Dear Logan B. & Morgan G.,
My name is Megan Cote and I live in Maine. I have one younger brother and one younger sister. I am at school learning to become a teacher. I love to read and I like to run. I hope you are having fun at school this year.
Megan
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
ACTEM Conference
MAINEducation 2008 Conference
1. Pre-Service Teacher Kick-off Session: Are You Ready to Enter the 21st Century Classroom? At this session, a quote was introduced. The quote seemed to represent a common theme throughout the entire conference. The quote read: "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be," (Wayne Gretzky). This quote stood with me throughout all of the sessions that I attended. I feel that a teacher can be put in place of the hockey player. I want to be a great teacher so I intend to teach for the future not for my past or present. I think that this quote does a really great job of representing the importance of teaching for the future. URL for his presentation including this quote and relating information: http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=ddnv4n8h_27cfq9q9dd
2. Getting Connected. In both the Pre-Service Teacher session and the Digital Toolkit session I learned about many online resources there were to get students connected. If asked to brainstorm resources I would have come up with only a few but these sessions really built up my toolkit of possibilities for students to get connected. Some of the resources I learned about and enjoyed the most were Twitter, Classroom 2.0, Skype, Wikispaces, RSS, Ning and blogs. From the Pre-Service presentation there were many links to these types of tools on slide 35. http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=ddnv4n8h_27cfq9q9dd
3. Wordle. This program is so simple to use and I never knew it existed! I think it is a very creative, colorful, and attention grabbing way for students to become involved in visual learning. It can be used in many ways from looking at spelling words to entering any topic of study. I found myself copying many documents in to just see how creative and colorful it looked in its end product. I loved this tool for its simplicity and eye-catching ability and I can definitely see myself using this program as a teacher. Wordle can be found at this site: http://wordle.net/
5. Robots Incite Learning. Shared at this session was the fact that almost every component of society has or will have robotics associated within that sector. I could have guessed that the number of women in the field was lower than that of males in the field but the fact that it is continuing to decrease surprised me. In this session I learned about numerous ways to integrate robots into the classroom. I discovered different ways to integrate them into many age groups and the numerous types of robots there are. I thought this session was very interesting in that I have never really thought about bringing robots into the classroom but I learned how much of a hands-on approach it is to learning creativity and technological skills. Children learn a lot from building things and being given the time to explore possibilities and variations. This site is a site of robotics programs for many age groups: www.usfirst.org. This site is great for small projects children can build, both the building and the programming part: www.nxtprograms.com.
6. Social Bookmarking. Three of the four sessions I attended referenced the program of Delicious, which is a social bookmarking program. I was told if I bring anything out of this conference, to let it be the idea to create a Delicious account. I do intend to create an account. It seems like a really helpful program for an educator to have to communicate, take in and spread out ideas, and for professional development. This is the site where registration for an account can be done as well as many bookmarks that are popular: www.delicious.com
7. All things Google. Throughout the sessions I learned about many resources that Google offers that I never looked into. One of these resources is Google Reader where you can gather blogs and news feeds on interest. I think this would be a great teacher resource. A list of the many new resources I discovered are at this site http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/. Google reader is here: http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&source=en-mmm#directory-welcome-page
8. SMARTboard. One of the most interesting technological devices that I got to try was the SMARTboard. I feel that this board would be a great tool to have in the classroom and would have many learning benefits. I was introduced to many ways the board can be used and was given the name of a teacher in my hometown that has integrated this technology into his classroom and would be a great person to observe using the board. It is a very interesting tool and one I would love to have in my classroom. SMART technologies website: http://smarttech.com/
9. Technology in the Classroom. In one of the sessions the speaker asked, "Who were your favorite teachers in school?" Next he asked "How many of them were very proficient at using technology and used it very frequently?" I was surprised to see that out of the fifteen people in the room, only one had a teacher who used technology often and well. I see how slowly technology is creeping into the classroom but how quickly it is coming into our world outside the classroom doors. In my classroom I plan to integrate technology as much as I can into lessons because I need to teach for the future. I found this site, by the National School Boards Association, to be very interesting when it came to portraying the importance of technology in the classroom http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/iot.html.
10. Overall Reaction to the Day. This being my first conference, I can definitely see myself attending many more in the future. It was a great experience, I socialized with many current teachers, and it was very informative. I learned a lot and really enjoyed my day at the conference. I really enjoyed how many of the speakers loved to here about where I am from and my plans for my future. It was great to see so many people who take education so seriously and who want the best for their students. I am very excited about my future as an educator and I feel that this conference opened my eyes up to many possibilities and gave myself more confirmation that this is the profession in which I belong.
1. Pre-Service Teacher Kick-off Session: Are You Ready to Enter the 21st Century Classroom? At this session, a quote was introduced. The quote seemed to represent a common theme throughout the entire conference. The quote read: "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be," (Wayne Gretzky). This quote stood with me throughout all of the sessions that I attended. I feel that a teacher can be put in place of the hockey player. I want to be a great teacher so I intend to teach for the future not for my past or present. I think that this quote does a really great job of representing the importance of teaching for the future. URL for his presentation including this quote and relating information: http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=ddnv4n8h_27cfq9q9dd
2. Getting Connected. In both the Pre-Service Teacher session and the Digital Toolkit session I learned about many online resources there were to get students connected. If asked to brainstorm resources I would have come up with only a few but these sessions really built up my toolkit of possibilities for students to get connected. Some of the resources I learned about and enjoyed the most were Twitter, Classroom 2.0, Skype, Wikispaces, RSS, Ning and blogs. From the Pre-Service presentation there were many links to these types of tools on slide 35. http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=ddnv4n8h_27cfq9q9dd
3. Wordle. This program is so simple to use and I never knew it existed! I think it is a very creative, colorful, and attention grabbing way for students to become involved in visual learning. It can be used in many ways from looking at spelling words to entering any topic of study. I found myself copying many documents in to just see how creative and colorful it looked in its end product. I loved this tool for its simplicity and eye-catching ability and I can definitely see myself using this program as a teacher. Wordle can be found at this site: http://wordle.net/
5. Robots Incite Learning. Shared at this session was the fact that almost every component of society has or will have robotics associated within that sector. I could have guessed that the number of women in the field was lower than that of males in the field but the fact that it is continuing to decrease surprised me. In this session I learned about numerous ways to integrate robots into the classroom. I discovered different ways to integrate them into many age groups and the numerous types of robots there are. I thought this session was very interesting in that I have never really thought about bringing robots into the classroom but I learned how much of a hands-on approach it is to learning creativity and technological skills. Children learn a lot from building things and being given the time to explore possibilities and variations. This site is a site of robotics programs for many age groups: www.usfirst.org. This site is great for small projects children can build, both the building and the programming part: www.nxtprograms.com.
6. Social Bookmarking. Three of the four sessions I attended referenced the program of Delicious, which is a social bookmarking program. I was told if I bring anything out of this conference, to let it be the idea to create a Delicious account. I do intend to create an account. It seems like a really helpful program for an educator to have to communicate, take in and spread out ideas, and for professional development. This is the site where registration for an account can be done as well as many bookmarks that are popular: www.delicious.com
7. All things Google. Throughout the sessions I learned about many resources that Google offers that I never looked into. One of these resources is Google Reader where you can gather blogs and news feeds on interest. I think this would be a great teacher resource. A list of the many new resources I discovered are at this site http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/. Google reader is here: http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&source=en-mmm#directory-welcome-page
8. SMARTboard. One of the most interesting technological devices that I got to try was the SMARTboard. I feel that this board would be a great tool to have in the classroom and would have many learning benefits. I was introduced to many ways the board can be used and was given the name of a teacher in my hometown that has integrated this technology into his classroom and would be a great person to observe using the board. It is a very interesting tool and one I would love to have in my classroom. SMART technologies website: http://smarttech.com/
9. Technology in the Classroom. In one of the sessions the speaker asked, "Who were your favorite teachers in school?" Next he asked "How many of them were very proficient at using technology and used it very frequently?" I was surprised to see that out of the fifteen people in the room, only one had a teacher who used technology often and well. I see how slowly technology is creeping into the classroom but how quickly it is coming into our world outside the classroom doors. In my classroom I plan to integrate technology as much as I can into lessons because I need to teach for the future. I found this site, by the National School Boards Association, to be very interesting when it came to portraying the importance of technology in the classroom http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/iot.html.
10. Overall Reaction to the Day. This being my first conference, I can definitely see myself attending many more in the future. It was a great experience, I socialized with many current teachers, and it was very informative. I learned a lot and really enjoyed my day at the conference. I really enjoyed how many of the speakers loved to here about where I am from and my plans for my future. It was great to see so many people who take education so seriously and who want the best for their students. I am very excited about my future as an educator and I feel that this conference opened my eyes up to many possibilities and gave myself more confirmation that this is the profession in which I belong.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Webquest Ideas
My overall interest in this webquest is to have students study and understand the complexities of the Holocaust.
1. A Holocaust Day (I would like to do this one :-))
a.) Topic: Have students explore the holocaust as a whole and what life was like for Jewish individuals.
b.) Grade Level: 7th
c.) It is 1939 and you are living in a city in Germany. A man named Adolph Hitler has taken over the country and is trying to take over the world. If you are Jewish, you may be hiding or you may be imprisoned in a concentration camp. If you are non-Jewish you may be risking your life to oppose Hitler and hide Jews or you may have fallen into the Nazi Solider standing. What are you writing in your journal? Do you know how to write? How else can you depict your life at this point in time? Poems?
d.) Roles:
Jewish man in concentration camp: research what life may have been like for you.
Jewish girl hiding: research what life may have been like for you.
Nazi solider: research what life may have been like for you.
Non-Jewish woman hiding a Jew in her home: research what life was like for you.
Jewish child at concentration camp: research what life may have been like for you.
2. Picture Portrayal
a.) Topic: Have students create a visual piece that portrays the Holocaust without using text or audio text.
(only pictures/illustrations)
b.) Grade Level: 6th
c.) Task: Many people are visual learners. You are assigned the task of creating a visual piece (PowerPoint, collage, etc.) reflecting/portraying the Holocaust as a whole. You must use pictures that metaphorically represent feelings, emotions, events, and hardships of the Holocaust and not actual pictures of the time period.
d.) Role: (All members of the group will research information about the Holocaust)
Organizational Orange: Organizes/sorts information into common/relating groups
Emotion Potion: Decides/reflects on what emotions shall be portrayed in the slideshow
Picture Persons (2): Searches for pictures that reflect the emotions/feelings
Technological Technician: Puts pictures into collage/PowerPoint/etc.
Final Toucher: Puts the finishing touches on the project (color, extras, corrections, etc.)
3. News Flash!
a.) Topic: Students will research the Holocaust and educate others about this important event with the goal of helping to break the cycle of violence.
b.) Grade Level: 7th
c.) Task: You are American newspaper reporters living during the Holocaust era. You have been sent to Germany in order to report back to the United States about the events taking place there. You are assigned the task of researching, writing, and editing a single edition of your newspaper.
d.) Roles:
Adolf Area: responsible for an article depicting his life and his contributions to the Holocaust.
Childhood Chancelor: responsible for an editorial of what children of the Holocaust were going through.
Concentration Concentrator: responsible for creating a letter to the editor from a Jewish person in a concentration camp depicting his/her life there.
Nuremberg Laws Noter: Responsible for getting the "w's" (who, what, where, when, and why) on the Nuremberg Laws.
"Final Solution" Informer: Responsible for getting the "w's" of the Final Solution.
Death Decoder: Responsible for getting the "w's" of the Death Marches.
4. Poetic Purpose
a.) Topic: Have students create a poem from the perspective of child living in the concentration camps during the Holocaust.
b.) Grade Level: 7th
c.) Task: What is life like? How do you feel? Do you have hope? Who is left? You are a child living in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Write a poem for future individuals to read to inform them of what your life is like at this time.
d.) Roles:
Food Fascination: Research nutrition provided at the camps. Starvation? Malnutrition? Overall health?
Sleep/Home Dweller: Research where Jewish captives slept and where their "home base" was.
Work Wonderer: What kind work did children undertake at the concentration camps?
Family Favorer: Were families kept together at the camps? What were the family relationships like?
Poetic Picker: Research types of poems and formats. How will your group layout and form the poem?
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