So it has been a long journey and an even longer semester. I have evolved over this particular course and learned a great deal. I hope that this last blog is enjoyable....mostly lol.
1 paragraph on topics you found most interesting from reviewing your classmates’ blogs.
My classmates have all been very interesting and it amazes me how many different ideas we all have for the same project assignment. We have all done the same assignments, the same lectures, and yet we all have our own spin on those things. I especially enjoy the creativity I see. What is common among all of the blogs is how important we all feel that technology in the classroom is. Students today do NOT learn how we did in school and I only graduated high school in 2005! Technology is such an important factor in today's world and all of my fellow classmates understand this. I do find how people view powerpoint and other presentation software as interesting as well. I personally would not rely on a powerpoint. I may use them but I don't think to have one every day would be effective. My classmates don't necessarily agree. It is neat how we all would use Powerpoint.
1 paragraph on what technology-related skill you would most like to learn next, and why.
A technology skill I would most like to learn is video creation. I recently saw a couple of presentations where students made their own video or montage of video clips. It was awesome! These were so creative and so clever and could be great instructional tools but I have NO clue where to even begin. I think I will ask my brother because he is a beast when it comes to computers and software. Podcasts, music programs, photoshop type things, and this video creation software are all the things I want to learn next!
1 paragraph on ways in which you might achieve your future educational technology-related goals.
Ways that I might personally be able to achieve future educational technology-related goals is to make sure that whatever school I teach at is open to blending technology with content. The more open someone is to using computers and software and other technological devices, the more likely I will actually get to use these things with my students. Winning the lottery (just kidding, but seriously) would also help because schools may not receive enough funding to allow for me to have enough technology in the classroom. Some students (if not a great deal) cannot afford the software and computers and rely on schools to provide them. Finding a way to receive grants or other funding will help me to make sure my students actually get to learn their way around the technological world they live in.
Either way, it is VITAL and ESSENTIAL that technology is worked into the classroom. The world we live in is driven by technology and it is where important careers can be found for these students. BY having technology in the classroom, we as educators can make sure that our students are prepared to run the technical world they were born into.
THE END!
Monday, April 20, 2009
POST NINE!!!!
So here is my post number 9, and I really related to this particular post.
A 2-paragraph review of an interesting web-based tool or resource that you might use when teaching. Be sure to include a link to the tool or resource, and check out the ones that your classmates have shared as well.
A web-based tool that I will include into my English Literature or English Composition course would be the electronic library tool. This is a program that allows for a tool that a student can input what exactly they are looking for into the search fields and it filters out the different types of resources/ references the student needs. Here is the link-- http://e-library.net/. Also Encarta online and Sparknotes.com are valuable research tools and software that allow for students to better understand the material I may be teaching. Shakespeare is a difficult subject and so is poetry and thus using a tool like this could help them become better researchers and writers.
A paragraph about how you think you will use Excel and similar programs as a teacher (see Chapter 13). Be specific about your subject matter area and the grade level.
Excel is a highly valuable tool not just for students but for anyone. If I can teach my students to create budgets and graphs and questionnaires, then they will be able to incorporate these things into presentations, managing the course load and time, and in aiding them in their Senior Project which requires the use of a budget. I again would encourage them to conduct interviews and try to create meaning from their received answers by creating a graph and spread chart using excel. This is useful to an English major because it can tell a person what areas they need to shift their focus to understanding better or explaining better.
A paragraph about your final course project -- plans, challenges, etc.
For the final project, I have thought to incorporate something I actually learned during the Webhunt assignment. During the assignment, we had to research and find a link to a site that did virtual fieldtrips. I found this very concept to be amazing! What a wonderful idea! This would be great for integrating technology and fun learning with content. Students don't want to be lectured to, they want to be involved and this is one way to get them to feel fully involved. My project will be about how to incorporate a virtual fieldtrip program into a year-long lesson plan. If students actually feel a connection the the material learned about, then they might be inspired to learn for THEMSELVES! As teachers, it is not our responsibility to inspire students so much as to teach them to inspire themselves (self-motivation). You can give a man a fish and he eats for a day but if you TEACH a man to fish he can eat for life----it is the same concept with self-motivation. I think that this virtual fieldtrip being a part of the curriculum would be highly motivating.
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1998/09/14909
This link will let you know what I mean about the virtual fieldtrip I have in mind.
A 2-paragraph review of an interesting web-based tool or resource that you might use when teaching. Be sure to include a link to the tool or resource, and check out the ones that your classmates have shared as well.
A web-based tool that I will include into my English Literature or English Composition course would be the electronic library tool. This is a program that allows for a tool that a student can input what exactly they are looking for into the search fields and it filters out the different types of resources/ references the student needs. Here is the link-- http://e-library.net/. Also Encarta online and Sparknotes.com are valuable research tools and software that allow for students to better understand the material I may be teaching. Shakespeare is a difficult subject and so is poetry and thus using a tool like this could help them become better researchers and writers.
A paragraph about how you think you will use Excel and similar programs as a teacher (see Chapter 13). Be specific about your subject matter area and the grade level.
Excel is a highly valuable tool not just for students but for anyone. If I can teach my students to create budgets and graphs and questionnaires, then they will be able to incorporate these things into presentations, managing the course load and time, and in aiding them in their Senior Project which requires the use of a budget. I again would encourage them to conduct interviews and try to create meaning from their received answers by creating a graph and spread chart using excel. This is useful to an English major because it can tell a person what areas they need to shift their focus to understanding better or explaining better.
A paragraph about your final course project -- plans, challenges, etc.
For the final project, I have thought to incorporate something I actually learned during the Webhunt assignment. During the assignment, we had to research and find a link to a site that did virtual fieldtrips. I found this very concept to be amazing! What a wonderful idea! This would be great for integrating technology and fun learning with content. Students don't want to be lectured to, they want to be involved and this is one way to get them to feel fully involved. My project will be about how to incorporate a virtual fieldtrip program into a year-long lesson plan. If students actually feel a connection the the material learned about, then they might be inspired to learn for THEMSELVES! As teachers, it is not our responsibility to inspire students so much as to teach them to inspire themselves (self-motivation). You can give a man a fish and he eats for a day but if you TEACH a man to fish he can eat for life----it is the same concept with self-motivation. I think that this virtual fieldtrip being a part of the curriculum would be highly motivating.
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1998/09/14909
This link will let you know what I mean about the virtual fieldtrip I have in mind.
Post 8
A paragraph discussing and critiquing your own PowerPoint 2 assignment using the concepts addressed in Chapter 8.
My powerpoint two assignment was a personal best. Before the course, my powerpoints were basic and pretty blank. Thanks to a better understanding of rubrics and what exactly was required by the assignment, I was able to create a much more detailed and accurate presentation.
A paragraph about how you might integrate peripherals and non-computer audio-visual technologies in your classroom. How might you use them with computer-based technologies?
Not everything in the classroom that is technology is computer driven. Non-computer audio video aids are one example of this. Students could create presentations of their own using pictures, magazines, etc. and these aids could be brought into class. Audio aids outside of the computer realm could include cassettes of recordings that could be played and then the students could compare those sounds and aids to any they might find on the internet. Non-computer aids could be used to compare to those computer driven aids. The more hands on with something like a digital recorder to compare to Mp3's online. Students could learn to include pictures and drawings and learn how to upload them to PhotoShop. Comparisons are very hands on and I think that that is the best method of creating a balance between the non-computer driven and the highly technological.
A paragraph on new skills you acquired in the last week that you think will be especially useful to you in your educational career and why you think so.
I learned how to create a linked powerpoint (i.e. a gameboard). That is fantastic! Students don't like to be bored. If they become bored then they don't bother to learn. If I can make it fun and educational by making a jeopardy-type game for say reviewing for a test or learning a new lesson. I know I enjoyed these things in school and it made me want to learn
My powerpoint two assignment was a personal best. Before the course, my powerpoints were basic and pretty blank. Thanks to a better understanding of rubrics and what exactly was required by the assignment, I was able to create a much more detailed and accurate presentation.
A paragraph about how you might integrate peripherals and non-computer audio-visual technologies in your classroom. How might you use them with computer-based technologies?
Not everything in the classroom that is technology is computer driven. Non-computer audio video aids are one example of this. Students could create presentations of their own using pictures, magazines, etc. and these aids could be brought into class. Audio aids outside of the computer realm could include cassettes of recordings that could be played and then the students could compare those sounds and aids to any they might find on the internet. Non-computer aids could be used to compare to those computer driven aids. The more hands on with something like a digital recorder to compare to Mp3's online. Students could learn to include pictures and drawings and learn how to upload them to PhotoShop. Comparisons are very hands on and I think that that is the best method of creating a balance between the non-computer driven and the highly technological.
A paragraph on new skills you acquired in the last week that you think will be especially useful to you in your educational career and why you think so.
I learned how to create a linked powerpoint (i.e. a gameboard). That is fantastic! Students don't like to be bored. If they become bored then they don't bother to learn. If I can make it fun and educational by making a jeopardy-type game for say reviewing for a test or learning a new lesson. I know I enjoyed these things in school and it made me want to learn
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Post 7
A paragraph on what you feel are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of using presentation software in the K-12 classroom.
Large amounts of teachers today know their way around the Presentation software such as PowerPoint. These different presentation software systems allow for a wonderful and interactive type of learning to occur. Teachers can include videos, and pictures, and podcasts. These many different things provide visual stimulation. They can actually get the students to feel more connected. A lot of students are actually visual and audio learners so if you can incorporate both types of medias when you are teaching you can increase comprehension.
A paragraph on how you might use PowerPoint to support student learning at each knowledge dimension in a particular lesson. Be explicit in your example! Use Chapter 5 and online resources.
PowerPoint can support interactivity learning. This means that students who read something in one place, can then connect (make connections) to that same information in another way. This is ESPECIALLY important in learning. If students aren't able to make connections to the material in more than one way, they will have trouble remembering. Powerpoint can give a face to people read about in a textbook, a youtube.com video included in the powerpoint can give them a feeling for a situation or conflict read about. If a student is learning about the civil war and they can't connect to it, a powerpoint including pictures of the battlefields, maps, and a movie clip can put it into a perspective that they can actually understand.
A paragraph on an issue related to educational technology that now interests you. You may provide information, ask questions, include links, etc.
Educational technology is something that I wonder about it actually being up to date. Literally programs are now outdated within two years of their creation. How do educational technology classes and even teachers outside of these classes manage to keep up? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIDLIwlzkgY Check this out to understand what I mean
Large amounts of teachers today know their way around the Presentation software such as PowerPoint. These different presentation software systems allow for a wonderful and interactive type of learning to occur. Teachers can include videos, and pictures, and podcasts. These many different things provide visual stimulation. They can actually get the students to feel more connected. A lot of students are actually visual and audio learners so if you can incorporate both types of medias when you are teaching you can increase comprehension.
A paragraph on how you might use PowerPoint to support student learning at each knowledge dimension in a particular lesson. Be explicit in your example! Use Chapter 5 and online resources.
PowerPoint can support interactivity learning. This means that students who read something in one place, can then connect (make connections) to that same information in another way. This is ESPECIALLY important in learning. If students aren't able to make connections to the material in more than one way, they will have trouble remembering. Powerpoint can give a face to people read about in a textbook, a youtube.com video included in the powerpoint can give them a feeling for a situation or conflict read about. If a student is learning about the civil war and they can't connect to it, a powerpoint including pictures of the battlefields, maps, and a movie clip can put it into a perspective that they can actually understand.
A paragraph on an issue related to educational technology that now interests you. You may provide information, ask questions, include links, etc.
Educational technology is something that I wonder about it actually being up to date. Literally programs are now outdated within two years of their creation. How do educational technology classes and even teachers outside of these classes manage to keep up? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIDLIwlzkgY Check this out to understand what I mean
Monday, March 23, 2009
The 6th blog arrives!
A paragraph discussing your thoughts about the use of Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 education. Would you use them? Why or why not? How? Use online resources.
Web 2.0 technologies have many varied pros and cons. I myself find the using of Web 2.0 technologies as something easy and highly applicable in my college courses. However, I feel that this is only true because of my age and maturity level. Kids in middle school and even high school tend to be overzealous when it comes to Web 2.0 technology such as social networking sites. While these are great mediums to connect college alumni and current college students to their universities, younger students might have problems focusing on the subject matter and get carried away in the 'social' aspects. I personally think that photo sharing, video sharing, wikis and blogs would actually be very fun for students to use in classrooms. These mediums do afford students the chance to be creative with projects and learning and that is always a plus in my book.
A paragraph discussing your thoughts on Wikipedia as a learning resource.
Wikipedia is a veritable omniscient technology guru. Any question I ask or subject I may want to know about is on there. It is fast and easy to navigate, BUT IT SHOULD NEVER BE USED AS A RESOURCE FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN GIVING LEADS TO OTHER CREDIBLE SOURCES! Wikipedia is written by people and as such many of the articles are either poorly worded, not verified, and not even cited. This means that any information pulled off of wikipedia could be WRONG or even STOLEN information. It should only be used as a stepping stone and idea builder.
A paragraph on new skills you acquired in the last week that you think will be especially useful to you in your educational career and why you think so.
Last week I learned how to really do powerpoint. Don't laugh but I have never really done powerpoint all that well and so it was valuable for me to learn how to really get into the program. This will be useful for me as a teacher because I can use the powerpoint skills I've acquired to really capture and keep my student's interest.
Web 2.0 technologies have many varied pros and cons. I myself find the using of Web 2.0 technologies as something easy and highly applicable in my college courses. However, I feel that this is only true because of my age and maturity level. Kids in middle school and even high school tend to be overzealous when it comes to Web 2.0 technology such as social networking sites. While these are great mediums to connect college alumni and current college students to their universities, younger students might have problems focusing on the subject matter and get carried away in the 'social' aspects. I personally think that photo sharing, video sharing, wikis and blogs would actually be very fun for students to use in classrooms. These mediums do afford students the chance to be creative with projects and learning and that is always a plus in my book.
A paragraph discussing your thoughts on Wikipedia as a learning resource.
Wikipedia is a veritable omniscient technology guru. Any question I ask or subject I may want to know about is on there. It is fast and easy to navigate, BUT IT SHOULD NEVER BE USED AS A RESOURCE FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN GIVING LEADS TO OTHER CREDIBLE SOURCES! Wikipedia is written by people and as such many of the articles are either poorly worded, not verified, and not even cited. This means that any information pulled off of wikipedia could be WRONG or even STOLEN information. It should only be used as a stepping stone and idea builder.
A paragraph on new skills you acquired in the last week that you think will be especially useful to you in your educational career and why you think so.
Last week I learned how to really do powerpoint. Don't laugh but I have never really done powerpoint all that well and so it was valuable for me to learn how to really get into the program. This will be useful for me as a teacher because I can use the powerpoint skills I've acquired to really capture and keep my student's interest.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Post Numero 5!
I believe that the Internet is a wonderful tool for everyone to use from everyday searches for simple items to doing research. It is right at the finger tips of everyone and makes using it convenient, fast, and it provides a VAST amount of information. A library or research office doesn’t even compare to the amount of information that can be housed online. However, this is where it becomes treacherous. Too much information that may not be properly cited, backed up, thoroughly researched, or straight up lies can lead students down the wrong paths. Students doing research papers may take a short cut and just use any information they may find floating on the web, this can lead to faulty papers as well as copyright infringement, i.e. plagiarism. Teaching students how to properly search the internet for viable sources is key.
A paragraph on other ways you might use web-based resources to support student learning. Share a few resources that are of interest to you. Use your book and online resources.
Web-based resources such as the Encyclopedia Britanica online, Oxford dictionary online, as well as journal and video databases can provide relevant examples, pictures, audio commentary, and numerous other things that can help the student better understand the material. No student likes just straight lecturing so using these other online resources is away to capture student interest as well as a way to drive learning.
A paragraph on your concerns about being a teacher who supervises students in a technology environment. Be sure to mention the age/grade level of your students.
My concern for my students would be because I wish to teach high school students, preferably seniors (twelfth grade). These are young adults that find obscene and outrageous and often blocked content highly amusing. My concern would be to make sure I could be able to walk by or view all the students’ computer screens as a way to monitor them. Also, if there was a program that would let me view what they do on my screen I could make sure they do what is necessary. It is also necessary to state to the students what rules are in place as well as the consequences of violation of those rules so as to cut down on rule breakers.
A paragraph on other ways you might use web-based resources to support student learning. Share a few resources that are of interest to you. Use your book and online resources.
Web-based resources such as the Encyclopedia Britanica online, Oxford dictionary online, as well as journal and video databases can provide relevant examples, pictures, audio commentary, and numerous other things that can help the student better understand the material. No student likes just straight lecturing so using these other online resources is away to capture student interest as well as a way to drive learning.
A paragraph on your concerns about being a teacher who supervises students in a technology environment. Be sure to mention the age/grade level of your students.
My concern for my students would be because I wish to teach high school students, preferably seniors (twelfth grade). These are young adults that find obscene and outrageous and often blocked content highly amusing. My concern would be to make sure I could be able to walk by or view all the students’ computer screens as a way to monitor them. Also, if there was a program that would let me view what they do on my screen I could make sure they do what is necessary. It is also necessary to state to the students what rules are in place as well as the consequences of violation of those rules so as to cut down on rule breakers.
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