Assistive Technology

The magnifier option in the ease of access folder in the operating system makes it easy for people with visual disabilities to see the screen. They can navigate and focus on certain areas of the screen or make the magnifier small or big.

Also in the ease of access folder, there is an option to modify the mouse. Here you can make the pointer bigger, a different color, or add a tail to help the viewer follow the mouse easier. unfortunately, the mouse was not taken in the picture.

There are other options in the ease of access folder such as having a narrator or turning off distracting backgrounds or colors.

Overall, these are good tools to use when working with people who may have a disability.

PLN

This is a picture of my Personal Learning Network. In it, you will find a link to my Facebook so that i can keep up on other teachers posts. Also, I have a link to my Delicious account so that I can log in and access bookmarks that i have made and what others have made.

Also, I have a link to the U.S Department of Education. This is so i can keep up to date in the world of education.

I also have a a link to my blog site so that i can keep people up to date and so that i can see what other people post about elementary education.

I will continue to build and add on this to website to further enhance my PLN.

Dear Parents, today in class we did....

Today's lesson was great fun, the kids loved it! This weeks lesson is about shapes. Yesterday, i introduced the kids to tangrams and had them make their own. Today, however, we tried to create different shapes from the tangrams. I showed some pictures from nature and helped the kids find shapes in the pictures. For example, Hailee was quick to discover that lily pads look like circles. The kids are learning so fast, I'm so proud of them!

After we looked at pictures and identified what shapes we could find, i gave the kids tangrams and let them show me a shape they could make with them. I than passed out a paper with shadow shapes on it and let the kids figure out what tangram shapes they would need to fill in the picture.

Here's an example of what this activity looked like. the kids had a card with a shape and had to figure out how to make the shape with the given tangrams.

The kids did well with the easier shadows, but as I increased the difficulty, their little minds began to struggle. This struggle is good for them, it shows they are thinking and beginning to develop critical thinking.

After the tangram activity, i provided the kids with a tally sheet:

I then let the kids explore the room for any shapes they could in everyday objects.
the kids loved it! they found so many objects. i look forward to tomorrows lesson when we can graph what we found.
Until tomorrow, thank you for reading and enjoy your evening.
Mrs. Conner :)

Data Collection and Analysis Station 2

For the next data collection and analysis activity, I collected the height, wingspan a,d foot length from three people. I put the data into a table using Inspiredata.

I then switched to plot view to view my data as a graph. the first graph is only height and wingspan.

After finishing this graph, i created another graph that showed the foot length and height.

I then answered questions about what the graphs mean.

Data collection and Analysis Station 1

Today i created a tally sheet that a kindergarten student would use to learn how popular a sport is in their class.

After that, i went into kidpix and created a pictograph based off the tally sheet. I entered fake data in order to create a pictograph.

Based off the snowman glyph provided, I created my own snowman using kidpix.

I then created discussion questions that the entire class could answer together.

Datas Collection and Analysis

This is a website that could be used in the classroom to help students with data collection.



If you click on the picture, you will be taken to the website.
I haven't created an account, but from what I've read, this appears to be a useful website.
I could use data collection websites to help my students see the difference in species, or how pollution affects animals.

TTL

Today i visited the TTL again. I played around with kidspiration, it was ok. It would be good for creating graphs. I spent most of my time trying to figure out how scratch works. I've been downloading a lot of other projects to try and understand how certain buttons work and how to do things. I've progressed a little further in my animation. I've learned how to have multiple scripts playing simultatiously. I think you'll like it once it's done. When i finish it, i will upload it to scratch so every can see. I did not do the entire thing by itself. i downloaded a template and added to it to help create the right mood for the animation.

TTL, what I learned

I visited the TTL today. I learned that not many people know how to use scratch. lol But I did learn how to take snapshots of websites. Doug showed me how to use the snipping tool found in vista. I was amazed at how simple it was. I can now take a snapshot of a website and put it into documents or presentations, or even blogs...





Pretty cool huh? I also learned how to creat buttons in PowerPoint. And how to find Jepordy templates. As wel as some other games like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Today I went to the TTL to learn about different animation programs that kids can use. I started with the program Scratch. I learned how to use it on my own with the help on an online tutorial. I learned how to animate my little critter, how to add voice bubbles, how to change "costumes" of the character and how to add sound. The program was a little more complicated than i had originally thought. To get the creature to cross the screen took me a while to figure out. The button i used to get the creature to move was labeled, "walk 10 steps" you were able to change the number, however, this did not move him 10 paces across the screen. He merely moved once. So i then figured out that i had to continuously repeat the command with a "wait 1 second" command in between each walk command. So you can imagine that there are a lot of walk and wait commands.
I also had a difficult time adding sound. I found the piece i wanted use, but it was not long enough, nor did i know how to extend it.
I plan to return to the TTL to play with the program some more. I can see that this might take a while to teach to kids, but i think it will be worth while in the end. it will give them the ability to express what they have learned in a fun way.
This program is also a good way to teach about programing and math. for some parts, I haven't figured out how to use, there are math equations used to tell how long to do a command.
As i said before, I am eager to go back and learn more.

Content Exploration-Elementary Science

I reviewed brainpop.com. (I am not copuing the example, I was going to use brainpop before i say the example.) Anyway, this website offers information on different subjects. Since i have a concentration in science, I decided to check out the science option.

This website provides information on many different science topics, like the Diversity of Life link. This website is really a reference and tutorial site because it provides informationa and then quizzes you on the information.

As an elemntary science student, I would have kids explore this link before teaching them about the desired topic. this way, they would begin the lesson with an idea of what we will bw learning, and hopefully questions they will have. So I am bascally using this tool as an attention getter/ starter for new topics in science.

3 websites and 3 "e's"

Teach-nology.com is an effective website because it allow teachers to learn about diffrent technologies in diffrent ways. there are tutorials, interactive screens, and articles about how a teacher can progress in the technological world.

Teachervision.fen.com is an efficient website because it allows teachers acces to lots of printable worksheets and themes to teacher about, and clanders that teachers can look at for iedeas of what to do during diffrent months. its an efficient website because it saves the teacher lots of time creating worksheets and looking up certain dates or themes by providing it all in one spot.

pbs.org provided an interactive heart transplant simulation. this website is a good enhancement because it allows kids to experiance things they cannot yet do in the real world, providing them with a greater understanding of the subject.

3 Websites I found Useful

Teach-nology.com is a very useful website. It provides lots of links to tutorials, worksheets, and lesson plans.

Teachervision.fen.com provides many tools for assessment. it provides links to diffrent subjects and classroom management tools.

Brainpop.com provided interactive games and quzzes to help students learn various subjects. however, i think you have to pay for it, so its not that great of a website.