Professional Development Plan

"Learning was meant to be both fun, and free. Not boring, and definitely not expensive."
Hiram Bertoch
Founder of KidsKnowIt Network

He could not be more on point. http://www.kidsknowit.com/ is a really interactive and great way to get children interested in education. This website is packed with fun and exciting games, labs, and websites. They have all the core subjects while adding interesting topics children will love. They have chemistry, geology, memory, spelling, math, history, geography, biology, and other core educational subjects. They also have thematic websites, labs, and games like dinosaurs, outerspace, human body. For example they have math, but that is just a very broad subject. They have scramble math games, interactive math games, labs they can learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, telling time, mixed skills, geometry, and algebra. It have games and labs for all school ages. It is a great place for children to explore. They even have a lab were they can build a dinosaur. How cool is that. They even have FREE online classes for different subject such as astronomy. They give you interactive lesson with packets that should be completed by the children. After the specified packets are completed for a certain subject, they then have a final project. Then the child gets a certificate for completing that certain online class. They have FREE educational movies that give them an insightful way to learn about things like eclipses, planets, acids & bases, absolute values, hurricanes, and so much more. They have human labs were they learn about body parts, and their functions. This is an amazing website, I recommend it to anyone!
I would definitely use this in my classroom and with my daughter.

Name of Website: KidsKnowIt Network
URL: http://kidsknowit.com/

Professional Development Plan

Educators everywhere know that planning activities that you may have to pay for from your personal pocket can be a toll. As teachers we need to be resourceful and creative with how we get our teaching material. Yes we will get the books we may need and the worksheets they want us to give, but learning is so much more than worksheets. In order for learning to happen children need to be engaged and having fun.

ToolsforEducators.com is a great way to give a personal touch to your class and their activities. The golden word here is FREE. Here are few things you can do on this site: Make word searches that match your vocabulary, dice maker to help with vocabulary and definitions, make board games, crossword puzzle maker, bingo board maker, crisscross bingo maker, spelling worksheet maker and reading sheet to assess your student in an informal way, writing spelling and tracing worksheet that you make if a child needs help writing their name or so on, certificate creator and the list goes on and on. These are all makers and generators that you create so you match them to your needs. They have thematic lessons and activities that can help you plan your lessons. They have primary grade games, sites from parents, language resources, kid sites, additional sites for teachers, and even ESL sites for more resources.

This is a great site, it is packed full of activities that you can incorporate and implement in your classroom. Did I mention the best part: IT IS FREE! yes all of it. Teaching children can be fun for both the student and the teacher. There are so many resources for educators it would be a shame if no one would take advantage of them.

Name of Site: Tools for Educators
URL: http://toolsforeducators.com/

Professional Development Plan

Think u know how to keep your children safe from the Internet? It is a nightmare for parents to have to worry about having your child attacked in their own home. Yes through the computer. The website is very is a very helpful resources for children, parents, and teachers. It it very easy to read and navigate. They have different sections for different age groups like 5-7, 8-10, 11-16, parents, and teachers. There are lots of answers to questions parents or teachers may have about the Internet and the new age terms. Parents, and teachers need to know how to keep their children safe on the Internet because there is a lot of crime going on against children. It is also important for children to know what to stay away from and give them the resources to know how to keep safe while on the Internet. This website does that and you can even register to get a monthly newsletter on the latest way to keep safe and tip to think about. All you have to do is give them your email and best of all it is free.

I would like to be able to have a training on how to keep children safe. This website is very well put together, but it is also good to have it explained by a real life person. It would be nice to have a lesson on how to spot potential harms for our children and ourselves. Computers and the Internet are in most peoples homes and with that comes lots of responsibility to take care of our children against people that my want to harm them. We need to know that knowledge is the power to protect our children.

Website: Thinkuknow
URL: http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDectectCookieSupport=1

Professional Development Plan

I am a special education minor and it is very important for people to know that children with special needs are really struggling in some school due to teachers not being educated about how to teach them. In my field observation I realized that some teachers feel hopeless and very burden with having to teach 20 regular ed. students and 1-4 special needs students due to inclusion. I have heard about some success with inclusion, but the teacher has to be informed on how to teach to the special needs child as well as the regular ed. students at the same time. Of course the special needs may still need more one on one teaching. Many teachers do not like inclusion because they feel very overwhelmed.

I found this website called Angel Fire. It gives teachers different resources to help with autism, a learning disability, MR students, etc. It gives several different websites that give lots of helpful information. It has lots of printable games, printable file folders, and so much more. It even has information about computer software for children with special needs like autism. They talk about a web browser that is designed for children with autism for mild to sever to be able to play games and do other activities on the web. Another website has interactive stories, plays, curriculum, classroom set up ideas, and so much more. I liked how it gives the different websites and what that website is able to share with you. It is a very easy website to look over.

Name of Website: Angel Fire
URL: http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/asteachersites.html

Professional Development Plan

Lesson plans page is a great way to get lesson plans that you can use to incorporate core subjects and technology. Our lives have computers all around them, where it be at home, school, and or work. They are everywhere and we have become very dependant on them. I get on the computer and Internet through the day, everyday. I could not imagine my life with out the convenient tool of the computer or Internet. We are a generation of technology so why shouldn't our lessons be part of it. Just because we teach math, science, social studies, or language arts does not mean we have to sit and look at worksheets. Of course not, in math we can have software help children in math skills, for example fast math. It helps them think and be active thinkers. In Social studies it gives us the tools to find out about history in ways like playing the game the Oregon Trail. In science we can have online simulation on lab experiments when doing them in real life is not possible. In language arts we can create interactive stories. It is important to show children that the computer is a great tool not only for research but for being interactive learners.

I would like to know more ideas to get children exicted about the computer and getting involved in technology. A lot of children and adults for that matter are afraid of computers and or the Internet. It is also very important to have children aware of the dangerous of the Internet such as people targeting children. We as teachers need to always be monitoring our students even though the schools have filters we have to be on guard.

Name of Website: Hot Chalk Lesson Plans Page
URL: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/

Professional Development Plan

Owl and Mouse is a great site for children. This website has it all even FREE software for your computers. They have interactive maps from all over. They have Learn to read software for you children that are free. They also have puzzles that will help them learn to read and learn geography. The maps teach with sound and voice. They give lots of printable resources such as classroom maps or for individual students. For children learning to read or need help with their phonics they have FREE software. I downloaded it for my daughter and she really likes it because she can make her own medieval castle and learn to read at the same time. They have help with letter blends that are all interactive. Also yo can make you own farm and it helps learn animals and how to spell and read the names.

I would like to learn about integrating all sorts of software in my class for my students because they need to be able to have variety and choose what is best for them. I know at the school I am at right now they have one program for reading and one program for math for the 2nd graders and I think that is not even options. I think little children will get tired and bored of programs that they have day in and day out. I want to be able to keep them interested in learning and in technology.

Name of Website: Owl & Mouse
URL: http://www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm

Professional Development Plan

Education World is packed full of information for parents and teachers. The resources include lesson plans, how to integrate technology in the classroom, school issues you may encounter, etc. It gives you samples and lots of information on where to get more resources if wanted or needed. I learned that thematic lessons are a great way to get your students interested and on Education World it gives you different themes to choose from and way to integrate them in your classroom. There is even a site for Professional Development. Here you get the tools for teaching and help to set up a successful classroom.

I would like to more information on free teacher websites that are offered. I think that it would important for the teacher to have a variety of options to doing the same assignment, so she can make the decision of what is best for her class. This is important because all your classes will not be the same, so teaching must be flexible.

Name of Website: Education World
URL: http://www.educationworld.com/