Ideal Classroom is Ideal

The main two topics of our ideal classroom scenario were nature, and Belgium. Now you might be asking yourself how these two substantially different topics could be taught together. We did this by giving students the necessary equipment (digital cameras) and gave them time to photograph the nature around them (trees, flowers, plants, etc.). We then had the students bring in the pictures they had taken and we talked about the various species they had found. While our students we’re out taking pictures a classroom in Belgium was doing the same thing. After both classes had had enough time to research their local nature they then exchanged that nature with each other using Skype. Thus letting the students in America know about the nature in Belgium and vise versa.

We selected these topics because we wanted to select areas that would really interest students. We thought back to our elementary school years and remembered how fun it was exploring nature and also how interested we were about other places of the world that we had never been. By using these topics we hoped to expand on what the children knew about nature not just in their own back yard, but also in another place in the world. At the same time we wanted the students to learn about a foreign country. By this I mean we wanted students to be able to locate this country on a map, learn what the climate was like there so you could see why a specific kind of natural life grew there.

There was a lot of thinking and preparation that went into the final project. We began by thinking about the topics we wanted to teach and continued on with the subject areas these topics would address. We then thought out the lesson plan and what technologies we would need to carry out the process. We then thought of the amount and type of students we would have before talking about the room setup. This was probably the most interesting part because I have never thought of what kind of classroom I would want. I soon figured out the possibilities were endless, especially with an unlimited spending cap. After our room layout was complete Curt volunteered to draw it up using Google Sketch-Up. We then determined the exact amount of everything that would be in our room and the cost of each individual item and also the entire cost of our classroom.

During the course of designing this ideal classroom as a group we communicated by exchanging email, and by using Google Docs (which was much more convenient). We also used computers and saved copies of everything to numerous flash drives.

I would say the biggest barrier we encountered during the course of creating the ideal classroom scenario was that at the beginning we weren’t thinking enough outside of the box. By that I mean we were sticking to traditional norms and really letting reality weigh us down in both our lesson planning and our classroom construction. However, after Dr. Z repeatedly told us to make it anything we wanted and told us to be more creative; we expanded our thoughts and cam up with something we could never have dreamed of doing in elementary school.

I think the number one thing that I learned from this project is to be as creative as you possibly can. I learned that being creative from a teaching standpoint really exposes your students to countless possibilities and introduces them to situations they might not encounter otherwise. I also learned that working as a group is important to meeting goals. I felt that I was very lucky to get with a group of guys who all put everything they had into this project and all thought the finished project was something pretty cool.

I really felt that this was a fun project and once again really taught me that the sky is the limit when it comes to teaching. I also especially enjoyed working with a great group of guys and really liked the opportunity to take this project and transform it into anything we wanted it to be. I also really liked our finished project and thought it was what i wanted it to be.

Ideal Classroom

Mathware

Recently in my computer applications class, we researched academic software in education. I decided to look into it more and see what impact it had on subjects taught in the classroom setting, more particularly math. The overall feeling that I found was that it positively changed the classroom. By that I mean that students became more interested in learning about subject

areas, and especially became more interested in mathematics which is an area that students often dislike. It also is very helpful when working with students who might be struggling with a certain concept, because it gives them a different way to view the material. Another great aspect about academic software is that it promotes self-learning with students because they have to read directions and figure the problems out themselves.

The main way it interests students in math and other subject areas is because it presents information either as a game, or in some interactive manner that really grabs the student’s attention. The one advantage to playing a game however; is that it “tricks” students into learning. By that I mean that students learn the concepts you want them to, but they don’t really think of learning the concepts through the game as learning. Some games that are great examples of this are:

Jet ski Addition
Cash Out
Arrhythmic Four

Academic software can accomplish more concepts than the ones shown above and is very accessible online.


I think that academic software when applied correctly can greatly enhance my ability as a teacher in the future. I believe that getting students more interested in the subjects being taught is the key to their success. I also think that this is a wonderful tool that all teachers should take advantage of.

Advanced Mathematics

While doing my level one experience through the University of Northern Iowa I had the privilege of working in the third grade classroom of Mrs. Marshall. During this time I led a group of six third graders who were advanced in mathematics. These were students who already knew how to perform the concepts being introduced in the normal classroom setting and were ready for more challenging problems. The project I had the students do was look at a picture sheet of four gardens and the different numbers of crops being grown in these gardens. They then had to read through complex word problems and determine which garden the problem was talking about. The skills necessary to complete these problems were multiplying, adding, and subtracting skills.

During this activity the students got the problems right at about a 85% rate. I noticed that the hardest part of the assignment for them, was knowing when to use the right concept (multiplying, adding, or subtracting). To help them in this area I explained to them that certain words in the problems could serve as clues. Some examples of these include, or means to subtract, total means to add, and by means to multiply. The students found these tips very helpful while reading through the word problems. After giving them these tips I felt proud that I had in a very small way helped them better grasp the material I was presenting them.

I think that in the future I might explain the material more thoroughly ahead of time instead of in the middle of the project. By this, I mean I would explain maybe what the overall goal of the lesson was and also the hints that I waited until later to give them. I did feel that the lesson was a success and the students got out of it what they needed to. I also feel that this project was something that I could use in the future to help students who were advanced in math.

New Age Math

While recently searching the internet for ways to get elementary students interested in mathematics I came across many answers. However, a couple answers kept popping up, they were: get the students more involved, and use current technology. A couple of the ways I found to accomplish these two tasks were through the use of online gaming, and Smartboards.

According to Jeff Lewis, a 4th grade teacher at Commerce City, Co., the Smartboard helped underachieving students learn the curriculum better. In his blog entitled, Mr. Lewis’ World Learners, he explains how he used the Smartboard to help his students better understand the concept of multiplication. He did this by having the students circle arrays of dots on the Smartboard, then by finding the area of the portion they had circled. I thought this seemed like a great way to get students more involved with the lesson, and also was good usage of current technology. Smartboards are also a great way to teach other math concepts. Some of which include:

Graphing
Counting
Adding/Subtracting
Multiplying/Dividing
And Geography

I think his overall goal of the blog was to demonstrate different ways that he was using technology in the classroom, which is the reason that I selected this blog. I also think that the writer of this blog uses it to convey some personal opinions but mostly just to share his experiences with how his students respond to technology in the classroom setting.

Another method I discovered in keeping students interested in mathematics is online-gaming. The bog entitled, Bits, talks about a new website available for elementary students called, DreamBox Learning , which teaches math through the use of online-gaming. The concept is let the students think they're playing a game while they are actually learning important math skills. The sites math concepts were chosen by a team of teachers using the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Guidelines. I think once again this method does a great job of keeping students involved and also implements current technology that will help them later in life. There are also two other e-learning sites to choose from similar to DreamBox Learning but they are intended for teenagers. They are:

· Indian Math Online
· And Brightstorm

The overall goal of this blog is to inform its readers of the technological advancements being made in mathematics and the effect they have in the classroom setting. I selected this blog because I felt it did a good job of explaining about the websites that are starting to be used to teach math in a fun way that interests students. I also felt that the blog did a good job of describing things related to the theme (technology) and providing links to resources.

My First Blog Posting

This is my first blog entry. I hope it works.