What I learned from this interview was surprising. I was surprised at how few computers the school had. The classrooms don't have any computers available for the students to use. In the interview, we learned that there is a lap top for the teacher, but it isn't used by the students. I then found out that the socioeconomic status of the area is lower than average. Then I was surprised at how much technology was available for the school and students.
Another surprise was the very little amount of time the students actually have in the lab. With only 30 minutes a week in the lab students don't seem to have a whole lot of time to learn how to use the computer. My cooperating teacher is very good at trying to teach her students to practice typing. She has them type all their stories and poems that they write. But with such little time in the lab, it can take weeks for the students to finish. It is also apparent that most students struggle with using the Internet or any search engines.
This interview was great for me. I now know what will be available to me as a teacher and hopefully there will be even more when I get to that point. By knowing what's avialable in the field of technology,I will be better prepared to create more meaningful lesson plans. If classes are still allotted only 30 minutes a week then I will know as a teacher that the lesson plans will need to be well thought out. I will also want to talk with the students before we actually get into the lab so that their time there is spent wisely and efficiently.
This interview changed my way of thinking about technology in the classrooms. I'm surprised that more isn't being done with technology in this day in age. I want to be a teacher that uses these tools to teach. So much can be done using technology so I will need to make sure I don't get discouraged, even though there may not be as much available to my students as I would like.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Webquest Reflection
What I did:
We created a Boston Tea Party Webquest. My job was to create the pages for the Historian Role. I came up with 5 questions for the Historian to answer along with the websites that held the answer. We then found a quiz for the students to go to when they were done with their worksheet.
What we created:
The webquest involved students each finding answers to 5 questions for their specific role. Then the students share and record the answers from the other roles on their worksheet. After they have shared their answers, they take a quiz to see what they learned.
What Technology:
We used Power Point to create our webquest. We used websites for students to answer questions. We also used the online quiz to test the students' knowledge.
How it went:
I feel that the webquest went very smoothly. We were able to divide up the work evenly and communicate over google docs. We then all met to put it all onto Powerpoint.
Difficult or easy?
Because we divided up the work so evenly, I felt that the webquest was fairly easy. It was nice to be in a group because it lessened the work load, but there were some things that I would have done differently. I would have liked to change the font to something more exciting and also add more color. The difficult part about working in a group was that we all had our opinions on the wording and the amount of material needed on each page. I would have changed some of the wording so it was more exciting. Also, I would have liked to space out the information presented on each page, so it wasn't so intimedating. But overall, I preferred working in a group and I feel that our webquest turned out well.
Why it's important to know this:
It is important to know how to create webquests because it is such a great tool to use in the classroom. It's a great way to teach and make any subject fun. It also puts the student in charge of their learning and therefore more memorable.
Now what?
I definately will want to use webquests in my classroom. It is such a fun way to learn and keeps the students' interest. I didn't realize that creating a webquest wasn't as hard as it seems. The hardest part is coming up with the ideas. The actual creation of the webquest wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Two specific things that I would like to improve on would be to learn how to publish it so it can be easily accessed over the internet and therefore easy to use in the future and I would like to either learn how to create a game the students could use or know where to find related games in order to make the webquest more fun.
We created a Boston Tea Party Webquest. My job was to create the pages for the Historian Role. I came up with 5 questions for the Historian to answer along with the websites that held the answer. We then found a quiz for the students to go to when they were done with their worksheet.
What we created:
The webquest involved students each finding answers to 5 questions for their specific role. Then the students share and record the answers from the other roles on their worksheet. After they have shared their answers, they take a quiz to see what they learned.
What Technology:
We used Power Point to create our webquest. We used websites for students to answer questions. We also used the online quiz to test the students' knowledge.
How it went:
I feel that the webquest went very smoothly. We were able to divide up the work evenly and communicate over google docs. We then all met to put it all onto Powerpoint.
Difficult or easy?
Because we divided up the work so evenly, I felt that the webquest was fairly easy. It was nice to be in a group because it lessened the work load, but there were some things that I would have done differently. I would have liked to change the font to something more exciting and also add more color. The difficult part about working in a group was that we all had our opinions on the wording and the amount of material needed on each page. I would have changed some of the wording so it was more exciting. Also, I would have liked to space out the information presented on each page, so it wasn't so intimedating. But overall, I preferred working in a group and I feel that our webquest turned out well.
Why it's important to know this:
It is important to know how to create webquests because it is such a great tool to use in the classroom. It's a great way to teach and make any subject fun. It also puts the student in charge of their learning and therefore more memorable.
Now what?
I definately will want to use webquests in my classroom. It is such a fun way to learn and keeps the students' interest. I didn't realize that creating a webquest wasn't as hard as it seems. The hardest part is coming up with the ideas. The actual creation of the webquest wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Two specific things that I would like to improve on would be to learn how to publish it so it can be easily accessed over the internet and therefore easy to use in the future and I would like to either learn how to create a game the students could use or know where to find related games in order to make the webquest more fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
