What?
This week in class, we started our three-week project on the webquest. We learned what a webquest is, how PowerPoint works, and got into groups to start creating our own webquest. Next week we should have our introduction, conclusion, tasks, process, and objectives completed.
So What?
As a teacher, it is important to create lesson plans that assess in a variety of ways. All of our students will learn and perform differently so we must give every student the opportunity to do what they enjoy. I can definitely see the benefit of incorporating webquests into my lesson plans. Although they take a lot of work to initially begin, they are enjoyable for students. Students will love feeling like they have control over their own learning and playing the role of an adult during the quest.
I believe the main reason we are learning about webquests is for the benefit of our future students. I cannot see myself using this much in other classes unless I had the assignment of creating a webquest, but I know this is beneficial to learn. One main benefit of doing this assignment is to get familiar with PowerPoint. I will learn a lot about this program through creating my webquest and PowerPoint is a program that I use frequently as a student. I am looking forward to improving my PowerPoint skills.
Now What?
Every day I dream about becoming the greatest health teacher my future school will ever know. Because I think about this constantly, I am always making mental notes as to how each assignment can benefit my teaching skills and how it will help me reach my highest potential as an educator. I know that everything we have done in this class so far will greatly assist me in reaching my goals of becoming a great teacher. My students are going to benefit the most from my knowledge of technology, but their parents will also appreciate it.
Even though I feel like I probably will not use webquests a lot in my future class, I think it is important to have at least one per semester. As I said before, it is important to teach and assess in a variety of ways in order to engage every student and to keep lessons exciting and fresh. Kids today are surrounded with technology. They use it constantly for entertainment and education. Even though I was not raised like kids are today, I feel that I am knowledgeable enough about technology to educate my students about its uses, benefits, and dangers. I know it is important that I not only teach them those things, but let them experiment with technology in a safe environment. With an assignment as simple as a webquest, I will be able to give my students that opportunity.
Video Reflection:
This video called "Surface Computing" honestly amazed me. I can't believe how far our world has advanced technologically. Surface computing seems like the kind of device that would only exist on movies, but now it is in the real world ready for us to use. Although surface computing is incredible and may be "the next big thing," I am not partial to it. I already think we have too much technology in this world because people are getting worse and worse and interacting with each other. It seems like most people have to be entertained all the time with some kind of technology. Many people would agree that it can be nice to sit around the coffee table in the family room and have a real discussion with real people, but if everyone gets a surface computer, that will become the topic of discussion around any coffee table.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
My Beliefs
I have to admit that before I started instructional media this semester, I thought technology would be a minimal part of my class. Sure, I thought I would use a computer to enter student's grades and maybe show a few movie clips in class, but I never realized how much of an advantage technology can be for student learning. I now realize how important it is to teach kids in a way that is modern and enjoyable. Plus, there are many resources and tools available online to help my students succeed in school. I hope to be able to help my students locate and utilize those resources in order to be computer literate. After I watched the “Millennial Generation” video, I could not believe the kinds of things kids want and expect from technology these days. They expect to be able to have technology with them all the time. As an educator, I believe that is unhealthy behavior, but if that is what kids want, they will probably get it and I want to help those kids be safe and use the internet for good activity.
The video “Shift Happens” really made me think about how much technology exists in our world and how crucial it is that we are knowledgeable about its uses. To think that the Internet reached an audience of 50 million people in just four years boggles my mind, but it is reality and we need to teach our students how to keep up with the quick transformations our world takes. I discovered through reading the Nets Standards and taking the UNI survey that my knowledge about computers and technology probably is not quite where it should be, but that is why I am in this instructional media class. I have already learned a ton and am enjoying all the fascinating ways to utilize technology. Hopefully by the end of the course, I will have the ability to teach my students to do the same.
The video “Shift Happens” really made me think about how much technology exists in our world and how crucial it is that we are knowledgeable about its uses. To think that the Internet reached an audience of 50 million people in just four years boggles my mind, but it is reality and we need to teach our students how to keep up with the quick transformations our world takes. I discovered through reading the Nets Standards and taking the UNI survey that my knowledge about computers and technology probably is not quite where it should be, but that is why I am in this instructional media class. I have already learned a ton and am enjoying all the fascinating ways to utilize technology. Hopefully by the end of the course, I will have the ability to teach my students to do the same.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Lessons Learned
In our ever-changing world, it is important to keep up with technology and the advantages it offers. It is important to integrate technology into the classroom and I believe that most students enjoy learning this way because that is what they understand and that is what they are used to. Through the article called "Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum? The Reasons are Many" I learned that technology in the class must support four key components: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. All these components combined can create a positive classroom environment where quality learning can take place.
We are constantly exposed to multiple types of media whether it is television, the internet, radio, or cell phones. Through reading the articles and watching the videos this week, I learned that as educators it is important that we teach our kids how to use this technology properly, but it is also important to teach students how to communicate face-to-face. Today, students are used to communicating in a passive-aggressive manner. If they want, they almost never have to confront a person to discuss a feelings, problems or conflicts. This worries me because I do not want my own children to grow up in a world acting like robots. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to be able to teach my students how important it is to be computer literate, but also the necessity of being able to communicate in the real world.
We are constantly exposed to multiple types of media whether it is television, the internet, radio, or cell phones. Through reading the articles and watching the videos this week, I learned that as educators it is important that we teach our kids how to use this technology properly, but it is also important to teach students how to communicate face-to-face. Today, students are used to communicating in a passive-aggressive manner. If they want, they almost never have to confront a person to discuss a feelings, problems or conflicts. This worries me because I do not want my own children to grow up in a world acting like robots. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to be able to teach my students how important it is to be computer literate, but also the necessity of being able to communicate in the real world.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Throughout my college years, I have had the opportunity to integrate technology into my education. At first I was intimidated by technology, but because I have had the opportunity to use it in so many of my classes, I now prefer it over other materials. I still feel like there is a lot to learn about computers and technology, but I am definitely on the right path. According to the NET and UNI standards, my greatest areas of strength include; basic technology operations and concepts, a general knowledge of technological terms and vocabulary, and using the internet to communicate with others. Although I feel comfortable in most areas of technology, there are a few weaknesses I have as well. These weaknesses include; using spreadsheets, using/editing music and videos to produce projects, and using word processing and print layout designs to compose certain documents such as brochures, newsletters, and calendars.
I definitely want to be the kind of teacher who integrates technology into the classroom and assigns enjoyable activities for my students to complete. For example, as a health educator I would like my students to make a brochure displaying ways to relieve stress or displaying why drugs are harmful. But, if I do not even know how to make a brochure, how am I going to teach my students? I found this helpful online tutorial that explains how to make a brochure in a word document. I also feel like spreadsheets are something that would be beneficial for me to understand how to use in order to problem solve more easily. I found this Professional Development Workshop through UEN to assist me in my understanding of excel and spreadsheets.
This online tutorial and Professional Development Workshop will greatly help me improve my understanding of technology. Through these courses, I will be able to actively learn and discover how to become a better educator. Because of this instructional media class, I now know how simple and easy it is to access assistance with any kind of technology issue I may have. I plan to take advantage of many of UEN's Professional Development Classes because they will help me become smarter, a better teacher, and have the ability to easier understand and help my students with their own technology questions. Technology can be intimidating to work with, but in our modern world it is ultimately beneficial to know how to use it.
I definitely want to be the kind of teacher who integrates technology into the classroom and assigns enjoyable activities for my students to complete. For example, as a health educator I would like my students to make a brochure displaying ways to relieve stress or displaying why drugs are harmful. But, if I do not even know how to make a brochure, how am I going to teach my students? I found this helpful online tutorial that explains how to make a brochure in a word document. I also feel like spreadsheets are something that would be beneficial for me to understand how to use in order to problem solve more easily. I found this Professional Development Workshop through UEN to assist me in my understanding of excel and spreadsheets.
This online tutorial and Professional Development Workshop will greatly help me improve my understanding of technology. Through these courses, I will be able to actively learn and discover how to become a better educator. Because of this instructional media class, I now know how simple and easy it is to access assistance with any kind of technology issue I may have. I plan to take advantage of many of UEN's Professional Development Classes because they will help me become smarter, a better teacher, and have the ability to easier understand and help my students with their own technology questions. Technology can be intimidating to work with, but in our modern world it is ultimately beneficial to know how to use it.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Internet Safety Reflection
With regards to the Internet, the positive elements definitely outweigh the negative. Although the Internet has a lot of risky and unsafe content, it is also full of reliable, educational information available at our fingertips. We are so lucky to have access to any content we would like to learn about, which can be accessed at anytime, anywhere. Our world has advanced so much because of what we have been able to learn through the web. I definitely believe the Internet is a major advantage we have in education. As long as its users are aware of how to stay safe and how to avoid inappropriate material online, the Internet provides a major educational advantage.
Evaluation of websites is very important. We should evaluate the sites we use on the Internet for our own safety and the safety of the computer. Unfortunately, there are many sex predators online searching for people to harm. If personal information is given to those predators, innocent victim’s lives may be affected forever. Also, it is important to evaluate the sites we use in order to avoid viruses that could ruin computer software.
Through the assignment this week, I was able to discover important steps to evaluating websites, which is great because I have never had my own method to make sure a site is safe. My new favorite way of evaluating sites is through the "Five W's." The Five W's are evaluating the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of each website. If legitimate answers can be found to these questions, the site is usually safe. I plan to teach these important Internet safety tips with my students.
The most important way to keep my students safe while surfing the Web is by teaching them about Internet safety. If I can teach my students how to evaluate a site to make sure the content is appropriate, they will have a good experience learning through technology. I know that if I can learn how to stay safe on the Internet and teach my students to do the same, we will have a more positive class environment and each of us will live a better life staying away from the potentially harmful effects of the Internet.
Evaluation of websites is very important. We should evaluate the sites we use on the Internet for our own safety and the safety of the computer. Unfortunately, there are many sex predators online searching for people to harm. If personal information is given to those predators, innocent victim’s lives may be affected forever. Also, it is important to evaluate the sites we use in order to avoid viruses that could ruin computer software.
Through the assignment this week, I was able to discover important steps to evaluating websites, which is great because I have never had my own method to make sure a site is safe. My new favorite way of evaluating sites is through the "Five W's." The Five W's are evaluating the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of each website. If legitimate answers can be found to these questions, the site is usually safe. I plan to teach these important Internet safety tips with my students.
The most important way to keep my students safe while surfing the Web is by teaching them about Internet safety. If I can teach my students how to evaluate a site to make sure the content is appropriate, they will have a good experience learning through technology. I know that if I can learn how to stay safe on the Internet and teach my students to do the same, we will have a more positive class environment and each of us will live a better life staying away from the potentially harmful effects of the Internet.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Reflection: Week 6
What?
This week class was canceled, so we were directed to study the topic of discussion on our own. Through the information on the class website and my own investigation on this week's assignment, I discovered that we are learning about internet safety. Because the internet provides many inappropriate web pages, this is an extremely important topic to learn about and be aware of as an educator. The assignment we were given to complete this week is to learn about internet safety through a WebQuest.
So What?
The internet is a wonderful tool in our modern world filled with many educational resources to help us gain knowledge. But, the internet can also be risky because there is so much harmful and pornographic material freely available, even when we are not searching for it. As educators, we need to be able to identify which websites are safe for our students and which should be avoided. Through the assignment this week, I was able to discover important steps to evaluating websites, which is great because I have never had my own way of making sure a site is safe. My new favorite way of evaluating sites is through the "Five W's." The Five W's are evaluating the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of each website. If legitimate answers can be found to these questions, the site is usually safe. I plan to teach these important internet safety tips with my students.
Learning how to be safe on the internet is a valuable life skill. We are constantly surrounded with technology in our world and need to be aware of its functions. Knowing how to be safe on the internet will not only help me throughout my remainder in college, but in my future career, and for the rest of my life. This internet WebQuest is a useful assignment to complete right now because if we do not know how to be safe on the internet, how are we going to protect our students?
Now What?
I know the internet will continue improving its contents, which also means it will continue being polluted with harmful material. I also know that some of my students will know more about the internet than I do and I consider it my job to advise them how to use caution and judgment with the sites they encounter. As a health educator, one of my core objectives is to teach students about internet safety, and I now feel prepared to take on that challenge. I want my students to be able to stay away from any harm they may encounter online and know how to make wise decisions about the information they offer.
Before this week, I had no real process of my own to evaluate websites. I would sometimes even click on a website with one eye closed to make sure I was not being exposed to information I should not be viewing. That felt very unsafe and made me uneasy every time I browsed the internet. Now, I know it is important to evaluate a website through using specific techniques and have the skills to do it. This information will definitely help me to be a better teacher so I do not encounter any risky information that might jeopardize my job. I know that if I can learn how to stay safe on the internet and teach my students to do the same, we will have a more positive class environment and each of us will live a better life staying away from the potentially harmful effects of the internet.
Video Reflection:
The video we watched this week was entitled "Internet Safety Movie" from TeacherTube. The video presented several rules to follow to ensure safety while browsing the internet. I liked the simplicity and directness of the rules because they were easy to understand, but full of impact at the same time. One part of this video that affected my emotions were the pictures of little children playing on the computer. Like it or not, we need to realize that we live in a world where technology can be used by anyone of any age. I now realize how important it is to educate students and children at a young age of ways to stay safe while surfing the internet. If we can do that as educators, our students will have a much better experience using the internet as a resource and for entertainment.
This week class was canceled, so we were directed to study the topic of discussion on our own. Through the information on the class website and my own investigation on this week's assignment, I discovered that we are learning about internet safety. Because the internet provides many inappropriate web pages, this is an extremely important topic to learn about and be aware of as an educator. The assignment we were given to complete this week is to learn about internet safety through a WebQuest.
So What?
The internet is a wonderful tool in our modern world filled with many educational resources to help us gain knowledge. But, the internet can also be risky because there is so much harmful and pornographic material freely available, even when we are not searching for it. As educators, we need to be able to identify which websites are safe for our students and which should be avoided. Through the assignment this week, I was able to discover important steps to evaluating websites, which is great because I have never had my own way of making sure a site is safe. My new favorite way of evaluating sites is through the "Five W's." The Five W's are evaluating the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of each website. If legitimate answers can be found to these questions, the site is usually safe. I plan to teach these important internet safety tips with my students.
Learning how to be safe on the internet is a valuable life skill. We are constantly surrounded with technology in our world and need to be aware of its functions. Knowing how to be safe on the internet will not only help me throughout my remainder in college, but in my future career, and for the rest of my life. This internet WebQuest is a useful assignment to complete right now because if we do not know how to be safe on the internet, how are we going to protect our students?
Now What?
I know the internet will continue improving its contents, which also means it will continue being polluted with harmful material. I also know that some of my students will know more about the internet than I do and I consider it my job to advise them how to use caution and judgment with the sites they encounter. As a health educator, one of my core objectives is to teach students about internet safety, and I now feel prepared to take on that challenge. I want my students to be able to stay away from any harm they may encounter online and know how to make wise decisions about the information they offer.
Before this week, I had no real process of my own to evaluate websites. I would sometimes even click on a website with one eye closed to make sure I was not being exposed to information I should not be viewing. That felt very unsafe and made me uneasy every time I browsed the internet. Now, I know it is important to evaluate a website through using specific techniques and have the skills to do it. This information will definitely help me to be a better teacher so I do not encounter any risky information that might jeopardize my job. I know that if I can learn how to stay safe on the internet and teach my students to do the same, we will have a more positive class environment and each of us will live a better life staying away from the potentially harmful effects of the internet.
Video Reflection:
The video we watched this week was entitled "Internet Safety Movie" from TeacherTube. The video presented several rules to follow to ensure safety while browsing the internet. I liked the simplicity and directness of the rules because they were easy to understand, but full of impact at the same time. One part of this video that affected my emotions were the pictures of little children playing on the computer. Like it or not, we need to realize that we live in a world where technology can be used by anyone of any age. I now realize how important it is to educate students and children at a young age of ways to stay safe while surfing the internet. If we can do that as educators, our students will have a much better experience using the internet as a resource and for entertainment.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
UEN Reflection
All the available tools and resources on the Utah Education Network have amazed me. When we first started learning about this website in class, I was not too fond of it because it appeared overwhelming and confusing. But, over the last two weeks of working with the UEN website, I have become much more familiar with the layout and am excited about all it offers. Some of my favorite tools are the student interactive games, lesson plan ideas, virtual tours for students, and parent resources. As an educator, it is comforting to know that this site contains 100% safe content.
The first time I discovered UEN was when I was researching the core curriculum for health educators. I was satisfied to find it so easily and be able to access it almost any time I needed it. The health core curriculum is ideal for the health educator. It contains pretty much everything I would ever want to teach my students, from nutrition, to mental illnesses, to safety, to human sexuality. I was also excited to find so many enjoyable and creative lesson plans available at my fingertips. Throughout the past five months, since I have officially been in the education program, my focus has been on creating fun, engaging, creative lesson plans and it is nice to research UEN’s ideas to enhance my classroom content.
One part of the Utah Education Network that I will for sure use in my future classroom is the student interactive games. In the health content area alone, this site offers 35 interactive games for students. I have explored a lot of them and they have all been fun, engaging, and informational. I hope that once students discover these games, they can explore them and gain knowledge in their free time, rather than playing on a risky website. One of my main goals as a health educator is to teach students how important it is to practice Internet safety because there are lots of available, harmful sites that can easily ruin a person’s life.
Another part of the UEN website I enjoyed learning about was the Pioneer Library. I was impressed with the Pioneer Library and all the educational links available through this site. My favorite links on the Pioneer web include culture grams, emedia, and the newspaper links. I find these links all appealing because they can be used with any content area and the students will enjoy using technology to learn. I have to admit that I am most favorable of emedia on the Pioneer Library because it provides teachers with informational videos free of charge. I believe movies can be a great asset in the classroom every once in awhile, but most of them are costly. With a teaching career, it may be difficult to access expensive videos. Also, I believe students will enjoy being able to access the videos at home as well. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about the UEN site. I hope to continue learning about this site so I can teach my students how great of a benefit it is.
Note: This blog should not be counted late. I talked to Doc. Waters about it and she said it was optional to post on my blog. I'm not sure if this is what other students are doing or not because there was confusion with the substitute last week. Notice that I DID get my weekly reflection (5) in on time.
The first time I discovered UEN was when I was researching the core curriculum for health educators. I was satisfied to find it so easily and be able to access it almost any time I needed it. The health core curriculum is ideal for the health educator. It contains pretty much everything I would ever want to teach my students, from nutrition, to mental illnesses, to safety, to human sexuality. I was also excited to find so many enjoyable and creative lesson plans available at my fingertips. Throughout the past five months, since I have officially been in the education program, my focus has been on creating fun, engaging, creative lesson plans and it is nice to research UEN’s ideas to enhance my classroom content.
One part of the Utah Education Network that I will for sure use in my future classroom is the student interactive games. In the health content area alone, this site offers 35 interactive games for students. I have explored a lot of them and they have all been fun, engaging, and informational. I hope that once students discover these games, they can explore them and gain knowledge in their free time, rather than playing on a risky website. One of my main goals as a health educator is to teach students how important it is to practice Internet safety because there are lots of available, harmful sites that can easily ruin a person’s life.
Another part of the UEN website I enjoyed learning about was the Pioneer Library. I was impressed with the Pioneer Library and all the educational links available through this site. My favorite links on the Pioneer web include culture grams, emedia, and the newspaper links. I find these links all appealing because they can be used with any content area and the students will enjoy using technology to learn. I have to admit that I am most favorable of emedia on the Pioneer Library because it provides teachers with informational videos free of charge. I believe movies can be a great asset in the classroom every once in awhile, but most of them are costly. With a teaching career, it may be difficult to access expensive videos. Also, I believe students will enjoy being able to access the videos at home as well. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about the UEN site. I hope to continue learning about this site so I can teach my students how great of a benefit it is.
Note: This blog should not be counted late. I talked to Doc. Waters about it and she said it was optional to post on my blog. I'm not sure if this is what other students are doing or not because there was confusion with the substitute last week. Notice that I DID get my weekly reflection (5) in on time.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Reflection: Week 5
What?
This week in class, we learned more about the Utah Education Network website. The entire website made more sense to me this week because it was our second time covering its contents. Through discovering this site, I was impressed with all the tools available to Utah educators for enhancing the classroom. We were assigned to create our own UEN website for a future class using the tools offered on UEN. This assignment took a long time to complete and was a little confusing, but worth it in the end.
So What?
Even though it was difficult to learn how to create my own UEN website, I am glad to know the information. I never realized how simple it is to put links on a website to access other pages, movies, or music. It is fun knowing how to do these tasks and I am excited to apply it when I teach. I know this knowledge will help me as an educator, and it is even relevant now as I am working on developing my own lesson plans and searching for high-quality content to create my ideal classroom.
The UEN website can be used often in middle and high school classes because it offers valuable material in every content area. My content area is health and one of my favorite parts of the UEN website was the interactive games. Every game I played was educational, engaging, and fun. I will definitely be using some of them in my future classroom. Another great discovery I made on the UEN website is the links for lesson plans. Although I enjoy making my own lesson plans because I like to customize my class discussions, the lessons UEN offered were still fun to investigate because they gave me fresh, innovative techniques to assist in teaching my curriculum. The health core curriculum involves all necessary aspects of health, from nutrition to abuse to human sexuality. The Utah Board of Education recently revised the health curriculum and I believe its revisions made the goals and objectives ideal. I love that the curriculum is posted on the UEN website because that will always help me stay on track as a teacher, keep me updated with any changes made, and it holds me accountable to teach what is recommended by the state. I was impressed with the pioneer library and all the educational links available through this site. My favorite links on the Pioneer web include culture grams, emedia, and the newspaper links. Other areas of interest on the UEN website include the parent resources and the professional development courses. I hope every teacher in Utah knows about the UEN website, accesses it often, and takes advantage of the valuable material it offers.
Now What?
Like it or not, we are now living in a world that is dominated by technology. I know what it feels like to be in a class where the teacher is anti-technology and I do not want to be one of those teachers. I believe the reason most teachers do not incorporate technology into their classrooms is because they are either intimidated by it or simply unaware of how to use it. I have never been a computer whiz, but now that I have discovered how multiple websites work, I feel like I would be able to figure out how to use many more websites. The internet is simpler than most people think. I plan to inform my future colleagues about the Professional Development Courses offered through UEN in order to learn more about the advantages of technology in the classroom. I am excited to continue learning about the value of technology so I can use it in my future classes. Students enjoy when teachers are current and up-to-date with their skills, so I bet they would appreciate the use of computers, the internet, movies, and music in school.
If all teachers were educated on how to utilize resources like google sites, UEN, and Pioneer Library, I believe more engaged learning would take place at school. Today, students play with technology more than ever and they would enjoy knowing how it can enhance learning and understanding. I love the UEN website because it is beneficial to students, teachers, and parents. Everything offered on this site is 100% safe and informative. I am glad to have discovered the Utah Education Network and am excited to continue learning about it through my own exploration.
Video Reflection:
Throughout my college experience at Utah Valley University, I have learned more information than I ever remember learning in High School. I really enjoy school, work hard to succeed, and feel that I earn the grades I receive. I thought the video we watched this week, "A Vision of Students Today," brought about all the negative aspects of school. Most of the problems presented in this video were because of student laziness or their choice not to involve themselves in class. Every student in college has a different life situation, but we are all students and should dedicate our focus to school while enrolled in college. One point brought up in the video is that students bring their laptops to class, but are doing other things on them rather than taking notes. I have taken my laptop to class a few times and I know it is harder to pay attention, so I stopped bringing it. Case solved. Another point this video brought up was the cost of textbooks. I do not think most students realize there are textbooks in the library available to check out. This way, you can still use it as often as needed, without spending so much money. Another student mentioned she would be $20,000 in debt by the time she graduated college. The government offers pell grants to help financially struggling students and there are many scholarships available if you simply put in the time and effort to apply for them. In conclusion, I did not like how this video was so depressing and negative, but it inspires me to be a better teacher for my own students to help create positive feelings about school.
This week in class, we learned more about the Utah Education Network website. The entire website made more sense to me this week because it was our second time covering its contents. Through discovering this site, I was impressed with all the tools available to Utah educators for enhancing the classroom. We were assigned to create our own UEN website for a future class using the tools offered on UEN. This assignment took a long time to complete and was a little confusing, but worth it in the end.
So What?
Even though it was difficult to learn how to create my own UEN website, I am glad to know the information. I never realized how simple it is to put links on a website to access other pages, movies, or music. It is fun knowing how to do these tasks and I am excited to apply it when I teach. I know this knowledge will help me as an educator, and it is even relevant now as I am working on developing my own lesson plans and searching for high-quality content to create my ideal classroom.
The UEN website can be used often in middle and high school classes because it offers valuable material in every content area. My content area is health and one of my favorite parts of the UEN website was the interactive games. Every game I played was educational, engaging, and fun. I will definitely be using some of them in my future classroom. Another great discovery I made on the UEN website is the links for lesson plans. Although I enjoy making my own lesson plans because I like to customize my class discussions, the lessons UEN offered were still fun to investigate because they gave me fresh, innovative techniques to assist in teaching my curriculum. The health core curriculum involves all necessary aspects of health, from nutrition to abuse to human sexuality. The Utah Board of Education recently revised the health curriculum and I believe its revisions made the goals and objectives ideal. I love that the curriculum is posted on the UEN website because that will always help me stay on track as a teacher, keep me updated with any changes made, and it holds me accountable to teach what is recommended by the state. I was impressed with the pioneer library and all the educational links available through this site. My favorite links on the Pioneer web include culture grams, emedia, and the newspaper links. Other areas of interest on the UEN website include the parent resources and the professional development courses. I hope every teacher in Utah knows about the UEN website, accesses it often, and takes advantage of the valuable material it offers.
Now What?
Like it or not, we are now living in a world that is dominated by technology. I know what it feels like to be in a class where the teacher is anti-technology and I do not want to be one of those teachers. I believe the reason most teachers do not incorporate technology into their classrooms is because they are either intimidated by it or simply unaware of how to use it. I have never been a computer whiz, but now that I have discovered how multiple websites work, I feel like I would be able to figure out how to use many more websites. The internet is simpler than most people think. I plan to inform my future colleagues about the Professional Development Courses offered through UEN in order to learn more about the advantages of technology in the classroom. I am excited to continue learning about the value of technology so I can use it in my future classes. Students enjoy when teachers are current and up-to-date with their skills, so I bet they would appreciate the use of computers, the internet, movies, and music in school.
If all teachers were educated on how to utilize resources like google sites, UEN, and Pioneer Library, I believe more engaged learning would take place at school. Today, students play with technology more than ever and they would enjoy knowing how it can enhance learning and understanding. I love the UEN website because it is beneficial to students, teachers, and parents. Everything offered on this site is 100% safe and informative. I am glad to have discovered the Utah Education Network and am excited to continue learning about it through my own exploration.
Video Reflection:
Throughout my college experience at Utah Valley University, I have learned more information than I ever remember learning in High School. I really enjoy school, work hard to succeed, and feel that I earn the grades I receive. I thought the video we watched this week, "A Vision of Students Today," brought about all the negative aspects of school. Most of the problems presented in this video were because of student laziness or their choice not to involve themselves in class. Every student in college has a different life situation, but we are all students and should dedicate our focus to school while enrolled in college. One point brought up in the video is that students bring their laptops to class, but are doing other things on them rather than taking notes. I have taken my laptop to class a few times and I know it is harder to pay attention, so I stopped bringing it. Case solved. Another point this video brought up was the cost of textbooks. I do not think most students realize there are textbooks in the library available to check out. This way, you can still use it as often as needed, without spending so much money. Another student mentioned she would be $20,000 in debt by the time she graduated college. The government offers pell grants to help financially struggling students and there are many scholarships available if you simply put in the time and effort to apply for them. In conclusion, I did not like how this video was so depressing and negative, but it inspires me to be a better teacher for my own students to help create positive feelings about school.
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