education to being as deep as religion and money and just as important. We use education to teach children for a world we do not know. As adults we do not know what will happen tomorrow so how are we to know what will happen in 20, 30, or 40 years? And educate our children and students for such a world? Robinson stated that "creativity is as important as literacy". As children we are extremely creative and not afraid to make mistakes. In fact, making mistakes is part of our education. However, mistakes often make children afraid to be creative and this is something they tend to lose as they get older. The world needs more creativity. Robinson also gave a brief history into public education. He said that public education did not exist before the 19th century and only came about because of the Industrial Revolution. Today, we are in a new world and a new Industrial Revolution. This will only continue to expand. It used to be that many jobs required a degree. Now, the degrees are worth nothing and/or higher degrees are needed. He felt that the only reason for public education was to produce university professors because education used the head but slightly to one side. Sir Robinson made some very strong statements that I agree with. One is that intelligence is distinct. Each one of us has a different level of intelligence and some people are still not afraid to show their creativity. We must use the gift of human imagination wisely. This is all too true. Without imagination we would never be able to dream the dreams that make us strive for what we want to be. Imagination gives us a sense of determination. Finally, children are our hope and that we must educate them for the future to make something of it.

WebQuest or Web Inquiry Project

Who knew there were so many technological ways of studying on the internet. If you wanted to know something you went to Google or another browser for information until you found what it was you were looking for. Then came WebQuests and now Web Inquiry Projects. What's the difference you ask? A WebQuest (WQ) is a form of scaffolded instruction by which a student learns information by doing a particular task with provided links and resources. The students are guided through the quest until they accomplish what was set out for them to do. Web Inquiry Projects (WIP) are a more challenging way for students to learn rather than having it given to them in a WebQuest. Students are urged to actively pursue the information they are in search of. The data is usually "uninterpreted" and includes weather, sports, and music. By using a WIP students might be more interested in learning the material in the curriculum rather than having it given to them. This would be especially true with the new generation of Digital Natives who need information at their finger tips. Web Inquiry Projects will most likely take the place of Webquests as students become more active in their education. WIP's "prepare kids to be independent inquirers" and move away from the dependency of WebQuests.

Learning Theories

Learning theories can be broken into three categories-behavior, cognitive, and social. Some might say that one is more important than another, but I feel that they need to act together for students to achieve the best outcome. In the social learning theory students learn to behave according to their surroundings. It may be from watching others (modeled behaviors) or from the environment in which they live and go to school (learning environment). In behavioral learning theory one can probably recall Pavlov's test with dogs, food, and the bell. This was a perfect example of classical conditioning. For some this type of conditioning may not be appropriate or just feel that there may be a better example. This other example could be in operant conditioning when a person has a particular reaction to a designated stimulus. For many people cognitive learning theory is the most important. This is the way a person thinks and the impact they may have on themselves, others, and the world in general. Cognitive learning can help to achieve a better society and give insight to the goal of human thinking. The learning theories concept map is a good source of information to help see the three major theories in a simpler format and as a reference tool.

What happened to textbooks?

School textbooks like reading books might one day be considered a thing of the past. Books have slowly progressed from paper to audio and now Kindle. Textbooks will be doing the same since some companies already offer a CD-ROM version as mentioned by David Warwick in his article "Textbooks of the Future". This might be a good thing since the new generation of Digital Natives are accustomed to having everything at the touch of their fingers and quickly. One of the benefits of digital textbooks are the accommodations that can be made for students with learning difficulties-"audio delivery for the auditory learners, translating text for ESL students, and presenting more pictures, graphs, and video for visual learners." On the other hand, students used to read a chapter and answer the questions at the end. With digital textbooks students would be able to copy and paste their answers to these questions. The end result: What does the student learn? and Are digital textbooks really better?

Web Site Evaluation Criteria

Web site evaluation has become important to us as we explore the internet and all that it has to offer. Whenever possible teachers might try to use this knowledge in the classroom. Two good sites to help students become aware of what to look for when trying to find a good site are TUTOR: Evaluating Web Sites and ABCs of Web Literacy. TUTOR would be best used in a elementary school setting. It is easier for the students to look at and learn. It could be presented as a hands on experience for the class by allowing each student the opportunity to engage in the work. By assigning each student a question or element and sharing their information with the class could make the learning more fun. ABCs might be better for a middle school setting. Since it is an interactive site, the students could be broken into groups and be asked to write an essay on their experiences to get an idea of their understanding of the topic and then have them review a website that they enjoy using.

A Digital Native In Hiding

After reading "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" by Marc Prensky, it is obvious that I am a digital immigrant. I remember when computers were first coming out and we had to use MSDOS (I think that was the name of the program at the time). I would have thought that would make me a Digital Native, but it does not. If you didn't know the commands to enter you were out of luck. Thank goodness systems have come a long way since then. The term Digital Natives almost seems appropriate for this generation as each generation seems to have their own way of being referenced. This probably goes back to the Baby Boomers, but I do not recall the name for my generation. "And a language learned later in life, scientists tell us, goes into a different part of the brain." I believe this to be true for anything we learn as we get older. We tend to be set in our ways and way of thinking. For us Digital Immigrants we learned from reading, writing, and studying from books. There was nothing wrong with that then and there is still nothing wrong with that now. Yes, there are more resources available to us digitally, but are they all true or just opinions of others? Sometimes a combination of methods is better. I am a definite immigrant because I need to print out a document to edit or sometimes just to read. Maybe because I didn't grow up digitally I have more problems, but honestly looking at a computer that long just gives me a headache. Being digitally inclined or a native is certainly a benefit to have with the large world competition. Without it one would be lost. Does a person really need to have everything at the tip of their fingers and receive information so quickly? Some Digital Natives say they get bored in school because it is too slow for them; however give them a cell phone, computer, or ipod and they are a happy cucumber. There needs to be a combination of the two ways of learning for everyone to get along in this new world and a lot of patience. Some of us are slower than others. My only complaint is that I heard at one time that script/cursive handwriting was going to be eliminated because today's learners can only read print since that is all that is available with this technology and because they lack poor writing skills. How does this make someone more of an individual? Do we really need to change everything to accomodate these Natives? Until recently, I used my computer for email, papers, and minimal research. Now I am doing a blog, website, and a wiki. I use my cell phone only when I need to and almost never IM. I also don't like to text. Texting is another thing that drives me crazy. As a result people do not know how to spell and everything is in text lingo. Why? Hopefully one day there will be a happy and constructive balance of these two worlds.

Blogging Ethics

Who knew there were actually ethics to blogging? Blogging is a new experience for me. I am still trying to figure out the ropes so to speak. After reading the article on Blogging Ethics I agree with the author that quotes, whether in blogs or in another form of writing, give a reader the knowledge and understanding of where the author is coming from. I feel that quotes are an option in writing or blogging, but if done correctly will only add to the point. I also agree with the author that it is "a great opportunity to talk about the issues of plagiarism and fair use and copyright" (no pun on the topic). Having links and being able to bring the reader to other worlds is what this is all about. Since technology is increasing and books are slowly being included in this expansion it is even more important to be able to hold onto these other links, even if it is by using quotes.

del.icio.us or diigo-Which bookmark is better?

After opening a new account in both del.icio.us and diigo I have found them both to be interesting ways of boolmarking websites that are of interest and great use. I have watched the YouTube videos for both sights and there are certainly benefits to each one. Even though I have to play with them a little more I think the diigo site is more interesting. I like the idea that you can put sticky notes and highlight text in a sight as you are reading. We all know how handy that can be. I don't have the time to use this capability right now but do plan to use it in the future as I compile a list of websites to use in my future classroom.

Ancient Egypt Mind Map

This ancient Egypt Mind Map was made in Inspiration. I have used Inspiration for a few other projects and have learned to get around and really enjoy it. There are still a few things I need to learn how to manuever. I did ancient Egypt because I had done a unit plan on it previously and thought it would be fun and interesting to create a different mind map on the topic. It was fun creating hyperlinks and notes. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased a license agreement so I can continue to use it whenever I want.

Here is my mind map!

I created this mind map about myself and some of the things I enjoy. This was done using Mind42. After playing with it for a while it became sort of fun. I wish I could move the links around the center better rather than adding another node. Guess it will take more practice.