Scavenger Hunt

Here is our groups project on a scavenger hunt for geometry.




Reflection:
The hunt was on as our group was armed with two digital cameras and wide eyes. At first, we were just taking general ideas for objects aimed at certain shapes. We became more creative as we ventured around our campus full of wonderful examples of geometric shapes.
Working together was okay, I felt I had little to say because it was not my subject area. At first, honestly, I was defensive. But I realized that Alison was going with the flow. If it was directed to more of our content area, I don't know how Alison would react, but I'd make sure there was open communication. By default, i was given the position to be the presenter and was able to be prepared for the position.
As for the overall work, I put in my two cents but felt that I was not heard. I hate that, because I don't have a background does not mean I can learn and help out. I would have liked this project if I was in a different group.
I did enjoy the idea and can see where I can use scavenger hunt in different content areas. Since this is a visual activity, I can easily approach the subject using pictures for the students to receive the information in a different form of medium. I also enjoy the idea of allowing my students to also partake in their own scavenger hunt for specific subject matters. They can learn teamwork, how to communicate and how to pull their own weight when it is a group effort for one grade.

Image Collection using Picasa

Here is an example of a slideshow I would use in the classroom if we were studying the food pyramid.




Working through this exercise, I found it very convenient and difficult to master. It was complicated to make sure I set up the pictures to the right size and remembering which resources I used.
However, I know I will be able to use something like this for any lesson in the classroom. It gives it a different presentation for the students, maybe a little more entertaining. I can also set this up as an assignment or a requirement for part of a presentation for the students work on and master skills for informative speech.

"...it's not rocket surgery."

As you said about us operating both our igoogle and google docs, we have had the chance to learn different ways to keep connected with peers and students.

Looking back at the last two class sessions, we were paired up to work on an assignment concentrating on interdisciplinary content. Here, I worked with Alison who has a background in Language Arts. We decided to work on a project aiming at the Salem Witch Trials. Here, we looked into really seeing what resources we can use that can combine the Language Arts goals and the ones for Social Studies.

For the project, it was a success. Both of us were creative in making the project attractive to the students so they could get more out of the lesson than a completion grade. As for working with Alison, it was fun and I felt as if we worked on the same page in goals targeted and what kind of questions needed for the students to gain as much knowledge from this activity. Especially when it came for adjusting the activity for students with special needs, I was able to offer an insight on how the adjustment can be made to still fit the academic needs for those children who are low performers.

In the future, I hope to have more opportunities in the school system where I can collaborate with other teachers to blend the goals across content areas. When exposed to the material in more than one class, the students have a better chance of learning the material.

Webquests

Today in class, our main focus was webquests. Webquests are interactive methods of targeting a content in the curriculum where the students are to complete a task for a grade. It is an ideal method to use in the classroom because it takes the students beyond the textbooks and promote group work and effort.

We broke up into groups and reviewed selected webquests to specific grades. In the middle school curriculum, I noticed a lack of variety throughout the content areas. Most the webquests targeted English or Social Studies. In the choices given, they ranged from challenging to mediocre in presentation, the task given and overall affect of what the students will gain from the activity.

Some were appealing, but seemed overwhelming to the students with information. Others were not so attractive to the appearance and seemed not to fulfill the requirement of how the students will gain knowledge through the activity. Some ideas were good, but not well executed. But I was able to gain a better perspective of the point of webquests. I also was able to see how we as teachers can create our own webquests for our classroom, not rely on others.

Reflection for TPTE 486

I was not that active this week in 486 due to a prior engagement. However I can reflect from the class on Tuesday evening was openly discussing the use of portfolios.

In our group, we acknowledged pros and cons as well as the evolution from paper, hard copy portfolios to those available in technology world. For pros, we discussed how portfolios are portable and easy to access for number of items. In the high tech portfolio, we determined that many people can view the portfolio at once. Portfolios help you look professional and organized. It also allows you to share and express your creativity.

For cons, we discussed how the difference in paper versus technology accessed portfolios can make or break your hard work. In order for people to access you electronic portfolio, you must have knowledgeable viewers to operate the portfolio successfully. Sometimes, they can be expensive and we can easily encounter hardware or software malfunctions. We decided that it is always a good idea to have a hard copy with you in case any malfunctions can occur. Lastly, electronic portfolios can detract from the actual presentation.

Learning Goals in 486

In TPTE 486, I hope to get the most out of this class to transfer it to my classroom in the fall. Since I am in a different educational setting then general education, I have to rely on visual output to give to my students on the material we will study.

I am pretty well literate with modern technology and am well at keeping up with what is new in the tech world. How can I incorporate an Ipod with the review for the students? How can power points bring the course material alive and keep my students interest?

With the different ways of exposing us to the media, I want to really take advantage of any outlet that I can use to encourage, intrigue and challenge my students to keep them in the know with mainstream world. With the growth of technology, I am impressed that the students have easier ways to communicate with the hearing world in general. How can I bring their knowledge to light to the level where they are confident enough to perform their skills amongst hearing world?