A New Way of Learning

This video teaches teachers and students that digital learning can enchance learning.

Blog # 6 and #7

Their are both positive and negative affects that involve using the internet in an early elementary classroom. Some pros about using the internet is it will prepare students for internet usage in the future. It will also help support their research and may even enhance their learning. Some cons is it may be too much for them to learn for a student at such a young age. Their are also some dangers to worry about such as online predators or inappropriate websites. Their are many beneficial uses for the internet in an early elementary class. It is a great resource for children with disabilities, since technology is growing so rapidly their are certain programs and websites students can use to help them better understand the material. It also can be a fun way of learning. Students all have their favorite cartoon characters, and there are many different educational games that involve television shows. If a student hates schoolwork, it would be a good idea to put them on a computer because they will not even realize they are doing educational things because they will be having so much fun. It is also great for the students to get familiar with the internet because they will be using it for the rest of their lives. For being a college student and a high school graduate, I would not have survived without the internet. My favorite educational website that I have learned about so far is probably webquest. I like webquest because it can be used by a student or a teacher, and it serves many purposes. If a student is doing a book report on a certain subject, webquest will tell the student what book would be suitable to use. It will also help teachers plan lessons, and what resources will be the most effective.
Since I am halfway done with this course, I have learned a lot. I have learned that technology is growing everyday, and it keeps improving. I believe technology is a great resource for an elementary class, and never realized how important it is until this course. It can help students with different types of learning styles and really benefit students with disablities. It can also help the teacher be more prepared and provide better resources. The most important lesson and concept I have learned so far are the different educational websites that are on the internet. I have never realized how many free internet tools there are avaliable for teachers and students. I have gotten to look at some of them through learning about them during this course, and did not know there were tons more on the internet.

Blog #5

I found this article very interesting because it is a topic that has been occurring lately. I think there are positive and negative affects of these standards. In my opinion, for a teacher's perspective I find this very intimidating and stressful. I think it is a good idea for young students to learn these standards, and it would prepare them for their years ahead, but I believe it would put alot of pressure on the teachers. If some students do not pass some of these standards, people might pass judgments on the teachers. I have heard that kindergarten and third grade are the most difficult grades to teach and this is because of the standarized testing. On a positive note, this would give teachers alot of things to teach the students, and it will help them develop good lesson plans because of the variety of standards they need to know. For a student's perspective, it also has positive and negative sides. Every child learns differently, and has a strong subject, so with the standards it might be difficult to see that on a test. I think it is a good way to prepare them for the schooling years to come, but is it too much to ask of a six year old? Can a kindergardner handle the pressure of these new standards? Every student and classroom is different. Some teachers could incorporate all of these standards into creative lesson plans for each student to understand. Each classroom and student are different, some can handle the pressure of these standards, while others are not. It is alot of stress to put on a very young student, however it will prepare the student for the future in the classroom. The last thing I am going to say is it takes the right kind of person to be a kindergarden teacher. They have to be determined, motivated and have discipline.