Jill

media type="custom" key="4378931" align="left"Type in the content of your page here Looking back on my high school learning I believe that I used remembering facts for many subjects. Understanding is not as high because some subjects I may have gotten a good grade but understanding was lacking. There was very little of creating. I remember doing very few projects that would have involved creating. I feel that education has come a long way since my days in high school.

media type="custom" key="4411575" Dewey discusses that in simplistic societies mere interaction and mimicing sufficed in passing on life or civilization. In an industrial society what parent's do is so abstract that children cannot mimic (example if parent is a doctor) and that is where schools come in. However parents also have a hard time helping children with homework and that is where technology comes in. A child can look up information that an adult could teach easier on the computer.

Discovery Education is a great tool for teachers to use in their classrooms. I have used it a few times to show brief video clips. This class has made me play around on the website and I have discovered that it has much more to offer. There are many exciting teaching tools that go with this website. It is an exciting way to present information to students in different ways. Today's students are constantly stimulated with graphics from video games that teachers need to make learning just as exciting with whatever tools they can find. Discovery Edcuation website is a place to start.
 * Reflection on Discovery Education**
 * 1) This website has videos on many topics. I have used a few of these videos when introducing a topic especially in social studies. The videos have great graphics which will grab the attention of students. I have used this website for social studies. I have checked out some of the math videos and will use some of the geometry videos in my class when teaching shapes. These videos show three dimensional shapes in real world situations. I also like the calendar section that help link historical times to present times. It is difficult to teach about certain famous people on their designated holiday. This is a great tool to show vidoes about Columbus for Columbus Day.
 * 2) I have learned that this website could be a valuable tool when teaching math concepts to students. I do student activity centers on Fridays that review concepts taught during the week. I will now set up students on the computer using this website as an activity center. This will be a wonderful tool to reinforce skills that have already been taught.
 * 3) Another section that I played around with is the teacher center. This section offers lesson plans that go along with Discovery Education streaming videos. This is a useful tool to teach a subject in a different way. Why try to invent the wheel when you can use a lesson that goes along with a video from Discovery Education.
 * 4) The professional development is another extremely useful tool of Discovery Education. This section offers tips on hyperlinking, embedding links and student centers. This will be useful especially when creating webquests. I was able to view some of the Best Practices videos. I enjoy learning new ways to present material to students in exciting ways. Students love to use the computer and this section has gotten me to think about bringing more technology into my classroom.
 * 5) The research/study skill section is also a valuable tool for students to view. Fifth grade is a year when students have to memorize informaiton especially for social studies and science. Playing some of these study skills videos will help students become better students. It is important to help students learn how to study which will help them throughout the rest of their school career.