Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Connection # 9 4.28.10


I'm pretty jealous that when I was in fifth grade I did not have the opportunity to be taught with technology as much as they do now. Although I was not offered the digital type of learning I was still able to learn in a good and effective way. My teachers through my middle and elementary school life were awesome and taught me with text books, movies, and worksheet games. The only type of presenting I did in middle school was just reading short stories that I would write in language arts. I never ever made a PowerPoint to present in a class before I arrived to high school. I had a computer class at the Middle School which helped me to use excel, power point and Microsoft. I was able to make PowerPoint's but I never introduced them in that class or any other class. When I arrived to high school a lot of things changed. I made PowerPoint mostly everyday and I presented like crazy. Now I'm a senior at the High school and technology is overflowing at the middle school. Fifth graders are learning to present PowerPoint's, blogging, video taping, making digital art, looking for information on the computer, looking up homework on school sites, taking tests online, e-mailing etc. When I was at the middle school I looked for information in books, I'd write my homework on my agenda, take paper tests, lab tops were not offered to me at the middle school when I was in fifth grade. I'm glad that the middle school has changed for the better and I hope it will keep developing into a more enhanced school for the type of generation we are now teach and of course for the future students we will soon be teaching.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Field Trip # 9 4.26.10



Yesterday I went to see Ms. Carney at the middle school. Although I was late I came just in time to see the students writing. At first I had no idea what they were writing about but soon I knew when Ms. Carney told each row to go up to the smartboard. On the smartboard there were two pie graphs, one pie had topics and the other pie consisted of types of writing. After the child tapped each pie graph an arrow started to spin. The arrow stopped on each pie graph and each child had to write down what the arrow had stopped on. One by one each student went up for their turn. I noticed that one child had to write about a mean bully in figurative language. Another student had to write about a field trip and a line of dialogue. After they were done writing. Ms. Carney asked them to go up again and choose another topic and type of writing. After they were done Ms. Carney asked me to hand out lab tops to the students. After I finished handing them out she asked children to go to a website which was similar to blogging. Each student had to choose one out of the three writings they had made and write it in a box and submit it. Each student would have to check the other students writing and give feedback on what they thought about their topics. Ms. Carney is definitely a teacher who knows that technology is a great tool to use for teaching students. Her way of using technology is very creative and it makes it more enjoyable to the students.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Heal the world by making it alive. 4.21.10


A quote that I absolutely think is very inspiring is “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” This quote is true to me and I believe that many people should live their lives rather than become walking sticks. Usually there are people who live the same thing over and over again. They're just breathing,eating, walking and not actually living a life full purpose. People who care about their life will end up doing something that will help the world become more moving. Humans make this world up and it exists only because we do. If humans did not exists no one would give the world appreciate and existence. Therefore, people should not worry about what the world needs because what it truly needs is people who make it come alive.
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Monday, April 19, 2010

Connection #8 4.19.10


Speaking about synonyms I need to use more of them. I usually just use words like said, had, would, boring words that need some spice to them. I read over an old essay today that I had written for psychology class. It was a story that I made up. As I was reading I realized that it was simply boring. I hated how I just made everything so plain. Words like blurred out, spin, yelped, ravishing, foxy, was exactly what I needed for my story to be more interesting. I regret writing it the way I did. I received a B only because it was on the topic it needed to be but it needed more creativity. I believe maybe my written has become so plain is because I never really get to write creative papers in school. I remember in the middle school and elementary school I use write stories about flowers, monsters, magic and princesses. Now I only write about debates, research papers, essay on questions like on World War II, the holocaust, Macbeth, if addiction is considered a disease. Although these are all important things to know and write about. I have not come across a time when I could write about something creative and just be loose, while still having things in order and correct. I miss them old days but that's life, we all have to grow up and leave behind the child in us.
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Field Trip # 8 4.19.10


Today I went to see my sponsor. Every student was working on their work. Today Ms. Carney was going over a worksheet. The worksheet said name three synonyms for "said".Secondly create a setting detail that uses figurative language about a hot day and going to sleep at night. Some students raised their hands and replied blurred out, bummed, yelled, screamed. For creating a detailed setting some said the sun felt as if it were melting me, the sun was so hot it exploded, etc.. I thought many of their answers were very creative. The third question was What's confusing the reader in this story? The passage was "Ahhh, it's too much to worry about." cried Christopher. I wonder if I want to go to the sleepover or to the baseball game. Choice A was the writer switches tenses from past to present. Choice B was the writer switches from 3rd person to 1st person point of view. Many chose choice B, which was correct. I was impressed by how much these fifth grade students know. After that worksheet Ms. Carney handed out a skit. To my amaze it was on "The Last Song" which is a movie that has just come out featuring Miley Cyrus(Hannah Montana). She showed the trailer to the students and explained the skit to them. Ms. Carney was about to do the things she does on the smartboard to choose parts for her students but I had to leave because of softball. I'll get the feedback next Monday.
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Sunday, April 18, 2010

DISNEY WORLD AnD EDucation ; )


I want to start off by saying that Disney World was great and I loved it. Epcot was by far my favorite park out of all of the parks in Disney World. The reason why it is that I love Epcot was because it's rides and presentations made me think and wonder. When Sindy and I entered Epcot we rode a ride towards the entrance and it was awesome. The ride was a two seater and it was similare to a train. First it went upward and as we were going up the walls were twinkling stars and full of darkness. I could hardly see Sindy beside me. As it's moving a voice comes from a screen that lights up in front of us. The voice explains that as years pass by things change and develop. The first scene after the stars is a cave man trying to kill a Mammoth and little by little we reach other scenes like man coming up with the alphabet, poetry and literature, science and history. It was very educational and when we finished with the ride we went on another one. It was not exactly a ride but it kind of was. Well it was like a presentation, it was about hurricanes and how to prepare your home for bad weather. The computerized presentation would ask us what type of nails, doors, windows, tiles and the shape and distance of the roof. It asked many things but when we finished answering every question our votes were put to test. The house we built was put to test as we the audience were in the storm as well. Somethings worked and some did not. The things that did not work was explained to us why that was. My connection to this was that rides and presentations like these are useful for field trips for schools. I did not expect that Epcot would be so educational. Epcolt is for sure a perfect park to take students to learn something while still being entertained. I definitely learned a lot and things that were interesting.
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Thinking.


I've been thinking about what's after High School and I'm excited, nervous, worried and ready. I seem to feel all mixed up. I know what I want to do and where I want to be but as I get closer to my destination I tend to doubt what I think I want. Success is something that I know I have definitatly reached. In two months I'm going to graduate and it's off to the real world. It's wierd how time has pasted by so fast and I've realized that many of the things I've worried about in my life, like makeing friends, clothes, dances, are dumb stuff that you can find anywhere. The people who still care about stuff like that, I wish you all luck and I hope one day you will open your eyes to things that are really important. I guess some people never grow up. Well real world here I come.
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