For My Sister

"Good Morning, What's more important than family? If you ask me, nothing. Growth and change are inevitable, but the only constant in life are your loved ones. Remember life is an incredible journey, that's only enhanced by those you share it with. So keep your friends close, but your family closer. God is love, Rev Run!" -Rev Run


I know this feeling all to well. You're family will (should) always be there for you, and if you can't count on them who can you count on. I've got your back kid.

Love you!

Previous Posts

So all my previous posts were for a class assignment and can be ignored....actually I will probably delete them. It's rather embarrassing to have all my homework and class assignments up for the world to see. I have decided to make this my official blog so I can keep people updated. I am horrible at journal writing and I figure that I spend most of my free time on my computer so this is the best way to keep track of my life. SO just to get everyone up to speed...I entered the Elementary Education Program last Fall(September 2008) and planned on minoring on History Teaching so I could teach 8th grade History. This last semester I got to spend the entire month of March in a 2nd grade classroom and I loved it. The teachers, principal and facilitators I worked with felt I was ready to teach and persuaded me to interview for an internship position at the school. I got the job and am finishing up classes this summer so I can be a teacher. The internship takes place of student teaching, so I am the teacher for the full year...my classroom, my rules. The kids better be scared! I am so excited and today knew I am really a teacher. I walked through Target with my roomie Tesha and everything I saw I looked at and said, "OHH, I could use that in my classroom!" I never thought I would be teaching...I had plans to go into forensics(yes, CSI type stuff), so quite the transition, but I am glad that it worked out this way. So that's life for now, just taking summer classes and finishing up the degree!

Peace and Love,

K.

Last Day of Class

I learned quite a few things from watching other students presentations. I saw some great ideas, using tape recorders to record students reading so they can hear themselves. I learned about how to use smart board, and many different resources I can use in my future classroom. I was given some great ideas from my classmates, and enjoyed seeing how others used technology in their practicum experience.

Practicum Powerpoint

View more presentations from roxygal7.

Classroom Inventory

I have seen the benfits of using technology in the classroom, but I also feel that overplanning the use of technology can hinder the learning experience. I have seen the struggle with trying to find that balance. In my classroom, the teacher is the only one with an in class computer, but uses her technology accessibility to an advantage. I have also seen that the time spent in computer and keyboarding not used wisely. The children get experience using technology, but I feel that they need to learn it in context.
I hope that when I get into my own classroom I can find that balance, the balance between meaningful lessons with technology, and educational lessons without. I think that it is beneficial in the classroom, but its not somthing that easily lends itself to every lesson. I want to find the best, most practical ways to use technology in my classroom.

Google Earth Tour

Join me on a tour of CNN's 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and experience the geographical diversity of the world we live in! My original plan for a Civil War Tour was less successful because of the changes since the 1800's. My second idea, attributed to CNN, is a great way to teach landforms, different ecological systems, plant and animal life etc. The link straight to my filing cabinet is in my links list, or the address is below.

http://sites.google.com/site/makeitlastforeverinc/my-files

Tech Savvy Teacher

Students in American schools are most likely familiar with the Fahrenheit system, but the science community uses the metric system to measure. Therefore, it is important for students to learn about different temperature scales, and devices used to measure. We would discuss different ways the students are familiar with taking temperatures, and what they measure; pool thermometers, oven thermometers, and other measuring devices. After students have identified what they're familiar with, make comparisons to the metric system (Celsius).
For example, have different temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit and ask the students to make predictions about what type of weather they would see. If it was 32 C (which is 89.6 F) outside, would the students be dressed in winter clothes, or would they be at the beach? Discuss the difference in measurement scales, ie., water boils at 100 C, and your body temperature is approximately 98.6 F, but your body is not about to boil.

As a class we collected samples of objects we believed would represent a range of temperatures. We collected snow, water from the drinking fountain, and warm water from the bathroom faucet.


We then used the temperature probes to collect temperatures digitally. We had two probes, one measuring in Fahrenheit, and the other measuring in Celsius. We put both probes in the same cup and measured the temperature of its contents. We used a program named Logger Pro to create graphs of the temperatures collected, in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. This would help to clarify Celsius and Fahrenheit measure temperatures the same using two different systems. For example, the freezing point of water in Celsius is 0 C and the freezing point of water in Fahrenheit is 32 F. Though these numbers appear to be different, they are equivalent measurements.





Using the temperature probes to gather measurements firsthand enhanced our lesson. Students were able to measure one object using two measurement systems simultaneously. They were able to track the results using Logger Pro, and create visual graphs representative of their data. Students are more likely to retain their knowledge because of their hands-on involvement, rather than just listening to a lecture.