Rubistar

Today in class we took some time to look at the teachers resources located in our class website. There were many different links to numerous websites that could be used in our future classrooms. One in particular that I found to be very interesting was Rubistar. This website can be used to create your own personal rubrics. This will be extremely effective and helpful in my classroom someday because for every project assigned there is usually some sort of rubric attached. This allows the children to know where there is room for improvement, and where they may have made any mistakes. It also allows you to incorporate any areas that they may have done well in. A rubric is a way of assigning grades fairly and impartially. Students do not have to guess where they might have made mistakes. It is also an opportunity to allow them to fix any mistakes they may have made. There were many other websites linked into the resources as well. Many of them included games children could play to get them engaged and actively thinking. They cover most subject areas. These resources will be extremely helpful when I someday have my own classroom. I am glad we explored this area of our class website today!

Technology & the Future

It is scary to think of what the world will be like in 10-20 years. We have already made so many advances in the past decade, that almost everything is on a laptop, Iphone or an Ipad. Not to mention you no longer need an actual book to read. You can just buy a Kindle or Nook. These are electronic books that allow you to search for almost any book and buy it at the tip of your fingers. Who knows what will come about in the years to come. I had always though that I worked pretty well with computers. I mean, compared to my parents who don't even know how to use a search engine in Google, I thought I was doing pretty well. However, I've come to realize that there is always room for improvement in technology, because it is always advancing. I'm excited that I will get the opportunity to use the SMARTboard in this class, as well as continue to work with different programs. These skills are necessary for me to learn because I will most likely be using them, and more in my future classroom.

Observation

I've had the opportunity to observe Mrs. B's fourth grade classroom in Marathon, New York for the past two weeks. I have to say it has been a very rewarding experience. I was very nervous at first because I had never observed a classroom in a formal setting before. However Mrs. B and her students were extremely welcoming. Mrs. B had me help the students during their ELA block of time. I had to teach groups of students a game called "Word Pond". The game allowed them to practice using synonyms and antonyms. It was fun teaching them the game. I have to say that I was very surprised with how much technology is now present in today's classroom. Mrs. B used the SMARTboard to teach many of her lessons. She taught one lesson for science about animals with vertebrates and animals without vertebrates. She had the children come up to the board and place animals in the column that said vertebrate or invertebrate. The children really enjoyed this because they got the chance to come up to the SMARTboard and be actively engaged in the lesson. I went to a small elementary school and the only resource of technology we had was the use of the computer lab, and sometimes a TV. It is amazing the advance in technology since I was in elementary school. This is another reason I am very thankful for taking EDU315. It is helping me to learn about all the technology I never had the chance to previously learn. The children really enjoy using all the new forms of technology. Therefore it is important as a future teacher to have a strong understanding of all the different types and forms there are out there of technology.