Extension Project and Log

When we were first assigned to learn something new and spend 10 hours doing it I thought that it was a ridicules assignment. I honestly did not think that much of it until I went to my private voice lesson about 3 weeks later.
On that particular day we were picking new music for me to learn. I have sung in many different languages and in many different styles but for some reason Italian is one of the harder ones for me to do. My coach wanted me to learn a beautiful French song and an English song, they were both relatively easy and so we started looking for a Third song. We passed over the song Se Florindo e fedele many times before I realized that it was the perfect song to learn because I could use it as my extension project as well.
On the first day all we did was go over the words. We went over pronunciation and meaning of the words. She played to tune for me so that I could at least hear it and then my lesson ended. On the second day we practiced the melody and I tried to add the words to it. Day after day we practiced this song. I did not feel like I was making much progress on the words because I kept messing them up or slurring them together because of the speed of the song. Now almost 10 weeks later I have memorized the music and we are working on polishing the song. The words still give me trouble sometimes but I really think that committing myself to this song helped me improve my Italian singing.
In the beginning I thought this assignment was ridicules. Now I am glad that we had to do it because otherwise I might have given up on this song.

Date	Time Practiced	Total Time
January 27 2009	30 Minutes	30 Minutes
January 29 2009	30 Minutes	1 Hour
February 3 2009	30 Minutes	1 Hour 30 Minutes
February 5 2009	30 Minutes	2 Hours
February 10 2009	30 Minutes	2 Hours 30 Minutes
February 12 2009	30 Minutes	3 Hours
February 17 2009	30 Minutes	3 Hours 30 Minutes
February 19 2009	30 Minutes	4 Hours
February 24 2009	30 Minutes	4 Hours 30 Minutes
February 26 2009	30 Minutes	5 Hours
March 3 2009	30 Minutes	5 Hours 30 Minutes
March 5 2009	30 Minutes	6 Hours
March 10 2009	30 Minutes	6 Hours 30 Minutes
March 12 2009	30 Minutes	7 Hours
March 17 2009	30 Minutes	7 Hours 30 Minutes
March 19 2009	30 Minutes	8 Hours
March 24 2009	30 Minutes	8 Hours 30 Minutes
March 31 2009	30 Minutes	9 Hours
April 2 2009	30 Minutes	9 Hours 30 Minutes
April 7 2009	30 Minutes	10 Hours

What I Learned

It is amazing the many different ways technology can be used. I can't believe I was having such a hard time figuring out what to do. After watching the presentations I kind of felt silly for not having some of these ideas myself. I hadn't really thought that using a video recorder and showing the students after you are done really was technology. I mean I know it's technology but in my mind I guess I did not think about it that way. After watching the presentation it made so much sense and it looked like the students really enjoyed watching their plays.
They were all such cute and fun ideas.

Reading Reflection

1. What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
For my fourth article I decided to read "Mixed Signals" from the June 2001 New Era.

2. What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
In my fourth article the most important thing I read was that there are guidelines for safe Internet use. The one that stuck out to me the most was that You are in control. Unless you misspell a word you have to be looking for the inappropriate sites to find them. This is also connected to the next thing. Keep the computer in a public place. If everyone is watching you, you re going to be less likely to go looking for those inappropriate sites. In the other reading I really thought that it was telling us that we need to be a positive role model to others and tell them what we believe and also stand up for what we believe. We have the power to change the outcome in an uncomfortable situation if we will make sure we know what our belief are when it comes to media.

3. How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
As a parent I am going to make sure that all computers are only available to be used in wide open spaces. I am also going to make sure that my family has a set of rules for using the Internet. As a teacher I am going to be more aware of what my students go looking for. The school will probably have some type of a block but if I am alert and aware to what is going on fewer students will try to look for the inappropriate material.

4. How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
It is very important to inform family and friends about this information. In this day and age we are in the middle of two completely different generations. One generation did not grow up with computers and for the most part they are unsure how to really navigate on them. The other generation has grown up with computers their whole lives and has an almost know-it-all attitude. By sharing this information with both groups you will help the older generation understand what the risks are and how they can help prevent some of them from happening. By talking to the younger generation you are not only reminding them what they may already know you might be telling them new information that might come in handy one day.

The Bald Eagle: King of the Sky

View more presentations from guestca9462.

TPACK question

Some of the kids in my First Grade class have been having trouble with their retelling skills after they finish reading a book. I think I would teach a lesson to help their comprehension and understanding with the help of kidsperation. I would make an interactive graphic organizer, that they would fill out after each Guided Reading group book was finished. They would have to idenfify things such as the problem/solution, setting, character, etc. This would help the students be able to see their thoughts without struggling to decode words for spelling (like they would if they were hand writing it.) I think that it would be fun if they would possible even put different pictures from kidsperation in their organizer.

Classroom Technology Inventory

I was honestly shocked at how little technology is available at Sage Creek. I understand that they do not get the federal funding like title 1 schools, but I still think that there should be more technology in the school. It just seemed like this school is a little behind times. In the newer classroom they have more technology but in the oldest classrooms (were I am at) they have hardly anything. A few years back they got microphones to project their voice to their classes but that took a little bit of fighting. In my classroom we have 4 computers; 3 student computers and 1 teacher computer. The students have access to the Internet through their computers and they play a few games that are available on the district website. Their teacher has also put a few games on the computers for the students.

In the computer lab students from K-2 get to play on the computers using games such as math games, games to help tell time, and spelling games. Students do not start typing classes until 3rd grade though. In the school they do not have a computer technician and so during computer time the teacher has answer any questions that may come from the students. If the teacher doesn’t know they have to go and find another teacher that can possible help them.

Google Earth Virtual Tour

Here's my virtual tour click on this link to view it.