In this blog, I will be addressing Bubbl. This is a bubble mapping tool which is what was formerly called "webbing".
In this mind-mapping, my topic is Math. I broke down Math into some of its different categories. I used color coding for the different subdivisions. It is a good way to have students visualize the break down of topics. This tool is also good for brainstorming. When we gave the OAT Writing test, the first page was similar to this. It allowed the students to write down their ideas in a web chart which allowed them to formulate their ideas before they had to write them in paragraph form. It is a good way to organize ideas.
In this blog, I will be addressing "Wallwisher". This is a site where you can post your answers to a question with "sticky notes".
I used the same question "Where did you see Math today?" I think that I like this site better than AnswerGarden to get feedback for this question because the students can write more. With AnswerGarden, they were limited to something like 20 characters. Even though I didn't do it in my blogs, AnswerGarden and Wallwisher can be used for brainstorming. wallwisher.com
I went to answergarden.ch/ to create an account to get feedback from my class. The question that I asked was, "Where did you see Math today?" I want my students to recognize that Math is everywhere in daily life. This will make Math more relevant for them. By doing this activity, students will be on the lookout for Math. By reading what their classmates put on this site might expand their "Math world". answergarden.ch/
In this blog I will address "Motivator". This is a tool that you can make motivational posters.
The above poster is the one that I created on bighugelabs.com/motivator.php. I want to use it to get my students talking and thinking. What is "synergy"? How can 1+1=3? I learned about synergy in Charles Parson's Leadership III course. It states that the results of teamwork is more than than the sum of its parts. Collaboration is a big part of 21st century learning. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy
In this blog I will address the topics of the "voki" and "word cloud". A voki is a personalized speaking avater. A word cloud is a tool for generating clouds formed from words that you provide.
I had fun creating my voki and I can see many uses for it in my teaching. I would like to create a blog for my students to use over the summer that they can go to to have fun practicing their Math skills. The voki would be the tool that I would use for my students to click on to get the directions of what the activity for the day would be. Right now I have a prerecorded voice because I did not have a microphone when I set up the account. In the future, I could change it so I would record my own voice. It would be fun for my students to create their own vokis too. The more fun that my students have using technology, the more willing they will be to use it. If they experience the fun of technology while doing Math, they will associate "funness" with Math too.
This is the Math word cloud that I created. Besides just using it as a "decoration" for the page, I could use it for different activities. For example, I could have the students find a word in the shape that they do not know and use the internet to find out what it means. I could have my students create their own word clouds and display them around the room. The more that my students are engaged with the concept, the more they will retain. My students will have fun collaborating with their peers doing this. They must be allowed to take ownership of their own learning.
Learning about and creating the voki and word cloud enhanced my own knowledge and will help me be a better 21st century teacher.
In this post I am going to address who my learners are, what my teaching style is, what life skills I am already using, and what life skills on which I still need to work.
I am HOPE Academy West's Title One Math Teacher. I have been in this postion for seven years. My learners are Kindergarten through grade four students who have trouble in Math. I pull them from their classrooms to work with them in groups ranging from 1-6 students. I try to make learning fun, meaningful, and relevant for each student. I have students use their senses and lots of hands-on materials. I use various teaching methods to find out which method each student learns best. I try to intergrate technology as well as the other academic subjects. My goal is for every student to reach his/her potential. In order to do this, I need to reach my potential by continually taking classes to update my education/knowledge. The video at the top, demonstrates the importance of doing so.
The life skills that we are already using are: flexibility and adaptability; social and cross cultural skills; productivity and accountability; and leadership and responsibility. The life skill that we need to work on is initiative and self-direction.
