Integrating Educational Technology

Social Networking

Social Networking is the way most of the students today communicate with each other. Email, texting, and instant messaging are all part of this social networking. "My Space" and "Facebook" are the way these kids socialize. The advantages of social networking are that you can communicate with lots of people at one time. It's a way of finding people that one has lost contact with over the years. The news media uses it because they can get many different views on topics in a very short time span.
On the other hand, social networking can be dangerous, specially to the young naive person. Sex predators and the other unsavory sorts often cruise the social networks looking for unsuspecting individuals.

Integration Corner

After going through the different websites on scsite.com/tdc6 I have picked my top three. Now everyone needs to remember I teach Kindergarten....

#1 Introduction to Computers and the Internet: This website gives lots of other websites that interact with other subjects such as the ABCs and Rhyming. This site has the students learning to move the mouse in order to play the different games.

#2 Internet4Classrooms: This is a great site for Kinder students. It has interactive kinder skills such as matching the capital letters to the lower case letters. It also goes through the ABCs and the sounds that they make along with other games.

#3 Teaching with the Web: This site is one that you can print out worksheets and has ideals on how to use the computer with lessons. I really liked it because it has different ideas on the different holidays. It also covers thinks that are on the TEKs such as Family and community and other related issues.

Streaming Videos

Streaming videos is great at enhancing lessons. At my school every teacher has an interactive white board in his or her classroom. We all have been trained on the Discovery Education website. It has information on every subject from Pre K to 12th. I use this website every week in everyone of my lessons from Science to Social Studies and others. For example we are discussing soil and the uses of soil in Kindergarten right now. There are videos or just video segments that can help introduce or reinforce what you are teaching. The videos help students relate to the subject better. This is especially good if you have visual learners. I recommend this site to everyone.