Emerging Technology

The Personal Website

It may sound as if the personal website or a teachers website is not an emergent technology, however, according to Horizon Report 2009, we are still four to five years away from the average person having their own website. It is not necessarily a common form of communication between teachers, students, and parents. As we move forward in society and the digital age, the personal website makes sense as an ever increasingly form of creativity, innovation, and communication. I understand it may add additional work for a teacher to have to update a website, however, there are ways of including resources that can help students throughout the years at that particular age. Teachers have an abundance of information and what a way to enrich student's learning by providing them with resources that a teacher has accummulated through professional, college, and career experiences. My goal is to continue my blog and website and hopefully, be able to create classroom websites that will inspire students to love learning and find what they are good it in life!

Video Playlist

The number line has both positive and negative numbers. Mathematicians use the number line as a geometrical model. It is an excellent way to visualize integers, decimals, fractions and measurements!

I have included a few videos for you to view. The videos are entertaining and educational. After viewing the video, students will be expected to do the following:

1. Create your own numberline with both positive and negative numbers.
2. Write an equation and show your work on the number line. (Review video 4 for an example)
3. Create a word problem where you would start or end up with a negative number. (If you view one of my favorite videos "The Number Line Dance" you will find an example of how a boy starts off with a negative number. This video should give you some ideas for creating a word or story problem.)

By the way, Ms. T does not have a black eye, the lighting was not that great when I downloaded my video. Either way, stay positve or negative, depending on your day!
Keep focused on the number line!

Assistive Technology

IPOD's can be a valuable resource for the special education teacher. It can be used to enhance communication between parents, teachers and students. I provided a link of a You Tube video with teachers explaining how they use the IPOD's in their classrooms. It becomes a simple way to replace the mundane writing of procedures. It allows parents to view what the teacher is teaching in terms of vocabulary, sign language, and comprehension.

A video profile is an innovative idea that could show how a student, who does not complete a lot of worksheets, is still successful in the classroom.

I would use this technology in my own classroom if I had a student struggling with a concept or if they had a learning disability. The parents and I can utilize this tool as a communication device. Many students have IPOD's . It would be an engaging way to conduct a small group science experiment while incorporating their technology.

View the video to grasp the idea of using IPOD's in the classroom, particularly for students with disabilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTSM0m6aT9M&feature=related

A Photo Story: The Earth's Rotation Around the Sun

Microsoft offers a free internet software titled "Photo Story 3." It allows personal photos to be downloaded to the software where you can create a story utilizing the photos. Music, text and narration can be added, as well. In this digital age, I think it is a creative way to study, learn and observe.
Personally, I like to incorporate subjects, such as science and social studies, with this type of software. It can be used to create literature, poems, or even math word problems! How exciting is that?
I have attached my first "Photo Story" that I created in November 2010. I will use this to introduce the Earth's rotation around the sun and how the moon gravitates towards the Earth. It is detailed, but a fun way to introduce or reiterate the concept.
Please, don't be afraid to allow your child the opportunity to learn on the computer. There are so many different ways to incorporate technology. I firmly believe that children or humans, in general, do not fit into a nice tidy box. All people learn differently and this type of project could be used to help students have fun while learning, especially with a subject they may find difficult or unmotivating.

Changing File Formats

During these economic times, there is a push for paperless communication. The internet is a valuable way to communicate without costing a lot of money or damage to the environment. When you create a document or presentation and want to send it via email or through the internet, you do not know if the user has that software and is able to view your product.

For instance, many teachers create a classroom newsletter in Microsoft Publisher, however, not all computers have this software. A simple way to allow users to view your newsletter without worrying that they will not be able to view it, is to use a file conversion website and change the file from Publisher to a PDF file. (Portable Document Format)

The website zamzar: http://www.zamzar.com/ is a free website dedicated to converting your videos and all other documents to different formats for easy communication between teacher and student, student and teacher and teacher and parent. It is a valuable way to not only save paper but assist with the opportunity to send documents back and forth effortlessly. It also saves space on flashdrives and harddrives. Check it out! IT'S FREE!

ALL ABOUT ME

My name is Levonne Gunritz-Talamantes. I was born and raised in Southern California. After high school I attended California State University, Fullerton and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications, Journalism, with a minor in Sociology. I had the opportunity to work on the college newspaper and intern for local radio and television stations. In 1996, I graduated college and started to work for a marketing company. This gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about the business world, as well as, travel around the United States.

I started to realize that I wanted to move somewhere that did not have as many people and cars. I wanted my two lovely daughters, Riley and Jesse, to have a childhood similar to mine, where you could ride your bike to the grocery store and breathe clean air. We researched many different places around the United States and decided to vacation in Idaho. Nevertheless, we fell in love with the state and the exquisite outdoors.

In December 2005, I came to Idaho with my husband, my two daughters and our dog. Idaho is a beautiful place with friendly people. We enjoy the outdoors camping, skiing, boating and hiking. I love the small town atmosphere and clean environment.

Idaho also gave me the opportunity to continue my love of learning. I enjoy reading, writing, traveling, computers and teaching! With the move to Idaho, I was determined to switch careers and become a teacher. My experience with teaching begins with volunteering in my own children’s classroom, substitute teaching and for the past four years, I have been a computer teacher in the Meridian School District. Currently, I teach 6th and 7th grade computer applications, keyboarding and study skills. I get to be involved with them everyday for about 2 hours. (50 minutes for each class) I truly enjoy my time with them and assisting them to enhance their creativity and find their strengths.

In addition to middle school, I teach K-5 for 30 minutes a week. I don’t get enough time with them; however, we still get to dabble in Microsoft Excel by creating graphs and entering data. We get to type reports and research on rocks, machines, and government. I help them create power points and give presentations. You would be amazed at the Kindergarten’s talent. For the first semester, we focus on navigating to phonics websites and the phonics software.

In 2010, I enrolled at the Northwestern Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. I am currently enrolled in the Education Elementary program, where I am on track to be a certified elementary teacher. I am currently a single mom, who enjoys raising my children, my two dogs, a lab and a husky, and having a full-plate with work and school. I am thankful to my Father, in Heaven for giving me the strength to persevere and to give my talents to serving other people.