website

https://sites.google.com/site/spiritofjoychoir/

This website was designed to give information about the children's choir at my church. I included an expectations page so the parents and students would know why our choir exists. The upcoming events page was included to inform readers about what the choir will be doing within the coming year. The pictures were included to showcase previous events. The videos offer upcoming songs we will be working on. The marquee scroll was for visual interest. The daily verse gadget was used to keep people coming back to the site.

reviews

I would highly recommend the two sites I visited. Google Docs is a great since you can store your documents online and allow others to access it and edit the document. This would be especially helpful if you were working on a group project and you were not able to meet with your team face to face. Picnik is a fun and easy photo editor. The things you can do with this are countless. You can be so creative and really enhance your pictures beyond what any camera could ever capture.

Screencast

This screencast will provide the students with directions on how to create a word search with their spelling words. It will also show the students how to create a word document so the students will be able to print their document in the classroom. This gives the students more practice using their words. This video will help the students who have a hard time remembering how to create the word search so the teacher does not have to reteach this to every students multiple times.

google map of local business

View local business in a larger map



This is a map of the local businesses within walking distance of the school.  The students would use this map to identify each business and tell why they would use each business.  After the students identify the business and tell why they would use the business I would then ask them to create a letter to one business. 

This letter would be written to the business asking them how they can help their local school.  The students would need to ask the business what they could give the school.  The students, in turn, would tell the business how the school could help their business grow.

Students would be responsible to deliver the letter, via mail or parent drop off.  In two weeks, the students will need to check back with their business if they have not yet recieved a reply.  If the business has sent a response the student would be responsible for drafting a thank you note to the business.

concept map

This concept map shows the craft concepts that my fourth graders learn in their poetry unit.  I would ask the students to create a concept map to show what they remember about the craft of poetry.  They would be able to see how all of the concepts are connected and work together to create beautiful poems. 

podcast

This site shares insight about education today and the effect schools are having on kids. 


http://learningmatters.tv/blog/category/podcasts/

social bookmarking

http://delicious.com/llaninga

gifted child

school map #3

View Larger Map

photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63308397@N06/?saved=1

amazing

wiki site

Here is my new wiki site.  I have been frustrated with this process in trying to remeber all the passwords and usernames and changing and updating information.

http://laningawiki.pbworks.com/

relfection #1 Reigeluth/Joseph and Postman

Information is defined as knowledge or facts about something or the act of informing or the state of being informed.  It is constantly at our fingertips and all we have to do is reach out for it.  Unfortunately, there are people who choose not to be informed.

The article written by Reigeluth and Joseph tells about using technology to transform education.  They say schools should have a mastery level of achievement and allow the students to work at their pace to reach that level.  I agree that students should be able to work at their own pace, but there is so much curriculum that is required, it would take slower learners much longer to accomplish all of the standards.  The authors also mention using an inventory of mastered standards.  This reminds me of kindergarten report cards when teachers had to check off or circle the numbers and letters that the students knew and how each student was advancing in their motor skills. I have heard that these types of assessments and reports will be coming and some schools have started to use more reporting of student achievement in this manner.  In my school we use a web-based system for reading and math.  The students have individualized goals and they work toward their goals at their pace.  The system tracks how the kids are doing and what skills they have mastered and what they have yet to accomplish.  These systems have allowed me to be more of a guide on the side as the authors suggested.  The students learn from each other and go to one another as the experts on certain objectives.  The students have truly become a community of learners.  Reigeluth and Joseph suggest that not only can their peers help students to learn, but community member and parents can play a role.  I think this is a wonderful idea and I would like to see more community members come into the school buildings and share their expertise with the students.  The authors also say that schools should use the methods for learning that are the best for facilitating learning.  When teachers use best practices for each subject, kids win.  I believe there is a time and a place for advanced technology in and out of the classroom, but if it is getting in the way of learning it has slowed down the information highway.

Postman, in his article, seems to have a personal issue with the use of technology.  He says that schools are not about giving information to students.  I would disagree.  Schools are huge agents of information gathering and dispersing.  Sometimes schools hold more information than they can possibly hand out.  I am always amazed at what we know about our students and about curriculum, yet we barely scratch the surface in delivering this information to the students and parents.  Schools have become the place where people learn their social values.  I believe this comes from the busyness of the home and the pace of our society.  We just don’t take the time to teach people how to behave and we hope that somehow children will learn how to behave by watching others.  I will agree with Postman in his statement about being swamped with information.  There are a lot of places where we can get information.  One search on Google alone can send you to millions of places to find information. 

I think our job as educators is to be educated in how to use the information to best educate and inform our children.  We are not going to fix the problems of society.  They are a product of sin.  What we can do is use the technology of today to best serve our children to prepare them to live and be productive in this society.