Post 11

This week’s assignment with Excel was new to me because I had never really worked with excel before. I had seen people use it before for easy computations in math but I had never personally found a need for it until now. I liked how easy it was for us to find the average, mode and median. I think I could definitely use that with teaching when I want to figure out the students’ scores. The IF function was a little tricky to me and I still cannot do it on my own without looking at an example first. I did not like having to add a graph to the assignment.

One technology skill that I would like to learn next would be paint. I saw a few other blogs that mentioned Microsoft paint and how it was used in their past for different subjects during class. I think there is a lot more we could do with paint as teachers that we have not learned yet. There are basic things we could do like draw a diagram or picture, but I would like to see what we could do with it beyond that.

I hope to achieve my educational technology goals by incorporating technology into my daily lessons. I will not only use technology when instructing my students but I will also use it for myself in order to better myself as a teacher or to even make grading homework a little bit easier. I want to use PowerPoints, worksheets, interactive lessons, etc. with my students so that they are able to grow up knowing how to operate technology and use it to its fullest potential. I also hope to be able to find/create interactive games or WebQuests that I can utilize in the classroom. I will stay up-to-date on the latest technology used in the classroom so that my students are updated and moving along with the rest of the students across the world that are using technology.

Comments:

Jenna Ix

Amber Hap

Post 10

I could incorporate peripherals and non-computer technology in the classroom by using posters, CD’s or diagrams. If the students were learning a lesson using a song I could put pictures and words on a poster so that they could read along and look at it visually. If we were reading a book I could also get the audio tape to help supplement the reading. I would use them with computer based technologies to supplement the lessons we learned in class. I could create games or PowerPoints that present the information in different ways.

The web based resource I chose can be found here! This resource offers unique lesson plans, Webquests readings, games etc. When you first look at the website it is overwhelming because there are so many resources that can be found and utilized. At the top there are Leveled reading books for each grade and a spring break workbook that can be downloaded. It seems that most of the resources can be catered to K-12 grade levels and also to each subject.

There are puzzles on the left side and also foreign language activities. In the middle there is a tab for special education that includes different skills and activities catered to people with disabilities. On the right side there is a critical thinking tab that has logic puzzles and shapes and brain teasers for different grade levels. This website seems like one I could definitely use in my classroom and it would make looking for lesson plans a lot easier. It is cool for me to see the vast array of material I can find by just typing in a simple search on google.

I think I could use excel for recording grades or data found in the class. I could make or find a rubric online to grade projects or tests. If I wanted to double check my calculations for something I could use excel. If I wanted to do a science experiment with my 5^th grade class that required adding up data or calculations I could let each group of students use excel to record their data and even possibly make a graph.

From the lesson on PowerPoint I learned how to make interactive story books that would be really helpful for younger grades. I think the students would really enjoy engaging in an interactive activity like that, rather than learning the information by a worksheet. I really liked this activity because it was not that hard and I could add my own style to it. I thought it was fun being able to add sounds and hyperlinks to each of the slides and that there was no linear way to go about it. I think I could improve it by making it more colorful or in depth. I can see myself using this for my future career frequently for lessons that the students might find boring and could need some livening up.

Comments:

https://jmi13b.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/blog-9/comment-page-1/#comment-11

https://mrc142015.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/module-9/comment-page-1/#comment-22

Post 9

When I think of the rewards or profits of using presentation software in a K-12 setting I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. One advantage is being able to use technology in the classroom to teach a lesson. I think it is very important to incorporate technology into the classroom. Using a PowerPoint or interactive Webquest is a perfect way to teach students using technology. Another advantage is that teachers are able to provide a lecture and have a presentation to supplement it. This can be helpful when teachers want to show visuals or examples. One disadvantage could be that students cannot really interact when the teacher is using a premade presentation. Another disadvantage could be that students with certain disabilities would not be able to learn as well using presentation software as they could if the teacher was using a pen or paper. These disadvantages can easily be fixed by making the presentation interactive or including aspects that can cater to certain learning strategies.

The digital divide is the disparity between people that have access to a computer and people who do not. I think that I am strongly on the side of people who have access to a computer and have had access since they were younger. Ever since I was in about 2^nd grade I have had full access to a computer and have known how to use it pretty well. Once a week in elementary and middle school we would have Computers where we would learn important skills regarding technology. We often practiced how to type and learned how to use Word and other important applications. During middle and high school I was often given work that needed technology, so I am use to it by now. I think the digital divide will have less of an impact in the future than it does now and in the past. Technology is continually rising and the access to computers is becoming more widespread. But, if I do find that I am faced with a digital divide I will do my best to incorporate learning with technology in the classroom daily so that students are at less of a disadvantage when they go into the work force. I will take note of who does and does not have access to a computer. I will also not give homework that requires access to a computer.

An issue that interests me concerning educational technology would be the lack of skills that some teachers possess when it comes to technology. Older teachers that did not grow up in a technology based learning experience are lagging behind on skills needed to teach their kids using technology. I think this is an issue because some students in the same school as other students could be learning using technology while the other students have a different teacher and are not using technology. I think it is important for teachers today to be up to date on technology for the classroom so that their students do not fall behind in later years.

Below is a scholarly article on technology for teachers. It talks about how teachers are actively trying to integrate technology into teaching and the difficulties some teachers may face with that.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14759390000200096

Comments:

https://sdb11j.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/blog-post-8/comment-page-1/#comment-23

https://ach13b.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/blog-post-8/comment-page-1/#comment-31

Post 8

I think PowerPoints are great ways to enhance student learning. They are able to teach different learning dimensions by using various ways of teaching something. An example is a PowerPoint that has pictures for visual learners, videos for auditory learners and then plan text and bulleted notes for people who can learn just by reading something. An example of a lesson that can show this is teaching students about the solar system. The first few slides can explain the solar system and provide definitions. In those slides there can be different pictures and a video on a scientist explaining what makes up the solar system. You could even put interactive lessons into the PowerPoint where you are directed to a link that has a game or an assignment online.

There are several different adaptive technologies that can be used for people with disabilities. If someone had a physical disability they could use voice recognition if they are unable to type. If they are unable to read voice recognition could also be used to read the words to them. For those people who cannot see a picture there could be a description including describing the picture. Someone with a learning disability could use spelling checkers to double check what they are typing. I have known people that have used different adaptive technologies, mostly voice recognition or a different object used for a mouse. Problems with adaptive technologies in the classroom could be that other students get distracted by the technologies being used. Certain technologies could also not be helpful for that specific student. As a teacher when creating PowerPoints or lesson plans, we would have to be mindful of those students with disabilities and make sure to cater the lesson so that they are able to learn with the rest of the class.

From doing the WebQuest assignment I learned new ways to teach students that are interactive and fun. I had used Weebly before but it was simply for blog posts and papers. I learned how to create a website and customize it for my particular lesson. I liked being able to add pictures and make it my own. If I were to do something like this in my own classroom I really think the students would enjoy it. It is a different approach to learning other than just doing the same assignment on paper. I thought it was kind of hard to change the background and to also design a few of the pages. For next time I would spend more time getting to know the design layout and ways I could customize the pages. For the future, I feel like I could create something like this that my students would enjoy.

Comments:

https://rachelsinclair4.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/blog-7/comment-page-1/#comment-28

https://jel12f.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/halfway-there/comment-page-1/#comment-21

Post 7

I would like to maintain a course Website as a teacher if it were an older grade that had regular access to a computer. I would like to use a collaborative blog online where I could post homework and other materials and students could ask questions regarding the material. I think this would be perfect for grades 4-12. If it were any younger grades I do not think it would be worth the trouble. I think course Websites are important because they allow students to learn in different ways and collaborate with other students. I feel like they could be useful if they were used properly. As a teacher I would have to monitor anything being posted or added and make sure all safety precautions have been taken on the site. If I feel like my class could post responsibly and learn from the Website then I would be all for it. If I feel like they would not take it seriously or it would be too much regulation for me, I would not want to engage in that.

A tool that I found interesting and would most likely use it in a classroom is Diigo (https://www.diigo.com/). Diigo can be used to share resources over a collaborative site. When reading articles or papers you can even use annotation tools to highlight or comment on something. I think this would be something I could use because if I find an article on there for students to read, they can comment or ask questions on it as they read. They can also share it with other students to see.

I think Web 2.0 could be useful in K-12 education. I still believe, like what I said earlier, that collaborative learning or posting on Websites would only be effective for older grades. I do not see Kindergarteners being able to collaborate and share things with classmates. Nor do I see younger grades being able to navigate a computer on their own. I think the most useful tools for the older grades would be blogs or wikis. I am not the fondest of Twitter use for learning, so I think the most success would come from either a blog or a wiki.  With a blog I can regulate what is being posted and commented and I feel like there is more creativity there. With wiki I feel like the students could collaborate on assignments either at home or school.

For the Web Evaluation assignment I learned how to create an evaluation form and use it to evaluate four websites. I liked how we could cater the form to fit the assignment or resources we were looking for. I liked how we could evaluate the website for anything that we found necessary. I did not like having to come up with some of the bullet points on my own. For next time I would be more specific to the resources I was evaluating. I feel like the one I made could be used for a vast number of assignments, which might actually prove to be a good thing.

Comments:

https://erinfinnegan793.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/blog-post-5/comment-page-1/#comment-9

https://sls12h.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/blog-6/comment-page-1/#comment-3

Post 6

As a teacher I do not see myself using blogs and twitter to teach my students, since I want to teach younger grades such as Kindergarten. If I were to teach or interact with say high school students though I could definitely see myself incorporating twitter into daily learning. During high school and now in college some of my teachers used twitter as a way to communicate and share helpful information or resources for that specific class. As a teacher I would use blogs and twitter for similar reasons. I would follow education blogs or people on twitter to help further my resources or information on new teaching techniques. I would allow my student’s parents to follow me if they wanted to see what I was incorporating into their children’s lessons. I would collaborate and follow other teachers to get an insight on what they are teaching and maybe even share lesson plans. On twitter I would follow education news to see what is happening in the education field and to be able to know what is going on.

I think helping students to realize at an early age what a good resource is from the internet is extremely important. As a teacher I would want my students to be educated on the types of resources they can use and also that they are able to spot a bad resource on the internet. In order to help them be able to do this I would incorporate assignments into my lesson plan that work with computers and research on the internet. I would help the students be able to identify what a good source is and how to use it for papers and homework. I could show them website evaluation forms that they could use while searching on the internet. I would expect the parents of my students to work with their children on finding good sources on the internet. I could send home homework that the parents can help the student with that requires the student to find several reliable resources and then explain why they are reliable. I think it is important for students to be able to do this so that when they get older they can find reliable sources and be able to cite them for research. It will also help with plagiarism because they can learn at an early age how to paraphrase and cite sources.

The Web Hunt assignment was very helpful because it taught me how to find proper websites to use for teaching or my own benefit. It required me to find the best source for each question and to evaluate why that was the best source. I also learned a lot on how to search something in google so that you can get the most relevant source. I learned many new search strategies that I can use for the future when I need the most reliable source. I liked the new search skills that I learned with this assignment. I did not like how broad the answers could be on the assignment. I feel like for each question there were several websites that could work and it was hard to find the one that I thought would be correct. I also feel like it was hard to justify why that website was chosen and why I chose the search strategy that I did. Next time I would use more search strategies rather than just googling the entire question. I feel like I will definitely use the search strategies in the future to find the most relevant websites. I will use this information when I am searching for lesson plans or information while I am teaching.

Comments:

https://jmi13b.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/blog-6/comment-page-1/#comment-7

https://masternewknowledgedaily.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/module-6/#respond

Below is a video from YouTube that shows other helpful strategies to use while searching on Google.

Post 5

Web based resources can enhance student learning in a number of ways. Students can participate in interactive learning materials online and many materials for lesson plans can come from online sources. Graphs and converters can be found online to help students learn different things visually. There can be 3D models or virtual tours and sites that can be used. As a teacher, we can collaborate with other teachers on resources they use in the classroom. One interesting resource that I have heard about is being used when recess has to be indoors because of weather. Students are taken on a safari adventure in the classroom as they watch an interactive video that teaches them about different places and also gets them moving. The one video I saw was in a desert and the students had to jump left and right and other ways to get around obstacles. They also learned interesting facts about the desert. This is a great way to get students moving and also learning at the same time.

I think using the internet for research is fine when it is limited. Many people do not know how to accurately search for proper research sources on the internet and instead stick to googling sources that might not be as helpful as scholarly ones. I think research done through articles and books is the best because it is usually research and experiments that are many years in the making. It is hard to say over the internet what is a reliable source or not. I would let my students use the internet for research but would challenge them to get more sources and information from non-online sources. I think it is useful for small searches for both students and teachers. For students, it would be okay for a small assignment or project. For teachers, it would be okay for mostly anything from blogs to lesson plans. The only time I feel it is not useful is for a lengthy research project in which the student needs a lot of resources.

I have used the internet for basically all of my searches in the past. It is only for the lengthy projects or papers that I actually am required to get out a book or article. I have used internet based resources for things like creating graphs to converting units. I use it for quick searches daily. In the past I have had to create websites so I had to find websites that would help me with that.  I learned new things in the podcast and required readings like different ways to search for things in order to get the most relevant information.

This week I learned different ways to search in Google in order to get the best information. I really liked the PowerPoint that explained all of the different things to add to your search in Google in order to find the information you are looking for. I liked the Web Hunt project but I feel like some of the things it was asking was too broad and I was unable to choose the link that I thought would best fit the question. We also did a Skill Check using Inspiration. I liked how we used images off of Google instead of the animated ones provided. Next time I would spend more time on the Web Hunt assignment trying to find the best sites and information. I could use what I used from the Web Hunt assignment to narrow my searches in the future when I am looking for information regarding educational materials.

Comments:

https://klh13e.wordpress.com/

https://se11b.wordpress.com/

Post 4

The website I have chosen can be accessed here. I have a few critiques for this website, even though it is made by children. The main header picture is fuzzy and hard to see. The main title of “Talumba” is not centered and neither is the picture located on the left. The icons on the top to locate around the page are also fuzzy and spread out. There is a hyperlink that does not work in the second paragraph. Visual tools can support student learning by enabling students to learn different visual techniques for things involving technology. Visual tools help students to explore their creativity and use technology to accomplish that.

I do think open content and open source are very important for educators. It enables a teacher to save time and collaborate with other teachers on ideas and plans. Open content is important because it is close to copyright and tells teachers what they can and cannot take from the internet. This is important in any case so that teachers are using the content they find in a proper way. Open source is important if people want to use software on their own and edit their own material. I think it is important to have this readily available to teachers so that they can take advantages of software that is usually free. It is also good that it is available to all because students can use it as well for projects or homework since they could download it onto their own computer. I would use open content and open source materials. I think it is a great way to learn from others and even revise or edit one’s own findings. I would also contribute to it by sharing my own ideas. I do not agree with open education because I think that it is unfair to the students who are paying for the course.

From the assignment this week I learned how to create a concept map or idea map. I think it is important to know this skill since that is a tool that could be used widely in teaching. I also enjoyed being able to use Inspiration since it is new software to me. I liked the simplicity of it, and I feel like it was pretty easy to navigate. I did not like trying to make arrows on it, since I could not figure out how to. I also did not like having to save and export it to Microsoft Word. I found it difficult to keep the hyperlink in place. I think I could have improved the way I connected the different nodes on my map. I would use this to explain a new method or steps to the students.

Below are my concept maps and these are the blogs I commented on for this week:

https://sammgronau.wordpress.com/

https://tlc14c.wordpress.com/

         

Post 3

I have had limited use of Microsoft Word as a student. I usually just use it to write papers or design a flyer real quick. I never knew about half of the things we’ve used so far. I had known about word art and clip art but I had rarely used it. I was very excited to see that we learned how to use Mail Merge because how the teachers put each of our names into a letter was always a mystery to me. When I was younger I had always seen my teachers use Microsoft Word the way that we are using it now. Some teachers were more advanced than others but they all knew the basics like page border, shapes and clip art. As I got older, Microsoft Word was just used to type up syllabi’s or a quick letter to the students. The flare and use of all of the features were gone.

As a student, a huge emphasis was put on plagiarism and cheating, but never on copyright. We never actually learned what copyright and fair use had to do with learning, we just assumed it was something that had to deal with copying music or books from other people. After reading the guidelines on what is legal or not, I definitely can understand now why teachers had done certain things. I had never known the intensity of the rules until now. As a teacher, I would make myself familiar with those rules and make sure to follow them any time I would want to use something from print or the internet. I would also educate my students about the importance of copyright and fair use since I was never told about it. I think it is important for them to learn now so that they do not have to find out the hard way later on.

I learned numerous new things by making the newsletter this week. I learned how to make columns which I had never known how to do. I also learned how to create a form or permission slip. I was able to get a refresher on page borders and word art. I also learned that you can put a page border on one page but not the next one. I really enjoyed the Mail Merge feature, as I stated earlier. I feel like that is a skill I could definitely use a lot during my career. I did not like trying to create the heading during the Skill Check. That was the most difficult thing for me because the clip art would not stay in the same line as the word art. I also had trouble with certain text box’s that decided to just move wherever they wanted. For next time I think I would spend more time on the assignment just because I noticed little mistakes afterwards. I feel like for the grade I want to teach, these skills will be very helpful with colorful newsletters and forms.

Comments:

https://erinfinnegan793.wordpress.com/

https://jmi13b.wordpress.com/

               

Post 2

Computers are an important part of the learning experience because it helps students to learn on different platforms. Since this is a world surrounded on technology, it is important for children to familiarize themselves with technology at an early age. If they learn early on about how to use a computer they will be better off when they get older and have to use them regularly. A concern is that computers are taking over regular pen and paper and students are losing their capacity to just sit down and write. This could be true since now a lot of homework assignments and tests are found online instead of written down. I will use computers in my classroom as a resource, not the main way to learn. Since I hope to teach younger children, they can rotate out and spend about twenty minutes a day learning interactive lessons on the computer. I also will use the computer for my own use for helpful videos or to project material.

I do agree with the label of digital native today. A digital native is someone who has never been without a computer or technology. They have always had a computer available to them. I and the children born after me are considered digital natives. I see a huge difference between digital natives and digital immigrants. Most of the time students have to help teachers with technology. Teachers most of the time do not use technology to their full advantage because they are unfamiliar with all that they have access to and most of the time do not know how it operates. I anticipate that there will be a difference between how I was taught and how my students will learn. Since I will be a digital native just like them I will be more familiar with what technology is available to me. But I think they will also be more advanced since the technology they use will most likely be different than the technology I was familiar with.

Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s) are important for any teacher to access new information and to collaborate with other teachers. Teachers can use blogs, Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms to connect with other teachers about tips and lessons that they can learn from. Teachers can also follow news updates or changes in the education field. It is important to be professional when using PLN’s though and to only use them for teaching and not for personal use. Teachers should not put private information or use it for personal gains. Teachers should interact in a way that they would if they were face to face with a person.

I also took the mock test for computer competency and scored a 72 out of 100. I was surprised by the test because I did not know a lot of the information. Some of the stuff I had never even heard about or learned. I am glad I took the test though because now I know a lot more about the computer and technology. Here are my results: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/quizreport.php?title=mock-computer-competency-test&sid=66137946

These are the blogs I commented on from last week’s module:

https://erinfinnegan793.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/intro/#respond

https://jmi13b.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/blog-1/#comments