Technology Integration

All elementary school subjects have the capability of being integrated. This helps the teacher teach multiple subjects in the limited amount of time available during the school day.  It also helps students understand how subjects relate to each other and can help them apply real world situations to what they are learning in school. Technology is a subject that teachers are not only required to teach in their classrooms, but can be used as a tool to better students' content knowledge. There are many resources that are designed specifically for use as classroom technology, such as Glogster and Pixton. Other sources such as Animoto are not designed just for school use, but are simple and useful for students' learning.

Social Studies is a great subject in which technology can be applied for multiple purposes. Students need a variety of resources to learn about Social Studies because it can be such a broad topic. In Kindergarten, students will be learning about themselves, the people in their families, their classmates' families, and children around the world. Students can use a wide variety of technology tools to retain important information in a fun and active way. In my self and family unit, I used a number of tools in which students are either creating something, or using something I made, to learn more.

In my first lesson, students are encouraged to explore characteristics of themselves as well as important people in their lives. The students are to make an Animoto video containing five pictures about themselves and a short description about each one. Using videos is a great visual way to share with their classmates a little about themselves so they can get to know each other better. Animoto is great for primary grades because it focuses on the pictures so the students can share a lot of information without a lot of words.

I used Glogster for two lessons. Glogster is a great way to have students condense a lot of information in a short, descriptive, and visually appealing way. For example, students were to take information from an interview and post three facts that deemed most important into their Glogster.

I also created technology tools for my students to learn with in my unit. In one lesson they are going on a virtual field trip using PowerPoint to explore Chinese culture and customs. Although it takes a lot of teacher time and dedication to create the trip, students can enjoy learning at their own pace and re-visit the information as many times as they wish. They can also explore the field trip independently so it can be used as a station in the classroom.

The lessons I created that integrate technology are very appealing to the students. They are engaging and mostly require the students to think on their own and create something, which is a major component in Bloom's Taxonomy. I plan to use many of the tools I have already created as well as the programs I have had a chance to explore and master to better my students' understanding of a subject and keep them engaged and excited about learning. Using techonolgy will help students master the standards established by the state and help them become 21st Century learners.

PBS Teachers Resource

PBS is a great learning tool for teachers, students, and parents to use in and out of the classroom. The entire site is a learning expierence for all. The main site has many useful, interesting, and informative news articles in all categories from public affairs to arts and entertainment to education. PBS also broadcasts many fasinating shows that can be used for educational purposes or for leisure. One show I particularly enjoy on PBS is Masterpiece Theater. There are so many ways to get involved on PBS.

PBS has great resources for parents as well. I found one article I fully enjoyed about getting your child ready for the first day of Kindergarten. It is such a big step in a child's life, and parents need all of the help and support they can get.  PBS highlights important tools that they offer to parents to make parenting a bit eaiser. These include a child development tracker to make sure your child is developing at the correct speed, special offers on educational tools, and a list of the top parent picks from games to recipes and articles. Kids can also enjoy educational games, videos, and activites on PBS Kids. These are all fun things that can be enjoyed during free time at school or at home.

Most importantly there is the teachers' page. This site has so many resources that are of great value to any teacher. You can view lesson plans for children from Pre-K all the way to senior year of High School. They are all categorized by grade level and separated into different subjects including art, health and fitness, math, reading and language arts, social studies, and science and technology. The home page of the website also offers highlighted lessons that other teachers particularly liked or that are new to the website.

Teachers can also talk to other teachers through the website to gain knowledge and share wisdom about past expierences they have had. This is incredably useful if you are a new teacher just starting out or if your an experienced teacher wanting to switch things up. By following people on the discussion page you can reply to other teachers' posts or post a new question or comment for people to read and respond to. Many teachers have also posted blogs about activites they have done in their classrooms. These can provide ideas and strategies to other teachers to help make engaging and authentic lessons using multimedia and technology. Teachers may also view Webinars to find enriching ways to use digital media in the classroom. This is especially important since most teachers do not know how to use technology or feel as though they cannot use it in their classroom. As students grow up in the 21st century world, technology is becoming more and more apparent and giving teachers these resources to futher expand their knowledge on the subject is very important.

PBS also connects teachers to classes that they can take to advance in their career and bring them to that next level of teaching. These range from graduate level cources to orientations and peer lead groups to work with fellow teachers to broaden one's horizons.

There are so many games, videos, and activites teachers can find on PBS to either use as resources or to show and use in their classroom that it really makes it one of the best websites out there. The best part of PBS is that it is all free. They offer everything to you at no charge and you can come to the website whenever you want! Parents, teachers, and children should all use PBS often as they will be helping themselves grow and learn in a place with an abundance of knowledge.

Going to the Pet Store Comic

Read this comic about a family going to the pet store to find a new family pet. They cannot make a decision and need to vote on which pet they want! Can you help them decide? Then you have a turn to draw a picture of a pet you want.

Formative Assessment in Schools

Formative assessment is a great way to measure the success of your students and find out where they are academically in school. Over the years there have been many changes to the way teachers assess students and there are many fun, as well astraditional tools to be used. Kindergarten is a very important time to
assess students because this is the beginning of the rest of their
school careers and they need to be placed in the correct learning
  environment for their abilities.

Some of the more traditional ways to assess students are standardized
tests. Standardized tests are easy to administer and it is easy to grade
each child quickly. These tests have been considered very controversial
since it is a very limited way to assess, however many schools use them
and it is important to the schools and teachers that the students do
well so that the school can receive more funding.

Teachers and students are becoming more and more used to having tests be
a primary source of assessment. While this in fact may be a good way
for some students, there are plenty of other options to see where kids
excel and where they need more work. Some examples are using students homework,
class work, and questions they ask in class to asses. Teachers do
have to be careful not to prompt the answers to questions, but give
students an opportunity to think on their own.

Some assessments that work well for Kindergarteners are


   * Directed Listening Thinking Activites
   * Observations
   * Discussions

 Directed Listening Thinking Activity, or DLTA, is a great way to
formally assess students in reading. This program is directed at younger
grades and is for students who are not independent readers yet. Teachers help
students comprehend a story by asking questions about the book before,
during, and after a story. In older grades, students start using the
Directed Reading Thinking Activity, or DRTA, when they become more
independent readers. Unfortunately, this model is not used often because
it is very time consuming.

Some quick ways teachers can formally assess their students is by
observations and note taking throughout the school day. Although this
does not seem "formal," students do some of their best work when they are
not being watched. A good teacher can observe and take note of what a
student can and cannot do independently so that when they get one-on-one
time the teacher knows what to focus on with the particular student.
Since this is an on-going assessment the results will change, and
hopefully show improvement throughout the year.

Classroom discussions cannot be counted out as a way to formally assess
students. Conversations about any and all subjects is a great way to
learn what a student knows and what they need to work on. Students can
have disscussions with peers as well in models such as think-pair-share.

For quick and easy assessment tools teachers can turn to online tools
such as
   *  ClassScape
   * Quia 
   * Turning Point  

These all provide data about students learning and engage students
through technology.

The assessments that take up more classtime are always more engaging and
helpful for students. Assessing them in a low stress enviornment
where they feel comfortable will get you your best results. Using multiple strategies that will benefit all students is key. Be sure to vary the assessment tools so that all students are assessed fairly and accurately.

It is important to give a student a basis of what is expected of them
for each assignment so they know where to focus their attention.
Giving students useful and positive feedback is an important role in
assessing students. This will give students a chance to see what they
have to improve on instead of just receiving a grade. This way, the next
time they have an assignment they will know what to work harder on.