Tuesday, November 15, 2011

AutoBiography

Altitudinist

___Altitudinist
WebQuest
Strengths
Weaknesses
Grow School Greens
The idea that has been brought up is a grand idea. The organization of the webcast is written well. I like how they give you tips for every step.


 I feel that she needs to go into more detail and explain to the students what exactly being done.


Where is My Hero?

 The teacher described everything with detail and told them what the purpose was for the assignment.


 She didn’t display an example of what the paper should look like. Sometimes examples help a students get a better idea of what they are doing.

Underground Railroad
The teacher tells them exactly what she wants from in their reenactment. The students will definitely understand the how different the roles are.
The idea just seemed too long. It’s a great idea but students sometimes lose interest when an assignment is extremely long.


Ice Cream
 I found this one a great idea. The assignment seems like an idea that students will really find entertaining.
 An assignment about Ice cream isn’t an idea that would be the best for students.
Ancient Egypt
The way the assignment is layed out seems like it would excite the children. The assignment looks very exciting and interesting.
 Does not have many images.


 
 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Double Entry Journal #12

Quote- "Students understand that they need to have these skills in order to exist in this world, so they're way ahead of us. Most kids relate to each other through music or graphics. They are regularly bombarded with images and sound. Most of their awareness comes through the language of moving images and cinema. That's why it's so important that they learn the language of it."

Reaction-  Media is what the world revolves around these days. Media is a way of entertaining but it is also a way of learning. I know that every student I know usually focuses on what the media has to say. Instead of going against media , we should influence it. Yes media can sometimes be used for the bad but that doesnt mean has to be. Us as teachers need to teach the students how to use the language of media in a way for learning.

Resource- Daly, James. "Life on the Screen: Visual Literacy in Education | Edutopia." K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies that Work | Edutopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. <http://www.edutopia.org/lucas-visual-literacy>. 

Related Resource

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Glass Giants


Saturday, November 5, 2011

Double Entry Journal #11

In this article the argument is whether or not the law to ban sex offenders from social networking is right. The author argues that the new law is not supported with enough causes.He feels that the new law does not bring justice to the state of Illinois. He also argues that some accused "sex offenders" aren't actually rapists. In some cases there were small crimes committed that demanded them to register as sex offenders.

Some evidence that was given is information that states most registered sex offenders are registered for an unlikely crime. He also shows that the 8 out off 9934 cases of children being sexually abused are from social networks. The information given all shows that only a few cases are from social networks.

Yes we think of sex offender, more than likely we think of rapists. Like the article shows not all sex offenders are rapists. There are many things that could justify their crime. Yes we are always worrying about the children and their involvement with sex offenders. I understand the purpose of not allowing registered sex offenders not being allowed to have a social network. But I also think there are other solutions that could better resolve the problems of sexual abuse.

Javier Hernandez Balzacar


This article or section has multiple issues. no   
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. no
The neutrality of this article is disputed. no
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. no
This needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. no
This may contain material not appropriate for an encyclopedia. no
This article only describes one highly specialized aspect of its associated subject. no
This article requires authentication or verification by an expert. no
This article or section needs to be updated. no
This article may not provide balanced geographical coverage on a region. no
This is missing citations or needs footnotes.no
This article does not cite any references or sources. no
  1. Read through the article and see if it meets the following requirements:

Is it written in a clear and organized way?yes
Is the tone neutral (not taking sides)?yes
Are all important facts referenced (you're told where they come from)?yes 
 Does the information provided seem complete or does it look like there are gaps (or just one side of the story)?
complete

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Wikipedia:Friend Not Foe

1.  Did the class activity about Wikipedia and this article change your opinion about the value of Wikipedia to society in general and education specifically?
Yes, Throughout my highschool years I was always told that wikipedia was a horrible source and was not allowed in any of my papers. Although I never used it as a source I always reffered back to it for a few pieces of information. By doing this class activity I have came to realize is not as bad of a source as I wasd told.
2.  Describe how you might direct students to use Wikipedia in your future classroom. 
I might direct students to use this source in a way of improving the site.I could have students search for any problems and have them fix the errors acordingly.

Wikipedia

a. What I Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a website that often gives us information about a subject. The website does give good information but it is not always accurate.
b.How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?”
Since anyone can edit the website we are not always sure if the site exactly reliable. Most information might be right but some statements could be false. It would not be a reliable cite.
c. Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation? 
They place the trust on everyone. The fact that anyone can edit allows for even educated scholars to adjust and edit the information. The idea can have its ups and its downs.
d. Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia? 

Mr Sanger left Wikipedia thinking that it should give more authority to others.
e. What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page? 
Abuse or vandalism on a page would look like false information or inappropriate statements randomly put in the information.
f. What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal?
Although the information is sometimes, the website usually comes up first on any search. This means that students are obviously using  that information for a paper, or project. 
g. Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful? 
I think Wikipedia is so successful because they have information for almost every subject. When people search something wikipedia is the first thing that comes up.
h. Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising? 
In my opinion, they do not want to let advertisements on the page because sometimes advertisements change information for their own good. People would not trust the site if there was advertisements on the page.
i. How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?
With wikiscanner people now rely more on the website. Anyone that edit's the information for their own purpose is now seen and can be removed.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Double Entry journal #10

Quote:"I willed myself into being him. I invented a character who could read and write. Starting that night, I’d lie in bed silently imitating the words my mother read, imagining the taste, heft and ring of each sound as if it were coming out of my mouth. I imagined being able to sound out the words by putting the letters together into units of rhythmic sound and the words into sentences that made sense. "


Reaction: I actually find it rather strange that the strategy he used helped him learn and overcome his problems. I know there are a large amount of individuals that have the same problems when dealing with Dyslexia. Yes this strategy might have worked for this man but it is not always the case. It is our job as teachers to help the children over come these problems and search for more strategies that can overcome dyslexia. Children should not be afraid to read and learn. We should find more strategies  like this that help our children not be afraid.


Resource:Resource: SCHULTZ, PHILIP. "With Dyslexia, Words Failed Me and Then Saved Me - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/with-dyslexia-words-failed-me-and-then-saved-me.html?_r=1>. 


Related Resource:

Resource:
http://www.dyslexia-africa.com/images/dyslexia-handwriting-pencil.jpg

Website Evaluation

Victorian Robots/http://www.bigredhair.com/robots/index.html
1.Who-
Has someone taken responsibility for the content of this Web site?
- Yes, I can click on the biography at the end of the page and it has some of his information. Although it tells me their names are Paul Annie. The information that is given is useless.


Can you contact the company or author through a real world postal address or phone number?
No, It does not give us any type of information that allows us to get a hold of them.No credible information.
Are there any links to in-depth information about the author or organization?
No it tells us what their favorite movies are and other useless information.


2.WHAT-
Does the site rely on loaded language or broad, unsubstantiated statements?
yes, the site gives statements that are clearly not supported. 


Does the Web site offer a list of further in-depth resources or links to such resources?
No, in fact the site gives a statement then gives no further detail. Random dates and facts are given with no back up.


3.WHEN- 
Is it important that the information you're looking for be absolutely current?
The information given should always be updated and fixed. I would like to have an updated version of the information.
Is a reference date provided to show when the material was put online, or when it was last updated?
At the bottom of the page it is said that the material was put online.
Do the links work?
Most of the links that were put on the website do actually work and go to further pages.


Summary
Although there was obviously some work put into this the website it does not mean that the information is true. The website talks about historic robots. The  fact that the website is talking about robots clearly shows that the information is false. After evaluating the information and their biographies I am more than convinced that material is false. The creators seem to be some type of artists that create websites like those just for an artistic purpose.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Double Entry Journal #9

Quote: Many national studies found that internet users were not less likely to visit or call friends and that they actually have larger social networks (DiMaggio et. al. 2001).

Reaction: I completely agree with the statement. Although social networking takes  a lot of time out of our lives it doesn't necessarily mean that it makes an less social in the real world. I know many friends that are very shy but once they get the courage from any type of social networking site they now have the confidence that never had before. The sites allow for people to get associated with each other without actually being there together. It's an easier and faster way to make friends. It may take some time  out of their hands but it still gives them time to have many old and new friends. They still have the opportunity to stay in contact with their friends and family. I find social networking a great idea and chance to get to know people.

Resource: Owens, L. (n.d.). Internet & Anti-Social Behavior Theory Unfounded: Facebook, MySpace, Online: Research Refutes Cyber Socializing Fears | Suite101.com. Psychology | Suite101.com. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://laura-owens.suite101.com/internet--anti-social-behavior-theory-unfounded-a111897


Related Resource: 



Resource:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQPNPaSCnLgiH-HRLAAmmUhXVzG9Ktraz-YEyuTg1hGFDed_KQhroMoSiJEEA

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Web 2.0 tools

The tool I chose is Liveminutes. Liveminutes is a site that allows for a group to have a sort of web conference. Unlike any other web conferencing site, this site keeps all the documents that are discussed saved. Anything that was said or done is saved to review. I believe this tool would be great for a classroom. One example is when working on projects.If the students are working on a project do not have the transportation or the time to meet they can easily ope up the site and meet through the webcam. They can save all the ideas and work that is done on that same site. Something that needs to be considered is that the teacher would have to revise each meeting and make sure what is being done is strictly school work.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Voki

In my future classroom I will use Voki avatars as much as possible. I find that tool extremely interesting and entertaining for the children. There are endless

A lesson plan I would use with voki is in the reading.  Sometimes teachers read out loud to their students. Instead of me reading I could just put the material on a voki.The students would be more interested in it and would be more focused. You could use the Voki  tool in many different subjects through out the years. It is a great way to get the childrens attention.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Double Journal Entry #7

QUOTE:"Media literacy in the past tended to focus on alerting students to stereotypes, advertising, and propaganda and on protecting them from undesirable influences. Today's digital media literacy encompasses many additional topics, from using search engines, to creating Web sites and online profiles, to participating in social networking. One of the most basic strands of media literacy emphasizes the skills and knowledge students need to locate and critically assess online content."

Reaction:  Technology and the perspective has changed in the past few years. Students are now encouraged to create blogs and profiles to create additional skills. The society has changed and now relies on the internet in many ways. Even for careers an employer some type of technological skill. Students should be introduced to technology in their younger years. The internet is a large part of our lives now days and students should now that. Creating social networking sites and profiles lets them be creative when creating blogs. It also lets them be more self conscious with what they write. Their peers are more important to them then any teacher. They feel that a peer criticism is  stronger than a teachers. 

Resource:Resource: David, Jane L.. "Educational Leadership." ASCD. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2011. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx.

Related Resource:



Resource:http://clelive.edublogs.org/files/2011/01/edmodo-pic-22m8u2g.jpg


Magazine Cover

Deconstructing Anorld Picture #2

1. What do you see? How does he look?
 I see Arnold sitting down in a black and red suit. He has a kind of scary smile on his face and pointing his finger at me. He looks old, intelligentant, political and in a way like uncle sam.

2. How does he make you feel?
He makes me feel interested towards the topic that is being discussed.

3. What do you think about this person now?
I now feel that he can also be an intelligent man by the caption towards his article. He is running for Governor.
4. How does he look?  How do those "looks: influence how you feel?
He looks very excited and anxious for his term. It makes me feel worried because he looks more excited than intelligent. He has a look that makes him look not so confident.

5.What lifestyles, values, points of view are represented or omitted? 
His lifestyles looks more educated and well dressed. His values are not exactly shown but there is a ring on his finger so it shows he does have a marriage value.

6.What are the differences between the two covers? What techniques are used to attract your attention? Pay attention to body language, clothing, camera angle, lighting, color, eye contact ect.
There are many differences between the two covers. The first picture displays Arnold as a silly meathead that seems only concerned on his muscles and his body. The second picture displays Arnold as a educated and well dressed man. With picture #1 the lighting is a lot brighter and displays Arnold in a shinier way, more attractive. Picture#2s lighting is dull and boring; the colors used all match in some way creating a more bendable look.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Deconstructing Arnold Picture #1

1. I see Arnold Schwarzenegger posing in a small and tight shirt. He is also wearing sunglasses and his face looks injured. He looks indestructable and very powerful.
2. He makes me feel small and vulnerable.
3. I would think he would be extremely mean and sort of like a bully. They make him look muscular to the point that men would be want to be like him.
4. He looks scary and intimidating. I now look he is a meathead type of guy.
5.He looks less intelligent and just worried about his muscles. It seems to look that his values are just working out.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Double Entry Journal #6

QUOTE:
Students need a visual analysis worksheet, such as “Reading Media Photographs” (see Figure 6 on page 34), to structure their thinking about observations and inferences. Each observable element can be interpreted from three distinct perspectives.

Reaction: Students do sometimes need some type of help when criticizing an image. I know that when I first look at a image I dont realize what has been edited for advertisement or even elections. With  visual analysis worksheets it could really help a child out. The students need to know that the photos are editing or used falsely only for one purpose. The publishers are to influence you're belief or idea of something. It used in every day magazines, newspapers, etc. With a visual analysis worksheet they can find the true image.

Reference: Resource: Abilock, D. (2003, Nov. - Dec.). A Seven-Power Lens on Multimedia Literacy. Multimedia Schools, 1, 31-35.

Related Resource:
:

President Obama Articles

PICTURE 1
1. The photograph is President Obama and a group of men. They are walking back from a ferry in an unusual manner.         
          A. President obama and the group of mena are walking together in an accomplished way. They look happy or excited as if the finished an important mission. Obama is walking alone compared to the other men. He looks as if he is the hero in the photo.
         B. What are the mayor and the other men of Alabama doing with him. What did they do that they are walking back in sucha nd excited way.





PICTURE 2
1.  The picture is of President Obama. Obama is sitting there in a thinking mood.
      A. Obama looks older and tired. He looks confused. 
      B.Why does he look so stressed out and worried. What questions were they asking him that made him look like that.


Question: What picture gives you more confidence in the Presidents leadership abilities? Why?

Answer: Picture 1 demonstrates that Obama has great leadership abilities. By the way the men and him walk together as a group. Although they're in a group Obama is walking to himself towards the front. That shows that he is leading the group and walking ato the side of them. Another example is the way he walks. Obama is walking in a confident way which shows he is confident and and accomplished a mission.



Monday, September 26, 2011

Double Journal Entry #5

QUOTE: As I watched him clumsily cramming together scads of the video clips, graphics, sounds, buttons, and a few words, it suddenly hit me like a ton of bits: He was trying to create art, and no one had shown him how.


REACTION:  Using and applying technology in classrooms is always a great idea. There are some important factors that need to contributed into the material. Although we are applying photo stories, power point, and other technological tools into our material the actual purpose needs to be explained. The student in the story had not got the idea of what art really was. The teacher had done a great job with using the tools but she had not actually taught the child art. Students need to know what the actual purpose and not just the technology.

REFERENCE:Ohler, Jason . "Art Becomes the Next R." Educational Leadership Magazine Sep. 2011: 16-19. Google Docs. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.


RELATED RESOURCE:

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Digital Photo Story Discusssion

While making the digital story I learned how to use many different cites and tools to complete and organize a photo story. For my project I chose a a quote that is important to me and chose my story according to the quote. I added music and words that added more emphasize to the story. The pictures I chose all showed an important priority for a teacher. It mainly talks about what teachers do and are and how they contribute to a childs success. The photo story was to be well organized and designed with the use of many tools. The photo story was posted on my blog to be reviewed by my instructor and fellow students.

According to the  ISTE NETS it says "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity". In my opinion this activiry goes along with this standard. While making the photo story I chose different qualities about a teacher that have really impacted me. I also contributed with my creativity while chosing the images and words for the story. All of my work really had to work together to make a good story. I used many tools like powerpoint, Tinyurl, windows media, photo story 3, and others, to create a well put together story. I now know how to use these tools for future reference.

The grade I am going to be teaching will hopefully be 2nd or 3rd grade.There are many activities that I can use with photo story. Since I will be teaching many different subjects it will be very useful One activity that can be done is by creating a photo story for the students containing the material. The students will learn the material in a easier and more fun way.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Double Journal Entry #4

   Quote: "The problem for many students their focus on the power of the technology rather then the power of their stories. Some students are engaging the medium at the expense of their message, producing a technical event rather than a story."

Reaction: I completely see where Ohler is coming from. Sometimes students, especially younger students, don't realize what the main purpose is for. You can easily get carried away when were working with technology. You want to make your video better than everyone else's. Though that may be the case you shouldn't discourage the technology. By being a teacher you should show the students what the main purpose is for the activity. Yes we are helping the child by showing him/her different ways of using technology but we need to describe what else we are improving. While working on my story I am enjoying all this cool features for the photos but at the same time see the common purpose my Professor is trying to get through. As long as the students are taught the main purpose the message will be received.

Resource:Ohler, Jason. "The World of Digital Storytelling." The World of Digital Storytelling. Version Article 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.www.jasonohler.com/pdfs/digitalStorytellingArticle1-2006.pdf.
Related Resource:


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Double Journal Entry #3

QUOTE:


"David Crystal, the author of “Txtng: The Gr8 Db8,” told me in an e-mail message that “there’s nothing in texting to suggest spelling reform,” noting that texting relies heavily on abbreviations, which he sees as creative stylings, not systematic improvements."


Reaction:
 I completely agree with the idea David Crystal has in mind. Texting is used very often by everyone in this society. It is thought of as a simpler way of  communicating with one another. Texting is used by anyone  all over the world. I often text through out the day and night. With a few words I can communicate with anyone in any state or country. It is often argued whether the texting lingo is affecting the English language. In my opinion texting is just way of taking a break and shortening the words. It's faster and easier. Though we use words and numbers to abbreviate we still keep in mind the correct way of spelling. Words such as " LOL, JK, WRUD" may come up in a few texts but not at all times. I am required to spell everything out in most of my classes so that influences me to do the same in texting. The lingo is just a style used in texting but it is not affecting the English language in any way.


Reference:
Reference: SHEA, A. (n.d.). On Language - The Keypad Solution - NYTimes.com. NY Times Advertisement. Retrieved September 6, 2011, fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.htmll

Related Resource:

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Reading and Writing

After taking the Learning style Test, I have learned that I am mainly a read and write learner. To better understand the things, I am learning, I usually read it over many times. Some study strategies I use are to read it over silently to myself. For tests I usually write down the possible answers as many times as possible.There are endless strategies that I use to study and/or learn. As long as I read and write about a subject, it will stay with me. My results did show that I was also Multimodal. I learn in a variety of ways. I found these results extremely accurate to my learning style. I can learn in many ways but by reading and writing any subject over and over really improves my learning.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Wordle and Poll everywhere

In the class, Educ 2201, we worked with wordle (the text analysis toll) and poll everywhere. Poll everywhere is a website that allows someone to answer a question anonymously.  Everyone in the classroom made their own poll and answered a few other polls. After receiving the answers from my classmates I copy and pasted the answers to the wordle. I designed the wordle and made some adjustments and added it as a post on my page. This activity really showed me how useful technology is for even teaching. A simple activity such as wordle can be used for any subject or age. By doing this activity, I found new tools that can be used for the classroom environment. These tools are really useful when working with shy'er students.

Wordle is a great tool that I would like to use in my classroom. There are endless activities that could be used with working with smaller children. Since i'm going to be an elementary teacher I am going to be working with different subjects. One activity that could be used for English is working with vocabulary words. With wordle the students could learn the definition and the spelling of the words. After reviewing the words they could categorize the words according to noun, adjective,verb, etc.  If they're working with the states and capitals I could design a wordle, with a few states at a time, and hand it out on a page. By looking at  the wordle, the students could familiarize and learn them in an easier and more fun way. Poll everywhere is a great activity when asking a more private question. If the students answer you're question anonymously they would more than likely answer it truthfully. After seeing what the children had problems with I could easily workwith them by knowing what needs improvement.Tools such as wordle and poll everywhere could be really useful for my future students and classroom.

Wordle has a connection with ISTE NETS-T because it promotes, supports, and models creative and innotative thinking and inventiveness. By using wordle in an activity I open the creativity in a childs mind. They colors and designs allows the children to view the words in a different way.

Poll everywhere also has a connection with ISTE NETS-T. The standard says model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. With poll everywhere it allows the children to anounmously answer a question and engage with different students. The students can discuss different subjects and engage in them by using the poll everywhere tool.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Double Journal Entry #2



QUOTE:
"Students already understand that particular styles of language are appropriate for one venue but not another (calling a teacher "Mr. Matthews" but using first names for friends). They understand (and probably even expect) reminders."

Reaction:
Most students do understand the difference between the appropriate language. I started texting at a very young age, so i did often use the texting lingo. Although I was young and texted quite often I still understood what was appropriate for an actual conversation or for a texting or instant messaging conversation. Yes more and more different acronyms are being used like htc, hmu, idc (hit the cell, hit me up, i dont care) but that doesn't mean that they will be used in everyday writing. There could be a possible case where a child could be confused on what language is appropiate for the school environment. If that comes across, the teacher could easily enforce her teachings and demonstrate what the correct language would be. A teacher always needs to make accomadations according to her students needs.

Reference:
Brown, N. S. (n.d.). Educational Leadership:Literacy 2.0:Are Digital Media Changing Language?. Membership, policy, and professional development for educators – ASCD. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language%C2%A2.aspx 


Related Resource:
http://blip.tv/holymeatballs2/totally-wired-how-digital-media-is-changing-how-young-people-learn-and-play-544076

Thursday, September 1, 2011

My poll

Click here to take my poll
                                                      Poll Results


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Double Entry Journal #1



Quote:
"That classroom needs new ways of measuring progress, tailored to digital times — rather than to the industrial age or to some artsy utopia where everyone gets an Awesome for effort." (Heffernen, August 29,2011)

Reaction:

Reading the journal really showed me that technology is a truly important factor in our children's lives. Teachers sometimes think that technology is a distraction to the students. Ipods,mp3 players, and anything electonically is prohibited in class. They dont realize that the if they include technology in the studies, it will increase the learning.While helping them learn it can aslo expand their learning. In the future, technology will be farther along. The students will then be adults and will need jobs. The jobs that will be available will definitely include technology that doesn’t even exist yet. The only way we can help is by going along with technology and expanding the knowledge. Teachers need to start preparing the students for the future.

Reference:

Heffernan, V. (2011, August 7). Education needs a digital upgrade. Retrieved from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/education-needs-a-digital-age-upgrade/?hp
This video shows how important technology is to our childrens lives.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The children are the future



Hello everyone, thank you for reading my post. I am originally from summersville, West Virginia. I currently attend school at Fairmont State University. My major is Elementary Education. I LOVE being around, and working with, children. They are full of life and joy. I would enjoy teaching the grades 2nd through 4th. The children at that age learn things quickly and are fun working with at the same time. Children learn better with interaction and hands on activities. Games and songs would be perfect examples for learning. If you put the material into the music or games they would easily remember it. Maybe like putting they're vocabulary words in the game bingo. Also have some sort of reward at the end of the game for the winner. The children would more than likely want to learn the words and try harder. Also the song with the states. The song is catchy and with a good beat. Anything that the kids  would classify fun while learning at the same time is a good activity for them. Technology is also an important factor that children that children enjoy. Technology adds excitement and interest to the subject. Children will always pay better attention if they are entertained. Thats the way children learn, and do not realize they are.