The time has come to say goodbye :-/. This was my first online course and I learned a ton. Although I realized how easy it can be to fall behind, especially when you don't have class meetings to remind you of deadlines and assignments, it forces you to be more responsible and stay on top of your work.
I have learned SO much from this class. I had no idea the tools that are available on the internet for teaching. I was always under the influence that you had to purchase specific software and eventually when it became outdated purchase newer products. However, this course proves that there are multiple tools to help different types of learners understand coursework, and more, find it fun! Great course overall!
- Lauren
Monday, May 16, 2011
Webquest!
I've finally gotten a chance to post my webquest! It was work using this completely new form of technology/internet, but at the same time interesting. Webquests combine multiple assignments and tedious searching on the internet into an easy to use, effective tool.
My webquest is for Pre-K students, so it is more elementary and requires the assistance of an adult. However, I feel this still serve to be useful in introducing technology to students at a very young age. This tool is even more effective for older children that can read and really dive into these assignments. They combine the use of computers and the internet which children love with assignments they can find interesting and fun. Overall, great tool and enriching experience.
http://questgarden.com/126/43/9/110512171613/
- Lauren
My webquest is for Pre-K students, so it is more elementary and requires the assistance of an adult. However, I feel this still serve to be useful in introducing technology to students at a very young age. This tool is even more effective for older children that can read and really dive into these assignments. They combine the use of computers and the internet which children love with assignments they can find interesting and fun. Overall, great tool and enriching experience.
http://questgarden.com/126/43/9/110512171613/
- Lauren
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Technology Powerpoint
Hopefully this link works. I couldn't upload the actual PowerPoint here but if you click on the link below it should bring you to the web page where you can view it.
Excel in the Classroom
-Lauren
Excel in the Classroom
-Lauren
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Website
Hi All,
Please find below my website, "Lauren's World of Learning" :-D Enjoy!!
https://sites.google.com/site/laurenworldoflearning/
-Lauren
Please find below my website, "Lauren's World of Learning" :-D Enjoy!!
https://sites.google.com/site/laurenworldoflearning/
-Lauren
Friday, April 15, 2011
Web 2.0- Skype
Hi All,
I have personally used Skype before and it was great! Although, sometimes the visual and audio don't always correlate perfectly depending on your internet connection/speed, it is a great program! I have only used it for personal purposes but after looking through the manyyy possibilities of incorporating it into the classroom I feel like the options are limitless!!
One of the options listed in the "Ways to use Skype in the Classroom" link was conducting seminars. A friend of mine is actually pursuing her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at UMDNJ and she actually has spoken to me about it. They have had seminars given where all students, either in groups or individually, in the comfort of their own home or at a computer lab, would log onto Skype under a specific group section. From there they listen and watch the professor or guest lecturer and vice versa. Aterwords they can ask questions and discuss the topic at hand. I feel like this is a very innovative teaching method. The fact that you can nearly speak/see with any doctor, author, educator, ANYONE, is amazing. This expands the opportunity of learning using such an interesting tool.
Additionally, working in an Abbot district/low income city, we do not have the ability to take multiple field trips and give students this firsthand experience to explore. However through the use of Skype, students can receive tours of museums, experience foreign culture lessons, view exotic animals run free and so much more! Overall, I feel Skype opens many doors for students and opportunities for learning.
-Lauren
I have personally used Skype before and it was great! Although, sometimes the visual and audio don't always correlate perfectly depending on your internet connection/speed, it is a great program! I have only used it for personal purposes but after looking through the manyyy possibilities of incorporating it into the classroom I feel like the options are limitless!!
One of the options listed in the "Ways to use Skype in the Classroom" link was conducting seminars. A friend of mine is actually pursuing her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at UMDNJ and she actually has spoken to me about it. They have had seminars given where all students, either in groups or individually, in the comfort of their own home or at a computer lab, would log onto Skype under a specific group section. From there they listen and watch the professor or guest lecturer and vice versa. Aterwords they can ask questions and discuss the topic at hand. I feel like this is a very innovative teaching method. The fact that you can nearly speak/see with any doctor, author, educator, ANYONE, is amazing. This expands the opportunity of learning using such an interesting tool.
Additionally, working in an Abbot district/low income city, we do not have the ability to take multiple field trips and give students this firsthand experience to explore. However through the use of Skype, students can receive tours of museums, experience foreign culture lessons, view exotic animals run free and so much more! Overall, I feel Skype opens many doors for students and opportunities for learning.
-Lauren
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Free Choice Blog
So when choosing what topic to blog about I started thinking about recent topics in education. I guess I'm going to be brave and talk about the controversial issue occurring with our governor Chris Christie. He has been under a lot of heat, from myself included, about the different plans of action he wants to enact in the NJ education field. I'll only address one.
Christie would like to abolish the pay increments teachers receive based on years in the field and graduate credits/degrees. As someone who is pursuing her Masters I think the later is absurd. Yes, I am continuing school because I want to expand my knowledge on the education field and hold a higher degree but I do feel teachers should be compensated for taking the extra (not easy or walk in the park) step to further their education. When striving to learn more about the ever evolving topic of education and better oneself as an educator, students as well as teachers benefit. If teachers didn't strive to continually better themselves, teaching in the classroom would take a severe hit. Not to mention that attending graduate school is not cheap, especially at a school like St. Peter's College :-)~.
I do not think this criteria of receiving a pay raise should be abolished. However, I do not feel that just being a teacher for several years should automatically entitle you to a pay increase. Heck, honestly I don't feel like the pay "steps" are even that much sometimes. I can confidently say that if pay increases were based on students' performance I would be entitled to a larger increase than the automatic ones offered now. I think if teachers had students' performance linked to their raises, not only would they work harder in making sure their students are learning the material but they would be much better compensated for the hardwork that teachers so often have overlooked. Moreover, the teachers that don't strive to work hard can stay at the "comfortable" salary they have. Additionally, it will be much easier and a quicker task to figure out which teachers should possibly be up for a review.
Like I mentioned, there are sooo many more points in his plan that we can address, but that would be an endless blog...
-Lauren
Christie would like to abolish the pay increments teachers receive based on years in the field and graduate credits/degrees. As someone who is pursuing her Masters I think the later is absurd. Yes, I am continuing school because I want to expand my knowledge on the education field and hold a higher degree but I do feel teachers should be compensated for taking the extra (not easy or walk in the park) step to further their education. When striving to learn more about the ever evolving topic of education and better oneself as an educator, students as well as teachers benefit. If teachers didn't strive to continually better themselves, teaching in the classroom would take a severe hit. Not to mention that attending graduate school is not cheap, especially at a school like St. Peter's College :-)~.
I do not think this criteria of receiving a pay raise should be abolished. However, I do not feel that just being a teacher for several years should automatically entitle you to a pay increase. Heck, honestly I don't feel like the pay "steps" are even that much sometimes. I can confidently say that if pay increases were based on students' performance I would be entitled to a larger increase than the automatic ones offered now. I think if teachers had students' performance linked to their raises, not only would they work harder in making sure their students are learning the material but they would be much better compensated for the hardwork that teachers so often have overlooked. Moreover, the teachers that don't strive to work hard can stay at the "comfortable" salary they have. Additionally, it will be much easier and a quicker task to figure out which teachers should possibly be up for a review.
Like I mentioned, there are sooo many more points in his plan that we can address, but that would be an endless blog...
-Lauren
Video post
I was fairly happy with how this video came out and was also surprised at how easy it was to post. I used my digital camera to record and upload the video. Since I mentioned funny self-taken video posts I thought I'd share a short, cute one I found recently: Such a Cutie. Enjoy!
-Lauren
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Dinosaur Interactive Dig
These interactive field trips are some of the coolest things I've seen in a while. I think these websites would completely grab students attention and significantly increase their interest in a lesson. As I mentioned before, my Pre-K students LOVE the Computer Center and something like this would completely engulf them in the topic I'd be teaching. In searching through the sites Ms. Schmidt provided, I came across the Dinosaur Excavation site. Although the link no longer works I decided to search for some related to dinosaurs because it is a soon approaching theme in my curriculum.
Through my search I found this interactive dig: Dinosaur Interactive Dig. This website walks you through the process of an excavation and transportation to a museum step-by step. Although it may be a little advanced for my students to manage alone, with either myself or my aid I think my students could learn a lot through a hands-on, interesting tool while having a blast.
I also explored the Museum links and went onto the Smithsonian's website. In searching through I found an interactive flash game called, "Sizing up the Universe," http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/idealabs/universe.html. This particular game teaches you all about the universe and simplifies the teaching of relative sizes of different parts of the universe. It is a great way of breaking down for children the concept of the universe in a more understandable, realistic way. We just finished learning about space and will also be learning about the universe so this would be another great interactive site I would incorporate into my lesson plans.
All in all, these interactive websites and virtual field trips are ridiculously innovative and I think every teacher, student and parent should get access to them to really make learning that much more fun!
Through my search I found this interactive dig: Dinosaur Interactive Dig. This website walks you through the process of an excavation and transportation to a museum step-by step. Although it may be a little advanced for my students to manage alone, with either myself or my aid I think my students could learn a lot through a hands-on, interesting tool while having a blast.
I also explored the Museum links and went onto the Smithsonian's website. In searching through I found an interactive flash game called, "Sizing up the Universe," http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/idealabs/universe.html. This particular game teaches you all about the universe and simplifies the teaching of relative sizes of different parts of the universe. It is a great way of breaking down for children the concept of the universe in a more understandable, realistic way. We just finished learning about space and will also be learning about the universe so this would be another great interactive site I would incorporate into my lesson plans.
All in all, these interactive websites and virtual field trips are ridiculously innovative and I think every teacher, student and parent should get access to them to really make learning that much more fun!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
High school report cards
I chose to compare the high school I graduated from, High Tech High School and my town high school, Union City High School. High Tech is a magnet, public school which accepts students from all over Hudson County, which includes Union City. I have to be honest, I knew comparing these two report cards would show many differences which is mainly why I selected them. Moreover, although it has been roughly 7 years since I graduated from high school, I wanted so see how the statistics would have stacked between my two main options for high school.
The first thing I noticed was the difference in student to computer ratio. With a name like High Tech High School you would correctly assume that they would be more advanced in technology. HT's ratio is 0.8 while Union City's is 1.8. However, what surprised me more was that High Tech has 690 computers in the classroom while Union City has none! 0! Granted they have them all in computer labs and have about double the amount, however they also have about 4 times as many students enrolled.
In reviewing results of standardized tests, the gap only got larger. On the HSPA, High Tech High School scored above 98% proficient or advanced in Language arts literacy and 96% proficient or advanced in math. Union City on the other hand scored 74% proficient or advanced in Language arts literacy and 59% proficient or advanced in math. 82% of HT students took the SATs while only 57% of UC students did. Finally, the average 2009-2010 SAT score for High Tech High School was a 1658 while Union City's was a 1208. These numbers are just depressing and upsetting. I understand the reasons behind such huge gaps, I just feel more can be done to close it. This just shows that students start falling behind before high school and it is a slippery slope to where they just give up and don't have the same chance of success as others.
The first thing I noticed was the difference in student to computer ratio. With a name like High Tech High School you would correctly assume that they would be more advanced in technology. HT's ratio is 0.8 while Union City's is 1.8. However, what surprised me more was that High Tech has 690 computers in the classroom while Union City has none! 0! Granted they have them all in computer labs and have about double the amount, however they also have about 4 times as many students enrolled.
In reviewing results of standardized tests, the gap only got larger. On the HSPA, High Tech High School scored above 98% proficient or advanced in Language arts literacy and 96% proficient or advanced in math. Union City on the other hand scored 74% proficient or advanced in Language arts literacy and 59% proficient or advanced in math. 82% of HT students took the SATs while only 57% of UC students did. Finally, the average 2009-2010 SAT score for High Tech High School was a 1658 while Union City's was a 1208. These numbers are just depressing and upsetting. I understand the reasons behind such huge gaps, I just feel more can be done to close it. This just shows that students start falling behind before high school and it is a slippery slope to where they just give up and don't have the same chance of success as others.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Introduction
Hi Everyone,
My name is Lauren Sosa and I am a Pre-K teacher. I initially received my undergraduate degree in Business and Marketing from The College of New Jersey. I worked in business for about two years but eventually decided it wasn't for me. Coming from a long line of educators and being the oldest of 17 cousins, it dawned on me that teaching was the career for me. I am in my first year of teaching while enrolled in the Teacher Preparation Program/Master's in Education program at Saint Peter's College. This is only my second semester so I'm just getting started.
Although I consider myself to be pretty technologically savvy, I have never taken an online course and can really get angry with technology when it doesn't do what I want. However, I am always excited to learn new things and I feel technology can bring SO much to a curriculum and lessons. Although I do not have much technology besides one computer in my classroom, the students loveee the "computer center" and all the interactive learning it provides. I hope to gain many ideas and know-how from this course.
- Lauren :-)
My name is Lauren Sosa and I am a Pre-K teacher. I initially received my undergraduate degree in Business and Marketing from The College of New Jersey. I worked in business for about two years but eventually decided it wasn't for me. Coming from a long line of educators and being the oldest of 17 cousins, it dawned on me that teaching was the career for me. I am in my first year of teaching while enrolled in the Teacher Preparation Program/Master's in Education program at Saint Peter's College. This is only my second semester so I'm just getting started.
Although I consider myself to be pretty technologically savvy, I have never taken an online course and can really get angry with technology when it doesn't do what I want. However, I am always excited to learn new things and I feel technology can bring SO much to a curriculum and lessons. Although I do not have much technology besides one computer in my classroom, the students loveee the "computer center" and all the interactive learning it provides. I hope to gain many ideas and know-how from this course.
- Lauren :-)
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