Since I have become a little more familiar with PowerPoint and all that it offers, I was very excited to use this program with my kindergarten students. I knew that if my lesson was going to be effective, it needed to include lots of graphics, sound effects, and plenty of opportunities for my students to get involved. With this particular group of students, a simple slide show of information definitely wouldn't cut it!
With the end of the year approaching, we decided to do a unit on our five senses. I thought this unit would be a great opportunity for me to use the PowerPoint program with my students.
The PowerPoint I created was used as an introduction for the unit on our senses. I was most proud of the first slide. Since most of my students weren't familiar with their five senses, the first slide included a person with no eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or hands. As the students told me what was missing, I would click on those parts and there was a short audio clip explaining which "sense" each thing represented. The students immediately wanted to share all of the ways they use their five senses. We then did a sort of "nature walk", but on the PowerPoint. As each picture came up on the screen, the students shared which senses they would use if they were in that location. They really seemed to enjoy the presentation and were very engaged. Their favorite parts were definitely those where there were graphics, sound effects, or games for them to play. I really feel like they learned a lot about their senses because they were so engaged with what they were learning.
If I did this again, I would create it to not only be an introduction, but to be a presentation we could pull up all throughout the unit with games and quizzes to be used as short assessments. After seeing how much fun my students had with this program, I look forward to using it with other classes in the future. I was a little skeptical at first just because I always thought about PowerPoints being more of a "lecture" tool, but after learning about all of the neat options, I will definitely be using this program more often.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Week Three: Desktop Publishing
As a classroom teacher, I use both word processing and desktop publishing programs frequently. Although I use both programs, I definitely feel most comfortable with word processing programs such as Microsoft Word, probably because of its simplicity. Before I taught kindergarten, I was a fourth grade teacher and became VERY familiar with Microsoft Word through portfolio writing! Our students used this program to type their pieces. I loved how easy it was for them to check spelling and the built in thesaurus was a great resource for the students. Now that I am in the kindergarten world, my students do not use these programs as often themselves, but I use them frequently, especially to communicate with parents.
All of the letters I send home (field trip reminders, requests for volunteers, snack day reminders, parent-teacher conference notes, etc) are created using Microsoft Word. Most of our weekly newsletters are created using desktop publishing programs because of the many options they offer.
As I took a closer look at a recent newsletter, I noticed that there were definitely some aspects that were visually distracting. Out newsletter contains a lot of information on a small amount of space. For each "section" of the newsletter, we used different fonts to differentiate between information. We thought this would make it easier to read, however, it may have made it seem to busy. To correct this, I drew boxes around each section to clearly distunguish one from the other. It made it much easier to read. I left some fonts different, but tried to make them all more similar. We also thought that having graphics for every section of the newsletter made it more interesting, however, I feel it created more of a distraction from the information we were trying to convey. Because I do think that images can be very visually appealing, I left several of these, but removed the ones that made the document seem busy and crowded. The color images make for good contrast in the document, however, most parents receive a black and white copy. I have a few parents who prefer to receive the newsletter through email, and for those, the color images make it more appealing and interesting.
After this week's reading, I feel I will be better prepared to create more professional, visually appealing documents to use in the future.
All of the letters I send home (field trip reminders, requests for volunteers, snack day reminders, parent-teacher conference notes, etc) are created using Microsoft Word. Most of our weekly newsletters are created using desktop publishing programs because of the many options they offer.
As I took a closer look at a recent newsletter, I noticed that there were definitely some aspects that were visually distracting. Out newsletter contains a lot of information on a small amount of space. For each "section" of the newsletter, we used different fonts to differentiate between information. We thought this would make it easier to read, however, it may have made it seem to busy. To correct this, I drew boxes around each section to clearly distunguish one from the other. It made it much easier to read. I left some fonts different, but tried to make them all more similar. We also thought that having graphics for every section of the newsletter made it more interesting, however, I feel it created more of a distraction from the information we were trying to convey. Because I do think that images can be very visually appealing, I left several of these, but removed the ones that made the document seem busy and crowded. The color images make for good contrast in the document, however, most parents receive a black and white copy. I have a few parents who prefer to receive the newsletter through email, and for those, the color images make it more appealing and interesting.
After this week's reading, I feel I will be better prepared to create more professional, visually appealing documents to use in the future.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Week Two
Going into this week, I was unsure of how databases and spreadsheets would apply to me as a kindergarten teacher. These concepts seemed like something that would be way to difficult for my students. As I did some research on how spreadsheets and databases can be used in the classroom, I quickly realized that these tools are not only intended for the "older" kids, but for all grades. I was very surprised at the many ways people use spreadsheets in their classrooms.
In kindergarten, we do a lot of simple graphs (how we get to school, our favorite foods, the number of letters in our names, etc.) My students all have a magnet with their name on it, and a lot of times, we'll do a quick graph on the board where they put their name under the appropriate column. We then talk about what we notice about the graph through questioning. However, one website I found, http://www.alicechristie.org/edtech/ss/, talked about letting your students create a graph, and then transferring the data into a spreadsheet using a program like Excel so that they can see the information electronically. I've never thought about doing this, but what a great idea! The cool thing about transferring their data into Excel is that we normally create bar graphs in class, but if we input our data, my students will be able to see the same information in the form of not only a bar graph, but also pie graphs and pictographs. What a neat idea!! This would also be a great opportunity for me to introduce my students to programs like Excel and teach them to use it to chart information.
As I read more about spreadsheets in the classroom, I found it very interesting to learn that you can use programs like Excel to create various graphic organizers such as Venn Diagrams, timelines, and concept webs. I had no idea that you could do things like this using a spreadsheet program. This will be very useful to me in my kindergarten classroom.
I realize now that I knew very little about using spreadsheets before this week. At home, I have used spreadsheets to keep a budget and track expenses. At school, I have used them to do things like track behavior and keep grades. I have also used them at the beginning of the year to make a checklist of different papers my students needed to turn in, as well as at the end of the year to track inventory in my classroom. I thought that was just about the extent of it. After this week, I am very excited about integrating this type of technology into my own classroom!
In kindergarten, we do a lot of simple graphs (how we get to school, our favorite foods, the number of letters in our names, etc.) My students all have a magnet with their name on it, and a lot of times, we'll do a quick graph on the board where they put their name under the appropriate column. We then talk about what we notice about the graph through questioning. However, one website I found, http://www.alicechristie.org/edtech/ss/, talked about letting your students create a graph, and then transferring the data into a spreadsheet using a program like Excel so that they can see the information electronically. I've never thought about doing this, but what a great idea! The cool thing about transferring their data into Excel is that we normally create bar graphs in class, but if we input our data, my students will be able to see the same information in the form of not only a bar graph, but also pie graphs and pictographs. What a neat idea!! This would also be a great opportunity for me to introduce my students to programs like Excel and teach them to use it to chart information.
As I read more about spreadsheets in the classroom, I found it very interesting to learn that you can use programs like Excel to create various graphic organizers such as Venn Diagrams, timelines, and concept webs. I had no idea that you could do things like this using a spreadsheet program. This will be very useful to me in my kindergarten classroom.
I realize now that I knew very little about using spreadsheets before this week. At home, I have used spreadsheets to keep a budget and track expenses. At school, I have used them to do things like track behavior and keep grades. I have also used them at the beginning of the year to make a checklist of different papers my students needed to turn in, as well as at the end of the year to track inventory in my classroom. I thought that was just about the extent of it. After this week, I am very excited about integrating this type of technology into my own classroom!
Week One
What did you learn this week that you will use immediately in your classroom?
One thing I learned this week is how far education has come in the last several years. Many changes have been made, and with those changes, technology has played a large role. This week I learned how important it is to integrate technology into the classroom by using technology as a teaching tool and also as an interactive method for students to explore and learn. Although I do not see myself as someone who is real "with it" when it comes to technology, I hope this course will help me to become more technologically literate. Our school has recently purchased several Mimios. This is similar to a Smart Board, but without the board. I have just begun playing around with it, and plan on using it as a method of instruction in my classroom.
What steps will you take to implement this into your classroom?
We got the Mimios in our building several weeks ago, and many teachers have already been using them in their classrooms. I am a very visual learner, so I am hoping to visit some of the teachers who already feel comfortable with the Mimio and have them show me around. I would also like to attend a professional development training to learn more about the program. I know there are lots of webiste available where teachers have created and posted Mimio lessons, but I would also like to learn how to create my own interactive lessons to use that are appropriate for my students and their learning needs. As I learn more about the program, I also plan to use it in my classroom to get some hands on experience with my students.
What challenges will you face when using this in your classroom?
I'm sure I will come across many challenges when using this avenue of technology in my classroom. Like any other form of technology, I'm sure there will be a learning curve as I get aquainted with the program. One challenge will be learning all of the different ways to implement this program into my teaching. Another challenge will be teaching my students to use the interactive part of this program. As kindergarteners, they tend to get overly excited about new technology and want to jump right in.
What will you do to overcome the challenges?
To overcome the challenge of teaching my students to interact with this program, I will first have to become very comfortable with the program myself. To make our lessons the most efficient, I will need to know how to navigate the program well, so that when my students are using it, I am able to instruct them properly. It will definitely be a learning process for everyone.
One thing I learned this week is how far education has come in the last several years. Many changes have been made, and with those changes, technology has played a large role. This week I learned how important it is to integrate technology into the classroom by using technology as a teaching tool and also as an interactive method for students to explore and learn. Although I do not see myself as someone who is real "with it" when it comes to technology, I hope this course will help me to become more technologically literate. Our school has recently purchased several Mimios. This is similar to a Smart Board, but without the board. I have just begun playing around with it, and plan on using it as a method of instruction in my classroom.
What steps will you take to implement this into your classroom?
We got the Mimios in our building several weeks ago, and many teachers have already been using them in their classrooms. I am a very visual learner, so I am hoping to visit some of the teachers who already feel comfortable with the Mimio and have them show me around. I would also like to attend a professional development training to learn more about the program. I know there are lots of webiste available where teachers have created and posted Mimio lessons, but I would also like to learn how to create my own interactive lessons to use that are appropriate for my students and their learning needs. As I learn more about the program, I also plan to use it in my classroom to get some hands on experience with my students.
What challenges will you face when using this in your classroom?
I'm sure I will come across many challenges when using this avenue of technology in my classroom. Like any other form of technology, I'm sure there will be a learning curve as I get aquainted with the program. One challenge will be learning all of the different ways to implement this program into my teaching. Another challenge will be teaching my students to use the interactive part of this program. As kindergarteners, they tend to get overly excited about new technology and want to jump right in.
What will you do to overcome the challenges?
To overcome the challenge of teaching my students to interact with this program, I will first have to become very comfortable with the program myself. To make our lessons the most efficient, I will need to know how to navigate the program well, so that when my students are using it, I am able to instruct them properly. It will definitely be a learning process for everyone.
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