Blog 8 Bye Bye Bye

Skipped by permission.

Blog 7

Curriculum integration is so necessary in education. A curriculum is all of the knowledge, experiences, and skills that students are expected to learn. In other words, curriculum can be referred to as lesson plans that involve all areas of learning. Integration involves the incorporation of technology (software and hardware) into curriculum in order to enhance learning. Curriculum integration is also known as technology integration and provides the opportunity for all learners to administer their skills. It provides learning material to kinthestic learners by providing hands on material. Visual and audio learners can also benefit from curriculum integration. The ASSURE model is known as one of the best instructional models to aid teachers in making lesson plans. It involves Analyzation of the learner, Stating objectives, Slecting methods, media, and materials, Utilizing all materials, Requiring learner participation, and Evalulation. The ASSURE model emphasizes that it doesn't matter as much to which program you use when making plans but rather what your content and organization consists of. Over the years, research has provided a means of improvement for education as a whole. Learning Theories involve research, observation, and a "framework for interpreting" all conditions of teaching and learning. Some of the various theories are: Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism.

This week I mastered my skills in power point. I hadn't used this program since high school and I am really glad that we are extending our lessons in class to three weeks of it because out of every assignment that we have used, power point seems like it is used the most in teaching. I can remember teachers in elementary, middle, and high school using power point. It is such a great program and aid in the teaching profession since it provides a bit of entertainment to learning. Students have to have some kind of way to keep their attention and really make them apply the material they are learning.

This week has been kind of a downfall in the education major. Two education classes that I am currently enrolled in have been such a negative damper on my motivation to become a teacher. Numerous comments have been made by a lot of my fellow peers regarding the fact that these intro classes have made them reconsider if teaching is really what they want to do. I think that the university needs to reevaluate their teachers and really draw in some individuals that can provide motivation. I can honestly say that I haven't learned one bit of usual information in one of my classes that has everything to do with education and the other has had many racial issues involving the teacher and how she treats the students. I just think that there is such a high importance in providing students with enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers to the introduction of their majors because without this many are being discouraged in an area that is in such high demand.

Blog 6

Chapter 5 touches on digital media applications and educational software applications. Both items aid in the teaching of students and used for learning purposes. Digital media applications are sometimes referred to as interactive digitial media applications because they involve interaction. The book describes IDMA as a tool that allows students to "examine their skills in a risk-free environment while providing instant feedback, testing, and review." Digital media is such a great teaching tool because it involves hands on learning. Each individual has a different learning pace and sometimes they can fall quickly behind in classrooms where others pick up on the material much faster than them. Instead, with digital media, they can work at their own pace on a one-on-one basis. The difference with digital media applications and educational software applications is that educational is used for standardized testing. It beats any written test because it shows visuals, includes audios, clear instructions, and examples. They can be used for grades and recording progress of learning.

The new skills I learned this week were the Wiki's. I haven't fully completed my assigment but I am enjoying the process. They are such a simpler way to communicate and use web pages. The presidential election was such a great idea also because many people, including myself don't know too much when it comes to politics. I've truly enjoyed learning about the different candidates and feel more comfortable in the fact that I now know what beliefs I want to stand for and who is the best candidate according to my standards.

As of new information, I wanted to highly encourage everyone to participate in Dance Marathon 2008. It is the largest campus philanthropy at FSU and has raised hundreds of thousands in dollars each year. Proceeds go to our College of Medicine and Shands Hospital. Obvioulsy we all love kids if we are in this class to become teachers so please show your support and beome involved. I have participated three years now, the first as a dance and love every second of it. If you would like more information go to Dm.fsu.edu. There are an endless amount of opportunites and remember that it is for the kids!

Blog 5

Permission to skip Blog by our wonderful teacher!

Blogger 2 (I forgot all about you!)

Unfortunately this poor little blog got dismissed and totally overlooked! I've searched and searched for the page with the website options but couldn't find them...so I will have to resort to my own options. Throughout this course I have found numerous websites that will help tremendously in effective planning. Perpetualpreschool.com is an amazing site that offers lesson plans for younger children (prek and elementary). The lesson plans are all organized by themes of colors, holidays, seasons, etc. There is also a huge discussion board where other teachers reveal their creative ideas in the classroom and successses/failures. Another thing that I love about this site is that it offers such a wide range of options such as: classroom decorations, games, art projects, and center ideas.

This website has taught me that there is alot to lesson planning. Not only do you have to take into account every student and the rate at which they will learn in your classroom but everything has to be eye catching and attention grabbers. Elementary children have the shortest attention span so finding activities that will entertain them but all teach is a major challenge. I've learned that along with lesson plans you have to incorporate the aspects of motor skills, dramatization, concepts, vocabulary, and math/science. Now I know why teaching is so time consuming.

Im loving life at FSU once again and I couldn't be happier to have the opportunity to make this school a major chapter in my life. I am currently going on my third year here and have FINALLY figured out my calling to be a teacher. Technically Im only a semester behind according to my major but that can be fixed with summer school...blah! As of teaching, I am so incredibly ecstatic to get started. I might major in the special needs area because if I could have my dream come true I would want to teach in a third war country like The Dominican Republic and be one of those over achieving individuals that 'made a difference in the world.' That is the picture that I've always made of myself and I know that if I pursue it to the end then it will come true!

Bloggggg 4

Chapter two introduces the wonderful world of the internet. It explains that the internet is a database that transfers information from one source to another. The way that it works is by using addresses. The book describes the address system as much like the postal system we use in our everyday life. There has to be a destination point. Domain names are also a prime component of the internet system in that it provides a specific number address in text-based format for the computers location. The internet is also known as assistive technology because it is a system that is made up of equipment which provides the opportunity for one to learn, communicate, solve problems, or complete a task at a higher convenience rate through the computer. Search engines are awesome because they are web pages that offer such a broad band of options from a simple request! One of the main purposes of the internet is to learn and search for specific information. Through search engines like google you can look for specific pictures, articles, web pages, etc.

I enjoyed doing the webhunt because I never realized how specific you could search for something and all of the options that it had to offer. There has been many times where I have been searching for a specific photo or needed an article/journal for a paper and spent countless hours wasting when my answers were only a click away. If only I had been a bit more educated. Now I am! The webhunt was such a necessity bc as a teacher I will need various items to intrigue my students and keep their attention. So this assignment will make my job sooo much easier.

As of life...this weekend I am surprising my boyfriend by taking him to a concert for his birthday. I got front row seats at the civic center for Dierks Bentley! Haha I think Im gonna be more excited then he will. My boyfriend is extremely southern so I have no doubt that he'll have a good time but I have no idea how to tell him what we are doing. Should I just tell him? Wait till we get there? I want to come up with a creative way to give him the tickets...any ideas?

Blog Numero 3

This week was spent studying one of the most important chapters of all. Chapter 4 covered all of the basics to useful hardware in the classroom. I remember quite frankly, sitting in one of my high school classrooms which seemed like many years ago and watching my teacher constantly struggle over her equipment needed to teach. Of course, we, the students were ecstatic because non functioning equipment meant a day where she couldn't teach. Looking back with the knowledge that I have gained throughout college, that memory pains me because my teacher wasted away a day of teaching only because she lacked the knowledge to process computer hardware. Some of the main topics that were covered in this weeks reading were input/output devices, storage media and devices. Input and output devices are pretty self explanatory. Input devices process information INTO the computer whereas output devices transport information OUTSIDE of the computer. The keyboard, mouse, touchpad and pointing stick, trackball, and touch screen are only a few among many input devices. The main advantage to input devices is that they enable you to process data, programs, cmmands, and user responses into the computer. Output devices include monitors, printers, projectors, fax machines, etc. These are all parts of a computer that aid in the process of providing information to the user. Storage media is among one of the most important aspects of a computer system. Without it there would be no point in using a computer and every necessity we would need it for would be pointless. Storage media and devices include various disks, Cd-rom, USB Flash drives, smart cards, etc. These are all so important in the teaching profession and the ability of a computer because anyone and everyone who uses a computer will need to save some bit of information somewhere. Storage media devices help us to save information that is needed later such as a paper, internet information, or lesson plans.

I have to say that I enjoyed this weeks assignment the best thus far. The previous assigments were just so tidious and kind of boring to a sense. The concept maps were a wonderful way to unleash creativity and I loved them because they seem so useful in the teaching profession. I plan on teaching younger children and going into the field of elementary education so for me, the concept maps were perfect because young children need pictures and entertainment to learn. I felt as if the inspiration program had a lot to offer and was very easy to operate.

This year has been extremely stressful for me because I go to school everyday from 8-12 and then off to work. I absolutely love my job but it gets discouraging at times when you have not one bit of time for yourself and to regain your sanity. For those of you that don't know, I am a preschool teacher and have the time of my life teaching ten 3 year olds. They are amazing but definitely a handful so balancing them and school has been a huge struggle. Some days I go into work completely wiped out but try to regain my energy so that I can be the best with my kids. Its amazing how the littlest things can brighten your day and create a whole new perspective on things for you though. As my week dragged on and I counted down the seconds till my weekend started of doing absolutely nothing I received a surprise letter from a parent of a child I had taught in the summer. It was a thank you letter describing how much this mother appreciated what I did for her child. She explained how she was so worried about him because he was the smallest and youngest in his class but that she truly believe that I helped him in so many ways and that she basically entrusted him in my hands. What touched me the most was when she further described that her son had talked about me all the time and would tell her that I gave "big hugs." From that day forward I can honestly say that I have thought back to that one childs' life that I touched and used it as an encouragement factor when I am down in the dumps. Teaching is truly rewarding and I look forward to influencing many more lives for the better. :)