Surveys and Spreadsheets

Today I learned how to use spreadsheets and surveys in google docs and excel. Being an early education teacher, I really like these ideas because I think they are good ways to teach the children about graphs. If you use excel to make pie charts or other kinds of graphs, you can just display it in front of the children to show that different information changes what the graph looks like. I also think it would be useful because you can just make a graph or chart in front of the children and show them that they are important because their opinions and views can change how the graph looks.
I also think the survey is a great idea, though I would probably not use it with the younger children without explaining it in detail first. I think it's a good idea, though. A good, quick, and easy way to find out how your students feel about things. I even think you could use it to give an at-home quiz, or one at the beginning of class to see how your students are understanding what you're teaching them. I think the surveys are a great idea.
Here is a survey I made about animals:

Google

I really like google docs. I think it's a good way to do collaberative writing. It shares what you're writing as you write it, which I believe is a neat way to discuss things with your students. I really like the idea of having children write a story using it because it gives them the chance to work together and be creative. Though, seeing as I plan on teaching the younger grades, I don't think they'll be doing a lot of this on the computer. I think google docs is a great thing to use, probably starting in third grade. But if you want an example of collaberative writing, here are two of mine:

My name is Claudia, and at the moment, I am the reining world champion in figure skating, working for the gold medal at the Olympics in Vancouver. The weather is cold and I think my toe is freezing off. But, it is not the time to think about silly things like that, it's time to WIN! I've worked super hard these past few years and onw I feel that I'm prepared to kick some butt. This is my time, no turning back now, I'm going for the gold. That Veronica chick can kiss my gold medal butt, cause I'm going to win. Our practice sessions have been going really well lately. I actually stuck my triple Lutx 5 times in a row. This means I have pretty much amazing. Which I am. I have mad skills not only on the ice, but off the ice.

My day at the Olympics (don't I feel unique)
Just like everyone else writing today ... I miraculously just won a gold medal at the Olympics, though I have no idea how ... mysterious. We are all winners! Now I don't feel very special. I magically became a famous Olympic star with absolutely no effort from me! I wish I could always make a good dinner with no effort from me. If only, if only! Dinner is way better than winning a gold medal anyway. I mean, who eats medals?! Nobody, unless you have super strong teeth ... So if you want to eat medals ... Drink lots of milk ... It does a body good. and even then, it would probably hurt real bad. If it doesn't make your teeth fall out, that is. But who needs teeth really? Did they invent baby food for nothing? I've eaten lots of baby food over my lifetime, and it wouldn't be so bad! ...... sick!

All in all, I think using google docs is a great way to incorporate technology in the classroom and have a fun time while you do it.

Fair Use ... or Not?

I loved learning about the fair use policy. I think it's fascinating that teachers, and other people, can use things without express permission if it is for the better good. From what I understand, the validity of fair use is determined by four factors. They are:
1. What it is going to be used for
2. What the work is about
3. How much is used
4. How it affects the market
I think that by using these factors, I will be able to use materials in my classroom without getting in trouble. But I think that, if possible, it is always best to get permission to use something. That is the best way to make sure I won't get in trouble for it.
For me, I think it is easy to tell if something is fair use or not. In the copyright cases we had, my group thought that almost all the cases were used inappropriately. This makes me think that teachers need to be very careful about how they're using the fair use policy, which I'm going to be very careful about in the future. I'm glad I learned about copyright and the fair use policy.

New Resources

I think that the YETC is a very good resource to use in my classroom. When I graduate, I plan on teaching first grade and there are so many things I can get from the YETC that I never knew about before. I can rent DVD's, make movies, and transfer video disks to DVD!
While in there today, I liked a lot of the things the director, Nathan Smith told us that we can use from the internet. I my class, I know I definitely want to use storyonline.net, which is a website where you can download books, and read with the stars. They have stars like Amanda Bynes, Pamela Reed, Bradley Whitford and so many more. I think that using TV or movie stars is a good way to help children get excited to read.
I also think I want to use the spellingcity.com, which is a cite where your children can take spelling tests, learn spelling words, and play games involving their spelling words. I think that's a good way to help students learn how to spell good, which is something they will always be able to use.
Xmind is a wonderful tool that involves concept mapping. Some things I really like about this is that it teaches children how to organize their thoughts. This will help them all throughout their schooling because they will be able to write more comprehensive papers and will learn how to defend their thoughts. Another thing I really like about this is that it's free.
Stellarium is a great way to learn about the stars. I don't know if I'll be able to use it in my classes, since the children will be so young, but I thought it was fascinating. You can look at actual constellations, or just show the children how to find major stars like the North star and things like that. It's a very visual tool, which is fun as well.
All in all, by going to the YETC today, I learned a lot about different resources that are available online, and learned about resources that are available in the YETC. I think that I'll be using all of these things throughout my career.