Weekly Reflection--Whitney Anderson

Webquest is an excellent resource for teachers that I had no idea exsisted! I really enjoy how it is based on the project approach and problem based learning. In my early childhood classes we have studied a lot about the project approach and how it is a really effective way to instruct children and help them learn. We want children to be able to explore things within their own interest and to give them hands on approaches. I am even more excited that the project approach can be used and enhanced by technology. WebQuest takes this project approach to a new level because it allows projects that may not have been feasible in real life to be created virtually. One of the most memorable learning experiences I had was when my biology teacher had us do a project/problem based learning for DNA, it was hands on, fun, and I learned a ton about DNA. Children and adults enjoy this type of learning and it is sad we don't use it more often in the classroom.

It is also incredible to me how many of these WebQuests we have available to use, free of charge as teachers. These can really help us when we want to give our children a technology experience that is very appropriate to their development. As I was reviewing the projects to do I could see a definite quality distinguishment. Some of the projects were put together very well and would be excellent to use, some were not as high of quality. As a teacher you would want to make sure you have looked it over and explored to make sure the quality met your standards.

I am excited to be able to contribute to this excellent database of WebQuest lessons. While it will definitely take some effort to create one of these lesson plans the benefits will be worth it for me. The layout is simple and very user friendly on both the teacher and child side. Unfortunately though in most circumstances all of your children won't have access to a computer all of the time. This could really restrict the valuable use of WebQuest. This makes me want to really advocate and search for grants to get access to computers all day long for my students. They need computers available to them to even begin to match their technology age and needs.

I am excited to now have WebQuest as another tool in my toolbelt of teaching!

Weekly Reflection--Whitney Anderson

The YETC is incredible! I am amazed and a bit overwhelmed with all of the information that is at our fingertips. There is no reason why technology can't be used in classrooms with every subject we teach, these resources and programs are being underutilized. The programs that I loved the most from today were celestia, storyline online, cooliris, and podcasts. There were so many other things that I just want to go explore and use! I know that I still have a lot that I want to learn about technology so that I will be able to use it more effectively with my students. The possibilities that are being extended to us through technology are great, I can't imagine what this will all be like in 10 or 20 years. At the rate that everything is going pretty soon I will become somewhat of a digital immigrant to the new digital natives. I will be sitting in my parents shoes if I don't take an active part in staying up to date. I plan on tapping into all of the resources available to me at the YETC. It will take time and effort to really understand what is available to me in the YETC but I know it can help me in the classroom and especially help my students. I can't wait to share these resources with everyone one I know family, roomates, strangers I meet :)

Looking back to my days in elementary school I don't remember a lot of technology in the classrooms, we only used computers once a week doing an online program or playing games. From being in my practicum it really hasn't changed a lot at least at some schools. I never saw my teacher use technology with her class. The only time they received computer instruction was once a week and a lot of it was playing games. I hope to fix that and fight for technology to be available to my students more than just one day a week it needs to be that way to keep learning meaningful, which is one of my biggest goals. Nathan was great to show us around and to be so willing to help us with any questions. I think I have found a new favorite place!

Weekly Reflection

UEN is such a great resource that is available to us as teachers. We can use it as another way to connect to parents, and keep updated on other people in our district. It is fantastic that you can search for lesson plans that fit right in the state core and that are created by other teachers and the Utah Office of Education. I think it would be great to find lesson plans and then get in contact with whoever created the lesson so that you really know how it is supposed to work, and then add your own ideas. Collaboration is one of the best resources and practices that should be used as a teacher, two minds really are better than one. There is a lot to offer from UEN that I am sure will take some exploring to figure it all out. I got really excited when I linked to Nebo School District where I went to school as a child, and saw my Mom's UEN page and other teachers that I know from the district. You can connect with people from across the state in an instant.

As I searched for a lesson plan I was surprised by the lack of technology used by the teachers. The gap between teaching and technology is still present and it seems that we will be or rather I hope we will be the generation of teachers that will try to close it. I did find a lot of really great and appropriate ideas though and with technology incorporated in they should become even better. For now I have decided to do a 4th Grade Science Lesson. The lesson plan that I am leaning toward right now is
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10089
It is a lesson about clouds and I am also going to use this website in the lesson.
http://www.uen.org/weather/clouds/index.shtml

UEN address

http://my.uen.org/myuen/212803

Weekly Reflection

Today's class was great, starting a new blog has been something that I have wanted to do and now I have a great excuse to do it. Learning about what Web 2.o is was very insightful, I have been using things like a wiki and podcasts for a while now but it is great to be able to use the actual terms. Blogs I think are a fun fast way to stay in touch with people, and I think one great way to use these blogs is to help keep parents informed about the class. You could do a weekly post about activities, or post positive comments about students and their performance in the class. It would also be great to have students, especially older students create blogs and use it as an online journal for reflections, exactly what we are doing for this class. Blogs are easy to view and give you quick information. Parents could then comment on what they liked or if they have questions about things, they would also be able to communicate with other parents right there. Teachers would also be able to comment and interact with students blogs, overall it is a win win situation.

A New Adventure!

A new phase in my life, a blog! I am really excited because I always wanted to start one and now I have a great excuse to do it for my grade. What a FANTASTIC day!