VIrtual Tour Planning Table

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Philippines	watch video and create dance	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi_ymNIVMNU
2. Africa	Look at pictures of costumes used in African Dances, and create your own costume.	http://image04.webshots.com/4/2/80/87/70728087ilClsD_fs.jpg http://www.friendsofbrockportdance.org/images/sankofa2009.jpg http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/images/f/f4/Strictly_african_dancing_cast.jpg
3. Israel	Watch video of Japanese and Israel Dance-compare and contrast the dance, costumes, music, style, etc.	http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/rWakhiw4JHY/default.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D-VTAuUZQM4w%26feature%3Drelated&usg=__kRfWpm1wP8Q3V3xOC-1aCThHCi0=&h=90&w=120&sz=3&hl=en&start=9&sig2=7JKI6cLikdi2R83l3BviQA&um=1&tbnid=9vPHQbOreDH7KM:&tbnh=66&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMayim,%2BMayim%2Bdance%2Bfrom%2Bisrael%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=VujDSoSlAonytQPkoYWrCg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gsdYS1DTkI
4. England	Analyze and compare the costume styles used for English Country dancing and Women Chinese dancing	http://dancewithjaneausten.com/images/jane-austen-emma-1.jpg http://www.friendlyplanet.com/images/tang-dynasty-show-dancers.jpg

Using Digital Stories in the Classroom

Digital story telling is a great way to add variety and fun into classroom instruction. It is easy for teachers to stick to assigning reading from students' textbooks and then doing a typical worksheet to go along with it, but that isn't always engaging or beneficial for the students that are actually trying to learn. I think the biggest challenge will simply be finding the time to make the video and be sure that it is presented in an interesting and creative way. It wouldn't be beneficial to have pictures and narrate in a tone that sounded like they were reading from a textbook. If a teacher is going to use digital story telling, they need to make sure it is engaging and informative. Also, they need to make sure that the video is easy to understand, clear, and not too long. It seemed simple enough to create the video, and it wouldn't be hard to set it up so the students could watch it, it would just be a matter of taking the time as the teacher to make the video and put the effort in to making it engaging.

StoryBoard

Importance of TPACK in a Classroom

TPACK outlines the necessary knowledge that every teacher needs to be truly successful. The three areas that it encompasses are content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. Content knowledge is knowing facts and information about different subject areas, pedagogical knowledge means having the necessary teaching management knowledge, and technological knowledge means that the teacher is competent in using various different technologies as a helpful tool. The three areas can be combined between two of the areas, or all of the areas. Teachers need to be able to acquire all three of those areas so that they can become a teacher that has the knowledge to manage a class, and then incorporate technology in lessons over specific content. We learned that not all students learn in the same way, and it is important to teach in a variety of ways so that each students learning needs can be met, and the teacher can keep all of the students engaged. Technology can be used for instruction which will be more interesting to students that just reading textbooks or completing worksheets every day. It is also important that teachers have all the skill incorporated in TPACK because our society has becoming very dependent on technology, and it is constantly being upgraded, so its crucial that teachers can help educate the students in this area. As the standard in society increases, teachers competence level in content, pedagogy, and technology must also improve so the students in every class have an equal opportunity to learn the necessary information to succeed in this life.

Useful Skills Learned in the Last Week

The assignment we did the last week took a while and included many skills that I had never done before, and some I did not even know were possible. One thing that I found particularly useful and helpful was creating a calendar. This will be very useful in a future class so that all of the students can know where to look to make sure they have all of their assignments done and are prepared for certain activities. This is also a great way to incorporate students' parents in the classroom because then they can be aware of what is going on and can help make sure their children stay on top of their work. I thought it was great that we were able to customize the calendar based on one specific day, weekly, and/or monthly. Having all this electronically makes it so as a teacher, I can create the calendar quickly, but also, if changes needed to be made, everyone will be aware of them. Creating a calendar using technology provides for a clear and efficient way to organize a class, as well as keep everyone updated and aware of what is going on in the classroom. It seemed so difficult before, but now I see how helpful it is because it is actually quite simple to create a calendar.

Technology Experience

Technology has never been a strong point for me. I grew up taking a computer class maybe once a week in elementary school, but a majority of that time was spent simply learning how to type correctly. We always played a typing game called Maves Beacon. My family had a computer and i frequently watched my two older sisters play the sims or other fun games, but I always thought they were too confusing so I generally avoided the computer. I then took a computer class in high school that really helped me. I remember it being quite basic, just learning more in depth about researching on the internet, and working with different programs in Microsoft Office such as word, powerpoint, and excel. This helped me feel much more comfortable using computers, but I still feel very inadequate and know that I have a lot to learn. I have had many assignments/projects in college that have forced me to learn more about the technology world, but it was always a struggle. I was just lucky to have a roommate that was great with technology. I realize technology plays a crucial role in education and society today, so I hope as a teacher, I can become literate enough to help my students succeed and keep up with our growing and developing technologially-based society.