Weebly Curriculum Page Link!

http://butterflycyclemisswilliams.weebly.com/

Teacher Web Pages

     Teacher web pages are websites used to add to the classroom's learning. Teacher web pages can be implemented for several reasons. Either to have homework posted, parent letters, or just weekly/monthly class news. Teacher web pages will look different depending on a school district. Some schools require teacher web pages and some do not. Some teacher web pages are more blogs rather than websites. The use of a teacher webpages typically depends on the district and the teacher's willingness to go above and beyond.
     When I am teaching I will have a teacher web page. I think they are vital to our internet savvy world we live in. I will post any class updates as often as possible. I will put up resources that parents can download to do with their children outside of school. Another way I may use a web page is to post homework assignments so students never have the excuse of leaving it at school or forgetting to write the assignment down. My teacher web page will have two parts: one for the students and one for the parents. Students can access homework, any news, and resources/games that they can play. Parents will be able to get weekly calendar updates, classroom happenings, lesson details, resources for their use, and a question/answer area.
     A pro of a teacher web pages is to keep in constant communication with families and the community. Its easy for everyone to access and does not require individual contact with parents as often. Also, teacher web pages are very helpful for parents to stay involved in what is going on in their child's school experience. A con of maintaining a web page is that it takes time. If a teacher commits to weekly updates, he/she needs to stay on top of that the whole year. This is hard when the to-do list keeps getting longer. However, the communication that web pages provide far outweighs the time and teachers should try to be as committed as possible to their web page.

Screencast- Pintrest

iPadio Post

Podcasts

     Podcasts are audio or video files using RSS that are prepared and distributed to subscribed users. These files can be shared across the web or on a MP3 player. Podcasts are easily becoming one of the newest trends of communication. One can easily download a podcast and take it anywhere they would like. Podcasts can be visual, strictly audio, or both.
     Podcasts are great tools for teachers to use in their classrooms. Teachers can use podcasts as communication tools with the parents in their classroom. When I am a teacher, if I know I have a tech savy group of parents I may try to use podcasts for daily updates. I can explain to the parents how the podcasting works at the beginning of the year and then hope they use this tool. Also in my classroom, I may choose to use podcasts as additions to my lessons. Students can listen to them for homework and have schema for what I want to do for the next day. Or I may try the flip teaching and use podcasts as my lessons at home and help students with homework and projects in class. I will also use other professionals podcasts to learn and improve my teaching or my classroom.
     Podcasts can be helpful or nonbeneficial to a classroom depending on the use of them. Some cons of podcasting is that it takes away the personal touch of teaching or communicating with parents. Video podcasts still do not count. Podcasts also can take time for teachers to create and some parents/students will not even tune in to listen to them. Podcasts do have pros as well. Podcasts are great supplements to teaching in a classroom. Other teaching professionals may have created great podcasts that you students may benefit from listening to. Podcasts are also like DVR. A student, parent, or teacher can go back and listen to a podcast several times. This can help learners who need to hear the material more than once. Podcasts are great additions to the classroom depending on the use intended.

Credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjhagen/2133732967/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

How Do Educators Learn?

What is a webquest?

     Webquests are used in education as another form of learning. According to Bernie Dodge on Concepts to Classroom, webquests are "an inquiry-oriented online tool for learning." Webquests are lessons that allow students to explore beyond the boundaries of the classom. Teachers can use webquests to build schema of places/things that students have never experienced. Webquests are on the Internet, therefore computer access is necessary. Webquests can last over a period of time or just in one hour. These lessons normally allow students to be creative with the resources given to them. Some webquests also build upon teamwork.

     Webquests are very useful for the classroom and to engage students in a deeper level of thinking. In my classroom, I think I will use webquests often. I am a Early Childhood major and younger students need to be accostomed to using computers in the correct way. I think that webquests in my classroom will be to make learning fun and to show that there are fun educational things on the web. My goal of using webquests will be an extension of teaching. Bringing creativity into the classroom and to teach teamwork will be vital. I will use webquests as either a final part of a lesson or as an introduction. For my practice webquest, I am doing the life cycle of the butterfly. I would use this as an introduction to a more detailed lesson as well as hands-on experiences with the life cycle of a butterfly. Webquests are helpful for differentiation as well. There can be different webquests for the different students in the classroom. The different webquests can be differentiated for those with different needs. But, the webquests will all be the same. I think this is helpful for a diverse classroom.
    There are many pros and cons to using webquests in classrooms. Some pros of webquests are that students learn to work in teams with other students. This can be a challenge for some students because they choose not to get along with others, but it is a good teaching tool. The webquests allow students to have quicker access to information. Society will require these students to find information at an alarmingly fast pace from a great deal of sources. Webquests allow for creativity and a deeper thought process beyond a mulitple choice test. Students have to construct and understand the concept that is being presented. While these pros are helpful, there are many cons to webquests as lessons. Some webquests do not provide the basic knowledge to a subject such as: definitions or factual recall. Many content standards are based off of those two ideas and are sometimes withdrawn from webquests. Webquests also take a great deal of time to create. Many teachers do not have that much time to learn how to make it and gather all of the resources for the students in time to teach it. Some schools have a hard time doing webquests because they do not have the technology to have a whole class on a computer at a time. This poses a problem unless you can have students pair up on the computers. Behavioral problems can arise at this point, because of the "unfair" usage of computers. There are both sides presented. However, I think that webquests can be useful as an extension of learning.






Credits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuelbausson/3394771317/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html