Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Two ideas I Liked from other Presentations

I really like the idea about creating a powerpoint for symmetry. I think it is a great way to show students symmetrical and nonsymmetrical examples. I think that it would be neat to have students create their own symmetrical and nonsymmetrical powerpoints.

I really liked the idea of using Google earth to show historical sights. I think it is fun to have students look at their own homes as well.

I liked the idea of using Prometheam to teach about measurement. It is nice having a ruler to show the entire class what you are talking about

Monday, April 13, 2009

Fellow El Ed Project Presentations

After looking at my peers slideshows I noticed that technology can be integrated into all subjects- science, math, reading, writing, etc. Technology is really a powerful tool to use in any subject matter we teach in schools. In mnay lessons technology really does enhance the lesson. I was able to get some great ideas of how to integrate technology into my lessons.

Internet Safety Assignment

1. What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
"Fighting Internet Filth" by Mario Hipol

2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
I learned that it is very important to be aware of what your children and family members are doing on the internet. You need to help others around you be educated about internet safety. The internet can be a very useful tool,however, if used inappropriately can cause immense damage. We need to do all that we can to make our computers and the internet a safe place.

3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
I will make it my responsibility to educate my children and other youth about internet dangers. I will be open and honest about what is acceptible and not acceptable things to do on the internet. I think the key for keeping our computers safe is communication with those who use it.

4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I will share with others what I have learned about internet safety. I learned so many new things that I need to inform others about. By talking about the pros and concs of the internet it can prevent hige problems from occuring.

"Doing"
* who you talked with (no names are needed - just a brief description of age)
I talked to my 8 year old cousin Abby.

* what you shared and how it went (was it positive? negative? hard? easy? valuable or not?)
I asked what kinds of things she like to do on the internet. I told her what kinds of things I like to do on the internet. I then talked to her about some of the dangers of the internet. I told her if she ever has a problem or feels uncomfortable she needs to talk to her her parents or me about it. It went very well. I think it was a positive thing discussing the dangers and benefits of the internet

Technology Powerpoint

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Personal Learning Theory

While taking the flexibility class and learning how to stretch I was able to learn a lot about my own learning theory. It was interesting to see all of the different learning strategies I used to learn how to stretch properly. I feel that I use a combination of all the different learning theories when I learn.

The key aspect to me learning how to stretch was through modeling. The teacher modeled everything we were supposed to do and that is a main way how I learned. It was through Cognitive Apprenticeship that the teacher taught. I was the less experienced learner and the teacher was the more knowledgeable other. I was able to acquire my knowledge and skills through practice and guidance of the expert, my teacher. I noticed that social persuasion helped me learn how to stretch. The “pep talk” would always make me give a better effort and work harder to learn. Self-regulation was an important part of my learning. I had set goals and so in order to reach those goals I stayed focused, worked hard, gave my all, and challenged my learning. I had the skill and the will to learn. A key part of my self-regulation was volition. It was through my self discipline that I kept striving to learn and work hard. While learning how to stretch I was intrinsically motivated. I wanted to stretch for the pure satisfaction of stretching; nobody was forcing me to learn how to stretch. My Locus of Causality was internal. A form of the motivation I had was the Expectance x Value Theory. I knew that if I tried hard enough I would be able to succeed; succeeding was of high value to me. Because both of these factors were high my motivation was high as well. What I loved so much about learning how to stretch was the autonomy. It was my personal desire to learn how to stretch that kept me learning throughout the class. I would define myself as a mastery goal learner. My main goal was to learn and improve my flexibility, it didn’t matter to me how awkward I appeared. While learning it was all my personal improvement, I didn’t try and compare myself to others around me. When we would do partner stretches we used cooperation. My partner and I would work together to reach our shared goal-improving our flexibility. Another key concept that help me learn was engaged time/time on task. I spent a lot of time pondering and practicing what I learned, that is how I was able to retain what I learned. While learning I used accommodation. I altered my existing schemes and created new ones in order to store what I was learning. I experienced disequilibrium often while I was learning. I realized that my ways of thinking were not correct and that I needed to find equilibrium. The teacher used scaffolding when she taught us how to stretch. She started off with the basics, then as we improved she gave us more challenging things to learn. She tried to keep the material within our Zone of Proximal Development.

Examining how I learn has been very insightful to me. It helps me to better understand what we have learned throughout the semester by making connections to my personal experiences.

Psych Project

This semester I chose to learn how to stretch the “right way.” I always used to stretch before and after I worked out, however, I had no clue what I was doing. I decided to take the flexibility class at Brigham Young University to improve my stretching skills. I ended up not only learning about how to stretch correctly, but also how to sleep and eat right too.

The class taught me a variety of stretches for my body. I learned the importance of stretching. Stretching relaxes the body, reduces muscle tension, helps coordination, increases range of motion, prevents injuries, and helps you develop body awareness. Stretching is so important you should do it many times a day- in the morning, before you go to bed, in the car, watching TV, or after sitting/standing for a long period of time. Stretching is for all people, no matter how old you get stretching is still very important.

The class taught me about proper ways to stretch. When you stretch you should feel relaxed while you sustain the stretch. You should never bounce up and down or stretch until you feel pain. When stretching you should go to the point where you feel mild tension. While stretching you need to relax and focus on breathing continually. You should breath slow and rhythmical. You should hold each position for 10-20 seconds, any longer is harmful.

Taking this class was a really neat experience for me. I had a great professor who knew a great deal about stretching, exercising, health, sleeping, and eating. While we would stretch she would share with us all of her knowledge about these topics. The students would share interesting things they knew too.

The class would start off with a warm up. We would then move into more intense stretching. Following this we would do partner stretches. Lastly, we would take a fifteen minute power nap. We would all lay on the floor, the lights were turned off, and we would nap. I looked forward to this power nap all day long!

Personal Learning Log

Date Time

1/12 6:10-7:00 PM

1/13 6:10-7:00 PM

1/14 6:10-7:00 PM

1/15 6:10-7:00 PM

1/19 6:10-7:00 PM

1/20 6:10-7:00 PM

1/21 6:10-7:00 PM

1/22 6:10-7:00 PM

1/26 6:10-7:00 PM

1/27 6:10-7:00 PM

1/28 6:10-7:00 PM

1/29 6:10-7:00 PM

2/2 6:10-7:00 PM

2/3 6:10-7:00 PM

2/4 6:10-7:00 PM

2/5 6:10-7:00 PM

2/9 6:10-7:00 PM

2/10 6:10-7:00 PM

2/11 6:10-7:00 PM

2/12 6:10-7:00 PM

Monday, March 30, 2009

Technology Enhanced Lesson

My technology lesson went very well. My second grade students needed to create an informational text about an animal in the wild. This gave me the perfect opportunity to have a technology based lesson. I reserved the computer lab a few days before my lesson. Each student had their own computer to work on. I gave them the information for the websites they would need then put them to work. They were responsible for finding at least one article and picture about their animal. The article had to be about the animal's physical characteristics, habitat, food, babies, and other interesting facts. It gave students the opportunity to use search engines and the internet. It helped them decipher between good and bad research articles.

Usually the teacher just has the students get a book from the library for this project. I think having the students get articles and pictures from the internet gave them a wider variety of information to choose from. It also was fun and interesting!