Week 10 PLE Post

The first online technology I looked at was Prezi. Prezi helps you present content in an engaging way that is much more interesting than a Powerpoint. Basically, you create a giant poster and you zoom in and out on the content on the poster. It can be found at http://prezi.com/. The second technology I looked at is called Gliffy. Gliffy is an online diagram software. It helps you to create pretty much any kind of graph, floor plan, or chart you want. It can be found at http://www.gliffy.com/. The last technology I looked at is called Mindmeister. It is an online mind mapping tool. It helps you brainstorm and get your ideas down and organized. It van be found at http://www.mindmeister.com/.

Science Project Challenge

Here is a link to the technology lesson planning chart:
Chart

Week 9 PLE Post

Some ways I can tell if I have successfully integrated technology into my lesson is if more time is spent doing the activity involving the technology than figuring out how to use the technology. Also if it takes a lot of time to set up the technology, then it is probably not worth the teacher's time. To add to a lesson, a technology should not distract from the subject matter being taught. It should facilitate learning and not hinder it. The indicators that can tell if a teacher has chosen the right technology is if it is not too hard for the teacher or the children to figure out, if the students seem to enjoy and like it, and if it functions properly.

Virtual Tour

Here is a link to the virtual tour
Virtual tour

Here is a link to the activity sheets:
Activity sheets

Week 8 PLE Post

Some of the problems with learning TPACK skills are that they are something totally new to all teachers and so it would take them a while to get used to them. Also, it takes more effort on the teacher's part to integrate different technologies into their lesson plans. The main idea of the article is that technology is a good pedagogy and can enhance student's learning. Technology needs to be a regular part of a teacher's lesson plans. Some of the ideas in the article that led to my main idea were that there should be a comprehensive list of technologies that corresponding to the curriculum for the teacher's use and just the importance the whole article placed on using technology in the right context. This article might be important to me as a teacher because it cites important studies and research that has been done that will help me become a better teacher.