Subject: Science
Grade: Second
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Question 3 Response
Question Three:
The last paragraph of this article summarizes the thesis and makes a strong statement. Do you agree or disagree and why?
I believe this is a strong statement and there is little fact to back this up. Mark Bauerlein states that if we give students one hour a day without technology and allow them time to interact with complex text, they will be more successful. There is a lot to this paragraph and I wish he had delved deeper into his thinking. His thesis presents a lot of ‘hopeful’ ideas that most in our society are unable to obtain. By this, I mean that Bauerlein has this ideal that students give themselves time to interact with text. The thing about this is, who is able to separate themselves from technology in these times?
Our society is so engulfed in technology that one hour a day seems daunting to many. I feel if we were to survey our current students on the “college and career ready” track, most would not be willing to or interested in participating in this idea of an ideal curriculum. I am not saying, however, that it can not be done. I think it is incredibly important to provide students with ways to interact with complex text. Our job as teachers is to model, scaffold, and help them through the process.
One important part of his article was discussing uninterrupted time. We can relate this to a lot of the other articles we have read in terms of distractions. We are a society that thrives off of constantly being connected to others and technology that I fear where our curriculum will be going. I do, however, believe that we as teachers can find an incredible balance where students are accessing technology but also engaging with text in an uninterrupted manner.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Question 6 Response
“How could we rethink our K-12 curriculum for the 21st century, symbiotically combining human strengths with the most powerful technology strengths?”
I feel it is difficult to appropriately combine technology without overpowering the human ability to find and gain information. With the ever changing technology in our society, we as humans also need to change the way we interact with this technology. As we discussed our own personal views on how the technology in our own lives has changed so far, we need to understand that this is only the beginning. It is highly unlikely that technology will begin to “decrease” in the world. A seed has been planted and it will continue to grow.
In our schools, there is a push to incorporate technology but not engulf every lesson into “computer time.” As a special education teacher, I have been in many classrooms where teachers send groups of students to the computers for 30+ minutes playing games or searching the web for information. This, as an example, is not a good how to symbiotically combine both powerhouses of strength. If we are to combine them in an appropriate way, there needs to be a complete balance between “technology” time and “exploration” time. My fear is that we will somehow get away from the experimentation part of education and simply complete lessons on the web or via computer.
Additionally, to create a strong curriculum including both human and technology strengths, we need to be flexible. By this, I mean we need to be open to trying new forms of communication, new ways to interact, new ways to present information, and new ways to teach. If we are flexible as educators and make the choice to actively engage with the ever growing technological society, we may just be successful in teaching and creating powerful lessons for our students.
Web Site Portfolio Assignment
Amber Travers
EDU 629
Web site Portfolio Assignment
1)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Teacher Resource, Teacher Lesson Plans
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Audience
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Teachers
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Grade level
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K-12
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Subject area
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All areas
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Description of site
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TeacherTube is a great interactive site where teachers can find videos related to a particular topic. This site is better than YouTube because it is safer and has great links to other videos of the same genre or lesson. TeacherTube also has many lesson plans and videos of how to best present them to your students.
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2)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Student Resource, Teacher Resource, Student Interactive Learning
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Audience
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Teachers and students
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Grade level
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k-12 (more geared towards the younger grades though)
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Subject area
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All areas
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Description of site
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BrainPop is in interactive site that has lesson plans, videos, games, and quizzes. It features two main characters that the students really enjoy. The lessons are fun and engaging, the videos have a lot of information but not overwhelming, and there are ways to differentiate for all learners.
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3)
Name of web site
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Web site address
| |
Category
|
Teacher Resource, Teacher Lesson Plans
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Audience
|
Teachers
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Grade level
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k-12
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Subject area
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All areas
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Description of site
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Though there is a small fee on some of these lesson plans, this site provides a variety of lessons and ideas from current teachers. The teachers load their work and allow their lessons to be free or charge a dollar or so for you to access. The best part is that if you want to purchase the lesson, your money goes directly to another teacher in the field of education.
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4)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Teacher Resource, Teacher Lesson Plans
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Audience
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Teachers
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Grade level
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Pre-K-12
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Subject area
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All areas
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Description of site
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ProTeacher! gives teachers the opportunity to view blogs, lesson plans, videos, and post on chat rooms about lessons. This site provides materials for all types of teachers, not just general education. You can search by picking a topic, standard, or theme and a variety of lessons will be at your disposal.
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5)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Student Resources
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Audience
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Students
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Grade level
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Pre-K-8
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Subject area
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Math
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Description of site
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This site provides students with hundreds of games to improve math skills. Their slogan is “math for the left and right brain” so they strive to make their games interactive and engaging enough for all types of learners. IXL math is new to me but seems easily accessible and would be great for a filler or during center work.
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6)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Student Interactive Learning
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Audience
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Students
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Grade level
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K-8, Special Education
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Subject area
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Reading and Math
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Description of site
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FunBrain is a great way to have students work on reading and math skills while playing arcade games, regular games, and reading books and comics online. The characters are colorful and funny, which appeals to a variety of learners. The site is easy to navigate and enjoyable. There are a variety of levels to each game as well.
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7)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Student Resource, Teacher Lesson Plan, Teacher Resource, Student Interactive Learning
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Audience
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Students, parents, and teachers
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Grade level
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K-4
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Subject area
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Reading
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Description of site
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I really enjoy PBSKids but found the “Read between the lion” part of the site. This section has stories, videos, and games for students to play while they work with words and reading skills. In addition, this site has several links for parents and educators, which provides lesson plans, printouts, and ways to continue the learning process. This site is accessible for all children and easy to navigate. I would recommend this site for younger learners or students struggling to read.
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8)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Student Resource, Student Interactive Learning
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Audience
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Students
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Grade level
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k-12
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Subject area
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All areas
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Description of site
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The benefit to this site is that it is safe to use and the information is at a readable level. It includes information on most topics you could imagine and categorizes them nicely for the reader. Once you choose a category in which you would like to research, it brings you to safe reliable sites to browse. Additionally, this site give you videos and games to help you delve deeper into your assignment.
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9)
Name of web site
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Web site address
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Category
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Student Interactive Learning
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Audience
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Students
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Grade level
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1-4
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Subject area
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Mathematics
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Description of site
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Math Facts Cafe is great for the diverse classroom because it has interactive math practice for higher and lower students. In addition, there are worksheets that the teacher or students can print out and complete as a form of an assessment. Each printed sheet also comes with an attached answer sheet. Though I wish the site was a little more appealing to the eye, it serves its purpose in practicing math facts.
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10)
Name of web site
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Web site address
| |
Category
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Teacher Resource, Student Resource
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Audience
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Teacher and Student
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Grade level
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k-12
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Subject area
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All areas
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Description of site
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Glogster is a program in which students can create posters for presentations. It is safe and easy to use but allows them to really be in charge of their own learning. They are able to add photos, movies, text, and then share with one another. Glogs are a great way to put a bunch of information in one place and a fun way to present projects. I have completed glogs before and my students thoroughly enjoyed the process. I highly recommend this site for teachers wanting to spice up their presentations or allow students to complete a glog on their own.
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