Twitter

Hello!

 

My EDU560 teacher wants us to have a twitter account. I NEVER thought I would get one, but it seems to be a useful resource to get teacher information. I am following a PBS show called Betsy's Kindergarten (https://twitter.com/BKAdventures). Her Facebook link is also posted (http://goo.gl/CTW2U) in case anyone is interested. I was able to use something taught in class! A URL shortener! WOO!!! :) Anyways, Betsy is a show created by Betsy Quinn and it is told from the perspective of a five year old named Betsy. The show is supposed to ease a child's transition from a home setting to a school environment. It also aids in addressing typical five year old concerns such as uncertainty, educates children in learning new things and the joy of making new friends at school.

The website posts upcoming events, awards, and new products that have come out for parents or teachers to purchase.

In the future I hope to teach Kindergarten so it is nice to read useful resources that I can use some day in my own classroom. This website has recipes, motivating quotes, events, creative projects, and lots of other cool stuff! Since Betsy has several DVDs out, I can purchase the DVDs for my students to watch on movie day for a learning experience.

An example recipe posted by Betsy: http://www.marthastewart.com/313947/boo-nilla-shake-recipe

YUMMY!!! Gets me in the Halloween spirit! :)


Just an FYI, my Twitter account is www.twitter.com/lmarzec19! Tweet me :D

Stages of Technology

A study done by Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow indicated five stages of technology.  They include entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation, and innovation.

I love this! I completely agree with the stage that I would be in and that would be adaptation. I remember when I was student teaching; each room had about five laptops for the children to share. At first, I was a little uncertain to have the children do activities on the computers. I did not want to be responsible for what happens to the computers and I was not really sure what kind of engaging learning activities I could provide kindergarteners.  A lot of them did not know how to use a computer so I needed to start off slow.  Hmm.. something easy to teach and fun for them. :/ STARFALL!!! Once I showed the children this site, they loved it! They could not wait for it to be their turn to use the computers! Even the students who had no interest in learning their letters and sounds wanted to use Starfall.

During my student teaching experience, I also had to use a MAC and a promethean board.  Both the MAC and promethean board were brand new to me.  I was scared and lost at first, but once I started getting the hang of it, I began to like it.

As a student, I am the type of person who needs to first write out the assignment with a pen and paper and then type it out.  It just makes me feel secure that I have a back up written copy in case a printer is not available, etc. In the future, when I have a classroom that are older in age, I will definitely give them the option to do this as well. 

I leave you with two things that I felt true and fit perfectly with what we are learning and talking about in class.  One is a quote taken from my social science class book that proves how fast word travels with technology and the other is a picture quote that was found on facebook.  I believe it shows how times have changed with technology.


"When the television networks announced that President Barak Obama was to speak to the nation about bin Laden, social media flashed the news across the country and the world.  Sean McDonough, an ESPN announcer calling the Phillies baseball game that night, reported the next day that everyone in the stadium knew that bin Laden was dead in less than two to three minutes.  Blackberries lit up, people tweeted or went on the Internet to confirm the news.  Only the ball players and umpires, with their cell phones in their lockers, didn't know and wondered why the fans---Phillies and Cardinals alike---joined in unison in shouting "U.S.A.!!! U.S.A!!!" over and over again (Farris 7)."

Farris, J. Pamela. Elementary and Middle School Social Studies: An Interdisciplinary, Multicultural Approach. 6th ed. Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc., 2012.

 We are teens. 2012. In Facebook. Retrieved 7 September 2012, from http://www.facebook.com/weareteens

Feeling Old

Today I read The Mindset List:2016 List as part of a class assignment. This list explains our generation gap between the in coming freshmen college students who were born in 1994. 

Was I surprised by what I read? No.

Not only was I nodding my head in agreement to all the statistics and statement that was written, but I kept thinking how old this list was making me feel. 

Technology has inceased.  This article is right.  Most of the time, people do not watch T.V. on a television set.  There are other ways to do that now. A cassette?  What is that? 

Society spends a lot of time trying to stay connected with others. Facebook, texting, etc.  I am guilty of that too.  I know that no one would be texting me throughout the day while I am at work, yet, I find myself looking at my phone several times before the day is over, hoping that maybe I would get one.  This brings me back to a time when writing a letter and mailing it out was the thing to do.  Now that no longer exists.  It is sad when you think about it. I would love to get a pen and paper letter from someone. To me it is more meaningful than an email. How many of you text when you are outside to pick a person up instead of walking to their doorbell?  It is amazing how much times have changed.

I think having this mindset list available would help teachers understand the greater level of their students.  The list would  help show what their generation is into and what kind of knowledge they know.  The research findings may not always be true, but it can be always be used as a starting point.

A story comes into my mind when I read this article.  One day when I was drawing with my preschool students, I was randomly drawing a person while my students were doodling and practicing their fine motor skills.  Bored, I started adding various colors to the body parts and my picture started to resemble who I thought looked like Marilyn Manson. I looked at my picture knowing my 2 and 3 year olds would not know who it was, but my student worker who goes to Dominican and is about four years a part from me, did not know either.  Shocked, I walked over to the connecting room next door to mine and asked the teacher assistant and student worker in that room if they thought it looked like Marilyn Manson.  The student worker in that room had no idea either, but the teacher assistant did.  Grant it, lots of people from my generation probably would not know who that was unless they like that sort of music, possibly pay attention to music culture, etc. I found it amazing how age is a factor of such knowledge.

 FYI, I do not listen to Marilyn Manson, but I do know who he is. :D

I leave you with a video of a show I used to love when I was young.  I am sure my student workers would not know this show! :D

 

 

 

Lewis, Shari. (Creator). StretchyCat (Poster) (2008, February 17). Lamb Chop's Play Along-Lonely Lamb Chop [Video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N445qz-Uepo

 

"The Mindset List: 2016 List." Beloit College. 2012. Web Retrieved: 2 Sept. 2012. http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2016/.