The end is near

What- We are wrapping up the semester. Not too much longer to go. Basically discussed the remainder of the semester and assignments that we need to finish up.

So-what- Getting excited, I know how my students will feel towards the end of the semester. I know that I will need to keep them focused in order to get quality work out of them.

Now-what- So my goal now is to figure out ways that I will be able to keep them focused. Since I am a PE teacher, I am already thinking up different games and activities that can incorporate the holidays or weather that will be educational and fun and engaging. I've got this!

Picassa

What- This week was interesting. I have previous knowledge of online photo editing software, so I felt confident when I learned that we would be using picassa. It's a very simple tool to use.

So What- Being able to have this software in my classroom can allow me to have students create presentations or learn about different sports by photographing them and then fixing them and putting them in powerpoints.

Now what- I will start brainstorming ideas about how I can use this in my PE classroom.

Internet Safety

When I think about Internet safety, the first thing that comes to mind is pop up blockers. I will admit that I haven't really thought too much about internet safety, especially as far as in my classroom. I have just been on this technology high since the beginning of the semester, and I haven't really put a lot of thought into how I am going to keep my students safe while being able to teach them. Learning about the different types of abuse that students are exposed to on a regular basis is astounding. I am shocked that this is going on. As a teacher I will have to be dilligent in my attempt to keep my students safe from the evils of the internet. I will make sure that as far as any areas of the internet that I use will be a safe environment for my students by monitoring and making sure that the necessary precautions are taken to help keep my students safe. I will not tollerate cyber bullying. I hope to create strong student teacher relationships and I want to be the teacher that if something like that is going on that my students will feel comfortable enough to confide in me so that it can be stopped immediately. Researching out webpages that I want my students to use is going to be very important. I need to make sure that the pages that I want them to utilize are safe, and that the information is correct. When I begin teaching in the schools I will make sure that before I use any technology in my classroom that I will have checked the authenticity and taken the necessary steps to ensure safety for my students.

digital stories cont.

We are still continuing our journey to digital stories. This week we were lucky enough to have an entire class period to pound out ideas and bring our story to life. Digital Stories are a fabulous tool to be able to have access to as a teacher. When Spencer and I started brain storming our ideas for what we could include in our digital story, we found it harder to narrow it down to just one! I can't wait to get an arsenal of digital stories and I want to use them for all my units. Being able to connect with all types of learners is going to be so beneficial to both the students and myself. I think I need to get a mac though! The programs on the mac are so much fun to play with. I need to keep practicing using the knowledge that I have learned so that I will be able to use it when I become a teacher. I can't wait to see our final project. It's going to be awesome.