Reflection on Last Year Sept. 2008- Dec.2009 #2

Integrating technology into the classroom has changed the way we research and learn about new things. Our lab provides an up to date link to the world where we can find answers to most of our questions. We use the internet to find facts about states for our state reports. On our website, http://hawaiianfifthgrade.weebly.com/, we have links to specific sites to find this informations such as http://geology.com/state-map/, http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/, http://www.kidinfo.com/Geography/USA.html, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_U.S._states/state_templates. Students record their information on a study guide for their report. Students also use information from the internet to find out facts about molecules. They are given a molecule to research. After finding facts about their molecule, they build a model based on the facts they have discovered. We use the following site as a reference: http://www.chemicalelements.com/index.html. These are a couple of examples of research activities that we do in our classroom. There are times when my students ask a question and I either have a vague answer or I simply have no idea what the answer is. I have the student go online to find the answer. We have resources to find answers instantly and students can find the answers for themselves without having the teacher finding it for them. They share their answers with the class. My students are empowered to learn and have the world as a resource.