Internet Efficiency Skills

This is a terrific tool to help students to fully understand concepts that confuse them or that they need to put into a logical orderly sequence.  It can add colour to otherwise dull information to make it much more pleasant.  Using this program to analyze a story then arrange for the same story to be studied in other countries and share the mind maps created would open up so many cultural opportunities.

French Animal Name Websites

Title of Activity: Rounding Numbers

 

Reference Section:

 

Jaser2. (n.d.) Retrieved Sept. 30, 2008, from

      http://pages.infinit.net/jaser2/PersAnCh.html

Jaser2. (n.d.) Retrieved Sept. 30, 2008, from

     http://pages.infinit.net/jaser2/An.html

Grade Level: 4

Subject: French-Animals Unit

Brief Description of Activity:

 

Students will go to a given website, in which they will have to fill in the missing letters for the French spellings for the pictorially represented animal.  The students will complete the questions on the web page.  The websites students will visit is http://pages.infinit.net/jaser2/PersAnCh.html.  If the student completes this they may go to the next lesson, which is on this page: http://pages.infinit.net/jaser2/An.html.

 

General Learner Outcome:

• Develop an awareness that there are names in French for everything that has a name in English.
• There are cultural aspects to how animals are understood and utilized.

Specific Learner Outcomes:

• Students will be able to match pictorial representations of animals with the names, orally or written.
• Students will be able to use a given link and interact on the webpage to demonstrate their animal recognition skill.

ICT Outcomes:

 

C.6.1.3    use technology to support and present conclusions

 

C.7.1.3   draw conclusions from organized information

 

C.7.1.4   make predictions based on organized information

 

P.5.1.2   access hyper linked sites on an intranet or the Internet

 

Rationale for Computer Integration:

 

These sites were chosen specifically to enable the students to recognize and match the animals to the French spellings.  The first website activity is based upon spelling some common animals and the second site is to add recognition to a vast number of creatures.  The learner will get immediate positive feedback and if the answer is incorrect there is no response at all.  This allows individual learners with varying needs more freedom to work at their own pace.

Farm Animals in French

This lesson is for the Grade four FSL program in the farm animals unit. This process is to ensure children know the animals in English and then to practice adding the French names of these same animals.

Good use of ICT's

Computer technology is a day to day reality and children have to comfortably and competently utilize more than gaming and chat sites. Presuming to teach children skills beyond where they are in any subject, following the adage of 'start where they are' still applies. Know what they are already doing online and build from that. For example having each child blog on the pros and cons of their favourite gaming system requires the same skills as the pros and cons of another subject. The cognitive task is structurally the same, though possibly better received by the students. In my French as a second language class the grade four students are to learn the French names of common farm animals and a good use of ICTs is to have them research the French sound the animals make, as it is not the same as English or Spanish animals. Having the students create a slide to contribute to a class slide show on the names, appearance and sounds of animals in French is also a good use of ICT curriculum. In this case where memorization is important even a drills program would be alright, though I normally would not suggest that as a good use of ICT programming. I am struggling to come up with a good effort but bad idea for programming beyond the obvious of questionable chat rooms, open and free surfing online and the like. I suppose unsupervised blogging could get mighty ugly too. So many positive options to choose from so I hope the ICT curriculum is put to exemplary use.

Crowsnest pass

1. Amended the text by reducing it to the key points, correcting spelling and grammar, and moving the details to the notes section.
2. I changed the font color, size and type.
3. I added some graphic material.
4. I added one slide to keep the material/slide to a minimum.
5. I removed unnecessary text blocks and re-sized others to accommodate the material.

Possibilities in a Kindergarten/grade one class...

Blogging in the classroom poses so many opportunities in boggles my mind. The first idea that came to mind is the expansion to the common activity of sending a ‘toy’ home with the student of the week in Kindergarten. Normally a book is sent in a bag with a stuffed animal so the family can share a week of their family life with their classmates via the stuffed animal’s participation in family events. Blogging can really add a dimension to the family involvement as family members at a distance, relations from other countries and video options come into possibility. Family computer literacy and involvement can also start here, possibly easing that transition if it has not already occurred.
Children can also learn to do some minor computer functions in case they have had little exposure at home. Due to the prevalence of computers in homes, it is important for Kindergartens and grade one classrooms to equalize skills in this area as soon as possible; minimizing this socioeconomic status issue.
These are two of innumerable opportunities that Blogging offers the Kindergarten and grade one classrooms.

Learning is Instinctual

I know that the general belief is that humans don't have instincts but I would argue that if there is an instinct that is universal to humans; learning is it. Hi. I am a student of life and at this point in time; also of education, Spanish and French. I suppose there are also the more casual learning events like Tai Chi and Belly Dancing as well. Now to the title of this post: babies appear to me to have only one urgent quest during their time of infancy, (beyond food, love, and hygiene) and that is to learn about their environment and their place in it. I think that instinct to learn continues throughout life for many folks, it certainly has for me and I hope it does for everyone else too.
I was born in Olds, AB and have lived all of my life in Alberta, though only a short stint in Olds. I joined the military when I was 17, lived in Edmonton, Cold Lake and Labrador; then resumed the first two postings until I retired with 15 years of service in 1999. I had a son in 1990 who became the main focus of my life and arguably is still a pretty big deal to me, though his own personal journey has begun and I am now happily in the background.
I began my own journey that led to my attendance at Red Deer College for the transfer program here.
I come to The University of Lethbridge from Red Deer College and I absolutely love it here. There is heavy rain this evening which I find odd for a place that is notoriously dry. My understanding is that this year has been very rainy indeed. The coulee is beautiful in green and I am honoured to see it that way.