“Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.”

I thought I would go along with the whole "Seed Idea" when coming up with a title for this week's blog! Last Wednesday, I thought it was really helpful to meet with our partners to discuss possible Seed Ideas for our upcoming project. I have some possible rough draft ideas that I am going to share in class next week, and hopefully I will be able to get some good input! I can't wait to see how everyone's final pieces turn out. This is another project that I will be able to incorporate into my future classroom!

The Writing Analysis worksheet also allowed me to develop a deeper level of understanding children's writing. By answering the questions about the writing piece, I was able to get a feel for why my student chose certain words, and why he writes the way he does. It also helped me realize different approaches I can take in order for him to improve upon his writing skills.

Multigenre Research Paper Fair!

Last class was the MGRP fair, where the entire class had the opportunity to explore each other's genres. It was entertaining to go around and see what everyone came up with based off their chosen topic. Not only was the fair fun, but it was also beneficial because I learned a ton about topics I had never studied before. I had no idea Hugh Hefner graduated from college.. or that Toy Story was the first Pixar movie... or how many animals you save a year by becoming a vegetarian. Some of the information I discovered through the Genre Fair really blew my mind, and I am glad everyone put forth an ample amount of effort so there was plenty to discover and learn! I think this is an excellent idea to incorporate into my future classroom for several reasons. It allows the students to focus on a topic that interests them, while becoming more familiar with the topic of their choice. Choice is such an important aspect of classroom learning and if we as future teachers can spark the interest of our students, then they will be more motivated to learn. Creativity is also quintessential to the Multigenre Research Paper, and this will give students an opportunity to use their imaginations in order to create and come up with their different genre pieces. Overall, I really enjoyed this project and learned a ton of interesting information; I can't wait to incorporate this lesson into my future classroom.

Multigenre Research Paper Summary

For this post, I thought it would be beneficial if I posted my Multigenre Research Paper summary, so everyone can make sense of the genres I chose for my topic, which was technology.

1.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U : Did you Know?

I decided to incorporate the video titled, “Did you know?” into my presentation because I believe this video is full of interesting facts that emphasize the importance of using technology in the classroom on a daily basis. This informative video clip discusses several important issues that the education field is struggling with right now, while giving useful facts that make us think about the world in which surrounds us. Technology is such a huge part of daily life and continues to improve each and every second; therefore, teachers and students must do what they can to keep up with the ever-changing market.

2.) Advertisement : Smart Board

In order to stress the importance of digital technology in the classroom, I decided to create an advertisement for a Smart Board, which consists of a picture of students actively participating in class with a short headline. Smart Boards are accessible in most elementary schools around the country and the market continues to thrive. The digital learning experience that Smart Boards provide allows students to dynamically participate with the curriculum being taught, while giving them an opportunity to engage with the newest classroom technology. The Smart Board interactive whiteboard operates as part of a system that uses the interactive whiteboard, a computer, a projector and white boarding software called Smart Notebook collaborative learning software. The interactive whiteboard accepts touch input from a finger, pen or other solid object. I believe this technological tool should be available in all schools because of its proven effect to improve overall learning through the use of technology.

3.) Technology Terms for Dummies

I created this “cheat sheet” of technological terms and definitions to help teachers that are looking to incorporate a new tool or device into their classroom. This list consists of several ideas that teachers can use in order to improve learning and help students become more familiar with technology. I listed ideas in which incorporates curriculum material along with technology, and gave a brief description of each. One website I listed, Pixton, allows students to create digital comic strips on the computer that can be used to solidify knowledge of material covered in class.

4.) Cartoon: Technology in the Classroom

I designed a cartoon using the program “Pixton” to create a comic strip that describes the importance of introducing new technology into the classroom on a regular basis. It is quintessential for our students to use technology daily in order to create projects to generate new ideas that help build their skills in the technology world. Teachers must also educate themselves on new technological tools that emerge, while coming up with lesson plans that incorporate these inventions. As the cartoon states, “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” –Bill Gates

5.) Recipe for Success

I decided to create a recipe that consists of an actual lesson plan that a teacher can employ in his/her classroom using technology. The recipe consists of ingredients, which include a plethora of different technological devices that a school might have available to its students. The recipe asks that students create digital videos about childhood experiences that made them into the person they are today. The recipe gives step-by-step instructions describing how each “ingredient” should be used and incorporated in order to create the finished product, which is the digital video. The students are encouraged to use computers, the program “Inspiration,” iPods, microphones, Windows Media Player, and digital cameras. The students are also given the opportunity to share their creations with the class, which helps build trust within the classroom community.

This project not only gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with the process of creating a Multigenre Research Paper, but it also allowed me to explore the endless possibilities that technology provides to teachers and students. I was able to find free websites and available tools that encouraged student to create, compare/contrast, categorize, design, organize, analyze, construct, evaluate, and summarize. All of these concepts run parallel to the ideas of “Bloom’s Taxonomy,” which supports children in developing deeper understandings of the material they are presented with. There are an infinite number of tools online that help children with comprehension, application, analysis, and evaluation, and by doing this project I was able to discover several useful resources that I will be able to implement in my future classroom. This project also helped me develop a deeper level of understanding of tools that will make my job easier and more efficient as a college student, and as a future classroom teacher. I am a strong advocate of creativity and I believe students should be able to use their ingenuity in the classroom on a daily basis. Technology helps make inventiveness achievable for students by providing them with tools that give them the opportunity to create meaning in ways that was impossible before.