Mobile Learning in the Classroom

In my host classroom, I have seen students use Macbook laptops in the class to connect to the internet and use research.  They also use these Macbooks for math games online.  I think that it is really cool that they have the money and resources to allow students to work with technology.  I have noticed that some students clearly do not have access to a computer at home, so I think that it is really good that they have this access at school.  One student I worked with did not know where the space bar was or how to use a search engine.  It is important that students know how to do research as they get into high school and more importantly, college, and I feel like this experience in the classroom is extremely beneficial for students.

Netbook Use

Last Friday we went as a class to Barry Elementary school.  We were there to teach some activities on electricity.  Both Carrie and I brought our net books and were able to show a short video to our groups of students before starting.  The video was really interesting and cool and caught the students attention.  Unfortunately, the speakers that are built into the net book are very small and do not produce a lot of sound, and we had to tell the students what was happening in the video because they could not hear the narrator.  Overall, it helped us to transition into our activity and gain the children's attention.

Melissa Santana

Field Experience

In my setting, I am surprised again and again how my host teacher connects to students with the content in the class. I see ELA often in my time there and see her set the students up for guided reading, learning centers, and independent reading before letting the students go. The students are reminded from the start to keep on topic that way and she can focus more on the groups she leads in guided reading.

Heather Clark

MLD in other settings

I used my notebook at my observation setting earlier this week to help the Social Studies teacher while the students were discussion natural resources. One of the students gave a resource and tried spelling it, but the teacher didn't know what he was talking about. So I googled the spelling he made and a wikipedia page for "stalactities" came up, from that I was able to write the correct spelling on the board and explain what stalactites are for the students. This usage was helpful to the discussion and topic of the class and didn't take a lot of time from the lesson, especially since the teacher continued the lesson while I was searching for the word on google.

Heather Clark