Movie Story

     Creating a digital movie had to be my favorite assignment so far in class. I really liked how I had so many options to make my movie absolutely perfect and to my standards. There were so many more options and tools that could be used in the movie maker than I ever thought possible.
     My movie was about my daughter's life from the day she was born up until now at 2 years old. It was very difficult to keep that down to 2 minutes I had so much that I wanted to share. I am going to blame that on the "mom" in me.
     There are many ways that digital movies can be used in a classroom. The number one way that I think it would best fit would be to make a slideshow of the children from the first day to the last. It could be candid photos, important things that were done in the class, showing off projects, or just anything that was worth taking pictures of. These could be put together by the teacher and given to each child's parent at the end of the year. 
     I learned so much while doing this assignment. I never knew that you could do so much with just a stack of photographs. I will probably do another movie like this again one day so I am glad that I had the opportunity to do it for the first time with some assistance. 
     This sounds like a lot of work, but movie maker made the entire task very easy. The hardest part of the entire process was choosing which pictures to use. After that, it was smooth-sailing. While looking over the NETS-T standards, this particular activity would fall under the topic of 
"Model Digital Age Work and Learning." The actual goal is Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats.
 By doing a video for the children to take as a keepsake, this would show that the teacher is up to date on digital work and learning. It is also something nice for the families to have and be able to look back on. I plan to do this in my classroom one day. 

Here is my movie that I made in class!
Click here to see a video about my daughter Emma Ruth!

Web Tools

     The web tools that we learned about were all very great tools to be familiar with. I actually had a lot of fun creating the different required pages and playing around with the sites to see what I could find. All of the different tools would be very beneficial for an elementary teacher. The tools we used were to make an online rubric, an online quiz, an online worksheet and an online puzzle.
     The rubric could be used in a classroom for activities, projects, and even certain tests. This is something that every teacher should be familiar with using. Making the quiz was actually pretty fun. I liked how it gave you lots of options when it came to formatting the quiz to suit what the teacher is looking for. This will be a handy tool for making quizzes and tests for any grade not just elementary. The worksheet page I had fun with. There were so many different options and already made templates to choose from. It made it very easy to find the one I needed. This would be a very valuable tool in any grade as well. My personal favorite was the puzzle maker site. I love doing puzzles and have always used them when studying or trying to learn a new concept. This tool would be very valuable, especially for elementary, because children need something to look at. They need something physical to show them the concept. By making the information into a puzzle that is fun, the child will more than likely retain the information better.
      I really didn't encounter any problems when I was doing this assignment, which surprised me. I thought that I would get so very lost when trying to make all the different worksheets and tests, but I never did. That in itself should show a lot.
     While referring to the NETS-T standards, the goal that I thought was most appropriate for this activity falls under the topic
 "Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments." The actual goal is Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
 The internet is the best possible resource for a teacher and using the web tools that are available would be nothing short of beneficial to the students. 

Here is my test for Science Fair Experiments. See how you do!
Click here to take a test on Science Fair Experiments

Here is a rubric for my Science Fair Experiment project. What do you think?
Click here to see my rubric 

Concept Mapping and Inspiration

     I did my concept map on static electricity. The reason I chose this topic is because I had the privilege of being able to teach a group of 4th and 5th graders a lesson on static electricity over the summer. It was an assignment for my SME 432 class and we taught at a learning camp type set-up for children who were a little behind as far as their grades were concerned. It was a wonderful experience and even though I went into it thinking that this topic would be a little advanced for this age group, they all caught on very quickly. All of the children really enjoyed making Rice Krispies jump off their desk and making Miss LaKrisha's hair stand up with a balloon. It was a wonderful experience and made me realize that I should never underestimate the curiosity and learning ability of a child no matter how old they may be.
      I really enjoyed navigating around the Kidspiration site. There was so much there that I could use in my future classroom. It was actually really easy to manuver around and get things where I wanted them to be. I love when teachers use concept maps and this assignment showed me that there is an easy way to go about it. There were so many options and different ways to do something that you would never have to do the same thing twice. There were a few different points on the NETS-T list that would be appropriate for this activity and website, but the one that I chose was under the topic "Facilitate and Inspire student learning and creativity." The actual goal is "Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness."  
I think the use of Kidspiration did all of these things. By using this website, I could make concept maps for any topic. This will facilitate student's understanding of the concepts being taught.Children can also use this site to help inspire their learning and creativity. I let my little cousin who is 7 play around with it and I was so surprised to see the information that she came up with by using the site. This would be a good class project or activity to use.

Links related to our class

http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm

http://joctl.blogspot.com/2008/04/technology-integration-in-classroom.html

NETS*T

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning,creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

This is very important because inspiring learning and creativity is something that helps a person gain knowlege. When someone has to get creative with an assignment or project, their imagination usually starts to run wild. This makes the assignment more enjoyable. When a child is enjoying what they are doing, they will think they are just having fun when they are actually learning. Another great point is involving them in real-world issues and engaging them in somewhere where they feel like they can make a difference.

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS·S.

a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching

This is very important in today's world. Technology is everywhere so we as teachers should use this to our advantage. There are so many things that can be made possible with technology and the use of digital tools like easily accessible progress charts for each student, power points, and slide shows. Children learn differently and using the digital tools make it so much easier to take apart and reconstruct things right in front of their eyes.

3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional

in a global and digital society.

a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools

and resources to support student success and innovation

c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats

d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate,

and use information resources to support research and learningiste.org/nets
This is another very important point. Teachers should be knowledgeable of the up to date technology that they present in class. It is very important that teachers also realize that there are other ways of communication available rather than the notes being sent home. For some parents, phone calls are more meaningful to them than a note. For others, emails are a much better way of communication because it is a permanent record that they can keep on file. It is important to utilize all of the different communication options. 

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.

a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, includingrespect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources

b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources

c. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information

d. Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital age communication and collaboration tools.
It is very important when dealing with technology that the teacher does so in a very professional way. This means that they should adhere to all the rules and guidelines when it comes to downloading, sharing, and copying information from the digital tools. It would not be very smart to download something that you know you should not, then tell the class to be sure not to do that either. Be a positive role model and only do what you would want your student's to do. 

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

b. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of

c. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make

effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning

d. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self renewal of the teaching profession and of their

school and community.
 Continuing with your growth in the world of technology is a key aspect to this profession. Teachers should always strive to be the best that they can be, and this includes when it comes to technology. It is very beneficial to the students to use up to date materials and classroom tools in order to get the most out of a lesson. Today, there are ways to make children feel like they are living inside of the lesson instead of just reading it in a book. There are ways to help them imagine what it was like in the old days by seeing a 3d picture rather than just reading little details about it.

All About Me

Hi. My name is LaKrisha Dedeaux. I am currently a junior here at University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast working on getting my degree in elementary education. I have a 2 year old daughter named Emma Ruth who inspires me to better myself every day. I have an awesome fiance' named John who is my rock. We are getting married in 39 days and I absolutely cannot wait. I have a very big family and they are my biggest support system. Without them I am not sure where I would be. As far as teaching goes, I hope to one day be a 3rd grade teacher. There is something about that age group that really makes me have a preference to teach them. This class is probably going to be very difficult for me because my technology knowledge is very minimal. I know how to get on my email, get on blackboard, type in Word, and get on Facebook. Anything beyond those things is quite a stretch. I have even gone so far as to get my younger cousins who are about 13 years old to help me when I have computer problems. I think technology is very important in today's world, especially in the classroom. I really need to brush up on my skills because I do not think there is a way to reach all of the students in a classroom without some sort of technology of some form.