I really think that this is amazing.The fact that we can help someone anywhere around the world is a great thing. Think about the many children who struggle with the homework that they have because they don't have any one at home who can help them to understand it. When this happens it makes the child hate school, hate the teacher for giving them the work, and not really want to try because they just don't get it.
The fact that all we have to do is log on to the Internet and type in whatever the homework is and i can find an example with an explanation. In the text there may be many examples but without having someone explain it to the children they are still going to struggle. Khan academy has the problem and as they work it out they explain each step as they do it for anyone to understand and if they don' they can go back unlike a classroom where the teacher keeps going, she might answer a question here and there but for the most part she will keep going.
Earlier I said this is a great concept in learning but we don't yet know if this is the best thing for our future because it hasn't been out for that long but for the most part is has done a lot of good with those who have tried it. I see that as long as our children are able to find something that can help the children figure things out is always a great thing. I know we might find people without the Internet these days but there are many places where they can go and use the Internet. I have watched several of the videos and found them to be very helpful. So i do recommend that people try it and as everything else that comes out, we will have few glitches but that is something we will have to deal with when it comes because this does more good than it does bad.

Multiple Choice quizzes or test.

I believe that giving multiple choice quizzes or test to children is a good thing. It can help build the children self-esteem. Working in a school and watching some of the students struggle during an exam is hard. It's not that they don't know the information it's because they get nervous and forget what they want to say or how to answer the essay questions. I don't think having children memorize information is always a good thing because as soon as they are done with that topic many children tend to forget but if we teach it to them and than test them by giving a test shows us how much they know. Many times have the answer in front of you helps you remember. If we force children to try to remember to much information than they will fail on many exam. I know that this may not work for all subjects but for the moist part it will be better and will help kids self-esteem stay high.
Even as adults know the answer but can't figure out exactly what we want to say or write until we see it in front of us because the smallest word and trigger us to remember.
So for me multiple choice testing will be a form of testing that I will use when I have my own classroom.

Reading the article The Science of Storytelling,  I agree that telling a story is a very powerful and a persuasive tool. Retelling a story helps also helps to keep the brain busy in many aspects: using the memory to recall events, figuring out what events need to be retold and what you can keep out. I feel that my children benefited from story telling because when they were young i would read stories to them every night now they both love to read and recall many events that had taken place in the stories that  read to them. The thing I disagree with is if the story that is being told is not an interesting one then most people will not remember it and they will start to zone out so sometimes I think that the brain will shut off certain information.
Story telling is a great way to get people or students to pay attention to you but you must make sure that they story you tell and how you say it will catch the audiences interest about that particular thing or event that you were telling

Constuctive Classroom

After reading What is a Constructivist Classroom? I realized that we have been teaching in a misguided way. Schools years ago all taught one way. The teacher stood in front of the class and taught the lesson. Children listened then did worksheets or answered the questions at the end of the chapter independently. Children were given multiple choice questions which left them to not think for themselves. Today having children think of what they read and having them get ideas and letting them work as groups will help the children to learn and problem solve on there own. As educators we need to be there for the students but only to guide them not give them the answers. We need to be there in case some of the students don't understand something. Having centers is a big way in helping the students to learn and grow in different ways. Today we need to do more in schools and less at home because doing the work in school we educators can be there to help the students when they are struggling compared to them going home to where they might not have any help and that will just make them struggle even more. Allowing the children to ask the questions will help the children grasp the subject better because it makes them want to know more about it.

Why Use Technology in the Classroom? I have mixed feeling about technology and how much should be used in classrooms. I love that t will help our students get ready for the future but at time I fell like it will stop the children from thinking as much. Years ago using books made children have to read to find much of the information that was asked of them but today with technology the answer is just a click away.  Are so helping the children learn faster of are we teaching to take the easy way. I use I pads with some of my non-English speaking children but when I do use them I feel like I am not doing my job. I like the quote that she used in her paper "technology is neither good nor bad. The same hammer can both break windows and build cathedrals," I totally agree with it as much good it does for our children and the future as much damage it may cause or bring to them and the future. I guess technology is something where we need to learn to know when to use it and when to go old school.

Shamrock Stamps

Shamrock Stamps are easy to make. First here is the shopping list.

Shopping List:

Green Bell Pepper

Green Paint

Paper Plates

Dollar Store Plastic Table Cloth

Cost: Less than $5

Prep Time: Less than 5 minutes

Clean-Up Time: Less than 5 minutes.

I wash and dry the bell peppers, I cut a bell pepper in half, take out the seeds from the inside, and put two different shades of green paint on two paper plates. I set up everything on a plastic table cloth or rip up a large garbage bag, I demonstrated one time how to dip the pepper in the paint, then put the pepper on the paper.