Last week I did the lesson on PowerPoint and my students started developing their solar system project. Since we had a very busy day last Friday our computer time was only thirty minutes but it was enough to get things started. I had a couple of students complete a couple of slides after my lesson and my class enjoyed learning how to create their project. Technology is an effective way to hook my student’s attention and I know I need to include more of it into my daily teaching to engage them into deeper and meaningful learning. This Friday I hope will be smoother so we can have more time to complete the project. It might take two days but it will be alright as I expect my students to construct a quality product.
From reading Chapter 6 I gained an idea about using concept maps for my lesson about rocks. I will be teaching about the different types of rocks in the future and I would like my students to create a concept map similar to the one shown on page 149. We do have Inspiration in my school district so we can use that program to create the map. I have also started working on a PowerPoint presentation to teach a lesson about symmetry. I found some fun and interactive sites that my students could use to construct and practice symmetric shapes:
Hael Media at http://www.haelmedia.com/OnlineActivities_txh/mc_txh3_001.html
Techniquest Org. at http://www.techniquest.org/start/
Innovations Learning at http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/activities/year3/symmetry/shape_game.asp
Looking forward to exchanging ideas with my colleagues and to continue my GAME plan progress.
Yolanda
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It is wonderful that you are not going to try to rush through the project and give the students time to produce a quality project. Time seems to run short when the students get into a project but there is learning going on and it is important. Good Job.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you are off to a good start! I too think it is important not to rush through a project. It won't be meaningful if it is just thrown together and students will think it's o.k. to turn in work where they didn't put a whole lot of effort into it. Thank you for the sites-we just started that this week!!
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteSince my students go to the computer lab we call Compass Lab only once a week it is hard to complete projects like the ones we are building right now in two weeks. Third graders don't have much experience in doing research and synthesizing information and that is the part where they usually take longer. Additionally, the information about the planets can be complex even though is obtained from sites like the ones I’m using. Once they gather their information, building the PowerPoint is the easy part, but as you know all students are different and everyone works at their own pace. I have students who listen and follow written instructions the first time and are able to complete everything correct by themselves. I also have other students who for different reasons don't listen to instructions and constantly lose focus. Those are the students who usually slow things down but eventually are able to complete their projects like the rest of the class. It can be challenging for educators to try to implement new things, specially using technology because not all students are ready to perform at the same rate. But with every challenge opportunities are created and we can learn what works best with every student. Technology usually works with all my students because it engages them and sparks their interest and creativity. I can’t wait to see my students’ projects completed… but I know it might take a couple of weeks.
Thank you for your valuable comments.
Yolanda
Hello Rebekah,
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you are starting symmetry this week. Perhaps you can share the sites I listed with your students. I’m creating a PowerPoint to teach symmetry and I will be using those sites after my lesson and activity to have my students practice the skill in a fun way. When I visited the sites for the first time I spent quite a bit of time “playing” the activities. I got engaged! I’m very positive my students would enjoy the interaction too. Aren’t you glad we live in a century where education can be interactive, engaging, fun, and meaningful? It takes a lot of work for educators to find ideas for diverse teaching but I know it is rewarding when our students are happy in our classrooms because we do things different. Collaborating with peers and professors in the masters program has helped me expand my horizons in thinking, teaching, and implement new technology into my classroom. Has that been your experience too?
Have a great week teaching symmetry!
Yolanda
Did your students have prior experience using PowerPoint or did you have to teach them how to use it? I have looked into using PowerPoint in my classes but I was surprised how many students have never used it before. I do not think that it would take long to teach it but I think that it would be very boring for the ones that are very good with it to wait around for the ones that have no idea how to operate it. It sounds like you are doing some very good things in your classroom.
ReplyDeleteMike
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI don't think my students had experience with PPT. In the Computer Lab at my school third graders learn how to use it but in addition to that I also do my own technology integration when we go to the "other" computer lab (Title I - Compass Lab). I think you should teach the basic to everyone and let the advance ones play with some of the features as animation, color schemes, transitions, etc. There are many things they can use in PowerPoint that I think you can have your advanced students do one things on their own while you get the other students how to use the basics. I know that once they learn the basics they will try to do more and more. Students love to play with different colors and fonts and you see that everyone will create a different project.
Go for it!
Yolanda