Creating a Class Website

Having an ongoing project throughout the semester that kept track of all of our assignments was a great way to teach us how to use a website. When I was first told I would have my own website I didn't think I was capable of it--it sounds pretty intense. However, we were guided through the steps and I was able to create the design of my website. We were given a storyboard that showed us the layout and this was very helpful. Deciding on my two choice pages was difficult at first, but I decided to do School Supplies and Student of the Week Award.

Learning how to create a website and the importance of keeping it updated has prepared me for being a teacher. Most schools force teachers to have classroom websites, but even if I wasn't forced to have one, I would still include one. Since everything is digital and online these days, a website is a wonderful way to keep parents up to date about what is happening in the classroom. Putting links to resources can help parents find activities and games for their students to do at home to help sharpen their skills. Parents will feel like they are a part of the community.

Including a classroom blog will also be beneficial in my classroom. I want parents to comment on my blog and have conversations on it, as well as offer suggestions to improve it. (I would love suggestions on the website as well.) Communication between parents and the teacher is vital to have an effective learning environment for the students.

Overall, I feel confident in my technological skills from TPTE 486 to create a wonderful classroom full of learning.

Digital Story with iMovie

Celebrate the Earth with Me

This week we have been creating digital stories in the classroom. We completed a short worksheet about digital stories, such as their purpose, what they can be about, and typical length. We learned what a story board is and looked at examples of both digital stories and story boards.

I think digital stories can be used a lot in the classroom. You take a topic and create a story about it and include music that goes along with it. Since kids today are so attached to the television and computers, learning about a topic in the form of a digital story is right up their alley.

Before you begin a story board, it is vital you complete a story board first. A story board is an outline of what your digital story will look like. You write down which picture you are going to use and a the accompanying caption. This lets you see an outline of the digital story and to envision what it will look like.

I decided to use a poem about the earth for my digital story called, "Celebrate the Earth with Me." It was one of the ideas listed in our TPTE booklet, and I thought since I will be teaching 1st grade next year that it would be a fun way to teach students about poems and the earth. This topic coincides with my inquiry based activity, which was Science (the water cycle) and my IWB, which was Geography and learning about the earth. I like how all of my projects this semester have been consistent with a theme. This digital story shows students the beauty of the earth and how we need to respect and appreciate it. In my classroom, I could use this digital story as an introduction to a lesson about recycling.

I haven't finished my digital story yet--I'm still working on the music and transitions, but I have all of my pictures embedded into it. Hopefully I will like the finished product!

Inspiration 9

I had a lot of fun creating this diagram for my TPTE class. Inspiration 9 was a lot easier to maneuver and figure out than the IWB/Flipchart activity, so it was nice to go from an assignment that took a lot of time to figure out to one that didn't. I think the hardest part for me was choosing the colors :).

Once I decided on the standard I would use, I drew out my storyboard. This definitely helped with this assignment because if I didn't have a layout of what I was going to do, then it would have taken me forever to make this diagram. The storyboard kept me organized. I'm a visual learner and I think this would help my students in the classroom learn new material, especially ones who are visual learners. First grade Reading was my focus for this assignment, but I think diagrams, maps, and webs would be very helpful when teaching Science and Social Studies as well. Timelines are a great visual to learn about history, and as a teacher, I can make my own using Inspiration 9. For science, any new terms I can add a picture to and make connections that the students can see. There are many ways to use this in the classroom.

I feel like my finished project looks very simple, but that was the point because it is for 1st graders and they can't handle too much information. However, if I were to make a diagram, map, or web for the older grades, I could include more information and more links.

So far, I've been hanging in there with all of these technology projects.

IWB Reflection

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of my Flipchart. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Once I decided what I wanted to do, I did not have many problems at all. When I was doing the change color to reveal, I had to try a few times to make sure the ordering of the text and layers were correct so that the words would show up when I used the fill tool.

Embedding the video was not hard at all. I'd say the hardest part was finding a video on the internet that I liked. I used one I found on YouTube that was created by a 2nd grade class that was very informational and entertaining. I thought it would be a good video to use since the focus of my Flipchart is for 2nd grade.

I think learning about Interactive White Boards as a preservice teacher is very beneficial for many reasons. When we are finally interning at the schools or even when we are hired as a teacher, we are going to be so overwhelmed with everything, from getting the classroom ready, organizing lesson plans to correlate with the curriculum, applying the TN standards, learning about the new school, etc. that we won't have time to learn about IWB's. We won't want to spend the time taking a course outside of school to learn how to create a Flipchart. Having learned the tools necessary to create one and to have the directions in our packet will prepare us for the day we are in the classroom. I am very thankful TPTE 486 covers this.

I think creating another Flipchart on my own for a different grade and subject level would be very beneficial to me and would let me see how well I really understand IWB. I will definitely be using Flipcharts in my classroom because they are entertaining and I know students will love them!