Crowded classroom setup!

This picture that I found is a typical classroom setup for classes across the country, although this scene is changing. The problem with this picture is that students cannot easily interact or collaborate with one another. In many cases at the elementary level, these computers would seem like adults hovering over a child. If students had smaller, portable laptop computers, they could easily move around the classroom with the laptops and the students would also feel as though they are the ones in control, rather than the computers. The teacher also cannot easily float around the classroom to help all of the students. This picture demonstrates the problem in a lot of computer labs. The computers take up all of the desk space, leaving minimal space for the students to lay their work down that they need to accomplish the task on the computer. The picture to the left is not ideal for any classroom setup, especially in an elementary school. It is of a young student at a computer that looks 5 times bigger than him!

This is an very useful website that gives you tons of ideas on how to use the computer in the classroom. Check it out! http://www.computerlab.kids.new.net/what_to_do.htm

Sharks

Here is a picture that I found online that really disturbs me. It is entirely fake and it gives people a false impression that sharks are man-eaters. If someone wants to portray a shark, portray them for what they are, not what man tends to make them out to be! The URL for this picture is: http://800lbgorilla.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/shark-attack1.jpg.

I found this video on YouTube and thought it was very fitting because I just completed my Level II field experience and the lessons that I taught at the end were about sharks. The URL for this video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDoDLZgKJZAI think video is one that demonstrates the power the sharks can have but it also shows that the teen doesn't know much about sharks. In the video he talks about how he was trying to push the shark away which is nearly impossible to do because sharks have the most powerful jaws on the planet. He also makes a comment about how that shark bit down harder on him when he tried to get away which is a natural instinct and how the shark was tossing his head back and forth in the water. After sharks latch onto the object they are trying to bite, their way to detach the bite from the object is to thrash its head back and forth. Another thing that I learned about shark attacks is that sharks often mistake humans as food. Sharks love to eat seal and sea lions which bob up and down in the water and when humans do this in the water, sharks mistake them for food which is often why they attack. Sharks have more reasons to be afraid of humans than humans do of sharks. There are only about 100 fatal attacks by sharks every year which is minimal in comparison to the 1000's of sharks that are killed by humans every year for food and sport. For those who don't know, the Mako Shark is the most popular shark hunted for usage in the United States.

I just found a fantastic website for teaching technology resources. www.teach-nology.com has articles, links to other sites, lesson plans, rubrics, worksheets and lots of tips for teachers. You can even sign up for their weekly email newsletter and get teacher tips sent to your inbox. There are plenty of resources available at no charge, or you can become a member for full access. There are also reviews of over 257,000 websites, 28,000 lesson plans and 6,700 free printable worksheets.

An increasingly common trend in education is the use of "virtual" classrooms, in other words attending classes via the internet or the school's website. www.technology-education.org is one such website. They offer a multitude of resources for students to learn a wide variety of technological aspects. The website also has many resources for teachers to aid them in both teaching about technology and teaching with technology. There is also a section devoted to explaining exactly what technology education is.

The use of technology use in the classroom is being intergrated at a progressively earlier age. With this trend, there are more and more resources available online for teachers to aid in familiarizing students with computer use. http://www.educationworld.com/ is a website that provides its own resources as well as links to other sites and sources of more resources. The website includes tips, articles, webquests, and website reviews. This website could be a valuable resource for teachers and also has columns written by teachers providing their own opinions.

About Me

I am using this blog for my Educational Media class at the University of Northern Iowa.