Carly's Podcast

This podcast tells you a little about myself, enjoy!

Post #3

One lesson plan I would create that uses technology would be a workshop on concept mapping. Imagining that my class would consist of first or second graders, I would use concept mapping to help students with outlines and help them map concepts in preparation for a written composition. Students will learn how to organize sentences to form paragraphs and paragraphs to form compositions. The lesson would be for a language arts class and I would show them how to organize papers.

Some concerns I have about being a teacher who supervises students in a technology environment are the subject matter of the websites my students can visit (adult subject matter should be prohibited from viewing), the students using the internet to find answers to questions without answering themselves, and students becoming off-task due to internet games, fun sites, etc. The grade level of my students would preferable be 1st or 2nd. As a teacher I would make sure my classroom computers had many child-safe security preferences and would not allow them to access website with explicit materials.

One web-based tool I found very interesting, that I may use when I teach, are the online essays and reports by practicing teachers. The articles contain information on every subject matter and grade level and I think they would be very useful in helping a new teacher like me by jump-starting my thinking and getting me on the right track. The following link contain a lot of educational information and peer reviewed lesson plans: http://www.glef.org

Post #2

As a student I have seen many of my teachers using Microsoft Word, in fact it has been one of the main teaching tools they use. I have been using MS Word for years, throughout my career as a student, to complete assignments, type essays, and simply save to-do lists. I like using MS Word because it has so many useful options available like using bullets and tables, as well as spelling and grammar check, you can also insert images or charts and graphs, create outlines and borders, and even use the thesaurus. I have seen my teachers use MS Word for years for creating tests and quizzes, teaching students to experience with different formatting, like creating a newspaper, initiating problem solving, and work on spelling and sentence mechanics.

A good example of a case that uses MS Word creatively in a school setting is the creation of weekly newsletters and flyer's, keeping students informed about their school and promoting school events and fundraisers. I think it's a great way for students to feel involved in their school because they are writing and reading about it. The great thing about using MS Word to create these newsletters/flyer's is that many graphics can be added and many formats can be used. If the school wants the newsletter to appear as it would in The Tallahassee Democrat the students can experience with different formatting to create the look of a real news article. I think this creative use of MS word helps students release their creativity as well as learn new formatting skills.

Of the skills I have acquired in class so far I think the most useful to me in my educational career are creating and saving paint documents, using folders, and creating tests and quizzes. Paint documents are simple to understand and useful for saving or obtaining information. Personal student folders would be extremely useful because the students could save all their work in one place. Creating tests and quizzes is a very important part of MS Word for all teachers because we will be utilizing these tools throughout our careers.