Greek Activity for teachers and class and students

Here is an activity for a unit plan on ancient Greece. You do the first section in class and then use the 3 Interesting Facts for the students to use as a template for their group project!

Right Click Here and Download!!

Toto's Story

This is a story about my dog...he wanted to share it!

Click HERE!

Toto's Story

This is a story board (minus a couple of pictures that need to be taken from my camera that is packed) about my dog. Eventually, it will be in a digital story form next week!!

Memory Box Starter in Hyperstudio

Hyperstudio again! This is a fun little interactive tool to learn more about me

Click HERE!
Right click on above and download to open!

Hyperstudio about my university

Here is my info about my school presented in hyperstudio

Me INfo on hyperstudio

here is me practicing with hyperstudio

PBL and Mulit-Media

I recently read two different articles discussing the importance of using multi media and project based learning in the classroom. I personally believe this to be a major component to learning and was a bit surprised to realize that there need to be articles stressing the important role PBL and multi media play in a classroom. I guess I realize the crucial need for students to use multi/hyper media for presentations and group projects because that is how I become motivated and learn at a greater depth than normal tests or questioners. The first article, "Rubrics,Portfolios, and Tests, Oh My" Reinforced my belief in project based learning. While reading this article I tried to think of the different teaching styles if my various teachers over the years. As I thought about it I began to realize that many of them used tests and quizzes as an only means for assessment. I am not a good test taker. I have to cross out the questions I answer as soon as I answer them or I get confused and either miss one or accidentally answer it twice. Perhaps this is a slight learning disability. Regardless, I do way better at essay exams than normal multiple choice. I am able to explain what I mean and use my memory to provide examples. Though this is not project based learning, it has an aspect of it. This is because both call for the student to find ways to describe what they mean and give examples. The difference is that in project based learning children can glean from other group members and spend more time on gathering the facts in order to come up with their own solid opinions. I think teachers are so set on test taking because that is how they were taught- it has been the tradition for hundreds of years. Yet, as the article "Developing Understanding Using Multi Media" explains, students are more motivated to learn A) if they work as a team (most of the time, especially when you give them each jobs) and B) when they have to share their work with others. Most people get nervous speaking in front of others, so naturally students would want to at least be a little prepared to explain what they are presenting to minimize the stress of public speaking. However, when using PBL and multi/hyper media to asses it is absolutely crucial fi have some type of guideline for students to follow (like Rubrics as described in the articles). Otherwise students will become confused and lose focus because it will be a frustrating assignment without guidelines. In addition teachers need to be continually assessing their teaching methods when using these assessment styles. It will help them know what works best and what needs improvement. In order for the students to learn the teacher needs to ensure that the projects are clear and can be accomplished. Life is a never ending learning experience and both the teacher and the students must never forget.

Schools of Tomorrow

Here is a brief description of what I think the schools of tomorrow will be like. I think the most important and useful change will be for everyone to have a computer at their desk (laptop, ipad, etc).

Screencast with History Lessons

Posting things on blogs is really frustrating to me because everytime I do it something goes wrong. I just wrote a bunch of things about the videos I'm trying to post and those went away after I undid a random huge image that said OBJECT. So, the videos are just examples of lessons that you can teach in an eleventh grade history class. They are both on Power Point and both talk about how propaganda was used during the early 1900's. There is also a fun video that I made to introduce the subject of Propaganda. Enjoy

Video 1

Video 2

Technololgy in the classroom

This is a brief summary of Mark Prensky's Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants article. It explains why he believes technology is extremely important to incorporate technology in the modern technology. I hope this helps you use technology more in your life and, possibly, your classroom!

ESL Strategies

So, I created a Podcast, added a little music to the background, and sent now I'm going to send it out for the world to hear! I had some trouble adding the music to the background because it kept saying there was an error, but don't worry I figured it out! The Podcast is about ESL Strategies that you can use in a social studies classroom. It's pretty creative, if I do say so myself. I think teachers who Podcast teaching ideas are extremely valuable to the education community. Every teacher knows that collaboration is a huge part of teaching, and Podcast makes it easier to do that. I a very grateful for the way technology is advancing these days because it allows us to more things in a more efficient way.

PODCAST ESL 1

So, I created a Podcast, added a little music to the background, and sent now I'm going to send it out for the world to hear! I had some trouble adding the music to the background because it kept saying there was an error, but don't worry I figured it out! The Podcast is about ESL Strategies that you can use in a social studies classroom. It's pretty creative, if I do say so myself. I think teachers who Podcast teaching ideas are extremely valuable to the education community. Every teacher knows that collaboration is a huge part of teaching, and Podcast makes it easier to do that. I a very grateful for the way technology is advancing these days because it allows us to more things in a more efficient way

http://radio.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=radio&cdn=gadgets&tm=58&f=10&su=p504.1.336.ip_&tt=29&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.podbean.com/

The other one

This Podcast is about how my EDUC 515 class will use Podcasts in their own classrooms. It is kind of interesting, but there is some noise in the background that could get distracting. I used a news type of soundtrack for the background. It may be a little much, but just pretend you are receiving important news when you listen!