Buuzzz..Buuuzzz...BUZZ!

I was browsing around and stumbled upon a website that I would use for first and second graders. This site has a list of words that you can get it's definition, pronouncation , part of speech, a sentence AND an example! If your words aren't on the list for that day you can go to it's buzz engine and search what word you want or need. =)

http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/

If you have a list of words you need the definition or part of speech of you can go on the site and find it. Also, it provides games such as: Crossword puzzles, Hangman, double puzzles, and other neat games! Instead of using the dictionary and do it the old boring fashioned way, why not make it into a game and use buzzwords for students!? It's fun, interactive, and students are learning while having fun! Need I say more? I think it's a great way to get student's learning their vocabulary!

Arise! Great Explorers of Space!

Growing up science was..well, let's not lie to ourselves. It was BORING! I mean sure, you still got it to stick to your brain, but was it fun? Was it interactive? Was it presented to you in a game? Today everything is technology based. Subjects all over are being able to be taught online in a form of a game or so, usually for grades 1st-5th. By chance I stumbled upon this stellar game! It's literally out of this world!..Seriously! I present you all the game known as Star Child!

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html

This game gives you information about our solar system and our many planets. It doesn't give just any information! It gives you...interesting info! Exciting info! For instance did you know that the sun takes up 99% of our solar system mass? Exciting, no? Here is another one! Astronomers believe our solar system to be more than four billion years old! How cool is that? This program as well as game presents students with up to date information about our entire solar system! The information they present to the students will be presented in a form of a game after they finish reading the text. They present students activities such as 'Plant Tac Toe' in this game aliens have challenged you to a game of Planet Tac Toe, using the information they have learned they will engage in this game to overcome their foe! The future awaits! I believe this program will be of great interest to our students and teach them a great deal about outer space!

In the hands of our youth~

I found this real nifty website by the name of 'Kids Domain'. This website helps students from 1st-5th grade learn the basics of the internet and the 'language' of the cyber world. This website gives great tips as to how students can survive in the cyber world and not be mistaken. It explains terms such as how typing in all caps means that you are shouting at someone and all. I believe this website can help students who are new to the cyber world by teaching them the right and wrongs, as well as the rules of this alternate universe. Like reality the rules of the cyber world are severe and have many consequences. If your not careful with what you say you can be penalized. This website would be useful to a student who has an online course and is he/she first time in the cyber world. This website will teach them how to communicate with their peers and professors.

Rock a bye bye text books! =D

Through the bright blue link in the Course Port I, I found an interesting little toy that makes Animal Science for Elementary children an interactive and fun learning experience! These days our poor babies are stuck sitting down and doing bookwork on animals! The cruelty! Learning about animals should not be done by looking through a book and jotting down the names and random information about them! It should be more hands on! Like a project! This new toy I found makes Animal Science for grades 4-5th more exciting! They have interesting information and games that they can play. Doing it this way would be more fun to your students and to the silence in your classroom! D= Beyond becoming a teacher, and making a difference in the lives of my students. I wish to impact their learning experience and taking it to a whole new level! A level in which they learn the maximum they are able to while having fun! You think me crazy? It's possible! I have new toys at my disposal that will allow me to do just that! =D These games and exercises allow student's to work in groups, as well as individually to figure out the weight, height, name, sub-name, and the way the animal looks and what sounds they make! With technology like this you can kiss boring ol' textbooks sayonara! This way of learning expands their learning experience and they will get information from these games and exercises than they ever will from a textbook!

Incorporating Blogging Into the Curriculum!

Growing up, my peers and I were thought to keep a journal. In this journal we kept track of all our logs. We would write in this journal five times a day. We would write two paragraphs about: What we did in class that day, understanding of what was went over, questions we had for the next day, our feelings towards our peers, and what we were doing that weekend. It was rather dreadful having to write all of that, we were not allowed to share this information with anyone. Think about it! What would you rather do? Log in a journal? Or blog online? In my opinion, I would rather blog online. I find myself being able to work and function better at my chair and in front of my laptop listening to music and writing away! When you just sit at a table and pick up your pen to write, it's just boring! For most of us that's not our comfort zone! These days the comfort zones of students are in front of their laptops or PC's. If this is the case instead of issuing assignments to do on paper, why not put it at their leisure and have them create a blogger email and submit a blog for each assignment? It's easier on you and on them! I am sure their grades will be a lot higher as well! The benefits in blogging is that each student will be able to look at and read their peers blogs, this is part of the learning process because students will see their peers points of views on things, also they will be able to comment and leave words of wisdom or a "great job!!" Its very interactive. Schools are incorporating technology into almost everything these days! Why stay in the stone age? Submitting hard copy assignments? Get with the new generation! Blogging is but a couple of clicks away!