Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Oversized Truth

In the video, "The Oversized Truth," the facts are given about obesity in America and what health problems can come from the epidemic.





I love the video that Kelly made called The Oversized Truth because it is very factual and informational about America's obesity and what the reprocussions are from being obese.

Luis's Technology as Cultural Connector

As an 18 year old Oregon High School Senior, Luis shows how he uses technology in his video on edutopea.com. He uses technology in every part of his life. I'm sure that he does not have the easiest life with both of his parents being immigrants from Mexico but it makes him cherish the technology that he has. I feel like I say the same thing on all of the edutopea videos, but what I feel I get most from them is the understanding that I am going to have students that are extremely advanced with Technology and I have to learn to accept and use it in the classroom.






Again, I feel like I keep repeating my thoughts, but it really just makes me think of my sister and dad and how they have always kept up with the newest technology. I know that alot of people love every aspect of new technology and understand it well. Then there are others who do not, and thats me. But I do think there are benefits to using technology throughout life.

I love the lego robotics idea. My cousin is now a senior in high school and for the past two years, she has been involved in a program called Robotics where highschool students all across the country make robots to compete against each other in competitions. Last year, their robot had to be able to pick up balls and dump them into a chamber on another robot. The team with the least balls in their robot wins. They went to nationals and got 3rd in the rookie division. It's an extremely neat program but I don't feel qualified to teach it.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Student Blog Comments

K-12 Student Blog Comments:
1) Rocks in ACTION
2) Veteran's Day

T4T Student Blog Comments:
1) Blogging Buddies
2) Cameron's Tech Talents

A Week in Rachel's Classroom

Wow! this video about Rachel's Classroom is absolutely amazes me. She uses technology as a teaching tool throughout the entire day. Her classroom seems to be extremely enriching thanks to the technology that is present. I learned that with a little thought and creativity, you can find some way to use technology in every classroom. Those 6 and 7 year olds have more knowledge about technology than most adults ever will.


It's hard for me to find a way to relate this to my childhood experience in school because growing up in a small farm community, the access to the latest technology just wasn't there. The teachers didn't seems to seek out that technology either. I now wish that I would have had a teacher like Rachel somewhere along the way through my education to expose me to the possibilities of technology.
There are endless possibilities when talking about adding technology to a classroom. I personally, do not see myself using alot of technology starting off, but the longer I teach, the more I will integrate it for a larger variety of uses. This video gives so many great examples of how to use technology to create an enriching learning environment for out students.

Nafiza of the Future

In the video about a girl named Nafiza, I learned that there are numerous ways to use technology for students. It made me feel way behind on technology because as a senior in high school, she has the ability to do almost anything she can dream of on a computer. She understands how the computers work and teachs her teachers and peers how to use the technology. I learned that I need to spend more time trying to learn technology.




There are always going to be people who have a way with technology. I know in the future as a teacher, I will run into many students who know how to work the technology way better than I do, but I have to accept it and allow myself to learn from them. I have always been behind the curve with technology, but I am getting better. Slowly but surely, I will keep up.

Well as a future Elementary teacher, I would be teaching more of the basics of technology and not the great details that Nafiza uses in everyday life. As a "caught being good" treat, I could use technology as a reward such as listening to your ipod while doing homework. There are ways to work with our growing technologically advanced society and I plan to use that in my classroom.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Blogging Buddies

In the video about Blogging Buddies, the idea of elemetary and college students blogging to each other was a very creative and engaging teaching tool. It is an activity that the students, both young and old, will remember for forever. It allows the children to grow and develop their writing, reading, and social skills while the college students learn how to decode the childrens' writings and how to teach them the correct ways of the English language.

This video connects to my own experiences, because last semester I had my first field experience where I was the one trying to decode 2nd grade English. You have to stop thinking like an adult and try to view it as the children do so you can help them correct their mistakes. It took me awhile to get the hang of decoding 2nd graders versions of words, but it is something that every teacher candidate should have to go through in college.

Setting up blogging buddies with a local college is something I definately would like to attempt no matter what grade I end up teaching. I think it is a great teaching tool for all who are involved and it would make memories that students will have for a lifetime.

Cameron: The Technology Kid

The Digital Generation Project Youth Portrait:Cameron is a great video that documents the extreme gifts a boy named Cameron has for technology. This video shows me that no matter your age or background, if you have the desire you can master anything. Personally, I am not big into technology, but it can be unbelievably helpful in my classroom and will help me to create better lessons for my students in the future.


As a child, my older sister and father was always very into new technology. I watched them spend hours on their new technology toys. The video reminded me of my sister and how she tends to understand the usefulness of new technology very easily.

Cameron has brought to my attention how important it is to allow for students to use their skills and hobbies to make lessons for the class. Most students have a better understanding for the visual aspects of lessons and so by using the knowledge of my students as well as my own, it will make for a much better classroom.

Initial Post-Bio

Hi, my name is Laura Smith and I am a Jr. at UCO. I am from the wonderful small town of Newcastle, Oklahoma. I love spending time with my boyfriend and family. Other than school and hanging out with family and friends, I attend church at First Baptist Church of Newcastle. My major is Elementary Education and I chose this career path because I love kids and want the chance to impact their lives.