Samantha+Davis

=Samantha Davis= ==

media type="custom" key="7413005"

My name is Samantha Davis. I am a middle childhood education major in language arts and math. This is my second year at the University of Cincinnati. I am from the Cincinnati area and went to Seton High School. Some things I enjoy doing in my free time are reading, volleyball, listening to music, playing or watching any sport. I love hanging out with my friends and family. I work part time at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse near my residential area. I am a twin, and we are the youngest of five girls in my family. My technology experience is very basic, and consists of taking computer classes in grade school and high school. I have created many reports and projects in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel. I otherwise have not used very many computer tools, and I have been using and navigating the internet for many years. I want to be a teacher because I want to positively influence the lives of my students. Some of my teachers have made a major impact on my life, and I want to be able to do the same for my students.

Contact: davis2st@mail.uc.edu

=Reflections=

General Reflection

Coming into this class, I knew that there was so much on the internet, but I had no idea what exactly was out there, and I definitely had no idea that there was so much out there for teachers to use. I always knew that the internet had a lot of information, but I guess I was never aware of the great tools that were out there. I had no idea about wikispaces, wordle, live binders, teacher tube, and many more of the websites we went over in class. I knew google was a search engine, but I didn’t know all of the great things included with it either. I am so glad that I have had the chance to learn about all of these websites because now I can use them in my own classroom. This class has made me see that I can learn about how to use new websites every day, and that many more will be created for teachers to use. Another great thing that we did in this class was go over to Hughes High School. I had no idea what was going on over there, I just knew that they had some construction at one point, and that they were working on make changes. They have a unique way teaching over there, and I am curious to see how this improves them academically compared to the previous years. I also have always thought that having uniforms in high school was a great thing too, and I think that might help the students also. It is crazy to me to see all of the money that they have been given to use for technology, and I am interested to see how it all works out for them in the future. Going to the CECH library was another great day we had in this class. I learned so much about it that I never knew existed. I didn’t know that there were so many teaching tools in there, and that we could use them for our own classroom someday. I also had no idea that there was a computer lab down there or the room in the back with the posters and cut out things. There are so many great resources in the library, and I am so glad that I learned about them, and know how to use them.

Standard 1 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

I believe that it is really important to have all of the students in the classroom engaging in learning. I think that too many teachers sit in front of the classroom and lecture, or just do power points, and expect the students to just write everything down and listen. Depending on the grade level, students are not always going to be paying attention to everything the teacher says, and often times, they won’t remember the lesson after they take a test on it. I am learning in this class, that using technology is a great way to get the students interested and engaged in the lesson they are being taught in an everyday classroom. When we did the activity in class a couple of weeks ago learning about Antarctica, everyone in the classroom was engaged in some kind of activity. There were five different stations used to teach the students about different parts of Antarctica. I really enjoyed that lesson, and think that it can be used in an everyday classroom. I am not the biggest technology person myself, so I was happy that all of the stations didn’t use some form of technology, but three out of the five did. I felt that this lesson would be a good way to have the students learning how to use technology for different things, but not feel overwhelmed by having every station use something different. I personally remember more about Antarctica over tornadoes, because we I felt we were engaged more in the Antarctica lesson. I also liked this lesson because we as students figured out the answers on our own, or with a group, instead of the teacher standing in front of us giving us the answers. This gives the students real world experience, because at some point, they will have projects to do with a group of people, and they are building and learning the skills early by doing activities like this in a classroom.

Standard 2 Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers: c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

In this class, I have learned that I can use all kinds of technology tools to help me teach my students in an effective way. There are so many different kinds of learning styles, and it is often hard for teachers to try to meet all of the student’s needs and learning styles for every lesson. In this class, I have learned that there are multiple tools I can use online to help me meet all of the needs of my students. Some of the great tools I can use are voice threads, power points, and videos. I have learned that I can teach a lesson in class and do a hands on activity, and also use all of these tools in some way. Some students are visual learners, so they like to see a power point on the board, or posted to a website. Some students are auditory learners, so hearing a voice thread going over the information might help them better. Some students are kinesthetic learners, and need a hands on activity, so seeing a video of what they did in class, or actually doing an activity in class is a good way for them to learn. If a teacher did this for their lessons, they would be able to meet the needs of all the students, and hopefully it would improve learning and grades in the classroom.

Standard 3 Model Digital-Age Work and Learning Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers: c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

I have learned in this class that using something like a wiki space is a great way to communicate information with parents, students, and peers. I always thought that making some kind of blog or website that was safe for the students to use would be a great idea, but I wasn’t aware of how to do it. In our class, we use wikispace.com to communicate. Having the wiki is a great way for the teacher to put up information or assignments that the students need or might have missed. I also like that it is available online, so it can be accessed from any computer with internet. Another great thing about it is that anyone who is a part of the page can comment, or add to it. This is a great way for students to get involved in their class work, and help each other out. Also, the students can comment on the wiki space about things they might not feel comfortable talking about in class. It also is a great way of keeping track of what students are involved and doing their work for the class. The parents can also get online and see what their children are working on. Another tool that can be used in a class to communicate relevant information is something like blackboard. The students can get their assignments, post things to a digital drop box, and check their grades. I know that we had something similar to this when I was in grade school, and it really helped to see where we were in the class with our grades and assignments, and I know my parents appreciated it too. Both of these tools are also great because they can be used to see work that was missed if a student is absent, and they can get the assignment that way when they are at home. It also allows the students to be more independent, and learn to be responsible on their own.

Standard 4 Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers: a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

This standard has always been taught to me from the moment I walked into a classroom. It was always very important for my teachers to tell us the rules about plagiarism and citing things. My teachers have always stressed how important it is to cite my work, and how much trouble I could get into if I didn’t. They always knew how to put it into perspective for the grade level too. When I was in high school, we learned how important MLA format was for a paper, and learned how to cite everything specifically for that. We learned how to cite all kinds of websites, and learned which ones were reliable, and how to tell if they were not. In this class, we have been given a paper with copyright information about mediums that are important for teachers, and what they can do with it in their classroom. It is important for a teacher to know about citing and copyright information because they are going to be teaching the students things that will need to use citing all of the time. There are also tools that can be found on the internet to help students cite correctly, depending on the format, such as MLA or APA.

Standard 5 Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers: c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.

This standard specifically reminds me of Patti Pentecost, our professor for this course. She is always learning about new digital and technology tools, and teaching us about them. She is willing to learn about all of the new tools coming out, and jumps at the opportunity to learn and teach us about them too. We have done presentations on technology tools in class that some of us have never heard of or used before. Patti is learning some of them with us, and she is always trying to get us to think of ways we can use them as teachers in the classroom, and as students to help our learning methods. She is also continuously improving her professional practice and lifelong learning not only in small ways like this, but coming back to school and being a teacher here at the main campus at the University of Cincinnati.

Final Reflection

I was nervous at first to take this class, because I didn’t know what to expect. I honestly thought it was going to be really hard and over my head, or I thought it was going to be easy and we would just learn about Microsoft word and basic things like that. I am so glad that I took this class because it was a lot better than I expected. I am not that big into using computers for things, other than typing papers, research, and basic things like facebook and email. I never thought that I would learn so much about so many websites and tools, and that I would actually be able to use them in my own classroom someday. Listening to our classmates do presentations on a different website was very helpful to me, because I had no idea what over half of the websites were listed on the wiki. I know that if I had not heard people explain one, that I would have never gone down the whole list and investigated every website. I am glad that I can use this information in my class. Another thing that was great for me was creating our own lesson plan. I have done group projects in some of my other classes, but nothing like this one where we actually had to teach in front of the class by ourselves. I like the way the project was set up, because we had to teach by ourselves for at least ten minutes, but our project was planned with someone else, which is a good way to help us reassure ourselves, but still teach on our own. I never knew that there were ways that I could use technology tools in the everyday lesson until we had to think about how we could add them in. I am really glad that we did this, because now I feel like I know how to use technology tools in my every day classroom when I am a teacher.

Artifacts:

Name of Technology Tool: Delicious URL Location of Tool: [] Is there a video or tutorial to learn how to use the tool? No Is the tool free? Yes Can I pay to upgrade for more options? No Would you, as a teacher, use this tool? Yes Who uses this tool? Anyone can use this tool, for personal or professional use What does one use this tool for? Delicious keeps all your bookmarks in one place so you will never lose track of your bookmarks again. It stores your bookmarks online, so you can get to them from any computer, whether you're at home, at work or on the road. What is the educational value of this tool? A student or teacher can use this tool to keep track of all of the websites they use, and put them into different categories by “tabbing” them. They can also search for other websites related to any topic they want. Student's Name: Samantha Davis

Title:Soft Schools [|URL:http://www.softschools.com/] Summary: This website provides free math worksheets, free math games, grammar quizzes and free phonics worksheets and games. Worksheets and games are organized by grades and topics. Student's Name: Samantha Davis

Samantha Davis - @http://www.teacherplanet.com/links/redirect.php?url=http://thelamppost.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Blank-Lesson-Plan.pdf

Student's Name: Samantha Davis Title of Lesson Plan: Introduction to Poetry Grade Level:7-12 Subject: Language Arts/ Literature Brief Description of Lesson Plan: Student will demonstrate an understanding of the expressive and figurative nature of poetry through successfully producing their own short poem. Website: []

Student's Name: Samantha Davis Title of Lesson Plan: Literature Review Grade Level: 7-12 Subject: Language Arts/ Literature Brief Description of Lesson Plan: This lesson plan focuses on reviewing a book or literary work before an exam. It is making sure they understand the difference between a knowledge question and a judgement question. Website: []

Student's Name: Samantha Davis Title of Lesson Plan: Partner Book Reports <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Grade Level: 6-12 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: Language Arts/ Literature/ Writing <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brief Description of Lesson Plan: Students read, review, and evaluate a novel with a partner or a group. Progress is monitored through the use of reading folders and the completion of a project. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Website: [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Standard: Writing Process Standard <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Benchmark: Formulate writing ideas and identify a topic appropriate to the purpose and audience. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indicator: Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas.