CED530 Week 1

I'm really excited about this class. I think it's going to be fun creating work for digital story telling. HOW COOL! This is so funny-----I thought I was the queen of presentations for my classes. I thought they were so ........... cool, engaging, fun, interactive........but after doing some of the homework and readings we were assigned, I now realize that I was wrong. HA HA
I admit to using PowerPoint presentation in my classroom. I thought it was a great tool and the kids seem to enjoy it. I make sure I add games, links, movie clips and pictures to my presentations. One thing I found very interesting and my mind keeps going back to it, is that the left side of the brain is emotional, musical, and moody and the left side is dexterity, facts and hard data. Thus, you can wreck the communication process if your not using logical information. Makes sense, but I never really gave it that deep of thought.

CED525 Week 5 Strategies

Generating and Testing Hypothesis
When people see these words they think of science class. This strategy should be used in every classroom and not just in the science rooms. This strategy makes students think deeper about the concept, or lesson that is going to be taught. The book gave the example of historical investigation for social studies. Students construct hypothesis about historical events for which there is no agreed-upon resolution. I love this activity because my students can discuss their thoughts, listen to other students thoughts and build a great discussion. Sometimes this can even lead into a debate. My students love doing debates, so this strategy always seems to bring an exciting class period. Overall, this is a great strategy for seeing what your students already know and what they need to learn from you.

CED525 Class 4 Homework & Practice

I was very interested in chapter 10, homework & practice. I think too many teachers assign homework for the wrong reasons. The book stated that "homework should provide opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and gain proficiency with their skills". I see teachers giving homework, just to give it. It's busy work that doesn't have a great deal of relevance. Teachers who give crossword puzzles drive me crazy! Why? What is the true assessment? I personally think it's simply busy work. I'd hope that most teachers in the profession have moved past this type of homework. It needs reinforce and deepen the understanding of the content presented. Students need a reason to do homework and they should feel like their learning from it. Design homework that clearly tells the purpose and outcome. I think the students have a right to know why their doing it. I believe that students should be able to see the learning objectives and overall outcome of the unit, or lesson being studied. This gives them an idea of where they are starting and where they need to go. Mastering a skill takes time and a large amount of practice. Not just any type of practice, or review, but meaningful practice. This chapter was full of great ideas and ways to enhance assessment while using technology. The last point I wanted to make was on the amount of homework children get. I always feel bad hearing parents tell "horror" stories about homework. Most of the time the teacher could have prevented such situations. Busy work not only burdens and hinders a childs learning, or want to learn, but it puts a strain on parents. I hear stories time and time again of parents sitting at the kitchen table for hours with their crying child. They talk about their child "shutting down" and not being able to finish the homework. Well, I would shut down as well if I had to do 50 math problems that were ALL the same. I agree with drill and practice, but where do we draw the line for our children? I don't mean to pick on math teachers, but that was a common example of this problem. The bottom line is that we need to make our objectives clear to our students. Make sure they know the purpose of the work. I wouldn't want to do a bunch of work for no reason, so why should they.