Blog Post #7

How Do We All Become Learners?

Strengths: experienced use with computers, I pads, camera 

                  Observed technology such as Icurio,  Istation in  Baldwin County Schools
                  Open-minded 

Weaknesses: students are more familiar and adapted to this technology at a younger age

                       Unfamiliar with QR codes
                       Unfamiliar with AVL

These videos have made me more knowledgeable of technology that is used in the elementary school. Also, these videos allow students who are on the way to become an educator, to learn how to use the technology in activities for students. 

In the first video, How to make a QR code, I learned many different uses of QR codes. For one, teachers can use these to record themselves for reading lessons. These videos can be used as a study tool. The teacher can become a virtual tutor at home. I feel this could be beneficial for future classrooms because the students can access these sources at home. Another great point is students can create their own and are learning how to use recent technology. The second video I watched was, iPad Reading Center, this showed students in kindergarten using a resource to help them learn how to become a better reader. Ginger Tuck shows one of her students reading while recording himself. This allows the student to be able to playback the recording and improve on reading skills. In another video with Ginger Tuck, she shows the view about a free app called Poplet. Poplet allows students to make a map of books based on the topic. It keeps searches organized and specific. Ginger Tuck gives teachers very effective step-by-step videos to show teachers sources to use in the classroom. With the resource of Alabama Virtual Library, teachers can allows students to research easily topics on their own while learning how to find information and what to look for. In Ms. Shirley's First Grade class, the class used Discovery Education Board to create a project about the moon. Ms. Shirley even shows views how the board works. It was very simple! Another great example of the use of technology is shown in Mrs. Tassin's 2nd grade class. These students learned  how to use Board Builder to create projects. Finally, in Using iMovie and AVL, Michelle Bennett and Elizabeth Davis share how even kindergartens can use these. Michelle explained how much the students enjoyed using iMovie.  After learning about several different resources, it is extremely important to use these to the students advantage. Elementary students love using tools for learning and as a teacher I will want to encourage them to be a LEARNER.