Post 5

In my opinion the ability to use the internet for student research is extremely useful. I believe that the internet has advanced students' ability to gain knowledge above and beyond the limits of books. The internet provides students the opportunity to browse material from hundreds of sources in a short period of time. The internet allows students to read facts along with opinions and gain a multi-deminisonial outlook on the material researched. However, I do believe that the internet does have a negative side- the amount of effort needed for students to research a topic is much less. The internet contributes to the extreme laziness of students and greatly lessens the amount of time students spend reading and in the library. Another way I would web-based resources to support student learning are online games and blogs. Students respond well to interactive activities and prefer to learn material in fun/unusual/unique ways. I hope to someday teach 6th grade in an elementary school. I recently observed a 6th grade classroom and the students were to give an oral presentation on a famous African American. However, one of the students did no research and read a biography, word-for-word off a website. Ironically enough, this is one of my biggest fears- dealing with students who have plagerise- especially at a young age (i.e. 6th grade). The students are old enough to understand the idea of plagerism but not necessarily old enough to understand the consequences.

Post 4

As a 4th grade teacher I would use concept maps, idea maps, storyboards, branches, and pictures to help my students understand ideas better. Visual learners would benefit from these teaching tools alot more than audio learners but reinforcing material via flow charts is an enormous help. I would encourage my students to develop outlines, idea maps,and storyboards because I am a firm believe that they help reinforce learned material. Before the last week of class I had never used the Insipration program. I really enjoyed using the program and believe it is an extremely useful tool when developing maps and flow carts. Inspiration allows one to develop ideas and organize thoughts in an easy to read and follow manner.

Post 3

If I was going to create a lesson plan that had to someway involve technology it would probably be one that I did one year. My dream is to teach 6th grade in an elementary school and when I was in 6th grade we had to create an electronic portfolio. The project was ongoing and consisted of significant events throughout the school year and our opinion of them. The project was completed through Power Point and had to satisify different requirements. The portfolio taught me skills on Power Point that I will never forget. So far my experiences with Copyright have been basic. I was taught not to copy someone elses work, if I wanted to use their work I either had to cite it within my paper/project or I had to parapharase it using my own words. I believe that my teachers did a good job teaching me how to successfully cite or parapharase copyrighted work.The website I used to critique was, http://www.kidsbiology.com/human_biology/index.php . According to the rules in chapter 6, the website follows them pretty closely; It uses pictures and words to explain concepts. It uses headings to tell the user where it is at on the website. It uses the same text style throughout the entire website but emphasizes important points with larger font. The color scheme is basic yet children oriented. Overall the website is children friendly-easy to navigate and use.

Post 2

As a student I have used MS Word quite a bit. I am generally using the program to write papers, complete homework assignments, or open documents that teachers have emailed. Previously my teachers have used MS Word to generate news letters to be sent home, make tests, quizzes, and assignments.
Having had computers in my classroom throughout my entire eductaion I have become quite dependent on them. I believe that I will use MS Word basically for the same reasons my previous teachers have; make homework assignments, worksheets, news letters, tests, and quizzes.
So far in EME2040 I have perfected my skills with MS Word. Although I was pretty familiar with the program there were some aspects of it that I was a little unfamiliar with. I really like the way my news letter and my quiz turned out-- I kind of felt like a real teacher making them!! I am excited to continue learning how to use new software programs that I am not so familiar with.