KidSmart Learning: Effective and Easy

KidSmart describes the many need-to-know basics and other helpful information about how to integrate technology into classroom with very young learners. Unlike most websites that use a countless number pages to get the point across, KidSmart uses east to understand videos.

Click Here For: KidSmart Website

The website offers information on how and where to put a computer in the classroom. For example, emphasis is placed on putting the computer in a location that will allow teachers to see students as they work, and make sure students are comfortable there, while at the same time avoiding locations that may produce extreme heat, or wetness.

 

Aside from figuring out where to place the computer, information on how to track learners’ progress, develop a curriculum around the computer, and allow students to share their work is supplied through the videos and tips.

KidSmart also provides an abundant amount of website and software ideas to use for developing curriculum such as:

·  Sammy's Science House –Can be used for students to build science and thinking skills through fun creative games that increase in their level of difficulty.

 

·   JumpStart Preschool - Jumpstart is available in many different age groups and tracks learners progress as they learn different school subjects and a progress report can be printed out as well.

 

·  Trudy’s Time and Place House – Can be used for students to build skills in math and geography in a fun creative way that allows students to tell the teacher what they learned and share that knowledge with the class.

For an easy understanding of how to integrate technology with very young students, KidSmart does a wonderful job, and can be used both in the classroom setting, as well as at home. But remember, the key to knowing if students are effectively learning the material is to keep a close watch on them to make sure they are understanding the material being taught and to help guide them when confusion may arise.

Computer Learning Lesson Plans for the Young

Computer learning is not limited to older students as most people would suspect. Instead, teaching young students how to use a computer at an early age is very important and will help them in their future education. Many teachers, parents, and people in the community wonder at what age a student can learn to use the computer. For my future classroom, students as early as 5 years old will begin to use the computer. One way students will be able to use the computer is through a series of lesson plans that provide students with information on how the computer works.  For example, preview this nicely put together lesson plan that teaches students step by step how to use the computer in an understanding way:

 http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Computer_Science/EDT0204.html

I found this lesson plan very helpful and plan to use it in the near future. The main thing I found useful was that it provided games for the students to play to help master their learning. One game that I tried myself and am positive young students can get the hang of is provided here:

http://www.typingmaster.com/games/bubbleapplet.asp?keys=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz&Submit=Start+Game

This particular game teaches students how to find letters on the keyboard and type them in, which is crucial for learning how to type and opens the doorway for future learning. Lessons such as these are helpful to teachers and students  because it starts students on an early pathway to technology education which is much needed in today and will benefit students in the future.

Blogging: A New Curriculum Tool for Teachers

My name is Hannah Williams, and I’m a sophomore at Lake-Sumter Community College.  After graduation from the University of Central Florida, I plan to teach Kindergarten. Today’s article will be on communication in the classroom, particularly speaking “blogging”.  Communication and collaboration are very important in the classroom, because today’s students are growing up in a technological society that will continue to advance technologically for centuries to come. Today’s youth are the hope of tomorrow’s advances, so a classroom education that uses technology is needed to secure their success for tomorrow’s future. One way to secure student’s future success is to implement blogging into the classroom. How can blogging be implemented into the classroom and why is it important?

·         Blogging can be integrated into the Kindergarten classroom, by setting up a blog that allows students to connect to it not only in the classroom, but also outside the classroom. The blog should be updated daily and include practice for students, such as printable worksheets,  videos and music, educational games, printable activities that students can do with parents, and an announcement to parents letting them know what each activity does and how it relates to today’s classroom learning.

·         Blogging can produce many benefits for the students even at such a young age, because it provides them with learning exercises that they can do in the classroom at “centers” and even at home to gather extra practice on topics that were learned in class, in order to reinforce the concept and make sure learning is being acquired. Also this type of learning provides students with the knowledge of how to use of one today’s most commonly used technologies and prepares them to become more advanced in learning about blogging.

·         Blogging provides parents with information on what their child/children are being taught on a day to day basis, and allows them to work with their children at home on the topics to establish reinforcement of the learned information. A calendar is also available on the blog so that parents can see upcoming events for their students and the classroom in general.  Also parents have the ability to comment on the daily blog stating what they think of each activity and provide ideas and feedback, which will provide the teacher with information about the parents and students. This communication provides just that, another means of teacher-parent communication which is essential in the growth of the student.

·         Blogging provides many benefits to the teacher, one being that it allows teachers to have yet another way to communication with both students and their parents effectively. Secondly teachers have the ability to provide students with extra learning tools that will benefit students and allow the teacher to make sure learning is reinforced to allow for more instructional time. It will also allow teachers to communicate and share their ideas with other teachers and gather feedback and ideas from them. Lastly, it will provide teachers with more technology experience and help keep them up-to-date in this ever changing technological world.

For a wrap up of today’s article, blogging can be a very useful and informative education tool for the student, parent, and even the teacher.  Both teachers of today and future teachers should integrate blogging into the curriculum.