Week 13 Blog : Due April 18, 2010

Topic of Choice

I really enjoyed comments4kids in this class because I was able to see the various ways teachers integrated technology into their classroom. Before entering this class, I did not know the depth that technology was used in some classrooms throughout the world. When I was in elementary school, we were lucky to have computers in our classroom. The majority of the computers in the school were located in the computer lab. When we had our designated time to go to computer lab each week, we would play educational games for math, spelling, reading, etc. These games counted for a grade. Sometimes, if we finished our work early and had nothing else to do, the teacher would let us take turn on the 2 computers in our classroom. For this enrichment activity, we would often play the game Oregon Trail. Thinking back, this game was not that fun, especially when compared to games kids play today. I really like how teachers integrate blog posts into their classroom as well. Apparently I have been underestimating the children of today. They know how to maneuver around a computer better than I do. My favorite class to visit was the Pt. England School in Auckland, NZ. I was actually assigned to post a comment on their blog this week. They have such creative kids that were blessed with such a creative teacher that allows them to gain the experience of using technology in the classroom. We are in for something new!

Comments4Kids

This week, I was assigned to comment on the post called "Cloud Animals" on the blog by Pt. England School in Auckland, NZ. We have interacted with this class all year. They always have so many wonderful things to post to their class blog. The post I was assigned to comment on was about the activity they did in class. They went outside and laid on their back. They looked at the clouds in the sky and listened to the wind in the trees. It served no other purpose other than getting the children out of the classroom from what I could see. They apparently were assigned a descriptive blog post about it which is a wonderful way to incorporate learning and nature. I think nature is a great tool for learning, and I'm hoping to use it in my classroom!