A few weeks ago, we had to create a newsletter for our class.  Being that I have never created one before, I was a bit nervous however once I began, I let my imagination take over and I ended up truly enjoying creating it.  I think in general, newsletters are a very important asset to a classroom and to a school.  A classroom newsletter helps a teacher communicate with parents and updates parents on what is going on in the classroom.  In order to create a newsletter, one must be somewhat experienced in Microsoft Word and must know how to insert pictures and captions.  One must also know how to work the internet, in order to find pictures and some information.  According to the NET-S, creating a newsletter may fall under the category of Promoting and Modeling Digital Citizenship and Responsibility standard c- Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information. 

                In the school that I student teach in, classroom newsletters are sent home monthly.  Newsletters are usually on a colorful, eye catching piece of paper with exciting fonts and pictures.  I think that this is important because newsletters should be fun and should make the reader want to read.  Also, this letter is being sent home to parents.  A teacher should want their classroom to seem like and exciting and fun yet educational environment.  For many parents, the most communication they have with their childs teacher is through the newsletter so it is important to make the newsletter look as good as possible.

            This week we had to create a Webquest.  I thought that Webquest, while it had some great ideas, the lessons themselves still needed work.  In order to use Webquest, one must already know basic knowledge of how to use a computer.  The Webquest website is pretty self-explanatory and is easy to navigate.  When I teach, I would probably use Webquest to help me come up with ideas for a lesson plan.  I would however expand on the lesson that is given.  I found some of the lessons on Webquest to be simple and not so creative.  The lessons can be taken a step further and can be more challenging for the kids.  I would also put different options for different children in my lessons.  On Webquest, there was not differentiation. 

                The Webquest that I chose falls under the category of Creativity and Innovation For Students and can be standard A- Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. 

                In my student teaching classroom, we do not use Webquest.  My teachers often use BrainPop! but I have never seen Webquest.  I will definitely point it out to them though and have them judge for themselves what they think of it!

This week we had to create a Kidspiration lesson plan.  I think that Kidspiration is a great tool for the classroom.  It gives great ideas for lesson plans and it is visually exciting and engaging.  I chose to do my lesson based on a lesson that I observed in the class that I student teach for in the first grade.  The students had to draw a picture of themselves in the center and then draw lines attaching to circles.  In the circles they then had to write details about themselves that describe them.  Some students wrote the amount of siblings they had, some wrote their favorite foods or colors and some just wrote about other things that they felt important.  I think Kidspiration has great variety of lesson plans and is great for every subject.  I browsed through all the different subjects before I finally chose which lesson I would write about.  I thought the different branches of government was a very good lesson that would teach the students about government, which can be a very difficult topic to grasp (I still have trouble sometimes).

                Some of the things I need to know in order to work Kidspiration or Inspiration is basic computer knowledge.  Once I downloaded Kidspiration, I was able to navigate my way around the website and find different options for lessons.  In terms of NET-S, this lesson would fit into standard 1- Creativity and Innovation, standard b.  Students would be creating original work as a means of personal expression.  It would be interesting to see the different kinds of works the students create and I can’t wait to have my own classroom to see!

This week we had to create a nutrition spreadsheet for class.  I think spreadsheets are a great way to keep data and information in an organized and productive way.  I also think the assignment was very interesting.  I have always taken an interest in nutrition and to see how unhealthy some of the fast food restaurants really are is eye opening.

                In order to create an excel spreadsheet, I already know the basic knowledge.  However, I did not the in depth details concerning this assignment such as how to make the margins larger or how to create averages and so on.  I also did not know how to find the total percentage from fat and I thought that was very interesting and a very good tool to be familiar with.

                Some of the ways in which I would implement spreadsheets in my classroom varies for each grade.  For a younger grade, I would ask the students a question such as their favorite food (and I would give them options) and then input it on an excel spreadsheet.  I would do this on the smartboard and show the students the procedure.  I would create a graph from the results and I would ask the students questions regarding the graph such as which food is the most popular? Which food is the least popular? Which food did more people like?

                For an older grade, if I had appropriate tools such as laptops for the students, I would have them create their own question and then create their own spreadsheet concerning that question.  I would have them create graphs and averages and so on.