Saturday, April 28, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
iPad App Reviews
The first app I downloaded was one called "Kids Math." Since I am specializing in math and majoring in elementary education I thought this would be a good one to try out. With this game children learn adding, subtracting, and counting skills. You are given a problem such as 15-1= ? and the numbers are attached to a picture of a fruit. The problem is solved by counting the fruit. Then the player taps on a star with the correct answer on it. If you get the answer right, a smiley face appears and if you get the answer wrong a sad face appears and you are shown the right answer. I am interested in teaching grades K-2, so I would definitely use this app in my classroom. Not only does it help improve adding, subtracting, and counting skills, it also includes images to go with the problem that would help any visual learners.
The second app I downloaded was one called "My First Puzzles, the Alphabet." This one is best suited for preschool and kindergarten ages. With this app, children can learn what different letters look by putting puzzles pieces together. Once the letter gets put together correctly, the letter is pronounced so the children can hear how the letters sound and the difference between them. Another thing I like about the app is that it includes languages other than English, such as French, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch. I would use the app in my kindergarten class when I am first teaching the students their letters and the way they sound. The app would also be helpful to anyone learning a different language's alphabet.
The second app I downloaded was one called "My First Puzzles, the Alphabet." This one is best suited for preschool and kindergarten ages. With this app, children can learn what different letters look by putting puzzles pieces together. Once the letter gets put together correctly, the letter is pronounced so the children can hear how the letters sound and the difference between them. Another thing I like about the app is that it includes languages other than English, such as French, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch. I would use the app in my kindergarten class when I am first teaching the students their letters and the way they sound. The app would also be helpful to anyone learning a different language's alphabet.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
WebQuest Link & Question
Here is a link for my WebQuest currently titled Jhanlin's WebQuest, but the title will be changing when I come up with a better one. Right now the driving question I have in mind is "What if books weren't written?"
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
DEJ #11: Thinking Creatively
The first interesting thing I learned from the video was that quality teaching includes transforming the content of the lesson. This transforming act has to deal with Pedagogical Content Knowledge or PCK for short. This transformation has to make things interesting and accessible to students. The transformation is the act of learning how to think in a disciplined manner.
The second thing I learned is that teachers can't always keep up with technology because of how quickly it changes. Expecting teachers to be able to keep up with it when most other people can't is too much and unfair. It was nice to hear that someone else thinks it is unfair to take it out on the teachers if they can't keep up with it. Normally I hear everything being blamed on the teachers. Their solution is instead of trying to keep up with the change, teachers should develop a thoughtful and playful attitude toward the new mediaecology.
The third thing I learned is that even though everybody makes a big deal out of digital technology, digital technologies are messy and complicated at times. The video gave an example of the I-phone and how it is unstable. I agree that it can be messy and needs some errors sorted out. However like the video said, technology does change everything sometimes for the bad but most of the time for the better once any errors get sorted out.
The second thing I learned is that teachers can't always keep up with technology because of how quickly it changes. Expecting teachers to be able to keep up with it when most other people can't is too much and unfair. It was nice to hear that someone else thinks it is unfair to take it out on the teachers if they can't keep up with it. Normally I hear everything being blamed on the teachers. Their solution is instead of trying to keep up with the change, teachers should develop a thoughtful and playful attitude toward the new mediaecology.
The third thing I learned is that even though everybody makes a big deal out of digital technology, digital technologies are messy and complicated at times. The video gave an example of the I-phone and how it is unstable. I agree that it can be messy and needs some errors sorted out. However like the video said, technology does change everything sometimes for the bad but most of the time for the better once any errors get sorted out.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Web 2.0 Tool Review: Kerpoof
I investigated the Kerpoof Web 2.0 tool. On Kerpoof there are different activities for different ages pretty much from K-8 grades. Kids can draw pictures, make a movie, tell stories, spell words and guess them out, and make cards. Kerpoof also offers several options for teachers. On Kerpoof teachers can download lesson plans, give ideas, and even has an option for teachers to arrange their students in groups and have them communicate with the teacher that way. Kids can also earn "Koins" that they can use at the Kerpoof store to "buy" brushes to draw with for example. Kerpoof is a way students can learn, but in a creative way that incorporates technology into the classroom. Below is a simple picture I did of a smiley face on Kerpoof.
Storybird
Here is my Storybird project I did titled "Why Do I Have to go to School Today?". Hope you enjoy :)
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