Arends Post

#1 What are some of the behaviors of effective classroom managers as described in the Texas and Kounin studies?

I learned a lot about effective classroom management from this chapter. Some of the behaviors that these studies describe about effective classroom managers are things that teachers do to create smooth flowing lessons. It was interesting to read that one of the best ways to limit classroom disruptions is for teachers to give clear instructions and guidelines about the assignment. Other skills for effective management are creating procedures that govern students' behaviors, giving students clear instructions, presentations, and explanations, and handling misbehavior quickly. The chapter also discusses how these classroom management skills work best when they are introduced at the beginning of the year and are consistent throughout the year. Another interesting thing I learned was that teachers have better classroom management if they get to know their students and spend more time with them.

Harris Post

#3 Some critics believe there's no place for Internet projects in today's world of high stakes testing and emphasis on student achievement. What is Harris'(2000) answer to this criticism? What is your answer?

Harris this criticism by stating that the Internet is a tool and she goes onto explain that "tools don't constitute curriculum..." and that ..."tools should be used in service of students' learning needs." She also points out that using Internet projects can address curriculum standards and do so in a time-efficient and student centered way. I agree with Harris. I believe that Internet projects can be a great resource to use when teaching. If they are used right and centered around curriculum, then they are a great way for students to involved in their education.

Grabe Post

#1 What is the Big Six and how should it be used?

The Big Six are a set of information problem-solving skills. The skills include:
1. Task Definition, 2. Information Seeking, 3. Locating and Accessing, 4. Use of Information, 5. Organizing and Communicating, 6. Evaluation. These skills can be used in a variety of situations. The article argues that you can use these steps when figuring out how to get from one location to another or when deciding what movie to watch. These skills are especially useful when learning how to use the internet as a research tool. These skills enable you to find and evaluate information that you find on the internet.

Photostory 3

CPB Post

Despite all the research about the effectiveness of video as an instructional tool, why do you think video use is still not very prevalent in today's schools? Should there be more video? Why or why not?

I think that video is not used because teachers and administrators are still stuck in the old way of thinking that videos are just space fillers. I think that many don't know about the research that shows the effectiveness of video. I think that there should be more video in the classrooms as long as teachers use them effectively rather than just time fillers. Using video effectively is a great way to use technology in the classroom. I feel that it is always beneficial to give information to students through a variety of ways. In my subject of history, I always hear people complaining about history being boring and that all they do is read. By using videos to aid in the teaching of a certain time period, history is brought to life and I think that it is easier to understand. After reading the statistic that we only remember 10% of what we read and 20% of what we hear, I was amazed that reading and lecturing is still the norm in teaching. When I become a teacher I know that I don't want to waste my time doing things that aren't helping the students learn and remember, so I definitely will use videos when I teach.

The Mom Song

Reiser Post

I like the idea of the TEAMS project. I think that it is very beneficial for students to see how concepts can relate across subjects. By learning things that relate at the same time it is easier for some to learn new concepts.

The examples of the integrated final projects and the methods in the article related a lot. They both are trying to connect overarching themes to many different subjects. I found that some of the examples of the final projects were hard to understand and follow. The ones that I thought were easy to understand were the ones that attached a copy of the table, showing all the different stations and subjects, and it was also helpful if they explained a little before jumping right into the activities.

In order to teach like this, I think that it would take a lot of teacher cooperation. Teachers of different subjects would have to be willing to put for the time and effort to be apart of this project. I think that you would also need to have technology resources available to you. It would work best if the resources were accessible in the classroom instead of having to go to a lab.

I think that the TEAMS project is worthwhile. I can see some problems if it was the only way to teach subjects because sometimes a lesson just needs to be taught independent of other things especially when you are trying to fit in the entire core curriculum. I think that if this process was used for somethings that students might get more engaged in their learning and would be able to understand concepts better.

Technology and Education #1

Gabcast! Technology and Education #1

Kauchak Post

#1 According to Kauchak (1998) what are three functions of teacher questions? What role does technology play with accomplishing these functions?

According to Kauchak the three functions of teacher questions are 1) assessing current understanding, 2) increasing learner motivation, and 3) guiding new learning.

Technology can help accomplish these functions. You can use clickers and have informal questions to assess student's current understanding. Using clickers would make this step so much faster and easier. Technology is also a great way to increase learner motivation. By using new methods of technology, like clickers or blogs, I think that students will get more motivated about answering questions since it won't be the same, old methods that they are used to. Technology can also help guide new learning. It has the ability to open up discussions because of the resources available to students.

New Baby!

My sister had her baby today. A healthy 7 lbs baby girl. Her name is Mckenna Lehn Summerhays and she is so cute. I am so excited to see her but I have to wait two weeks until I can go to St. George to see her.

Roblyer Post

Question #2 What is the difference between acquiring knowledge and the employment of knowledge as described by Tennyson (1990) in the article?

Tennyson describes acquiring knowledge as the verbal information and procedural knowledge. When I think of this I think of lecturing and very passive learning.

Employment of knowledge is described as contextual skills, cognitive strategies, and creative processes. This makes me think of more hands-on and active learning. The students are really able to apply what they have learned.

I think that both ways are important in the learning process. I like how Tennyson divides time between the two as 30-70. I think that the employment of knowledge definitely should be the type of teaching we are focusing on. The students should be applying what they learn.

All About Me!

My name is Geneava Francis. I was born and raised in the beautiful town of Moab, UT. I grew up in a big family, 5 brothers and 2 sisters. Currently we have 4 (almost 5) additions to our family, either through marriage or birth.

I lived in Moab, this past summer. working at a summer program for teenagers teaching them life skills and showing them fun, recreational activities to do in Moab. It was a bit challenging at times but overall I enjoyed it. I also was a river guide on the Colorado River during the weekends. If you have never gone on a whitewater river trip, I highly suggest it. It is so much fun.

I really enjoy the outdoors, especially in the spring and summer. I'm not a big fan of winter. I just really hate the cold. I like doing most activities outside including: sports, ultimate frisbee, swimming, hiking, rafting, and hula hooping. Other activities I enjoy are: music, movies, plays, watching Jeopardy, video games, sleeping, spending time with friends and family, and recently quilting.

This is my 3rd year at the University of Utah and I love it. I am a history teaching major and probably still have 2 more years after this one. I like to tell people that I'm a history major because I like fun dates. (I know that's pretty lame and I've actually never used it when trying to get a date). I really do love history. I like learning about the past and how it has or is influencing our lives today. I want to become a history teacher so that I can make history come alive to my students. A lot of people say they hate history because it's just a bunch of memorizing. I want to change that, I want people to actually learn the story and why it is relevant today. I want to teach because I love seeing the look on a person's face when they finally grasp a new concept and knowing that you helped put it there, that's pretty cool.

How would I like to use technology in my future classroom? I think that by using technology I could really make history come alive to my students. I would use technology to spark the interests of my students.

Why Technology?

Technology allows you to be more engaging in the classroom. It allows you to adapt your lessons to help every student. It helps make learning fun! This cake is awesome and they probably used technology to create it.