I felt like this activity was benificial for me to outline in my mind a few things that I ought to look for when I am considering using a site with my students. Using an evaluation for is useful in that it helps to not for get little things. But I also think it isn't entirely necessary. Most of the things that I would need to knwo aobut a site are pretty common sense. If I were going to use a site in my class I think I would be able to know wether or not it is something I would like to use, just by using it on my own in preparation for using it with my class.
Something that I hadnt' thought much about before doing this activity is that every webpage has an author and his/her information typically can be found on quality and valid websites. It think it is interesting to learn about the author of a side, just like we learn about the author of a book.

Making the movie was a lot of fun! Aside from it being fun it had a lot of educational value. The process of making the script, filming, and editing the movie would be very beneficial to kids. They would first have to accurately and thoroughly gather information on a specific topic, be familiar enough with the information that they can present it in front of the camera, then in the editing process they will constantly be reviewing that information. By the time they have completed the process, the information should be difficult to forget.

I also think using video cameras is good because it appeals to the different interest of students. There are some students that may be motivated to do the assignment because he get to use something he enjoys in order to do it.

It is also a good way of learning because it gives them the opportunity to develop important life skills that come from planning and working in a group.

Using cameras was something that I thought would have been much too big of a liability. I realized that frame of mind was a product of me being a little bit of a "digital immigrant". Digital cameras are actually rather affordable. It wouldn't be too hard to get enough money in grants for a classroom to have a couple cameras.
Moreover, if we set up good procedures and guidelines, the students will know how to handle the cameras, so they will be safe. I think that with technology teachers have to show a lot of trust, but also have to have high expectations, as well as be strict.
I felt like an assignment like this is particularly valuable, because the student is required to look for things they are learning about in class out in the real world.

Visual Learning Assignment

I really like the variety of resources we learn about in this class.   There are so many resources out there.  It is nice to have someone show us, so I can have a good foundation of resources.  As we learn about these programs I am figuring out what kind of stuff I like and don't like, or stuff that I would or wouldn't use.  

Visual Learning Assignment

Story of My Life

Kidspiration

Personal Reflections

1. I was looking for a writing lesson that I thought would be useful to my first grade practicum class.  I looked through several and felt like this one was most fit for them.  I like how the students who aren't as advanced of writers can write very simply and those who are more advanced can write in a little more detail.  I also like that even though it is a simple writing exercise it requires critical thinking and even some long term goal setting.
2. This kind of an assignment really could be done on paper.  I could print out a form and have them write in the blanks.  That would be good if the focus were handwriting.  The focus of this lesson is actually writing.  When the students are typing they can be less concerned about erasing and making their letters look aesthetically appeasing and just focusing on what they would like to write.  This activity also would help kids become acquainted with the keyboard at a young age.  Typing is a skill that will be useful in just about any subject.  A side benefit to this activity is that the product of the activity is very nice looking and they didn't have to spend time to make it look nice.  Basically, the main benefit of using technology is that the kids can focus purely on what they want to write.
3. My first graders are very slow tapers.  This would slow them down, but I think that they are about as slow at typing as they are at writing.  Also when you type too much in the circles they will overlap each other which makes it so you can't see the contents of the circle.
4. I think the kids may have a difficult time transition from step to step in this lesson.  I can also see them messing up the template of this lesson while they are typing.
5. About an hour and a half.
6. I liked the kidspirations site.  There were a lot of activities that I would never use, but there were a lot that I think would be very useful.  It is good to know websites like this.  there is a ton of stuff, so whatever I am doing I could most likely find an activity here that would be helpful in teaching.  
7. There are several activities they could do in association with this assignment.  For example I could have them pick out words that have certain starting letters.  They can read them to the other kids as a reading-aloud activity as well as a "getting to know you" activity.  In some of our other classes we have talked about how much it helps kids to know a bit about each other and gain a respect for each others uniqueness.  One thing that I would modify are the writing categories.  I don't think they are the most interesting to write about for kids.  A teacher could also include somethings about other units they are studying.  I think categories like "favorite things" (sport, animal, book etc.) would be good for them. 

I loved going into Mr Johnson's class!  When we went to his class earlier this semester, it was really brief and I still had questions.  It was good to go in and have a good chunk of time to ask questions and hear other people's questions.  I got a lot more insight into his classroom.  I realized that technology is his passion, so he has figured out ways to incorporate it into his classroom.  A lot of teachers incorporate their passions into their classrooms, but it doesn't make learning more effective.  He has mastered the art of making technology a valuable asset in the learning process.  Although technology is a big part of his classroom, he also takes opportunities to  do things that don't involve technology.  So basically he is flexible and technology is not a must.

I really liked the idea of using a camera to take pictures of geometric shapes.  It is so valuable when kids are able to make connections between what they learn in school with the real world.  I especially think that it is hard to make those connections in math.  I think those kids will know there shapes better and longer than if they learned them off of a worksheet. 

There are several other things that he effectively used technology for.  For example:  Online calendar, blog, email newsletters, etc.  These were all very effective.

He mentioned something about using databases.  This is something I would like to learn more about.   He made a couple points about being an educator that were good.  One is that we need to use the summers effectively for preparation.  When we put the time in before hand, everything goes much better after.  Also he said that we as educators are here to teach kids HOW to learn.  

project based learning

• give students a problem that requires the skills to solve
• ex:  the project in the end is the students, the kids often want to make the effort to make it look good

Problem based

• teacher is facilitator
• open ended questions
• small groups
• ex:  go out find info, use it to solve problem (regurgitating info helps keep it in the noggin longer)

inquiry based learning

• directed by students' questions
• ex: content and processes kids need to learn
• what color is it, is it soft or bumpy??? etc
• county activity in Mr Johnson's class

WEB QUESTS

• online scavenger hunt
• work as a group
• focus on units
• instructional architect
• implements all three methods of learning
• 
  

I thought it was really interesting to learn about copyright laws! There are tons of things that I had never thought of. This class really opened my eyes to things that I need to be careful of! I would have thought that they would be easier on teachers than they are. At least they do give educators privileges not allowed for the general public. We still need to be cautious to use copyrighted materials in an appropriate manner. Still I feel like the laws are a little vague in areas, or it is hard to know exactly what the laws are in some situations. By sticking by the big four when I'm in doubt, I should be pretty safe.
It was also good to get a list of websites that I can use as resources. I do think Copyrights are kind of a funny thing. Who would have thought that Happy Birthday would be under Copyright!?!?

These are a couple notes I took in class about the different copyrights.

Copyright: Tm (not registered) R (registered)

Fair Use:

purpose and character

nature of copied work

amount used

effect upon work's value

Trade Mark

Creative Commons

open office

flikker

Fair Use

10%

Today we discussed Instructional Architect. There were several things i really liked about this website. Instructional Architect is useful for finding valid resources. I find google really irritating at times. It is good to know that there is a site specifically useful for educators with loads of valid information.
It is also a great way not to have to duplicate work. There are millions of teachers out there that probably do the same things all of the time. This is a great way to be able to use other people's ideas, even if they are across the country. I'm glad to be learning about these resources that I wouldn't have even known were there!