Reflection Post

Throughout this semester I found this class to have the most relevant information that I will use as a student and a future teacher. Although I did not put my best efforts towards this class, I will always remember the information that I absorbed throughout these few months. When I first signed up for this class, I was unaware of all the different roles technology can play. When I first think of technology I think of email, texting, calling, internet, and social media but there is so much more to technology than just that. There are so many opportunities for students and teachers through technology. There are tools that help students learn math, science, history, language arts but then there are websites/tools that help teachers create lesson plans or help teachers communicate with other professionals. Due to this, education will never get boring and there will always be a way to help involve students into their studies. I never realized this until I entered this class and read the textbook. As an average college students, some paragraphs were drowning while others were so interesting. However, at every single chapter there were Web 2.0 Tool boxes that were listed with all sorts of tools and websites that were associated to that chapter. I also found joy in learning about all the different Web 2.0 tools and searching them on the web. Every single chapter amazed me on how many Web 2.0 tools there are and not a single tool disappointed me. Not only did the tools amaze me but so did our discussions in class. The teacher related the information so clearly that everyone could understand and she would also demonstrate what she was talking about. For instance, when our class first heard about Kahoot our teacher would play Kahoot with us so we could all understand what the online game actually did. Reading something in the textbook is completely different than actually doing it. Another example is when we all did a scavenger hunt with a compass, she explained how this activity can work for any subject such as math, geography, or even science. Whenever the teacher demonstrated such activities it opened my mind and eyes to how much teachers have access too. The sky is the limit with technology and the more creative teachers are with educational technology, the better. The textbook also talked about how students in todays age have grown up in technology, so taking technology away from them in education is only hurting their learning.

I felt that this class gave me great outcomes especially communication, critical thinking, technology/information management, and global socio-cultural responsibility. Through the semester the entire class as well as the teacher communicated effectively using standard English written and oral. Our assignments were described and written in English and our discussions as well as class time were spoken in English. We also used critical thinking in EME2040 because we learned how to evaluate effectively. Our teacher taught us how to make rubrics for evaluation and we used rubrics in our class for our evaluation. We learned how to proper read rubrics and how to proper evaluate our students. We had three assignments this semester that had association with rubrics: Webquest, Lesson Plan, and Website Evaluation, Critique, and Rubric. We used Technology/Informational Management throughout this entire semester but used Delicious to organize information from a variety of sources. We also incorporated Global socio-cultural responsibility by learning about all the different web tools that can help in a diverse classroom. We specifically did one assignment that was a Webquest on different learning disabilities that made me realize not only is there a bunch of tools and websites that help students but also students with learning disabilities.

All in all, this class was beyond helpful for now and later. Although there was a bunch of work in this class, it was for a great purpose.

Below is a wonderful video on Web 2.0 Tools

Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

Web 2.0 Tools. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://web2014.discoveryeducation.com/web20tools.cfm

Digital Blog Post #L

In Chapter 12 which focused on Integrating Technology and Creating Change as Teacher Leaders I learned generally how fast and important it is for students to have access to technology in the classroom. One topic that the textbook discussed was one-to-one laptop computing which means that every student in a grade, school, or district has his or her own computing device in school. Just to imagine how much money this would cost all the schools is overwhelming however I do believe that this would only benefit the students and teachers. For instance, according to the textbook 60% of high school students in the state have their own laptop computer, at a cost of $18 million per year. Although not a lot of school districts have one-to-one laptop computing, according to the textbook one-quarter of the nations largest school districts have at least one grade where all of the students have their own computer. However, in the textbook they speak of three reasons one-to-one laptop initiatives create development.

1. New machines, which help introduce new generations of power, lower-cost, ultraportable computing devices. These devices have considerable memory, can connect to Wi-Fi, have CD/DVD players, and many more features that help support teaching while helping students at the same time. 

2. Use in higher education, which means that when these students proceed their higher education in college, technology is a huge factor in college. Many students have to complete essays, assignments, group projects, contact their professor and or classmates through a computing device. Most professors already assume that these students have a computing device so public school leaders want elementary and secondary education students to gain experience with a computing device. Having students gain experience in computing devices will only help them when they do proceed to college. 

3. Research Studies, which shows that more than a decade of studies in regard to one-to-one computing programs have shown laptops positively affecting a students learning. According to the textbook, in some states one-to-one computer use has been linked to improvements on students attendance, homework completion, motivation to learn, and engagement with the writing process. 

Loads and loads of research have shown that one-to-one laptop computing can benefit the students in more ways than one. 

One-to-one laptop computing may be expensive however, these students will be more engaged and will have that motivation to learn. Giving these students the opportunity to use technology is a wonderful idea. Allowing theses students to explore and have inquiry learning is also great for critical thinking skills. One-to-one laptop computing will help students with group projects and even increase their knowledge about technology. 

Not only has technology changed for students but technology has changed for teachers. Teachers used to write on a chalk board, then the white board came along with the markers and now there are digital notepads and digital pens. According to the textbook a digital pen is a writing device that records words someone has writing or spoken so they can be accessed on a computer that converts content into typed text. A digital notepad according to the textbook is a device that allows users to write and draw and then convert those images to digital text. When I go to school, especially in my math class my professor uses a digital pen and digital notepad on the board. Although, he does not speak into the pen he will write his notes and then convert them to text on the internet so all the students have access to the notes from that day. Before teachers used these, they had to erase what they had written on the board which left them with no copy unless they made a copy. However, with this new technology teachers can just write on the spot and then convert it later to text version. This helps me with math because he can write freely and be specific with his notes which helps me when he later uploads the notes. These pens and digital note pads benefit teachers and students because they are so wonderful for open-ended, creative writing situations as well as the general learning. 

Now technology as we see is great for teachers and students but a flipped classroom is also a wonderful new technology integration approach. According to the textbook a flipped classroom turns the entire structure of teaching and learning upside down. In other words, flipped learning happens when teachers create lessons for students to complete outside of the classroom so group work and other activities can be done in the school day. In a flipped classroom students are the learners and also the teachers. There is student-led activities with whole groups, small groups and individuals. It is also common for students to watch videos and listen to podcasts instead of reading from a textbook. As stated in the textbook, one study found out that students are more likely to develop interests in science, technology, engineering, and math fields when teachers use instructional practices that feature digital technology, social media and student driven learning. Prior to this section in the chapter I was unaware of flipped classrooms however, they sounds very interesting. Most students get bored with the general lecture and notes but if students get to generate their activities they will be less likely to get bored. However, the teacher has to have supervision on the activities these students decide to generate. The only down side to flipped classroom is they have homework very often. All of the lessons the students have to take home to do which leaves them with a bunch of homework. On the bright side, I see great potential in flipped classroom as long as the teacher has the capability to create technology anywhere and anytime learning.

Below is a link to a story board of the main points of Integrating Technology and Creating Change as a Teacher Leaders

http://storybird.com/books/integrating-technology-and-creating-change-as-te-2/



Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

Digital Blog Post #K

In Chapter 6 which focuses on Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps I found numerous amount of information that help students. For instance Web quests, Virtual Field Trips, and all the types of Educational Websites help the classroom and the learning for the students as well as teachers. Students are not the only ones that are absorbing information and learning, teachers can learn from the students too. However with Web quests the students are not only learning but they are discovering information on their own with minimal guidance. Web quests online inquiries that focus on students gathering information by going on an online adventure. Students will move from website to website in order to gather the information that they need. This meaning, the Web quests are strictly made and are set up to guide the students. Just because the Web quests guide the students does not mean that the teacher holds their hand throughout the entire process, the students will get instructions and given directions step by step on what they should be doing.  Web quests are not only fun but educational. This activity can be any length and regardless, if done right, will interest students. I feel as if teachers do not have their students do critical thinking activities, which is a wonderful skill to have and to practice. Web quests encourages students to critically think because they are discovering information on their own and every Web quests has a situation or problem. Although Web quests are generated with technology and the internet, they give students endless information. All in all, Web quests are a wonderful learning activity for students to expand their critical thinking skills and to encourage interaction.

Web quests are an amazing online activity for students however so are virtual field trips. Before I read this chapter I have only heard briefly about virtual field trips but after reading about them I was shocked on how widely they are used. According to the textbook, on March 29, 2012 more than one million students from across the U.S. took a virtual field trip to Ellis Island which is located in New York City. The website that offered this virtual field trip was Scholastic.com. Virtual Field Trips take the students on an online field trip or adventure without leaving the classroom. Due to this, students can expand their world wide views. There are a bunch of different approaches that come with Virtual Field Trips such as, students can watch independently on their own computer or the teach can project the field trip on the over head projector so all the students can see at the same time. After students watch the Virtual Field Trip there are a bunch of different assignments or discussions the teacher an incorporate. As said previously, students get a world wide view so the teacher and students can have discussions on the the different cultures and on all the different things they have seen. Google Earth is another website that offers a huge collection of different tours. Students can go to museums, libraries, skyscrapers, castles and many other historic sites that really help students expand their knowledge. Now a days it is hard to take the students on these amazing field trips due to budgets and I think that it is amazing that teachers and students have this opportunity. A bunch of students are visual learners and I believe that with the students experiencing these field trips they will gain great knowledge. Also, I think it is a wonderful learning experience for students to understand the cultural differences from around the world and how different countries are different from the United States. In conclusion, there are a bunch of learning opportunities for students with Virtual Field Trips.

Although Web quests and Virtual Field Trips are educational, there are plenty of educational websites to help teachers and students. There are around five different categories for educational websites. There are lesson plan websites which are generally for teachers, these websites help teachers with ideas for classroom lessons and lesson plans. These websites tend to give step-by-step instruction and procedures. The majority of the lesson plan websites will provide links for resources and activities. I think this is a wonderful tool for teachers to have access too because teachers can get different ideas and different perspectives to make their lessons interesting and informative. Another category is student-to expert communication websites. With these websites, students/teachers can formulate questions or ideas to adult experts in college, business, and other organizations. The students/teacher will receive replies electronically. These sites will also allow tutoring and opportunities for students to learn about careers. Before this chapter, I have never heard about these websites however I think they are an amazing tool for teachers and students to have because they give students a different perspective and also give students real world critical thinking skills. I also think that it is amazing for experts to reply and help students/teachers out as much as they can. Real-time and Recorded Data Websites are similar to virtual field trips in some aspects. With these type of websites students are provided information about different types of scientific phenomena. Students need to analyze the material on an inquiry based learning activities. Before this chapter as well, I was unaware of these websites however I believe that they build on students critical thinking skills. As previously stated, critical thinking skills is a wonderful skill to have and to expand on and with these type of activities the students get the ability to work on their critical thinking skills. Archival and Primary Source Websites are websites that allow students to conduct historical investigations by accessing materials from museums, libraries, and other organizations. I think that these type of websites are wonderful for a history class or social science class however I think that it is great to have students investigate and think on their own rather than the teacher telling them the answer. Skills Practice Websites are websites that offer subject-specific actives for students in all grade levels. These websites help students practice and expand on their learning on that subject. This would be a great website or activity for students to do on their own time or for review. Exploration and Discovery Websites are websites that provide opportunities for students to engage in online explorations on the topics that the are more interested in. I think these are wonderful websites because it expands on the students knowledge especially if they want to know more. All in all, there are so many websites and opportunities for teachers and students to engage in their learning.


Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

Digital Blog Post #J

While reading Chapter 11 Engaging Students in Performance Assessment and Reflective Learning, I received a bunch of information on the role of assessments in teaching and learning. As a senior in high school currently, I am not a big fan of standardized testing especially when they determine a bunch of factors such as graduation, college acceptance, and even scholarships. However, after reading this paragraph on the role of assessments I see the advantages and the disadvantages. For instance, one of the roles are new teacher assessments which is how the supervisors will assess the work for the teacher. This meaning that before a teacher accepts a full-time job in the teaching profession there are certain standards that have to be met. The new teacher has to pass a state teacher license and go through observations and training. I agree with these type of assessments because a person should not be thrown into a classroom full of children without any standards. Just because someone went to college does not mean they actually learned or absorbed the information. Also, book work is different than real life experiences. A new teacher should be observed teaching into a classroom and trained in a classroom because the experience is totally different than reading about the experience in the textbook. The second role is student assessment which shows the effectiveness as a teacher. On the down fall, I disagree with this because a teacher can not prevent if a student wants to learn or not. It is irrelevant if the teacher is great or not, some students are either not good test takers due to anxiety or just do not want to learn. I also disagree with how tests and assessments can determine major aspects in the profession such as salary and the job itself. However, it is also important to make sure that the students are learning what they are supposed to and it is important to keep all schools at a standard. This topic is very controversial which shocked me because before this chapter I was unaware on the positives of assessments. The last role that was described in this paragraph is student self-assessment. Whether the student is taking a state exam or a classroom test, a student should be active in their own learning. This allows the children to be on track with what they need to know and what they already know. All in all, assessments have positives and negatives.

Rather than the teacher running the classroom there are democratic schools and classrooms which I have never heard of until this chapter. Democratic schools and classrooms are places where students and teachers work together to make decisions about how the learning in the classroom happens and how evaluation is conducted. As said above, before this chapter I was unaware of these type of classrooms and schools however the idea at first seemed scary but after thinking about how that would work I began to enjoy that idea. The curriculum and assessing the students successfully is still responsible for the teachers but how they will be assessed and how they will learn is discussed among the students and teachers. In my opinion, incorporating the students into their own learning. Also, with the students discussing how the material will be taught will only help them learn more. After all, the students are the ones who are ideally supposed to be absorbing this information so why not allow them to pick the best ways that they learn. Teachers are working hand in hand with the students which does not only create a enjoyable classroom but creates a small family. Instead of the teachers just looking at her class as students learning or the students just looking at her teacher as a teacher, they are working in union to create a better learning atmosphere. However, there is a down fall to this because the students will pick little homework, spend lots of time in groups and select few hard problems to solve but the teachers still have a say which requires them to negotiate which means the teacher should not allow the students to pick such little homework and group work all day everyday. All in all, the democratic schools and classrooms is an interesting thought that could be beneficial in regard to student learning and teaching.

Teachers need to incorporate pre-assessments, prior knowledge-based learning and online surveys into their lessons. In the past I have had some teachers who have used these techniques. Pre-assessments are introducing a new lesson, topic, or unit to determine what students need to know or what they already know. Most of my prior teachers used pretests to determine what the students need to know or what they already know. This is a really good technique because a teacher will know what lessons need to be more focused on and what lessons just need to be reviewed. This can save time and can stop students from being bored in lessons because they already know the material. Prior-knowledged based learning go hand and hand to pre-assessments because prior-knowledged based learning is when the teacher incorporates what the students already know not their new concepts. This helps the students remember the information and it also helps the students in reviewing. Reviewing past concepts will only help them actually absorb the information rather than learning about a concept, studying it for the test and then forgetting about the concept after the test. Some of my prior teachers would incorporated material that we already knew on current tests just so the class would keep remembering the information. Online surveys are also very helpful. An online survey is a poll that is delivered online. This helps teachers receive data about the students progress and learning. Fortunately, students like online surveys because there are not right and wrong answers, it is simply reflection. For this technique not many of my past teachers have used however some of the did in regards to how well we learned the topic and how comfortable we are with the topic. I think online surveys would be extremely helpful because the students feel heard and they are collaborating. Students are not the only ones learning, teachers also learn from the students so online surveying is a great reflection on how well the materials the teacher used work and what the teacher needs to do differently next time. 

Below I have created a Canva on the numbers of assessments to demonstrate how important it is to assess students since testing is a huge role in their learning.


References:
Website- Bowman, S. (2014, March 30). Latest breaking news from Hilton Head & Beaufort, SC | The Island Packet. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/03/30/3026373/education-testing-day-2.html

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

Blog Post #G

Communicating and Collaborating with Social Media is a very crucial part in communicating with parents and students outside of the normal school day. Although communicating with students is very important but communicating with parents is needed too. Communicating with parents with help keep them on board with their child's education and will allow them to support their children to their best ability. However, communicating with parents can be very difficult. For example in the textbook it states that more than one in three families use the internet to communicate with schools, if only once or twice a year.  On the bright side research says that online information may promote family involvement in the students success in learning. Teachers will only benefit themselves and the students by posting the grading policies, assignments and notes online for many reasons. By students have access to online information, the teacher does not have to spend as much time explaining assignments in class because there is a description online. Parents will have access to all of the work that their children will be doing so by doing this, they are informed with the work their children are being presented with. Parents will also be allowed to access when their children have homework. Communicating verbally and electronically will benefit the parents, teachers and students in all sorts of ways. I believe that parents should be involved electronically with their students assignments because they will be able to access all the classwork and homework. Due to this, the parents will already know how much homework their child will have ahead of time as well as projects, class work, etc. Most parents now a days focus on the system called Gradebook because all of their children's grades are on this website as well as absences and a description of the assignments.

Grades, assignments and communication can be done electronically however so can learning how to spell. In the book there is a paragraph in regard to using text messages to teach about how to spell. There can be some issues with this because most students use slang when they are texting and do not use punctuation. Surprisingly in the text book it states that text messages can teach students how to build better relationships, meaningful educational experiences, and a more cooperative environment. By using text messages students can learn the patterns of word sounds and the structures of word spelling. I was very shocked by this paragraph because I was unaware that text messaging could teach something. Most teachers and schools band texting/cellphones. I always knew that technology should be used in the classroom more because this generation grew up around technology and that is how we learn best however, teaching children how to spell while texting was a new fact for me. Technology in the classroom does more good than bad. 

Not only was text messaging teaching students how to spell a surprise but so was twitter for teachers. As I read about twitter for teachers I realized that there are some good advantages to this social media. Teachers can follow other teachers using the hashtag to organize information in regard to similar topics. Teachers can also search different hashtags to search general conversations about education or instructional technology. Teachers can also post about upcoming assignments or new resources for parents to see which would tie back to the huge component of communicating with the parents. However, teachers take some risk when using social media especially like twitter. All posts need to be highly professional and there should never be any personal information shared. I think that teachers reaching out to students and parents through social media such as twitter is very helpful because the majority of students have twitter so they will most likely see the post and the students will be most likely to look at the post. All in all, communicating with students and parents regardless if it is on the internet or social media is very important. Without the bond with parents, teachers, and students there will be no involvement or support. 

I made a Gliffy down below!(:

<script src="https://www.gliffy.com/diagramEmbed.js" type="text/javascript"> </script><script type="text/javascript"> gliffy_did = "7563053"; embedGliffy(); </script>

References: 

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

Blog Post #H

Expressing Creativity with Multimedia Technologies is very important in the classroom because students need to learn how to create things with the internet using the content that they are currently learning. For example, powerpoint is a well known tool for teachers and students. During lectures most teachers use powerpoint and for presentations the majority of the students use powerpoint however, are the teachers using powerpoint correctly? In this chapter they discussed strategies for using Powerpoint which I shocked to find the littlest details mean the most. For instance, using images to generate class discussions help students response to the visual images that relate to the content they are learning. The visual content can create discussions within the classroom and keep the students interested. Another aspect in creating a powerpoint for students is promote visual analysis of discussion topics. This meaning that a teacher should show an image or another source of visual aid that can promote critical thinking to the entire class. With the critical thinking, the teacher should then ask questions in order to create discussion. The teacher should also display questions or comments for short writing assignments. The book gives a great activity with this which is a strategy called the 50-word sentence which is when students create a 50-word sentence the summarizes the main idea of the lesson. This gets students involved and critically thinking. The teacher should also use the slides as attention getters. This meaning that the teacher should tell stories, explain concepts, ask discussion questions so that the class can understand that main purpose behind the lesson that day. The last strategy for a powerpoint is develop your own powerpoint learning game, this will help get the students involved and interactive. The students are creating their own questions and thinking critically while having a good time with their classmates. Using these strategies for powerpoint will help the students understand the lesson better because there isn't just bulletin points on the board and this will help the teacher get the students involved with the lesson more.

Photo from Google 

Not only are there strategies for using powerpoint but there is also strategies for using videos with students. Although, videos should not be used in every single lesson plan they are a great tool to use to get students interested and involved. If a teacher picks the correct video, a lesson can be explained very well and understood very well if a video is incorporated. In this chapter, they gave plenty of examples of different resources that teachers can use to access content related videos. One example would be PBS Learning Media which is information that is visually engaged through interactive timelines and resources to help visually engage the students. PBS has a bunch of helpful resources for teachers in regard to video resources. Instead of using Youtube which can be unreliable and is now blocked at schools, there are websites that have videos which are school appropriate. With these resources, students and teachers can create a fun learning environment.

Videos create a fun learning environment but so does photo-taking and movie-making with students. Photo-taking and movie-making with students is a fun activity that help engage students, document learning, create active learning and incorporate information creation. Creating the videos help teachers incorporate the interests of students while engaging them academically. Documenting learning will help show students their progress and help remember classroom learning activities. Active learning includes filming, acting, viewing and editing which is great skills for students to learn. Information creation deals with the students being creators of their own visual masterpiece which explores their creative minds. All in all, movie-making and photo-taking with students is a great and fun learning experience for the students especially since these activities explore their critical thinking.

Photo from Google 

I created a Padlet check it out!(:

<iframe src='//padlet.com/embed/8slq653iaaq4' frameborder='0' width='100%' height='480px' style='padding:0;margin:0;border:none'></iframe><div style='border-top:2px solid #a7d23a;padding:8px;margin:0;font-size:12px;text-align:right'><a href='http://padlet.com' style='color:#41555f;text-decoration:none'>Created with Padlet<img valign='middle' style='margin:0 0 0 10px;padding:0;border:none;width:16px;height:16px' src='http://padlet.com/favicon.ico'></a></div>

http://padlet.com/tlhamilton97/8slq653iaaq4

References: 

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

Created with Padlet

Blog Post #I

Designing Lessons and Developing Curriculum with Technology is a very important skill for teachers to be aware of. Technology can do way more than help students learn, technology can help the teachers as well. After this chapter I was very shocked at how many helpful tools there are out to help teachers create lessons plans. For instance, there are many teachers as stated in the book who need help with organization for their lesson plans. In order to keep students interested after awhile doing the same routine or lesson plans will only make the class distracted due to boredom. However, with the updated technology that is available today there are websites and applications to help teachers with this issue. Specifically in the book they mention a website called Thinkfinity which is a store house of thousands and thousands of curriculum ideas. The ideas are organized well by grade level, subject matter and can be easily searchable by key words. Using these key words, teachers have access to an endless amount of resources and lesson plan ideas that will be interesting for the entire class. This caught my attention because I was fully aware about the applications that are available but I did not realize the applications that are available to teachers. With applications like this the teachers can be creative and make all the lessons regardless of the subject matter interesting. I think that websites and applications such as Thinkfinity is extremely beneficial to students and teachers because it only helps the learning environment. 

Image from Google 

Websites and applications such as Thinkfinity is wonderful for teachers however they are not helpful if the teacher does not know how to use the tools and lesson plans. In the text book, I found the three components to make a perfect lesson plan for all. A lesson plan should have goals, methods, and procedures to make sure that the lesson plan is well organized and planned out. Goals are defined as the reason why a lesson is being taught. Methods are the instructional strategies the teacher is going to present the content. Procedures is the organization of the lesson plan, for instance a procedure is the grouping and scheduling of the students. Reading this part of the chapter I realized that there is a bunch of components that fit into a lesson plan which is why applications such as Thinkfinity is so important because it helps teachers create these intense lessons. After I read this chapter I realized that there are a lot of thinking and work that goes into a lesson plan. However, without the organization of the lesson plan, the classroom would be too disruptive. 

Although there are applications and websites such as Thinkfinity and there is an organization pattern that goes into lesson plans, teachers still have to make sure that their children are understanding the content. The problem with this is teachers end up figuring out who is not understanding the material on the day of the test which is also the last day of the section. Fortunately, this chapter also exposed me to the finding of applications for teaching. One application is called Cram which provides a content review through customized flashcards and short quizzes/tests. I immediately thought this was a perfect application with keeping up the students because instead of printed quizzes and tests, the class could take unique quizzes throughout the entire chapter. Also, they could take class quizzes, as a class they could create or make their own flashcards. Due to this, teachers can have a more interesting way in keeping track of where their children are at in the chapter. There was also a website that stuck out to me which was Teaching Channel, it is an online video resource that contains lesson planning, student behavior, assessment strategies and meeting the Common Core State Standards. Although the students can not do anything with this site, this is extremely beneficial to the teachers because it is a guideline. Teachers can go onto this website and learn new ways to teach their children to take assessments or new ways to teach the Common Core State Standards which is pressured heavily on teachers now a days. All in all, this chapter was very informative in regard to the basics of teaching. 

Check out my summarized chapter review on Gliffy!(:

<script src="https://www.gliffy.com/diagramEmbed.js" type="text/javascript"> </script><script type="text/javascript"> gliffy_did = "7562239"; embedGliffy(); </script>

References:

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc