Site of the Day

Did you know you can upload PowerPoints to the internet? Well you can at slideshare.net. This website allows you to upload PowerPoint files from your computer to the web. This site also gives you an embed code, so you can upload projects to different sites across the web. This site gives you the ability to share your work easily with others who could use your work as an extra resource. All you need to do is go to the site and create a free account. That is right this site is totally free. There are no strings attached just sign up with your information, and you are good to go. You can upload any PowerPoint file on your computer. I hope you can find a way to benefit from this site because I know I sure can.

Streamline SC

Today in class we had a visitor, Mrs. Jarrett from ETV. She introduced us to this great site made by ETV. The site Streamline SC can be found here http://www.scetv.org/education/streamlinesc/, and it is an excellent resource for teachers in South Carolina. ETV has put together a site that allows teachers to search for resources to enrich their lesson plans. There are videos, songs, work sheets, quizzes, and even lesson plans created by other teachers in our state. All of the materials on their site are free to use. Teachers may use them however they wish and print as many copies as they want without the fear of violating any copyright laws. ETV is also kind enough to put which South Carolina Standard the materials would go along with, and you can truly see how this would definitely help any teacher in the classroom, especially one who is facing her first time in a classroom. I can definitely see myself using and benefiting from this site in the future.

Middle School Observation

Today we got to visit our host middle school. There are so many different tools they have in our schools now. It is amazing how much technology has affected how our children learn. The internet helps bring so many more resources into the classroom that we did not have access to during my education. There are ways to stream videos to show what you are teaching. Some students may never have the chance to see what snow looks like. The videos would give them the only chance they had to experience snow. You can easily see how this could help students experience what they are learning. They can use a smartboard to play interactive games or an ipod nano to read audio books to them. It is a great way to enhance the learning experience and keep students interested in what they are learning. I could not believe how much was available at our school because it is an older school. Our principal says that they are having problems with the bandwidth because the school was not made to handle everyone streaming videos at the same time, but it is just one of the kinks that must be worked out with new technology. This middle school is really advanced in their technical tools especially for a middle school. I am looking forward to visiting my classroom and experiencing all the advances made since I was a student in middle school. It is definitely going to be different from then to now.

Ipads in Schools

Today in class we had an interesting discussion about our schools moving toward ipads. One student has had some difficulty concerning this with her children. She stated her children have already broken two and the insurance only covers three. When the students break their third one even on insurance the parent has to pay full price for the ipad. These students are only in middle school and are fairly young, so you know they have not learned how to take care of things. I mean really we all see how rough middle school boys are. Also everything must be done on the ipad in these schools. That means tests and homework can only be done on the ipad. Well when the students break their ipads, the ipads are sent out to be repaired. While the students’ ipads are out for repair they have no way of taking tests are doing homework. This results in zeros and getting behind in all their subjects. This to me seems unfair. I know we need to teach our kids responsibility, but all of us know accidents happen. Even as adults we may accidentally break our computer. There should be some way the student could still do their work while the ipad is gone. I love the move toward teaching our children technology. In this fast paced world it has become essential, and I know in order to compete in the global economy this is an excellent idea. However, I believe the schools need to be more understanding and find better fixes to the kinks in their system. There should be ways for the students to do their homework and tests while their ipad is being fixed. The ipad should be a resource not a necessity.