I loved this video. Raps are always a little hard for me to follow, but the way this teacher presented it made it so entertaining. You could use this in the classroom to help students who catch onto information easier when it's put into song. Not only is it educational but it definitely will catch the student's attention. I liked the way he presented the division problem with the leftovers and showed how to turn that into a fraction. It was visual and catchy to the ear. I find myself learning more when I'm entertained, because I'm interested in the topic. That is why tools like these will come in hand in my future classroom.

I did a powerpoint on the top ten reasons why to visit Utah. I found this tool to be beneficial because I was able to present the material with words and also with pictures. This will be helpful when teaching because I'll be able to save the material straight to my computer and be able to just bring it up the next year for the curriculum. I also find this helpful right now in my own schooling as a tool to organize project material and keep information saved. I will require my students to know how to use this tool when it comes class projects. They will understand how to use all the different transitions and discover different color schemes and backgrounds. The students will use it in class presentations and know how make the information exciting and help their classmates to learn the material.
Another way I will use it is for informational purposes such as class rules or class projects that have previously been done as examples. This tool will help me out with my future class individually and also in group projects.

I loved this. It is so true about believing in others is what can be that little bit of hope to help a student or person succeed. I know that a few times as a child I was ready to quit on dance, the piano or soccer, but with my mom being by my side believing that I could do it I was able to find the strength to believe in myself too! You never know as a teacher when a student will be lacking that support and confidence in their own life. If you truly can believe in each of your students and help them live up to their potential I have no doubt that you wont see miracles happen. The kid says it himself that they need us to believe in them. As a teacher I hope that my main focus is to help each one of my students succeed and to be able to truly see the potential they have.

This past week we worked on powerpoint activities and how to use them in the classroom. I chose two different activities, one where I was comparing pros and cons of a job and the other one i was listing off reasons why to live in Utah. Power points can be used for pretty much every subject in the classroom and is beneficial because it's a visual learning tool and helps the students keep organized. When I use powerpoint in my current classes I find that I learn alot more about what I'm researching and find that I don't get boggled because I'm able to keep the information in an orderly form.
In my classroom I hope to be able to use powerpoint to help the students get more creative with their research and have a little bit more fun doing so rather than just writing up a paper. I've found that this is a good way to allow the students to work on a project individually but also in a group at the same time. Each student can take their own slide and spice it up the way they want and in the end have the group bring their slides together for a final project.
I like all the different features you can add to the project and transitions it allows you to do. When viewing a power point slide show I'm more jazzed to listen because I'm able to follow along with what the person is presenting.
One thing I don't prefer though is when a teacher puts up a slide and just reads off what is already there. I find that to get a little boring and find myself losing interest quickly. But like I said if there is creativity within the slide then I'm more aware to what is going on and find myself absorbing more. This will be one thing I most certainly require of my students is for them to put their own personality into their slides but at the same time be sure it's educational and going to catch the student's attention and my attention.

In this movie I really liked a few of the lines that were presented. It said why let our students blog? The few that stuck out to me were for ownership, creativity, interaction and motivation. These few things I find to be extremely important in education allowing students to gain confidence in themselves which will help them to be more successful in their academic and personal lifes. If blogging can help students become these few things and more then I'm all about allowing my students to blog. In my life blogging or social networking has allowed me to expand my creativity and helped me to become more confident in my technological skills. If my students can find a deeper inspiration inside themselves from internet communicating and learning to build their own page then these tools will most certainly be used in my classroom.

Currently we have spoken about podcasts and vidcasts in class and how they are useful in teaching and as a current student. Both of these tools are beneficial as a student to be able to document assignments visually and be able to use for presentations. In vidcasts you can video yourself teaching a new subject or use for instructional purposes for a take home assignment. Right now in my life i'm able to use both these tools to document my life and keep a record or a journal to resort back to in the future. Also it's convient to have the access to youtube to view almost any sort of thing that I'm interested in.
In the future of me teaching I'll be able to resort to this for instructional purposes and also to help students learn how to teach vocally and be able to present projects visually so they can put more personality into what they are presenting. Not only do I think this will be beneficial for the students to learn how to use technology but also so they can work on their people skills and presenting skills. If you start them young then in the future they will know how to present themselves in interviews and in professional settings.
I will also use this podcasts for instruction to parents so they can understand how to help a student with a take home project. If a student is sick or out of class I can use this tool to present a new lesson we learned. I will require my students to make instructional vidcasts and podcasts, as well as fun ones to help the class get to know their personality better and help with their creativity. This will make learning more exciting for the students. They will be having fun and learning the core material at the same time.

Instant Messaging

http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/oconnor.htm
http://www.instantmessagingsystem.com/benefits.asp

Instant messaging is an effective way for students to get ahold of each other
quickly and be able to shar ideas through group chatting or arranging times
to get on when I'm online incase of questions the students or parents may
have. There are several different options to pick from to be able to chat.
There is MSN instant messenger, AOL instant messenger (AIM), and
Yahoo instant messenger. I would probably require my students to have
an account for a couple but use the primary classroom messenger under
MSN. This way I would set aside time each day or each week when
the students and parents will know I'm online and they can get on
and contact me with any questions, problems or concerns they may have.
This will make it easier on me and for parents who don't have time to
reach me in person.
Instant messaging can be a tad bit scary because of how private it can be.
So I will have strict rules when my students use it to chat with a student
from our partner class out of state. They will have limited information they
are allowed to send out and must ask a teacher or parent before disclosing
any personal information. But this opportunity for them to be able to chat
with other students will give them an opportunity to work on communication
skills and learn a little bit more about their peers outside of the walls of their
school.
As a teacher I will be very cautious with this tool because I'm aware with the
dangers it holds. But I look forward to using it to help students work on their
typing, communication and learn to work with uploading pictures and
information through their profiles. I hope the students can learn more about
conversational skills by learning to communicate with peers and with their
teacher using instant messaging as well.

Google Groups

http://www.googletutor.com/2007/03/29/using-google-groups-to-backup-gmail/
http://innovate-educate.pbworks.com/f/Crib_Groups.pdf

Google groups are an effective way for teachers, students and parents to
communicate outside of the classroom. It is a safe place to post important
documents, host online discussions and give out contact information so
everyone has the ability to communicate with each others. Google groups can
be made private or public for everyone to see. When I'm a teacher I would
require my students to have a way to access it with their own information
because I will keep it private and only allow students and parents allowed to
join. I will post homework assignments with due dates on there, make
announcement for parents to be aware of, have a calendar with all upcoming
events within the classroom and the school and use it as a tool when I'm not
able to attend class.
Another way I will use this tool in the classroom will be for my students to
communicate with students within another school or state. They will be put
into groups and assigned to another group within another classroom. They
will be required to post documents, carry on discussion groups, upload files
and each create their own page. They can also use this tool to communicate
with classmates when at home if working on a group project or confused
on an assignment.
Another way you can use google groups is to backup all documents I want
to save. It would be a good place to store them to make sure if they are lost
in other programs I have them placed in google groups as well as several
other places to ensure they are never lost. I'll have students do this same
thing with important assignments that we start in the classroom and want
them to either finish at home or continue working on the next day.
Google groups have many pros as I have listed but I have found a few
cons. Google groups is very open for alot of people to see so information
might not seem to be very confidential if desired. But other than that I have
found it to be a very effective tool.

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=138518&title=Sweet_Dreams__of_Technology_
This video was cute. I liked how it was all kids in the video telling about how technology is beneficial in their education. The line I liked is that each student can be good at something different regarding technology. They showed how you can use computers and internet to communicate with the world, learn how to do anything and see different parts of the world. Another line that stuck out in my head was when they said technololgy learning and sharing. Isn't that what it's all about, to learn and then what you learn share that knowledge with others. The world of technology will just keep expanding because of people working together to expand it.

This past week we researched different ways that we could use technology in the class room other than what we are taught in class. I found that I would like to have the kids explore outside of the classroom to be able to communicate with students they did not know from other schools. I chose instant messaging and google groups. I chose instant messaging for them so they can invidually communicate with a student and practice communication skills one on one. Where as I chose google groups so they can participate in group discussion. I will coordinate with the teacher different curriculum they can talk about and also allow them to be creative and learn to communicate and come up with conversation on their own. I feel as though both these tools will help the students expand by learning a little more about people their own age who don't live in their same state. This will allow them to learn similarities about them and see what is different.
I think as a teacher as well that this could be an effective way to communicate with the students while not in the classroom. I could set aside each day or week where I am online and the students can get on if they have any questions about their assignments or things going on in the classroom. Also this could be an opportunity to communicate with parents as well. I look forward to experienting with these tools and seeing how effective they truly will be.