Story Bird: "Grandfather's Eyeglasses"

Here is the link to the story...

http://goo.gl/6weqgj

WebQuest

Below is the link to my WebQuest

What Would Happen If Everyone Recycled?

WebQuest: Efficiency Expert

WebQuest about WebQuests Worksheet

Your Role

ü Efficiency Expert

___Affiliator

___Altitudinist

___Technophile

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Grow School Greens	I really don’t see any strengths in this project. It is very time consuming consuming, and what will the children get out of it? I just feel that if a teacher wants them to know more about what vegetables to grow and when, that this would be good to be given as a take-home assignment/experiment.	This project would take a lot of time out of instructional classroom time. I don’t feel that the students would need to grow enough vegetables for the whole school, and that just a few plants would be less time consuming if being done as an experiment. This would be too much work for an elementary school classroom.
Where is My Hero?	This would be a very eye opening project that could teach young children a lot. Each child would be able to hear other children’s presentations as to who their hero is and why they chose them. Although this project might take some time to get though, I feel that it would be very beneficial to them.	Although this is a very good project for younger students, it is still a lot of work. Taking out Step 4 would probably be very beneficial for them just because of how much work it would be
Underground Railroad	This would be a good project because although it would be very time consuming, it would teach children about what used to go on. They would a deep understanding about the topic of slavery by doing this project.	The only weakness that this project would uphold is maybe that it is a little to mature for younger aged students. It would also take a great deal of time to get through this project; however, it would be very beneficial to them. I really don’t see that many weaknesses in this project.
Ice Cream	This project wouldn’t take that long and it would give children time to be creative and have fun. This activity is small and would teach students a small lesson on how ice cream is made.	This activity doesn’t really teach a whole lot, however, that is good for the Efficiency Expert teacher. I just think that this would be more of a waste of time rather than being more beneficial to the student.
Ancient Egypt	This project would teach children about making brochures and how to navigate from one website to another. That is something that they will need to know how to do later on, and by teaching them this now, it will same time down the road.	I don’t really see any weaknesses to this project. By looking at the conclusion, everything that is stated is something that the students will need to know how to do. However, the only thing that I can see is that, do elementary school students really need to know how to everything on that list? Some of those things I feel would be a waste of time to teach how to do.

Google Apps for Education and the ISTE NETS-S

Standard 1: (Robert)

The first ISTE NETS-T standard focuses greatly on the idea of collaboration advance creativity and the ability to solve problems. “Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.” The educational app Edmodo provides a safe and easy way for students and teachers to collaborate and receive the help they need to solve whatever issues they may be having. "Scoot & Doodle" is a similar application that allows individuals to collaborate and stretch their creativity to come up with ideas and solve problems.

Standard 2: (Bethany)
The “Quizlet” app goes with standard two, because it allows the students and teachers to customize it to the content area that is needed. As standard two says, “Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.” On this app, teachers can design their own quiz on here with anything that pertains to their teaching at that particular time, and allows the use of contemporary tools/resources (as stated in standard two) in order to maximize learning.

The “Flashcard” app is very similar to the “Quizlet” app, in a way that students and teachers can customize the questions to their liking. As stated previously, this app goes with standard two because it is using contemporary methods to help teach students and to help them learn in a new and exciting manner. I believe that this app will help students learn more efficiently because it’s different than looking at a piece of paper and trying to memorize the content that is on there. I personally like this app because although students are used to writing on index cards and using those as flashcards, writing everything down is very time consuming whereas this app will save students time because it’s a whole lot quicker to type the questions out then to write them all on index cards.














Standard 3: (Robert)

The ability for teachers to use technology and media effectively is the main objective of the third ISTE NETS-T standard. “Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.” The app "OER" Commons is full of various resources for educators to use to effectively engage their students in an easy to use program. Likewise the app "Teacher Tube" gives teachers access to thousands of videos on different content standards that help keep students engaged.

Standard 4: (Bethany)
The “Alternative Geography” app goes with standard four, because it allows students to learn about different cultures and become more known with them. Standard four states, “Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital age communication and collaboration tools;” this app allows students to play world geography games that can help them learn more about other countries and cultures, students can watch videos about other cultures, and they can also read blogs that have been posted about different countries. This app is very diverse, and I feel as though it will help students learn and be more engaged when learning about different countries and cultures.

The "Typing Games" app also coincides with standard four, because it allows for the individual to go at his/her own pace. Typing is an essential part of today's world due to the popularity of technology and computers. Standard four also addresses "the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources." This typing app leads you to a variety of games where the student can find the game that is best suitable for them. I feel that those who do not know how to type are one step behind, and that it is very import to have the knowledge and typing skills that are required in a lot of fields today.

Standard 5: (Both of us)
Standard five states, "Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources." That is why the "ThinkWave Educator" app goes with standard five. This app is an online grade book that that help keep teachers organized and can be used for all levels. Technology is a huge part of today, and this online grade book would be a great way for teachers to keep up with the use of digital age. This would be a great resource for teachers to look into using for their classroom. This app has more features such as attendance tools,  progress reports, and grades. I feel as though this would upgrade their "professional practice."

Teaching students to efficiently use existing and future technology is supported in the fifth standard. The app "Easy Bib" helps teachers provide students with the information necessary to use internet sources effectively.

Prezi: 4th Grade Science

Rookie Mistake

Rookie Mistake by Bethany Thomas on GoAnimate
Since I'm going to be teaching elementary school aged children, I feel that animation would be a good way to have them express themselves. I could even use this website to convey a message that I need to in a fun and interesting manner. I think that the children would enjoy watching a fun animation rather than listening to me talk all the time, so I feel as though it would be very beneficial to use in the classroom. I will definitely have to add this into my curriculum, and let the children just have fun and explore with the animation.

Same Answer

Same Answer by Bethany Thomas on GoAnimate