Week 6 Blog

This week was a short one at school because I took Friday off as I traveled to New Jersey and Monday we celebrated President's day. Today I participated in an all day training for the Promethean board that was installed in my "digital classroom". The training was very useful as we were taught how to use the software for the board as well as several tips and tricks. I discovered that creating lessons (flipcharts) for use with the board is very similar to creating lessons (presentations) with Power Point. The process involves looking for tools and resources,using some creativity along with content to produce a lesson. There are many effective instructional tools that encourage student engagement through interactivity.

As a teacher, I am enjoying the discovery of the board's potential. Working on my projects for this course allows me to create my own resources - digital images and sound. The support for the Promethean board is impressive and can be found online through forums, chats,and a sharing community called Promethean Planet. The website is absolutely helpful to all level of users and provides a wealth of flipcharts in several content areas. I am glad people like to share best practices!

Well,I continue with my "journey" in this course and I hope you have been learning as much as I am. Wish me luck - a new version of the software has been launced and I am so far away from mastering the last verson.

-Ingrid

Weekly Post

So here I am - week 5! As you can tell, I am still around despite the bomb threats. Last Thursday was the last threat: a text message stating the date and time (Thursday 5th during 2nd period) and place (third floor, boys' restroom) which happens to be about five classrooms away from mine. I was literally in anguish since our very "able' put the building on lockdown (nobody in or out); I decided to take the day off last Friday. We have not had any since and have been told that they have held two possible suspects and still looking for a third.

I was very excited as we made through active worlds. What a trip! Despite my getting lost a couple of times, the experience was worth every minute . I can see how we can create worlds for our students to learn through discovery. I have spread the word to some teachers in my department - we will be collaborating to build an algebra world using a pyramids theme - as the student masters certain skill they move up the pyarmids until the lesson is completed by reaching at the highest level 0n the pyramid.

Smartboard is coming along - we will be receiving formal training next Wednesday. Yey! Until then.

-Ingrid

Weekly Blog

I got through week 4 just fine considering that we had five bomb threats in six days. I got to see technology in use by everyone. Administration on the radios, teachers and students alike on their cell phones communicating with the community.

I took out my iPod touch and answered trivia with other teachers. Some students played their mp3 players while others surfed the net to try to get information about what was going on.

I can just imagine the amount of e-mails that were transmitted to family and loved ones. I was very happy to have technology with me on those days!

Oh! I needed to add that I am exploring my smart board with great success.

-Ingrid

Emerging Technologies Post

The technologies that I see on a daily basis are not limited to the ones that are approved for classroom use. In the classroom, I use a laptop, LCD projector, student response systems (clickers) and a Promethean smart board. I have integrated this technology for the delivery of my instruction. My lessons are on Powerpoint and are projected unto the smart board. Students respond/interact using their remotes. The laptop is also used for housekeeping purposes – e-mail, taking attendance, inputting grades as well as consulting the internet for resources. The sound system in my classroom is used for microphones to project my voice during teaching. Additionally, the sound system is used in connection with the projector when viewing teaching clips. Of course the classroom phone is used to place and receive calls.

Other technologies are also very visible outside the classroom. The ever present phones with multimedia capabilities are widely used for texting, recording (video and sound), internet browsing and file sharing and storage. The flash drive (thumb drive, usb drive) is another piece of technology used for the purpose storage. Students use portable media players mainly to watch video clips and listen to music. School administrators use PDAs during classroom visits as well as radios for security purposes.

Upon reflection, it seems that just about every tool that I use to enhance teaching/learning is technological. I then ask how effective I would be without technology? It seems that once you start using technology there is no turning back; you keep looking for more technology to improve student learning.

-Ingrid