Blog 5

Dr. Robert’s presentation was fascinating.  The amount of research that has been and is being done on the effects of social and multimedia is profound, and for good reason.  Children are spending an abundance of time listening to music, on the computer, on their cell phone and watching television.  This in itself is not what is detrimental.  The amount of time that children are spending doing a combination of all of these activities is.  The multi-tasking is depleting their cognitive functioning; they are becoming less apt to “dig in” to any one topic and have a hard time from getting distracted.  Being teachers, we are all wary of the increase in ADD and ADHD in children these days.  Is this directly correlated?  My question for Dr. Robert is the following:  Given that all of the multimedia exists and is only going to become more prevalent and accessible, how can we as educators and parents help to restrict the multi-tasking to a healthy and non-detrimental amount?

Reading the NY Times article was disappointing to me.  I feel that clearly, the use of online textbooks and learning is simply a push to save money.  Yes, the Internet is a powerful source of information.  Yes, students spend a majority of their time on the computer outside of the classroom.  No, I do not think they should be spending more than a sliver of time on the computer in their classroom.  I am looking from an elementary perspective. I know the importance of children learning CAP (concepts about print) when they are learning to read.  This includes how to hold a book, how to read from top to bottom and left to right on a page, and how to turn a page.  These aspects can get lost when children are staring at a computer all day.

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com

Puzzle Maker is so fun!  I plan to use the math square puzzles as a station during “math stations” inside of the classroom.  There are an array of opportunities on this website for word puzzles, including some formats that children are not familiar with, since they are unique to this website.  So not only will children get the chance to learn new word and number games, they will have a fun way to practice their words and numbers.

http://quizlet.com/

This site is fabulous for flashcards!  While exploring, I came across a set of flashcards with all 50 states and corresponding capitals.  In a geography lesson, this would be very resourceful for students to help learn the capitals.  This would also be perfect to show on the projector for students to learn together interactively.

http://prezi.com

Ever since my Technology class during my credential program, I have become more and more familiar with Prezi.  It is an amazing alternative to Power Point.  It allows for more creativity and is more easily made to be aesthetically pleasing.  This is a great resource for lessons in an elementary classroom.

http://www.donorschoose.org

This website is great for obtaining necessities for a classroom when you don’t have the money needed!  With all of the social media available, it is very easy to send a message to thousands of contacts and with Donors Choose, provide a simple way for them to donate any amount of money to contribute to something needed for my classroom.  I plan to use Donors Choose when I have a classroom of my own!