A New Year..A New Start

Greetings Everyone... Its a new school year and there are so many things on my list from old to new. So far co-teaching in a elementary Science Lab has taught me a variation of things, of modifying,integrating, and influencing the love of learning. Many students cant wait to come into the lab, every day I have students asking as they walk down the hall,when do we get to go to the lab Miss Gonzalez? And I just smile and reply back. Overall, this year I would like to share with you as many activities that I find appropriate in a lab and ones that need a tweak or two.
I'll get back to blogging soon.
Have a great week.

Activity on the importance of water.

Properties of Light: Reflection

My group and I will be working a lesson plan of properties of light: reflection. I will be adding information and activities on my blog that will be useful in teaching this topic.

Coastal Habitat Restoration GIS

The Coastal Habitat Restoration GIS, has provided me much information to use as a resource in the classroom. One link that really caught my attention is the Texas Beach Watch.

Service Project

Before this weekend I was able to quickly explain to Mrs Trevino and Gabby what I would like for them to do. I explained the voicethread and that they were more then welcome to have access to my account, to comment on other students that were completing their voicethread. This morning I spoke to Gabby and she mentioned that they were able to see two other students voice thread, and comment on them as well. This morning we were also able to connect some of my peer classmates to her blog so she can involve herself if she like. Overall, things went pretty smooth and will see what can be improved as we go.

Service Project

Today, I was able to work with Gabby throughout the day. She was very eagered and ready to start something new. So today I introduced how to use the voicethread, she used the same pictures and added some new ones in the new movie she created today, but she added her voice and not music to her new creation on moviemaker. She thought that was the coolest thing ever, just to hear herself reflect back on the movie. She had to practice a couple of times, but she did great. After school we will be looking at other students blogs and comment on their work that they have been achieving.

Service Project

Today, Gabby was able to work as much as she could with me today...Im glad to say that she did do her part and researched on Science Biomes. Which was so great to see the effort she is putting into this project, she found great books and online sources that her mom was able to help her with. I was able to introduce her to Moviemaker today and she thought it was the most coolest thing ever. So we got to work right away, and was it a quick process. Our next goal is to get into the voicethread and to let her view other blogs from students in CCMS and ECDC to see how they are coming along with their project.

Service Project 2009

What is known?
After Gabby and I discussed what she understood what it was she was going to do I asked her three questions and if she could reply to first two question in the chart.

Service Project 2009

So far I feel this project as been trailing on a bumby road but Gabby and I have started to get things going today. Which is a sudden and quick pace but she has been a great sport and I am very glad. She will begin researching her topic today and continue tomorrow. By Wednesday I will introduce a voice thread.

CCMS Tour

Maria Montessori

Corpus Christi Montessori School
My CCMS Tour reflection was a little different for me and another classmate. We were unable to do the day time tour and had to settle for an after school tour that turned out to be discussions held with students that attend the school. Im glad to say that they were great students to interview they could provide as much information about their school, and were very knowledgeable and proud of their school. That was very nice to see.

CCMS Project II. Preliminary Planning

Things change and new things come along to learn, such as

The 21st Century Learning.

Student Teacher notes and goals in introducting the importance of the 21st Century Learning.

Video Activity

Session 8:Making a digital storytelling movie

TeacherYouTube

Spreadsheet Activity

Session 9

Wedding Spreadsheet

1. What can be compared by using a spreadsheet?
2. Could we compare classrooms and create a spreadsheet?
3. In what ways would use the spreadsheet?

Using a spreadsheet can be fast and the smartest way to get things done quickly. Using a spreadsheet can be used to compare things to find the differences and similiarties between them. Learning how to use the spreadsheet and how to input formulas would be the most important lesson to be taught, then once explained to fullest potential you can try using it with information around you. Children would find this tool very interest for mulitple reasons, one its technology, two just how cool is using formulas could do so much work for you, and three its something new.

So give it a try and create your own spreadsheet.

What are rules?

What are rules

7 Elements of Digital Storytelling

Session 7

Storyboard


Element #1 Point of view, we tell to reflect who we are as humans.

Element #2 Dramatic Question, structure base on someboday desiring something.

Element #3 Emotional Content, love and lonliness, death and loss, acceptance and rejection.

Element #4 The Gift of your voice, our voices are powerful.

Element #5 Sound Track, appropriate music and sound effects.

Element #6 Economy, video clips and images.

Element #7 Pacing, rythm of your story.

Unit plan and TEKS

Unit Plan... Example provided that could be used when teaching to kindergarten.

TEKS

KINDERGARTEN

SOCIAL STUDIES

(8) Government. The student understands the purpose of rules. The student is expected to:
(A) identify purposes for having rules; and
(B) identify rules that provide order, security, and safety in the home and school.
(9) Government. The student understands the role of authority figures. The student is expected to:
(A) identify authority figures in the home, school, and community; and
(B) explain how authority figures make and enforce rules.

TLW

The Learner Will (TLW) depict the the purposed for having rules and identify rules that provide order,security, and safety in the home and school by using SlideCast by properly adding rules that we use at school and compare the ones they use at home.

Timeline

Estimated time 20 minutes to understand the purpose for having rules and identify rules that provide order security and safety in the home and school.

Estimated time 20 minutes will create slide cast adding rules that we use at school and compare the ones they use at home.

Estimated time 10 minutes create questions to involve in the classroom Jeopardy game.

Multicurricular-integration possibilities for...

Voice thread,slideshare and slide casts

The multicurricular integration possibilities for my unit plan and future ideas are just as easy as creating it. Creating voice thread, slideshare and slide casts all have a connection, and the connection to voice out information.
I found slideshare the quickest one to understand and used, I simply used a template that my sister and I use with students at our schools. The old fine Jeopardy game that we have all seen on t.v. atleast once.The useful part of the Jeopardy game created can be used for all multicurricular integration possiblities that you might encounter and would like to use amongst your students as a learning tool.

Unti Plan and Specific future curricular-integeration ideas...
My unit plan is based on history and citizensip, I can use a variety of videos, books, for all levels of audience. But focus will be on kindergarten and first grade students. As I continue to disect more and more information found on using slidecast,voicethread, etc I will be posting them on my blog.

Jeopardy Template V2 2

Session 6

Works Cited Page


Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Jeopardy Template V2 2

View more presentations from vernleighgon.

Session 5

My workcited page that provides me information to create and to gather my materials together for my upcoming video.

Theories used behind Digital Storytelling

Information on Digital Storytelling

• Alchemists,people who join seemingly unconnected ideas to create new ideas and unique ways of doing things.
• Place-based storytelling,an adaptation of digital storytelling that combines digital mapping tools with the power of the narrative.
• Googlelittrips
• Find a story...Map a Story....Tell a Story

Theories used behind digital storytelling were very interesting to dig into. At first, when I was trying to under stand the whole concept of digital storytelling I was working with a close mind and set of what I thought it might already be. I was a little off of what it really is and Im glad I have now come to understanding how this can benefit me and others around me.

I have taken notes down that you can see above in the bullet format, these notes remind me the foundation of how digital storytelling developed and how it is still continueing to expand. I really enjoy viewing through "Find a story,Map a Story,Tell a Story". I will soon create one for myself and how that connects how I learned my rights and what laws where around me.

Traveling and gathering a little bit more...

As I start to travel little more into the blogging world I have been introduced in many other ways that we create a social media, how we can provide many opportunities to create and change ideas and thoughts. As I began to discover information within blogs, and using search engines in a smarter and faster way. Within time I was able to dig up some more information on my topic such as, "what are laws and rights?"What is the government worldwide? Where there political leaders involved? By using the audio I was able to encounter "History and Politics Out Loud" a nice website that involves the speeches given by political leaders in the past striving for a change. As more and more people are striving to become more involved and one advocacy that I have encountered is U.W. Human Rights and Social Justice .

How I envision using blogs in my future classroom as a teacher and as student projects.

As I skim through and viewed david warlick webpage I found many interesting perspectives and information On 2Cents Worth.

A Techno Teacher's Second Life. ....

As I always have the habit of wondering what if, and if not, what can we do with it. Well, ask I keep on searching through out websites, examples, observing how others use the blogs. And it dawned on me, hello! This would be great for students to use this writing, science, social studies, and so much more. Students can interact by using blogs in engaging with one another in what they have been learning in their classrooms and sharing their ideas that they have been working on in the classroom.

Basically students become our critics, they can inform us what they understand, what they dont understand, what they like, and so forth. They importance that blogging has been emphasized is, students can hold discussions, participate, reflect, motivate, share ideas, take ownership of their own blog.

Blogging "gives students a voice, a audience, a learning environment, a skill that is useful for digital futures". Science Fair projects would be such a great thing for kids to post up on their blogs and get help with one another, book reviews can also be done by the students once they have completed reading a book. Many options are available its just introducing, becoming confident, and using it to its fullest potential.

Veronica L. Gonzalez Inquiry and Project-based learning

Inquiry based learning.

Fund of Knowledge

"Everything now known by humanity"

Inquiry implies a "need or want to know" premise. Inquiry is not so much seeking the right answer, because often there is none. But rather seeking appropriate resolutions to questions and issues.

This is why schools must change from a focus on "what we know" to an emphasis on "how we come to know".

Project-based learning

Students focus on a topic and explore on their own. They learn to become explorers and use the world around them. "Project based learning is also a instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation"

Essential Question

What are laws and rights?

Unit Question

Why do we need the bill of rights?

Which of the bill of rights is the most important?

Which of the bill of rights needs to be improved?

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social StudiesTEKS 1:10A,1:10B