Monday, April 30, 2007

Middle School Diaries


This website is pretty cool. It is in sense a database of blogger around the U.S. who are in the middle grades. These are always tough times for students and this can be very helpful for the students to talk like this. It basically can help the students either vent, or maybe try and tell somebody about something there are thinking about. Any student in middle school and make an entry. Here is a link to the website.

Blogging around the world


Blogging in can be a rather ubiquitous thing. So it wouldn't be out of the question to find examples of international schools utilizing this. One school i found was ITeachNets International Education Webzine. This is school designed to meet the needs of someone that can stay stationary all the time. They offer a really good program and make it easy to enroll in this program. This is a rather attractive program for someone who is looking for more.

Here is another program that is a little different.The E-learning Blog. This a blog started by a techer at school on Bangladesh to help improve curricula. With the help of people around the world we can modify our programs and teaching styles to better the kids.

Mardi Gras!!

I totally forgot this entry! I know it has been a while but oh well. What did i do during Mardi Gras?? Well, i worked the whole damn time! I didn't go to one single parade. I jus didn't feel like going. I went a pretty good bit the year before, but not this year. It is not as appealing as it used to be. Plus, you can get into some trouble down there if you're not careful. I'll might go next year or maybe not. I like making money jus as much as spending it!

My website

My website has been a "work in progress", for a while. I'm still not sure if it is done. It is about all the places i would like to travel. Most of these places are in Europe. There are a bunch of places i would like to go before i die. Maybe one day i can travel to these places. It just blows my mind to think of how big the world is.
My Website

Ipods in Instruction


I have been an Ipod owner for some time. I listen to it quite extensively. I use it a work and when i run. Most people don't realize the educational value they hold. Many universities record their lectures and post them. This is pretty cool. These are are called podcast. I listen to podcasts probably more than music. You can find various podcast on different subjects. There weekly shows as well as college lectures.
One of my favorite podcast that airs weekly is The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This is a science based podcast. A lot of the topics they talk about i have encountered in my curricula at South Alabama. Another one i am fond of is Berkley's(college) podcast. They have various one on different subjects. Here is a website that explains it a little better and tells you how you could go about posting your own podcast. Here

Experience Blogging

This was my first time blogging. I enjoyed it initially,then it become a little hassle. Overall i enjoyed it. I got so weighted down that i totally forgot about it and i'm having to catch up. I wouldn't say it is a negative thing. I can see its relevance in a classroom. There are many things you can do with blogging. The only negative thing i could see is being too time consuming.
I am P.E. major and i am having a hard time seeing the relevance in blogging and P.E., i suppose there might be some purpose. As a elementary educator i don't see it being very helpful. Maybe helpful in high school. It is hard enough to teach P.E. to young kids, much less teach them blogging. Maybe in the future it can play more of a role, but at this time i really don't see it anytime soon.

Spreadsheets in our classrooms

Spreadsheets can be very useful in classroom. There are several ways to integrate it into your classroom. First of all one easy way to utilize this program is to demonstrate information. For example, you could display class test scores on a bar chart, or even class attendance. Where ever you have information, chances are you could display this in a chart.
Another thing that could be done is using it in P.E. You could display various task and the length each student took to complete this task. By using your information, you could project it into a bar chart or maybe a line chart. This would give you an idea of where improvement is needed and could be seen in a relatively quick manor. Here is a link to some info on the subject.
Here

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Seymour Papert

Papert has been quoted as one of the most intelligent mathematicians in the terms of teaching the subject. He has many accomplishments. His has played a big role in the development of A.I. At MIT he made advances in this field and assisted in progressing the knowledge we still use today.
Currently he is working with idea of bridging the technological gap between many students and their parents. His latest book and speeches are on this subject. This is a very important subject in education. If the parents fall behind how are they expected to help their kids. I have never heard of him before this assignment. I have enjoyed reading about him. He has played a big role in education and continues to do so.

Seymour Papert