UEN reflection

UEN/Pioneer Reflection

I will use the UEN website for a variety of activities in the classroom. The UEN website is safe for my students and the information is plentiful. Between the UEN website and the Pioneer online library the students can find accurate and scholarly information for research papers and projects.
The Lesson plans found on the UEN site will help me as a teacher to build my curriculum for the various subjects I intend to teach. I plan to use the lesson plans as a jumping off point when preparing my lessons. I intend to explore the interactive with my students. Since learning about this website my children and I have already had a great time playing with some of the interactive, especially the map quizzes. I can see the potential in helping kids learn their historical, geographical facts in a fun way that they can understand.
The Core Curriculum was the section of the website I found the most useful to my overall preparations a teacher. I will be getting my endorsements in social studies and physical science, with these endorsements I will be qualified to teach subjects ranging from Physics to Sociology and of course History. The Core Curriculum feature on the UEN website will help me prepare the variety of lessons I will have to teach in a given year. For the first time I could see the lessons planned out and the direction good lessons should take.
The UEN website was a treasure box of information. As mentioned before I have spent too much time exploring the UEN website, when I should have been doing other homework. My kids and I have had fun looking at only a portion of the interactive. I am a very visual learner, for me a picture definitely says a thousand words. The following example is no exception:




As a History and Geography teacher maps are very important. Teacher used to be limited by financial restraints as to how many maps they have in their classroom as tools. Now with UEN teachers have more maps then they need at their fingertips. Having finished all my History classes here at UVU, I wonder if the professors know anything about these great tools, many are still using the wrong maps when teaching certain events. I have included a map showing the distribution of votes for the election of 1800.




I will teach my students about Pioneer online library over Google because I know the students will be able to conduct research more effectively and safely then on Google. The Pioneer online library is geared more towards scholastic research then the broad use of Google. My liability as a teacher is also a concern when allowing my students to research topics on Google.

Internet Safety

* Why we should or should not use the Internet in education-
We should use the Internet in education. The students (and the teachers) have endless information at their fingertips. The benefits to teaching is only limited by the knowledge of the teachers. The Internet opens the world to our students. There are definite drawbacks, but these can be avoided if handled correctly. In order to use the Internet the teachers and students should understand Internet safety.

* Why we should evaluate the sites we use-
Website are not monitored for accuracy. The example of the high school student, who wrote a paper based on one website claiming the holocaust never occurred was eye opening to me. As teachers we should teach our students to view information on the web with a certain degree of skepticism. Our students wouldn’t get their information about a topic from just anyone with an opinion, but would look to a scholarly sources, the same should be true of information found on the Internet. We should teach the students how to look for citations and learning about ways to tell if the author of the website is creditable.

At least 3 ways you can keep your students safe while surfing
1- Monitor our students at all times while they are on the Internet in the classroom.
2- Have students complete an assignment teaching them about Internet safety.
3- Create Google searches engine for the students ahead of time for certain research topics.
4- Give the students strategies on dealing with cyber bullies and Internet predators.

Google tool reflection

Documents-Google documents is extremely useful to teachers and students. This application allows the teacher to communicate with their students. As a history teacher, Google Documents would be useful when working with students on their term papers and projects. I could edit their work easier and it would allow the students to protect their work online. Another great advantage to this program is the fact it is free. Some families are financially unable to purchase the necessary computer programs to finish certain projects at home. Now they can use the Google docs instead.

Presentations-Presentations are great tools in teaching. This program gives visual learners the ability to learn in an effective way. It is also useful for logical and interpersonal learners because of the clear and concise outline for discussion. Presentations keep lectures on track and organized making it overall easier for learning. I plan to use this program for lecturing in my classes.

Spreadsheets-Spreadsheets help keep information in a clear and organized fashion. Along with History I am getting my endorsements in integrated Social Studies, so I will also be teaching some classes in economics where spreadsheets would be the most useful when listing different facts.

Forms- The forms tool has many applications. It has templates for business related documents such as resumes, business cards and business meetingschedules . While this can be an advantage to many people, the templates for assignments and various bibliographies are very important to helping our student each turn inassignment and term papers using identical forms to each other. There are also forms for lesson planning, this will be helpful to me as a teacher in constructing my courses.

Calendar- Google calendar is a great tool to keep ourselves as teachers and our students on the same schedule. This also allows the parents of our students to see what is coming up and what is expected of their students. This is extremely useful in keeping everyone on the same page so we as teachers can focus on instruction instead of going over calendar items everyday. Parents will also find this calendar useful when going on vacation with their families during the school year, the assignments for the missed school days are clear.

iGoogle- I have been a fan of igoogle for a long time, even now as a student I check igoogle every morning to go over my to do list for the day. I can check my email, the stocks and my calendar all on one page. As a teacher this is important when trying to be a help to your students when they or their parents have questions. Igoogle also will also help me track assignments and blogs turned in by my students. Currently I have news stories from various sources on myigoogle page, this helps me stay abreast of what is happening around the world. This knowledge of current events is important as a history teacher because history is happening everyday.

Blogger- Blogger is a great way for students to turn in comments and assignments during the school year. This is something I had never thought about, I have had a blog for the past 18 months and it neveroccur ed to me that it could be used for any other purpose then bragging about my kids. As a teacher I will use blogger as a way to continue discussions by having students post their thought or summaries regarding certain readings and lectures.

Reader- Reader is useful when following the blog of my students. I was very excited about this tool for personal reason, I have 7 siblings all who keep in touch through their blogs, by using google reader I can now streamline my checking of their blogs. As a teacher this will also be helpful in streamlining my students assignments.

Google Maps- As a geography teacher I will find this tool extremely important. Google Maps will replace the need for large expensive maps in the classroom, thus making any classroom a room suited for geography.

Google Earth-Along with Google maps, Google earth is useful in teaching both geography and history. Along with my social studies endorsements I am also working in my physical and earthscience endorsements, making google earth important when teaching about the make up of the earth and it's topography.

Groups- Groups is a great way to keep up a discussion with the students or parents on certain topics discussed in class. Google groups would also be useful as a tool to keep in touch with fellow teachers about ideas or problems regarding students.

Google Search Engine-Customize google search engine can be very useful when having my students research a topic safely. This tool will also help steer my students in the right direction and lower their frustration when working on projects.

Notebook-This tool is very helpful when putting together research. The ability to share notebooks helps groups of students work together on projects. The notebook feature works great as a place to collect information.

Scholar- I wish I had learned about this google tool last semester as I had 3 research papers to work on. Likewise this will be a great tool for my students and for myself as I prepare lectures and they prepare research papers.

Website reflection

1- The potentials for google sites are many. A class website can keep the students and parents informed of what is required to pass my class. Sometimes there is a gap between what we tell the students in class and what the parents find out. With a clear website parents will be able to see upcoming assignments and exams. A website can also help the teacher to communicate with her students in an organized method and know that each student has equal access to the information.
2- The only drawback can think of is the ability of the parents to navigate the Internet and to check the website often enough to be helpful. I think the drawback is becoming more and more obsolete as the parents of are students are becoming more computer savvy.
3- I defiantly plan on having a website. As the parent of a child entering high school and 4 students in elementary school I wish their teachers had websites that I could check on what is coming up. I think a website shows the teacher to be more organized in her lesson plans instead of letting the year just slip by in disorganization. An organized teacher has a positive effect upon the learning environment in the classroom.

My beliefs

I have always believed the classroom should be molded to what the students are comfortable with not what the teacher is comfortable with. In order for the students to be comfortable we as teachers should integrate technologies they are comfortable. I am grateful and excited to continue learning about the technologies available to me as a teacher.

Lessons learened

Through reading these articles and watching the videos I have learned the importance of integrating technology into our classrooms. The downside of this technology was also discussed in some of these articles, such as instant gratification and cell phone use in class to name a few. Despite the downsides, using new technology in the classroom is overwhelming positive. The students learn better when we as teachers include technology and speak their technological language.
I was grateful to be able to read and watch this information regarding technology. Already I am amazed at what a teacher can do and how the students responded to these methods.

strengths and weaknesses

My strengths lie in my ability to learn new tools on the computer. I did not grow up with computers and am a little too old to be considered native born, so I have had to learn these programs from the ground up. I am not scared of new technology and know if I put enough effort into learning new technologies I will be able to learn the necessary tools for keeping up in the classroom. My weakness also lies in the fact that I am not native born into the computer generation. Before returning to school I always felt I was the last person to learn about new technology. As a teacher I will have to continue to learn about new technologies and keep up with my students as to the newest technologies as they come along.
My goals are centered around my weaknesses. As a teacher I will continually be researching the best technologies to connect with my students on their level. This continued education would keep my students interested in learning on their level.
There are many free tutorials on the World Wide Web to learn about technologies as they come out. One website which lists many different tutorials is www.internet4classrooms.com. This website has tutorials under certain categories depending on need. Another important way to keep abreast of new technology is to watch the news and consult websites such as www.newscientist.com, this website reports on the newest technologies.

Introduction to me

My name is Tamsen Halcrow, I go by "Tammy". I am a history major. I live in Salem Utah with my husband and our 6 kids. I am excited to be back to school after 15 years. I returned in the fall of 2007 and will graduate in April 2010!