The end of Three Weeks

This is the last day for the MATSL program. Yesterday the participants presented projects that represented the hard work put in over the last three weeks. Today we will talk about what we learned/understand about the program. There are some questions that haven't been answered and others that can not be answered. It should be an interesting day!

technology in the classroom

After countless hours in workshops pertaining to the use of technology in the classroom, I can say that there are numerous ways to use technology in the classroom. Everything from administrative work to the way we teach in a modern classroom involves technology. With web quests, pod casts, power points, etc. as old news, even our grade books have gone into the technological age. The problem that remains is, how much information is too much information? Our students have figured out how to use an mp3 player to cheat on a test before many teachers even knew what an mp3 player is. I can enrich the students lives with all sorts of media. I can even use those things my students use to 'escape' from doing homework as teaching tools. If they can't afford to visit Paris, thy can experience it on their computer. They can talk to students who share their interests but just happen to live almost 4,000 miles away. Can't come to school because of a lengthy illness and your parents want you to keep up your studies? Easily managed with pod casts, video conferencing and IM-ing. No matter how many ideas I come up with, I know that there are many more out there. Even this blog format. Before I wrote in my teaching journal and I would read it and reflect on events. Now I can get feed back from someone on the other side of the world.
As Lisa B. Says, "How cool is that?"

Tearing down the wall

O.K. so it might just be a few bricks, but I have started tearing down this wall. It might take me the rest of the week but I am going to be steadily working at it. I am afraid , however, that when I get this wall down, there might be another wall behind it. Maybe the lessons I learn from this wall-demolition project will help me attack the next one.

Hitting the wall

YEY!! after two hour of typing in my password I am finally in! wow, now that is some wall! But it is a good example of how I have been operating since the beginning. Wall after wall. Well, if I think about it, it is the same wall each time. I just keep hitting it from different angles and at different speeds. Frustration, gee, ya think? Two hours of my life I would like to have back. All of the other walls I have been encountering are small enough to step over compared to this wall. ( I would add a picture of a wall here but that is just another wall I have been running into.) A report on a 20th century French play write? Not a problem after all this.

wonderful world of web-quests

There are so many web quests out there to use, why make one for your self? Many of the web quests we found are well written and show a lot of creativity. The question is "Do they work for my classroom?" Even the bes web quest out there will need to be modified to fit the situation of the teacher using it. As for writing a new one: maybe you have a idea for a web quest that is original and innovative. Or you might want more from your students than to have them just give back the information a new form; you want hem to reach for a higher level of understanding. Ask those hard questions. Get the tough answers and run with it.

How do we learn?

Comment est-ce que nous apprenons?

Selon l’article de D. T. Willingham, on peut apprendre les informations en n’importe quelle façon. Mais, si on veut retenir plus, il faut attacher un sens aux informations. L’expérience de Thomas Hyde et James Jenkins , 1969, nous dit que les relations entres les mots aident avec la rétention. Cette expérience est limitée par des paramètres de combien de mots les participants pouvaient mémoriser. La mémoire des faits dépend aussi de quoi qu'on a pensé quand on a premièrement les rencontré. L’étude de Barkley et al. , 1974, ne se concerne seulement la mémorisation mais aussi de comment des facteurs extérieurs affectent la mémoire. Les professeurs doivent penser aux méthodes d’intégrer des niveaux de ‘synthèse’ et de ‘évaluation’ dans des leçons. Les méthodes ne doivent pas être des grands actes ; des grands gestes, mais des activités qui engagent l’esprit des participants.

Internet detective

I haven't finished yet and I am finding that there is quite a bit of information that I already know. The part about the URL information was helpful. I know a little bit about it but now I can figure out a little bit more about what I am looking at.

Second post

This sounds easy when it is being explained; the idea of signing on and creating a blog that is all nice and pretty. The actual implementation of the process is a bit daunting. There are URLs and passwords to remember when we are trying to be eloquent with what we say.

First post for the first year

Testing