Winner Winner Fish n' Chips Dinner

Here's whats happened so far on my adventure... I went on a plane, waited for everyone, settled into my room, walked 2 miles for food, found out where I'm working, met some people, painted, and bought some groceries. Thats all. I guess I'll go more in-depth. The plane ride wasn't too bad. I flew out of CR into Chicago, then straight to London. I didn't get a minute of sleep on the plane, but had fun. I think everyone needs to go on a Boeing 777 because they have games on those things now! We got to London-Heathrow at about 7 a.m. local time. It took 2 hours to get through customs and we waited another 3 hours for everyone else to arrive at the airport. We drove 3 hours from the airport to our base. We are living a cozy dorm at a base near a few miles from where we are working this summer. The place wasn't the cleanest when we arrived, but we have made the best of it since we've moved in. Sunday night, when we arrived, we went to a small pub for some fish and chips. We got to walk at least a couple miles to get there, but it was worth it after we got there. Monday, we were able to sleep in, then go see the base and youth center that we are working at all summer at RAF Lakenhaeth. The center is really nice and the kids are GREAT! I'm super excited to get in a rhythm starting next week. Today we went to the center and painted posters for next weeks theme. After we painted we bought some groceries and we are all eating group meals together. Today is Taco Tuesday! After we bought groceries we went back and hung out with some of the kids at the center. This weekend we are talking about going to Inverness, Scotland or Bath, England. I'll let everyone know how the weekend goes and what we do. Next post I will have some pictures included. I will also put more pictures on my Facebook. Take care! I'll update you soon.

Educational Videogames

This topic is becoming more common as we come up with more technology. Educational videogames are a new concept. This is popular because many kids enjoy playing videogames and parents can give this alternative, which lets them play games but learn valuable educational tools in the process. An example of these videogames is a popular tool called Leapster. This is a small videogame system like a handheld gaming device. Leapster is a useful gaming device kids can use to get a headstart before they start school. There are also many other games that kids can access on the computer, related to school subjects. Some of these computer games require the students to log in so the teacher can then look at how the student performed and give them more attention in the classroom. One problem that I have with education videogames is that if the students do not play games, this could create a habit that could lead to a more unhealthy lifestyle. Playing these games at home takes away from students being physically active with their peers.


Leap Frog URL: www.leapfrog.com/leapster

Picture used with permission by http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/

Podcasts

A new way to use technology in the classroom is the Podcast. The Podcast is a useful tool found on the iPod. Podcasts are escentially short videos or audios that can communicate many different things. A useful tool that the Podcast could be used for would be, if some students are not grasping an idea, then the teacher could have a podcast made up to help explain the subject while the student is out of class and in a different setting. The Podcast could also be used to set up an assignment or project for the class. The students could then go back and look at the Podcast whenever they have questions about the instructions. This is helpful if the teacher is not at school or the students are working on the project at home.

Here's a Podcast

used with permision from sparcoz.

Educational Podcast Network URL: http://www.epnweb.org/

Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying is becoming a big problem with students. This type of bullying is hard to monitor because the teacher is not watching students at home on their computers. Cyber bullying happens more than anyone could imagine. Cyber bullying is happening all of the time and as teachers its hard to see. This could be something that starts at school and becomes cyber bullying once the student goes home and posts something on Facebook or Twitter. A staggering statistic from the site below is that 9 out of 10 students say that they have had their feelings hurt over the internet. There are also some other unbelievable statistics. Teachers and parents need to communicate to stop this.


This site has some different statistics which support my belief. http://www.dosomething.org/

Picture used with permission from http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/

Promethean Boards

The Promethean Board is a wonderful tool that allows teachers to manipulate work like on a white board, but they can also save their work for future work or for other teachers. This board also comes with many useful tools like the Activslate and Activotes, which are two tools that allow the teacher to focus more on how well the students are grasping the lesson. The Activotes record which students voted the correct and incorrect answers. This is a great tool for the teacher to go back and see what students need more work with the lesson and what could be changed to make the lesson more effective.

Promethean Planet URL: http://www.prometheanplanet.com/

Picture used with permission from IowaAEA. http://www.iowaaea.org/