Blog 4

    Because I plan on working with kids ages 3 through 5, I chose to delve into the Kindergarten ELA Standards and Technology Matrix. The standard for kindergarteners is for children to create their own stories and artwork, in a digital format, independently and with peers. Some examples of this would be collaborative Smartboard activities, online drawing programs such as Paint, or online storybook creators such as Storyjumper (which I have never actually heard of). I actually worked in a preschool that was was APPLE accredited (Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment) and we had a list of standards to follow similar to those from the Florida Department of Education, except less focused on technology. I feel comfortable creating lesson plans, because of this experience. One thing I think I need to improve on is just getting more comfortable using technology. 

    I found a lot of interesting lessons as I was scrolling through the website Cpalms.org. I looked through about ten kindergarten lessons trying to find one that fit my interests of teaching about the arts and sciences. Finally, I found a lesson in the science resources titled "Recycled Music". This lesson asks children to bring in cans, plastic, and any sort of recycled material into class. With the material, the students will make what was once trash into musical instruments. They will be able to express their creativity by building their own instrument and playing it with the help of the teacher. This lesson would be great paired with a lesson about the environment or about music around the world.

    I have actually learned a lot in this class about internet searching and the resources available on the internet. First of all, I learned how to be more proficient, concise, and precise when typing questions into Google, such as adding the "-" or not needing to put "and". I also learned that their is an advanced search feature on Google. I think all of these skills are important as a teacher to quickly find the exact information you want to share with your students. It also teaches the students how to search the web more proficiently. I also think it is important to understand the possibilities the internet has in terms of learning tools, such as Kahoot and Storyjumper, and as a teacher it is necessary to understand how to operate these tools. Online tools help keep students engaged and broaden their horizon beyond just the classroom. The more we, as teachers, use these tools, the more confident we will feel in how to properly implement technology into the classroom. One tool we have not talked about in class and many people I know have never heard of is the "snipping" feature on the computer. I love being able to cut out specific parts of a page without having to screenshot then crop. Snip also allows you to draw or edit the picture before saving it or even copying (with ctrl+c, ctrl+v) onto a word document.