Graphic Organizers

While doing some research about graphic organizers, I found a website that gives templates for many different types of graphic organizers and gives permission to teachers to print them so that they can use them in the classroom. The website I found is http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/ and it provides many different graphic organizers like a spider map, tree chart, clock, venn diagram, time line, fact and opinion, and flow chart. I think that this website is a great tool for teachers because it provides so many different graphic organizers which opens up many possibilities for teachers to use them to help their students. Graphic organizers can help children in so many ways to organize their thoughts, solve a problem, or just brainstorm ideas. Another great thing about this website is that the graphic organizers are also available in Spanish. This could be helpful in teaching children another language because the children will already know what the organizers look like in English and how they are used. I think that this website is great for teachers who are looking for graphic organizers to use with their students. The graphic organizers are already set up, with a name and date line, and a little explaination on how they can be used, so the only thing the teacher will have to do is print and copy enough for the classroom.

iPods in the Classroom

After doing some research online, I found a good article that talks about the benefits of iPods in the classroom. Although, at first I didn't think iPods would be of much use in the classroom, the article showed me that their are many different uses and benefits that iPods can provide. iPods can be used by students who have trouble understanding a concept, by allowing them to watch a video on that concept several times until it clicks for them. They can also be used to record Podcasts of lessons learned in the week, and even count calories burned during the day when the iPod is paired with the Nike Kit. iPods in the classroom can be programmed with only specific educational information and tools, so that the students will not be tempted to use them to play and listen to music while using them. iPods can also be great for projects. In the article, it talks about children in Orange County who are using the iPods to record a 60-second timed reading which then the teacher uses to create a CD for their parents. I feel that iPods aren't too popular in the classroom right now, at least not in the area where I am from. However, I feel that once teachers see the benefits of iPods in the classroom, they will become much more popular and soon appear in classrooms across the nation. Here is the article link, if you wanted to check it out yourself...http://www.schoolcio.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604276

Smart Boards in the Classroom

The topic I'm choosing to write about is Interactive Whiteboards which are also known as "Smart Boards." Smart Boards are becoming a very useful tool in the classroom and they have many benefits that regular whiteboards or chalkboards can't provide. Smart Boards are so great because they allow the teacher to use many tools to help the lesson get across. For example, the teacher can highlight important information in an already finished powerpoint to enforce the point even more and even add more notes on a presentation that was already completed. The Smart Board can also be a great way to have the students interact with the lessons. Teachers can have students come up and write ideas on the Smart Boards or circle points in a lesson they find most important. The Smart Boards can also be good for group work. Each group could share their ideas using the Smart Boards so everyone will be able to see and share ideas together. I think that Smart Boards have many strengths and that within some time they will become present in every classroom. The new technology that the Smart Boards provide can only aid the teaching process by making things easier for the teacher, which in the end will give them more time to actually interact with the students on the lesson instead of just lecturing all the time. The only weakness that the Smart Boards have is that at first they may be difficult to work with. I think that the teachers will have to become familiar with all the tools Smart Boards provide and become comfortable using them before the benefits are realized. Learning how to use the Smart Boards may take some time, but I think it is all worth it in the end.