Simulator Link

http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/animations/seasons_ecliptic.swf

"Kam-berry" Juice

If I could make a magical juice, I would make “kam-berry” juice. This would be a magical juice that would give a student the energy to get through the day and complete unnecessary homework. This juice would incorporate many different berries and be very tasty. This juice would help put back sleep that a person missed out on the night before and keep them refreshed.

If I was able to drink “kam-berry” juice, I think that I could do anything! I could finally get all of my homework done, and not feel so overwhelmed by all of the homework that I didn’t “have time to do” before. If I could make this juice, I think I could make millions of dollars from selling it because I think that everyone in the world would want to drink my “kam-berry” juice!

With all the money that I would make from selling “kam-berry” juice I would start a company to endorse other juice makers. If other people have similar ideas that I have and want to get their homework done fast, they can make similar juices. “Kam-berry” juice will benefit all people who drink it!

If I could make a juice, I would make pink juice!

If I could make a magical juice, I would make pink juice. My pink juice would have specials powers in that anyone who drank it would be cheery and happy. People who drink pink juice wouldn’t have a worry in the world for the amount of time that the pink juice is in their system, until it is digested.
Pink juice would also provide the necessary vitamins for people that did not enjoy eating vegetables. The only catch is that if someone eliminated vegetables from their diet completely and only drinks pink juice their skin will turn pink! This juice, although very tasty, prevent people from skipping on their vegetables.
If I could drink pink juice every day I would, but I would still eat my vegetables! Even though I would LOVE to be pink, because I love pink since it’s the most awesome color in the world, I would still eat vegetables because I love veggies just as much as I love pink! But since my ferrets can’t eat veggies, I would feed them pink juice so that I could have pink ferrets even though they’re boys.

Future Juice

If I could make a magical juice I would make future juice. Future juice would help those who drink it to see into their future. This is important because many people worry about the future. I plan on drinking future juice everyday so that I can make wise decisions. I wish I had thought of this idea a long time ago. Things would be much better.
Future juice would allow me to see into my future therefore I would always know what is coming my way. I would always know which days to stay in bed and sleep because I would see that the day ahead of me would not be a good one. Although if I had future juice I don’t know how exciting my life would be because I would always know what lies ahead… Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Future juice or orange juice, it’s up to you to decide. I you spend days wondering what the future holds for you then future juice may be the way to go. Those who are spontaneous , without a care in the world………stick to h2o

Magic Juice!

Magic Juice
If I could make a magical juice, I would make flying juice. When I drink my flying juice, it will make me super light and able to fly up in the air. I can fly anywhere I want after I drink the juice. I could go to my friends’ houses, school, and vacation! This juice would be really delicious and I would use it all the time so I could get places much quicker!
I could make some bird friends up in the sky while flying and I could wave hello to the planes, helicopters, and hot air balloons as I passed them. Flying juice would make me feel like Superman. I would be the thing in the air that people yell; “it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s Chrissy!” The flying juice will be the rave of the town and I’ll be its number one sponsor!
The best thing about my flying juice would be that I could go visit places that I normally wouldn’t be able to. I could go to the beach whenever I wanted or go to places really far away without having to get on an airplane or drive all the way there! I would make plenty of juice so that I could always use it whenever I need to fly somewhere. This would be my new favorite drink!
-Chrissy Cohn

Jen Harlee's Freckle Juice Paragraph!

Magical Juice Story
If I could make a magical juice, I would make straight A juice. When you drink this juice, you will automatically get straight A’s. You won’t have to do any work or study for anything because the juice will guarantee that you will get straight A’s all the time! Who wouldn’t want to drink straight A juice?
I could really use my straight A juice to help me with my math class. I just don’t understand any of the math skills we are learning. Plus, my teacher can be so mean! She doesn’t want me to get an A in that class. I would definitely drink my straight A juice before every math test!
Even though I know I should study and work hard for my grades, I would rather spend my time playing outside with my friends. Being young is hard enough without having to worry about school and getting good grades. After I drink my straight A juice I will never have to hear my mom say, “Jen you need to bring up your grades again.” I will be the smart child and my brother and sister will be so jealous because I’m mom and dad’s favorite for always getting straight A’s. Straight A juice would be the best creation ever!

Thinking Juice Story

If I could make a magical juice, I would make thinking juice. I would make thinking juice because I have always wondered what people are thinking about when I am talking to them. I would want just one day to be able to read people’s minds. It would give me the chance to hear everything that is going through their mind when they are talking to me and other people around.
Thinking juice would be so much fun, because I would be able to read everything smart people and geniuses are thinking. I would be able to know everything and use it to my advantage. To think about all the crazy things really smart people would think about would be weird to know. I think having thinking juice would be cool to use it for that.
Thinking juice would be the one magical juice I would want to make. I would be able to find out what my friends are thinking about me and if they are really my true friends or not. I would be able to find out if people are mad at me. I want to make this magical juice because it was cool to do all of that in just one day.

My pirate juice

If I could make a magical juice, I would make Pirate juice. This type of juice would make you be able to sail the seven seas without a care in the world. It would allow you to fight any monster, villain, or other pirate that came around. With this juice I would quickly become the most powerful girl in the world!

Pirate juice is a top secret juice. It’s important that those who use it keep its powers to themselves. If pirates could use pirate juice, things would be crazy. Once I gained all of the treasures of the sea I would use my treasures to save the world from destruction.

Therefore, I must do everything in my power to keep this magical juice to myself and myself only. Pirate juice would help me be everything I’m not and help me to save the world. I think I would just use my pirate juice for fun because that stuff can be pretty intense.

freckle juice story

If I could make a magical juice, I would make flying juice. I would fly anywhere I wanted to go. I would fly all over the world, without using any energy. I would be able to go on vacations with my friends whenever I wanted because they would come with me. I wouldn’t have to sit in traffic because I could just fly everywhere I wanted to go. I wouldn’t have wings to make me fly, I would have a portable jetpack.
I would fly to Florida any day of the week. I wouldn’t have to sit on an airplane for 5 hours and could get there in 5 minutes. I would fly home when I got homesick and missed my parents. I would go shopping with my mom and never have to wait on lines.
I would really like it if there were a magical flying juice. I would have to pay for airplanes and I would be able to go wherever I wanted. I could jet set around the world and never miss home because I could get there so quickly.

this semester

From this semester i have learned about using technolgies could be used as a reward or to be used in a lesson. I think its important to use technology in the class, because its such an important part of our culture and students need to know about it and how to use it. Im not sure if most of the things that i learned in the class i could use in my classroom, but it was intresting to learn about them. I'm taking away from the course the importance of using technolgy into my classroom. I hope that my school is able to fund and put in grants to get great technolgy in my classroom/school. What i would like to learn more about is how to intergrate technology everyday into my classroom. I wish that i knew how to make it an everyday thing, otherthan to just use a powerpoint to show the students slides.

Chrissy Cohn-Reflection

I have learned plenty of things in this class that I plan to take with me as I begin teaching. I came into this class thinking that technology was a nice addition to education, but not a necessary part of it. After working with so many different types of technology in the class, I now believe that certain uses of technology are definitley necessary in the classroom. One major thing I learned in the class was all the ways that technology could use used to assist diverse learners or those students with special needs. The assistive technologies helped students with disabilities, but also made it easier for students with certain strengths and weaknesses to accomplish their assignments. There are technologies that allow for bigger print and visual representations (for visual learners), audio components in English and different languages (for audio learners or ESL students), and technologies that make certain skills easier, such as typing, reading, writing, and communicating thoughts. When I have students in my classroom who seem like they could excel at their education with the help of a technology like those, I will know what type of technology to seek out and will get them the assistance they need. I also realized that using technology in the classroom creates motivation for students. As long as it is used for a specific purpose and relates to the knowledge the students should be learning in an engaging way, I will use it in the classroom as a way to encourage students to complete activities.
I would like to learn more about how accesible some of these technologies are so that I can implement them into the classroom. I feel like we learned about many technologies and experienced some in the classroom, but I have no idea how much it costs to get these technologies placed in the school and how hard it is to get them improved. However, the software evaluation project helped me understand this, but I hope to learn more about the technology standards at the school that I begin working at.

What I am taking away with me from this class

I have learned so much about technology and integrating it into the classroom after participating in this class this semester. I used to think that including a technology portion in one of my lessons was such a hassle and I didn't think that it would benefit the students when using the technology. However, now I realize how much of a vital piece that technology really is in the classroom setting. Technology can motivate students, can assist students in learning, assist teachers in instruction, and just be flat out fun and educational at the same time. I will definitely be thinking of new ways to incorporate technologies in my future classroom because this class has totally changed my mind on the subject.

However, I am a little concerned with my lack of knowledge when it comes to the field of technology. I am not the most technology inclined individual and I feel that sometimes I simply cannot bring a technology into my classroom because of my lack of knowledge on it. But, I am very open to taking technology workshops so I can become more familiar with different aspects of it and so that I am able to make technology available to my students. All in all, I feel that technology is so important in a school setting and should be included in every classroom.

Reflection

Throughout the course of the semester this class has presented me with many different ideas regarding the use of technology in the classroom. It is important to know how to incorporate technology because it can make your life as a teacher easier. We also learned when certain types of technology are appropriate or not. Overall, I would say the most enjoyable part of the class so far was having group discussions about our views on technology. One common theme that kept coming up was the fact that some schools/children don't have access to technology because of economic or social reasons. It is important to recognize this because while on one hand technology can be a great teaching and learning tool, it may not available to every child. Other common debate was centered around the actual role of technology in the classroom, how it effects the teachers workload, and benefits students. I would say that my favorite part of the class is when we reviewed web 2.0 sites and talked about them. It was interesting because I could see myself using some of those websites in the future teaching, or even for personal use. Finally, the class allowed us to use technology to express ourselves in the form of the digital story telling project, which I enjoyed also. Moving forward, I would like to learn more about what things the government is doing to make sure that more technology is becoming more prominent in our nations schools. Unrelated to education, I would like to learn more about what common technologies are used to record music and videos, and how to use them.

Reflection of the Semester so far

So, far I think that I have really taken that there are so many different ways and types of technology, and how to incorporate it into the classroom. I really liked the new information that I have learned about assisstive technology. I think that because I am going to be a teacher one day, and I know that many classrooms are becoming inclusion classrooms I want to be as aware as I can about different assisstive technologies that I can use to help students learn more efficiently. I feel that I have also taken away that all students can benefit from the use of technology in the classroom. All students have different learning styles, and technology can really be applied to the different learning styles to help all students learn more efficiently. I feel that I have also taken away that I am going to encounter many struggles in a lot of school when trying to bring in new technology, because of cost issues, and training issues. I think that learning about integrating technology into the classroom has really opened my eyes to teaching to different learning styles, grabbing student attention and peaking their interest, and to the problems I may encounter like money and teaching with technology, and availability of technology to the students at home.

I think in moving forward I would like to learn about free trials of software that may be available for elementary school teachers, or any types of free trial technology that can be used in the classroom. I would also like to use a few more programs so that I can become more familiar with multiple programs. For example, I know that we practiced with Inspiration and I really enjoyed using that program and I would like to use more programs that are similar to familiar myself with.

What I have learned

After this course, I think I am more aware of the resources for using technology along with education, as well as the possible set backs. I learned that there are SO many different types of technologies, and ways of integrating them into a classroom that can be beneficial for the students. I also learned that now a days, with all this new technology happening daily, the younger generation needs to be on top of the new types of technology as well as how to use basic features. In contrast to that, I have also learned that using some types of technology in the classroom can take up too much time, or not be as beneficial. Just like everything else, there is a time and a place to integrate technology into the classroom, and sometimes there is no time or place for it.
This course also made me aware of the tons and tons of games, activities, and resources I can download, join, or view on the internet. It is so easy to find a fun, engaging activity on-line that integrates a type of technology. Other than computer games, students can now use interactive pens and books, like the Tag Pen I researched for the software evaluation project. I am eager to have my own classroom and introduce new, beneficial types of technology to my students. Assistive technology is something I hadn’t really thought of before this class. Now, I feel I am better prepared, even if it is just by being more aware of the fact that I may have a disabled/handicapped student using a type of assistive technology in my classroom. If so, I know that I should take the time to learn how that assistive technology works, to help the student.

Semester Reflection

As I look back on the semester, I think this course that given me a good start on effective ways in which I can reinforce more technology being used in my own classroom. When I think of technology, the first word that comes to mind is computer. Thankfully I have always been given the opportunity to use a computer both in the classroom and at home. It has been a a life savior in so many ways that I could not possibly think about not having access to one all of the time. This course has showed me how important a computer is to a classroom environment and its students. I feel that all software used on the computer should be referred to motivators. I believe that introducing students everyday to new learning styles and software motivates them to want to be in the classroom and want to participate more. From numerous readings, I have gotten the chance to learn more about accommodating children on all learning levels. I have learned that the teachers role in the classroom is extremely important and what the teacher does and says reflects on how the students are going to behave. If teachers are going to introduce new techniques and sources of technology, they need to know what they are talking about in order for student learning to improve. I have gotten the opportunity to learn about different styles of teaching and how to react to different scenarios that take place in the classroom.
As I finish up the course, I feel that the one thing I was not exposed to are student opinions and responses toward integrating technology. Though I am still a student, my opinion and well as my classmates opinions on the subject do not show me what elementary age students are thinking. I have seen many videos that show evidence of student success however, I have not seen actual interviews with students allowing them to share their feelings on the topic. I think it would be beneficial to me because I would then be given the chance to hear both positive and negative things the students say about what goes on in their classrooms. The evidence would then allow me to think about what I will need to do in the future. Learning the facts from readings and videos have always been helpful, but to a point also limit me to actual student record. I think it would be interesting to learn how students feel about assistive technology in the classroom.

Kera's Semester Reflection

After taking this class, I feel more knowledgeable about integrating technology into the everyday classroom. I am walking away from this class with many new ideas and experiences with educational technology. Before this class, I was only aware of very few pieces of technology such as PowerPoint, search engines, youtube, and some online games. This class has introduced many new pieces of software that I will be using in my future classroom. I enjoyed learning about moviemaker, wikis, and Inspiration. These few technologies are great assistants when it comes to delivering fun lessons to children. After all of our class discussions, I see now how important it really is to teach our students how to use technology at a young age. Their future will be loaded with technology, and it is our responsibility to teach them everything we know about technology. Not only did I learn about new technologies, but I taught about different approaches of teaching, and different learning theories that will come in handy when I have a classroom of my own.

I will always be interested in learning about new technologies that I can integrate into my classroom. Each student is different, so it will be important to learn many technologies so I will know what will fit each individual's learning style best. Over time, I will enjoy learning ways to make myself more advanced in technology, as well as learning new technologies and softwares to use in my classroom.

Semester Reflection

Throughout this semester, I have learned a variety of information concerning the integration of technology in a classroom. Before taking this class, the only technologies that I really considered were the obvious such as computers and Microsoft Office, which I didn’t really see as technologies, but more as necessities. As a future educator, most of my classes focus on the content knowledge that I will be expected to teach, and the skills needed in order to properly teach this information. Because of this, I began to think that it was not as important how a lesson was given, just as long as the information was provided to the students and they gained an understanding. Upon entering this class, I learned a variety of new options toward delivering a lesson that teaches content while implementing technology. Along with this, I have recognized the benefits that it can provide to children if implemented correctly. This includes finding technologies that are appropriate for a particular content area and grade level. As society becomes more and more revolved around technology, it is essential for children to keep up with the knowledge. For example, it would be virtually impossible for a student to go through college without the ability to use a computer. Aside from the possible technologies viewed throughout the semester, I have also gained knowledge about the Maryland state curriculum focusing on technology. As I continue forward toward becoming an educator, I hope to gain actual experience with the knowledge I have gained. Currently in my internship, I am teaching science in second grade. Since each lesson is set in stone, I do not have the freedom to integrate technology. Next year, I will be student teaching full time. At that point, I will have the opportunity to construct lesson plans that involve the integration of a certain piece of technology. This experience will allow me to become comfortable with balancing the task of teaching students while integrating technology. Until that time, I hope to gain more ideas of different technologies that will enhance specific lessons in order to present the best learning experiences.
Gina Pagliaccetti

Semester Reflection

Before taking this course, I had only considered the most obvious technology—computers—to integrate in my future classroom. I will work in a school library, and computers may eventually be used more than the books on the shelves. Now that I’m better informed by this course, I know there are many more uses for a variety of technologies for instruction and education as a whole.

From this course, I’m taking away broader knowledge of the types of technology that are worth considering for the classroom, and why. The technology I’ll use should meet lesson objectives, be appropriate for the intended users, and have appropriate, grade-level content. I hadn’t considered using blogs, wikis, or podcasts in a library, for example, but they might be appropriate, depending on the age group I work with. I'll consider integrating technologies that enhance student learning, facilitate collaboration with colleagues, and improve communication with parents. With technology, I will help students develop information literacy skills in addition to reading literacy skills.

From this course, I’m also taking away new skills and computer experiences. Prior to this class, I had only been a reader of blogs, never a participant. I had not used wikis, and now I see how I might apply them as a school librarian. The readings were useful and led me to search for other articles on topics such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and assistive technology. Using MS MovieMaker and SharePoint Designer was also a new experience for me. I was glad to get some presentation experience too.

I’m at the beginning of my coursework in Towson’s SLM program, and this class was a great foundation. I would like to continue learning about integrating technology specifically in a school library. UDL is another concept I want to keep following. I knew about universal design in architecture, but I did not realize how the idea can be applied to education. I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned in this course to my remaining SLM coursework and beyond.

Reflections on the semester By: Meghan Wilson

Before taking this ISTC course, I often thought of incorporating technology as using the same old PowerPoint presentation or showing a video or website to my students. While all of this can still be beneficial uses of technology, I have found that there are many other ways to think about incorporating technology as well. I think the most important concept that I'm taking away from this course is that, as a teacher, my focus shouldn't be "oh God, what technology will I try to incorporate this week and in which lesson" but to instead plan my lessons accordingly and when I see a situation where technology will actually enhance my students' learning experience, then incorporate it. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of effective teaching with technology. I feel as though that is where I was falling short in my thinking prior to this course.
As far as where I would like to go from here...I really hope to learn more about the assistive technologies that are available to students. After watching the AT videos with Albano and the other students, I realized that there are so many AT out there that I would have never guessed even existed. I know that many teachers have to become advocates for students with different needs when those students aren't receiving the supports that they deserve in order to have the same learning opportunities as their typical peers. I feel that the more educated I am about assistive technologies that are available to my students, the better the chances are of me being able to get those technologies for them.
This course gave me a good head start in really understanding the full benefit of integrating technology into my classroom instruction, it's pros along with its cons, as well as what I still feel like I need to learn more about. It's been very helpful and I know I will use what I've learned from this class to make myself a better teacher. -Meghan Wilson