I-Touch, Final Thought

I really enjoyed having the privilege to use I-Touch this quarter.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get access to WiFi at my school so I had my difficulties.  However, I did use Voice memo and dictionary app efficiently.  My second grade students were so fascinated to see with my I-Touch.  They would ask what games I play or would tell me with excitement that they have an I-Touch at home too.  I really wished that I could’ve used other great APPS that I downloaded like math games, phonic games, etc.  They all required access to the Internet which I didn’t have.  I did use my Voice memo frequently with students.  They really had fun hearing their voice recorded for the student interviews I did for my Science homework.  I also think that it would’ve been better if I had more devices for the kids.  Since I only had one device, allowing a particular student to look at my I-Touch made other students think that I was favoring them (hope they understand that I wasn’t). 

I can see how I-Touches can be so useful in classrooms.  Not all kids have access to technology at home.  The more tools that are available in classrooms, the better for kids.  Students can be engaged a lot longer with new technologies than paper and pencil activities.  I hope to incorporate technology into my classroom and make learning fun and efficient.

Math, what I learned

The most valuable thing that I learned from this class is that math can be fun and engaging.  I was amazed by how creative teachers can be to make their lesson fun and interactive.  I really enjoyed learning about the uses of manipulates in classrooms.  I am a visual learner and actually playing around with miras, algebra tiles, and virtual manipulates like GeoSketch helped me understand math concepts better.  When I was in school, I didn’t learn math through using a whole lot of manipulates.  It was more of the drill and practice thing.  I think I would’ve enjoyed math if I did have all of these great resources around me to understand.  I hope to incorporate what I learned about the uses of manipulates in my own classroom to make learning more enriching and FUN.   I also like the idea that math can be learned better in groups than alone.  Like real Mathematicians, students can learn so much from sharing their ideas and thinking with one another.  I hope to incorporate this idea as well into my own classroom and make the learning collaborative and enriching.

Math, week 8

This week in Math, we learned about TinkerPlots.  TinkerPlots allows the user to play with the data plotted in variety of formats. I think this software is great for students to develop a stronger understanding of what their numbers mean. 

 We also talked about the wolframalpha.com site, where kids can get answers to almost everything in a click.  It is amazing what technology can do for us, making it so convenient to get the answer to any math problems in just seconds.  Things are not the same anymore.   Teachers need to know their students, where they are and what they need to learn.  This leads to the 4 questions Robin gave us to ask ourselves whenever we are creating a lesson. 1) What do they already know? 2) What do I want them to know? 3) How do I get them there? 4) Did they get there?   I think these four questions are crucial and I will try to use these four questions every time I create a lesson.

Math, week 7

This week, I learned how graphic calculators can be fun and exciting.  Learning how to use the graphic calculator for the first time was no fun for me.  It had so many buttons and functions that I needed to know which made me feel really overwhelmed.  There were certain rules and codes I needed to input in order to make my graph.   Robin's demonstration of graphing our movement was fun and very engaging.  I wish I learned how to have fun with my graphic calculator when I was in high school.  Showing our movement on graphs would've really made sense to me back in high school and I think I would've enjoyed learning it.
What other ways can we make graphing calculators more fun and engaging without using a motion sensor?  I would love to learn other ways to make my teaching more fun and engaging. 

I also enjoyed working with GeoSketch and Fathom.  Trying to fit all of the geometric shapes was difficult than it looked. I think primary kids will have fun working with GeoSketch eventhough it can be a little challenging for them.  I can picture couple of my second grade students enjoy working with GeoSketch.  Trying to figure out and fit in all the shapes into a given pattern will stretch their thinking and help them better understand the characteristics of each shapes.
What other strategies can I use to integrate technology and math in primary grades to make my teaching more fun and efficient?

iTouch - part 2

Honestly, I haven’t had much opportunity to use my I-touch in my 2^nd grade classroom. I went out and explored on my iTouch on some great educational apps that can be helpful in my classroom, but just couldn’t find the time to try it out with students in our tight schedule yet.  I also couldn’t get access to wi-fi at my school, so it was difficult for me to use most of my apps that I downloaded.  However, I found some great apps that I think will be helpful to some of my students who are struggling with math.  They can play short math games to build on their math skills.  For my ELL students, I think they can have fun playing with a phonic game that I downloaded.

Moving from assessment to instruction

My buddy is a strong reader and writer.  I learned that my buddy loves to read fantasy and non-fiction books.  She loves to read books about wolves and even writes her own fantasy stories about them.  She told me that she even acts out as wolves with her friends during recess.  I was amazed by her love of wolves. 

On the 4^th grade level reading passage of “Amelia Earhart,” she answered 7 out of 8 questions correctly.  Her comprehension skill was strong, being able to answer almost all of the questions accurately and in detail except for the tricky one we talked about in class.  I think she was over thinking the question.  Her retelling of the story was excellent with great use of the vocabulary words such as "adventurer" and "pioneer." 

Taking all of these into consideration, I feel that my buddy can move to the next level reading.  I think reading strategies (punctuation and fluency) can help her with her reading fluency, although she did great reading “Amelia Earhart” without any trouble. 

Math week 5, Geometry!

I had fun learning geometry through folding up a paper box.  It was fun and interesting to hear how other people explained their thoughts and thinking on geometry.  It was challenging for me to explain how I knew a square shape.  We are just so used to saying "I know it's a square because it looks like a square."  We are not used to expaining our thinking.  It was challenging but I think I learned/refreshed my understanding of geometry through the activity. 

My question is: how can I make my teaching fun  and creative to engage all my students? 

I am in a second grade classroom for my Main placement, so I haven't had the chance to teach them geometry yet.  I think folding the box activity (or something similar) can be fun to just teach them the concept/idea of geometry.