The Integration Corner

After exploring the Integration Corner section online, I discovered that there are so many tools available to make teachers lives easier. At first I thought, "What a shame that there are thousands of online tools, yet hardly any teachers know about them." When I become a teacher, I know the digital craze will be a large part of my classroom, so using online tools, like the lesson plan maker, will be habit to me. It is amazing that all these things are available to us at the click of a button. Since I am an elementary education major, I clicked that section and came to many more online tools specific to the elementary level.

Since my last blog post, I am becoming much better at making things, other than research papers and plain word documents on Microsoft Word 2003. Making this past weeks newsletter was a fun way of exploring all the different tools offered on the program. I learned to make banners and filling them with pictures, I also learned how to adjust collumns to format my teaching style. Also, discovering the website and integration corner is a great new way for me to get fun ideas and plans for my future classroom.

With the lesson plan website, teachers are able to select any subject and age, and build lesson plans and find clever teaching ideas right on their very own personal computers! It was so specific in picking a grade, a subject (such as science, art, etc...) and brought up tons of websites with project ideas and fun learning styles to introduce into your classroom. Even through this blog, I am learning that I have the ability to keep this websites, in an easily accessible place, to use someday when I actually am making my own lesson plans.

Blog #1

Let’s face it; technology is taking up a majority of the work we used to have to do by hand. It is not necessarily a bad thing; many of the new advances help us to be more efficient and productive as teachers. John M. Keller came up with a great motivation model. The ARCS model was a way in which to keep students interested, aware, and most importantly, learning something. Attention, Relevance, Challenge/Confidence, and Satisfaction/Success are the four main points in helping to achieve higher teaching and learning quality. The ARCS model provides an opportunity for the students to actually have a desire to learn new things instead of just memorization to get the grade. Incorporating technology into classrooms, while using the ARCS method, in my opinion, is a great way to help spread new technology and gadgets in the future of America.
Since my last post, I feel as if I am a whole new person. After spending a couple hours completing the 141 practice problems on SAM, I have already learned little shortcuts and neat tricks on Microsoft Word XP. I have not perfected all my skills, however, I have a better understanding of how to make columns and rows on Word and this skill will be very useful to me as a teacher. Times are changing and the technology we use is changing as well, I think that the SAM practice, and the sample assignment both helped equip me for the next level of computer competency.
When I first got to college, I was an Exercise Science major, destined to be a physical therapist. As a kid, I always wanted to be a teacher and it became more and more real to me. My mom always told me to be something people need, and both Physical Therapy and Education were both high up on my list. With the advancements in technology, I had thoughts that by the time I was a teacher, that schools would be completely digital. However, I know that not every person can teach themselves and teachers are still in high demand. After working at a preschool all summer, I fell in love with being a teacher and am so excited for what is to come. I’m not sure exactly where in the world I want to work or with what age, but I know that I have a passion for working with kids and trying to shape the minds of our future.