November 20, 2010

http://www.sfmuseum.org/

What did I learn?

Wow, this organization is very informative. I can see how one can use this as part of their teaching components. So much information is presented in this web page about the history of San Francisco. I had previously heard of the famous earthquake that shook San Francisco but besides that I really didn’t know in great detail of other events such as The Great Fire. I like how they provide a whole timeline of the events and how each happen. This organization is suitable for both the students and teachers.

What else do I want to learn?

I do wish to learn and explore a little on how we could organize a similar idea for our city. Even though San Francisco is a big city, I believe it would be a great idea to be able to share a webpage on our city of Mercedes as well. I’m sure that there already exists areas where they mention Mercedes and how it came to be and so forth, but there is a whole lot of other information and events that can be shared the same way as they present it here. This can also be a way to work with students and technology. Maybe a group project for history can be that they come up with a webpage of their own where they present similar information as the sfmuseum.org.

November 13, 2010

http://www.k12connection.org/

What did I learn?

I currently work for a district and often I do see the homebound teacher stop by once in a while to pick up and drop off work to other teachers, but it never really crossed my mind that parents could educate their own children. My thought was that for every home schooled student there existed a home bound teacher who would service them. Through the K12Connection organization I have learned that homeschooling students is becoming a growing issue for teachers because parents are deciding that they are the best suited people to educate their child at home. With the recent elections, and working for a school I really wanted to help and make a difference and go out there and vote for the school board members. Even though I have an idea of what the duties of the school members is, I didn’t quite understand them. However, K12Connection does a great job of breaking down and explaining exactly what the role of the school board members. This organization provides very good and useful information that educators and future educators can look into.

What else do I want to learn?

I was a little intrigued after reading about how homeschooling is becoming a growing issue for the schools everywhere. I would like to learn and research a little more on how this really works. As a parent myself I wonder if I will ever consider this option for children. The two same questions that are used as examples might be the ones I question myself which would be: Is my child happy at school? Is my child reaching his full potential to learn and grow? I would want to find out a little more on how this k12 program works in terms of using it to home school children.

November 6, 2010

http://www.pbs.org/

What did I learn?

I had previously visited this organization before but I had failed to notice that they have a section for kids, parents, and teachers. I had explored and researched what they have to offer for the students, and I really liked that they have all sorts of activities for students to view and learn from. As for parents and teachers they offer resources on how to help out their children and students. What really caught my attention is that as teachers this organization offers plenty of resources to help with their lesson plans and assist in their teaching. To make things easier they offer resources and information for every area of the different grade levels. This allows teachers to focus on their subject area and grade level they teach. Since this organization is a government funded project their work and information offered are very reliable resources.

What I would like to learn?

I have at times actually tuned into the television channel, and together with my son have viewed the cartoons that they broadcast. Surprisingly enough I have seen my son learn and actively engage himself. I do wonder, how much can we incorporate the pbs videos and cartoons into our lesson plans, and use them to teach our students. Viewing through this webpage I could see some items that could be used together with our teaching, and I truly believe that better learning outcomes could happen with the use of these videos together with the lesson plans.

October 30, 2010

October 30, 2010

http://www.iste.org/about-iste.aspx

What did I learn?

• What I learned from this organization is that this same topic is discussed in our book, “Teaching and Learning with Technology”, therefore this webpage and everything they talk about such as NETS for students and teachers are terms that are familiar to me. This organization is a great tool for educators wanting to know and advance their knowledge in the use of technology for their classroom. Reading through this organization I learned that educators across the world are transforming their teaching outcomes into web based 2.0 project-based learning, inspiring simulation and offering gaming oppurtunities through technology. They also mention that as technology is changing and improving educators should do as well:

• Societies are changing
• Expectations are changing
• Teaching is changing
• Educators must lead

I really liked this list that I found on the web page that emphasizes that education is constantly going through change and one thing leads to the other, and in the end everything refers back to how education is affected.

What I would like to learn?

I really liked that they emphasize on how education must and should undergo change as time and technology progress. I would like to continue learning on how much technology affects the education environment. Even though I already know the main areas it affects, I would like to see it being done in the classrooms. A lot of the times the districts adapt new technology and new programs but teachers fall short in implementing them in their teaching strategies, and many of the times it simply is because teachers don’t like or are afraid of change. They would rather much just stick to their regular routine of teaching, and sometimes they miss out on the great additives that technology can have on their lessons.

October 23, 2010

http://www.edutopia.org/ 

What Did I learn?

I really enjoyed exploring this webpage resource because I felt as if was looking through a social network. It has tons of information that is helpful to educators and future educators as well. Not only does it offer resources for the elementary level, but even educators who work at the higher level grades can find this resource extremely helpful. It offers information on how to go about using integrated studies with students to how teachers can become better aware of the ongoing research in education by providing professional development opportunities. Since it is very important that teachers stay focused and aware on how technology is continuously advancing I like the fact that edutopia.com offers a section where educators can go for help in accessing and even integrating technology into their classroom. Overall this webpage resource is just filled with videos, blogs, ways to manage your classroom, core strategies and lots of other helpful information that educators can simply log on and explore.

What I would like to learn?

What I do want to research a little more on is how to help out the foundation. As I was browsing through the web page I did see how they had a section called “support Edutopia” I would really much be interested in supporting them in the future but I liked this webpage resource that I would actually like to get involved. This webpage offers a great variety of resources for a teacher, as well as ways to stay informed with current news and information about education.

October 16, 2010

http://www.teacher.scholastic.com/

What did I learn?

Throughout this online journal I was able to research and read about how “Where Teachers Come First”, in this journal this is how they like to acknowledge the teachers. Here I liked that they have a section for just about anyone who is involved in the education field. Whether it may be a librarian, administrators and even parents this journal provides excellent resources which, in my opinion, are very helpful. I also learned that we as teachers have the right to share and connect with other teachers. With this journal one can go as far as connecting through a helpline with other colleagues and share information. Lesson plans, online activities and even how to promote interactive learning all of these resources can be very valuable to a teacher who is constantly seeking to improve and further their knowledge in how to better assist a child in the learning field.

What else I would like to learn?

I already work for a district in which they have adopted a program called C-Scope where the teacher is suppose to follow a daily plan with lesson plans already set up for them. I plan to stay with the district as a teacher within the following year, and I am really interested in finding out more on how the program works. With this in mind I can go ahead and try and use this website by integrating some of the lesson plan ideas that they have to offer. As I was working on the wiki project I actually used this same resource to find ways of teaching to the students, and I was really impressed on how helpful it can be for teachers. So I would definitely consider and referring back to this online journal for future and additional help.

October 9, 2010

http://www.aera.net/

What did I learn?

From this on-line professional publication I was able to explore and take a look at the daily news about workshops, college admissions tests, and other information that as a teacher, or administrator of a school would be extremely helpful. This online publication is a great option to find out about the education news. The main goal about AERA, American Educational Research Association is to provide educators the opportunity to continue advancing educational research and a way to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. If educators are interested in becoming a member they can do so by signing up as well as attending the annual meeting that are held. Within this publication one can find the Educational Researcher issues for the month, which is a publication done by AERA. The best part is that one can read this in a PDF format.

What else do I want to learn?

As a future educator I would be interested in learning a lot more about AERA, and even go as far as attending their meetings because it seems as if they have a lot of beneficial outcomes that one can gain. I would like to learn more on the workshops that they have available. I think I would also even be interested in taking part of their research and just trying to improve education everywhere.

October 2, 2010

http://www.educationworld.com/

1. What did I learn?
     Within this website I was able to explore and analyze a whole world of the education system. Here as the website states, "The Educator's Best Friend" is really a very helpful site to view to stay current with the education world. In the main page one will find the following subject areas: Lesson Planning, Professional Development, Administrator's desk, Technology integration, School Issues, Education World at Home, Early Childhood, Lifestyles, Marketplace and Schoolnotes.com. Within these categories one can find printable worksheets to use with the students, read the many site reviews of other professionals who have visited and used this web site. Free newsletters is just another great outcome that this site has to offer. One can sign up for email newsletters to stay connected to updates and reviews regarding the education system, in addition they also have a section where one can take a look at job listing available in a certain area. One last thing that I was really impressed with is the fact that they also provide a section where one can order school supplies such as art supplies, to even sport equipment for gym class.

2. What else do I want to learn?
      As teachers, I wonder how oftern are we encouraged to use the Internet or even educational websites such as these in our teaching strategies. I would definately consider using this same site with lesson planning, ordering school supplies, and even just to read the daily newsletters just to know and stay up date with current educational news. I know that as a teacher we are required to align our standards to the TEKS. In this webpage there are a lot of resources that can be used in teaching and maybe just researching whether or not the lessons that they offer are aligned with the TEKS would be of a benefit for myself because then that would mean I could use them in the classroom. As I was reviewing the material I was already interested in some of the lesson plans they have. My only concern would be my question on, if it will fit in with the TEKS?