Assignment 3 preparation and thoughts (Smart Board)

Here is the link to the lesson plan I used.
This lesson will fulfil two of the NETS Standards for Students:
#4 Because it allows students to think about the answers to the questions and problems presented on the activity. They must remember specifici dates and events attatched to those dates.
#6 Because the students participate hands-on with the Smart Board. They must know how to navigate and use the various options on the Smart Board in order to access the answers to the questions.
This activity is a lesson on the League of Nations. It focuses on certain events, times, people, and places that were involved withe the L of N. In preparation I will familiarize myself with the lesson. Then I will right down each year and event linked to the date on the timeline in the lesson. The steps I will take during the presentation are: First I will explain the League of Nations. Then I will ask the students questions and they will pick a date on the timeline that answers the quetion. Next I will ask the students to put certain countries into one of two columns on the Smart Board that corresponds to whether or not the country was or was not a member of the L of N. They will then do the same activity but during a different year. Finally I will have a student place drag a magnifying glass ofer the place where the L of N was formed.
I loved this activity. Using the Smart Board is fun and I think it will be exciting for students. Not only is it a great teaching tool, but it is something that will keep the interest of the students. It provides a way to make learning fun for the students, and allows them to interact more in the classroom.
I did not make changes to the lesson plan because it had enough great information in it already. I tried to change one of the dates on the timeline because it was misprinted, but I could not figure out how to do it.

Thoughts
It was neat to learn the different functions of using the Smart Board. I liked that you could drag the answers to their correct boxes. The timeline of events that I used was great because not only does it provide a way to quiz the students, but it adds a fun little twist of seeing the answer pop up when you touch the screen. The best part about the Smart Board is that you can do everything on it. You can set up a power point, have fun activities, and also wright anything you need to on it.
I hope in the future I will get to use the Smart Board in my classroom. Hopefully it will be a resource that most every school will be able to have, because it is such a great tool.

Dr. Johnson

I can't help but to think about my favorite history prof. Dr. Johnson when I think about Technology in Education. He has the longest tenure of any prof. at NU and he still uses many of his old methods to teach. While I think technology is very important, Dr. Johnson is one example of an educator who can still affectively teach without the latest educational tools. I laugh inside when he rolls the overhead up and places his twenty-year-old clear outlines on the surface. While he does use power point in a coulpe of his classes, which he admitingly was not a fan of at first, his old methods of teaching still work. He loves his job and most students who take his courses learn a lot and enjoy the classes. For us new teachers, the use of technology is very important, but for some; you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Financial Educattion is a great idea

An article In Education Week talks about the importance of teaching financial education to kids. The article says that only ". . . 17 states require students to take an economics course and seven mandate a personal-finance course in order to graduate."
I expected those numbers to be much higher, but it just goes to show how little financial education is valued in America. I wish I would have had more financial education earlier in life to help prepare me for some of the decisions I have made financially. There are a lot of huge financial decisions to be made in a person's lifetime, and a knowledge of even the basics of economics and personal-finance would be beneficial for kids when they graduate high school and prepare to make their own decisions and learn how to spend money wisely. Also, consumer debt is huge in America today, and I believe that educating young people about the dangers of consumer debt, befor they engage in it, would help to make them more responsible financially.

Evolution is a theory

A Fox News article reports that the Florida Board of Ed. is going to vote on whether or not to put the phrase "scientific theory of" in front of the word "evolution" when teaching the theory in schools. This has been a debate between Evolutionists and Creationists for years, and has stayed on the side of the Evolutionists for a long time.
Since Evolution is, in fact, only a theory that explains the existence of humans it should be clearly made known to students that it is just one theory. I also believe that since so many people are accepting of the Creation theory, it should also be taught in schools as an alternative. I plan on sending my kids to public schools, and I would rather my kids, at least, have the opportunity to learn about the other popular theory.
Hopefully the Board will vote to allow the phrase to be mandated so that the students will know that it is just a theory, and not scientific law.

Too much focus on test results

A Dallas Morning News article goes into an issue that frustrates many friends of mine who are teachers, and apparently is frustrating more than the teachers I know. The article basically says that testing standards are not allowing teachers to focus on teaching their students properly, because so much focus goes into worrying about achieving high test results for their students.
According to the article, a committe in Texas voted to make changes in the current system to modify or even get rid of parts of the accountability system.
I will not be surprised if this becomes a trend for other states as well. The idea of the testing standards is great, but it seems to do more harm than good (at least according to most of the teachers I know). Hopefully there will be a way that teachers can focus more on teaching and less on the added stress of meeting standards, but still graduate competant students.

Great Teacher

This will answer Prof. Sorenson's question about why I switched from math endorsement to S.S. endorsement, but also hopefully it will inspire others as it did for me.

Dr. Strickland is an Eastern Orthodox minister and also a Western Civ. professor at Seattle U. At first I thought I would hate his class because he taught by lecture only, and because I thought he was an "interesting" man who came to class wearing the same outfit (I picture his closet consisting of four or five black dress shirts and two or three pair of black slacks). Needless to say this class was amazing. Most students in the class were taking it to fulfil gen. ed. requirements but, nevertheless, most of the students in the class really enjoyed it.
I am convinced that this class was so enjoyable because Dr. Strickland had a passion for what he was teaching. One time he played some Beethoven to show how the music of that time reflected the culture that it was created in. As we listened to the music, I could make out a faint smile on his face as he was soaking in the various symphonies. He had such a strong knowledge and understanding of the culture of Europe during that time, and it showed in his lectures. When he talked, it almost made me feel like I was watching a movie or a fascinating documentary on the History channel.
I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to take a class from Dr. Strickland as he taught at NU as an adjunct prof. for one year. I hope to have the ability to teach as passionately as Dr. Strickland, and to be able to keep the interest of my students as well as he did.

Assignment #2

Within the Social Studies endorsement are many different topics for high school classes; I will focus on five.

1. Geography
Geography is important because it teaches students were in the world places are. Students also learn about different cultures, climates, and other distinguishing factors which make up other places in the world. I did not pay enough attention in high school geography, and as a result I felt ignorant of where places are in the world. If/when I teach geography, hopefully I can make it fun for the students and create an atmosphere where they will learn and remember where places are and learn about other cultures throughout the world. Maps are very important for teaching geography. Geo Teacher is a good resource for links to different Websites for creating maps, which would obviously be helpful for use in a geography class. A good site for blank maps is Google Images, which would help for quizes and tests. National Geographic is a helpful resource that would have a lot of information and pictures of people and places throughout the world. Another fun way for students to learn about geography is through the National Geography Challenge where students would also engage in competition with other students from all over the United States.

2. U.S. History
U.S History is my favorite subject and is, hopefully the subject I will be teaching the most. I think it is important to know about the history of our country since we live here. There are many good Websites that will prove helpful for use in my classes. The "History Matters" site will be very useful. It has a link to a large number of primary sources and images that would help to make sense of the time frame I will be teaching about. The Website also has a link for great test and quiz questions. Quiz Hub is another resource that provides fun quiz games that will make taking quizes much more exciting, or for creating stimulating games for students to remember dates, people, and places. The Smithsonian Website has many helpful links. The poster section allows for a teacher to download a poster like this one. The teacher could then use that one picture to explain a new role of women during WWII as they joined the work force.

3. Current Events
Current Events helps to keep students informed about tomorrow's history. There are obviously many Websites that report important news and events for teaching a current events class. Websites like C-Span, CNN, and PBS, have teacher friendly websites for all the latest.

4. American Government
American Government is also another important subject that I will probably be teaching. Students should know about the past Presidents, the branches of government, the Constitution, and all of the other important points that make up American government. Teachervision is an excellent resource for anything having to do with American Government. It provides lesson plans, quizzes, and a vast supply of information and links to help with American Government class. The Library of Congress website also has a lot of info. especially on the Constitution.

5. Economics
Economics can be a fun class if the teacher uses the right resources. Many students will want to pursue business, and hopefully a course in economics will excite many. One great source for helping teachers in economics is Econclass. There are some really fun games that illustrate economic priciples and engage students. The site also gives scenarios that get the students to think in terms of economics. EcEdWeb is another website that gives links for resources that would make economics fun for students to learn.

Web 2.0

I learned how to turn pictures into puzzles!
Also how to create different font styles

How I Can Use the SmartBoard

Well since I am a Social Studies endorsement, my first thought when I saw the maps was to use the SmartBoard for a Geography class. It would be great to put up a blank map of the US and have the students mark the states and possibly the capitals of each state. I also thought of using the Jeopardy game to have a trivia day to review what we had been discussing in class up to that point. I know there are much more things about the SmartBoard that will be useful, and after I practice on it and learn more about it, the more ideas I will come up with.