Post #10

From looking at my classmates blogs, I have noticed many people feel like they could use the internet in their classroom to improve any assignment. I concur, not on ANY assignment, but it helps identify examples so people can really understand what exactly you are talking about.

I would love to learn how to fix computers and projectors. Does that count as technology? I say this only because in my classes in high school, when something went wrong, class held off for nearly an hour before someone could fix the problem.
If that doesn't count, I would love to learn how to use a smart board. I observe over at FSUS, and in the classrooms, teachers use these smart boards to teach the students in really cool ways. I think smart boards are the way of the future.

Just constantly learning new things is the way to reach my goal. Technology is ever changing and to keep up with the new things you have to learn them. But learning things is fun! That's what is so cool/great about technology! You always have to learn new things, and it expands the possibilities of your teaching methods.

Post #9

I would use photobucket at photobucket.com. photobucket allows users to store pictures and other files online. It is a great resource to use when you want to use pictures on your power point; when you create a power point, or any other presentation, at home, you add pictures that sometimes aren't on the computer you will be giving the presentation on, but the great thing about photobucket is it allows you to add those pictures to the internet, so your power point will now have the same graphics on any computer connected to the internet.

Photobucket also allows users to browse pictures, this can also help with presentations. As an Elementary school teacher, pictures are used daily to give examples of what you are teaching (it can be very hard to grasp new concepts without some sort of example). I plan on using an example for everything I do (although most of my examples won't be using technology, I'm more hands on with examples, but that's just me).

As an Elementary school teacher, I will use excel very rarely. However, when I do use excel it will be for things such as rubrics and grades. Excel offers very easy to read charts and tables, which is useful to any grade level.

Post #8

My navigation is perfect, my writing is to grade level, my idea map is perfect, my content is covered well, my screen design is nice. My spelling is correct, my content isn't up to par with the book, but it works with the idea map, screen design is nice, and my development is nice.







I can't wait to teach history to my kids, I want to turn the classroom into a time machine, and immerse the kids into the environment, using decorations and speakers to make it seem like the past. For computers, I may record my voice and put it on black board as instruction...

I think Jeopardy is gonna be really good for my classrooms in the future. It's a fun interactive way to study/review for the test. I think asking questions, and rewarding them with points is going to make the students a lot more involved, no matter the grade level.

Post #7

It gets students to pay attention if you use presentation software in K-12 classrooms because students love technology. Plus it is alot easier to read a power point then a chalk board with messy handwriting. There aren't many disadvantages to presentation software. The only thing I can see is the students can get bored if the teacher just reads off the power point to the class.

I will make the power points light and friendly to help with "Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions." I will make the power points include steps of things, and then allow students to say, out loud, how they see it to help with "Dimension 2: Acquire and Integrate Knowledge." I will make the power points include activities that allow for comparison and analysis to help with "Dimension 3: Extend and Refine Knowledge." I will make the power points include problem solving and investigation to help with "Dimension 4: Use Knowledge Meaningfully." I will make the power points require critical thinking for "Dimension 5: Productive Habits of Mind."

I am a little worried about how much technology kids use these days. It is a constant part of their life. I am aware this is just the new society, things change, but everything in life must be done in moderation. I want to actually assign homework that involves the kids to get AWAY from technology, such as a scavenger hunt, or other activities.

Post #6

I think using Web 2.0 in classrooms is good, I think using any and all tools is a good idea in classrooms. The best way to teach is to teach in every method, to the best of your abilities. I think teaching in each manner, including web 2.0 is a good and necessary idea. I would use it to research things and let the students research, and to write their own things.

I think Wikipedia is a GREAT resource. The only problem is it's hard to trust it, but if it isn't a research project I think Wikipedia is a good way to learn things quickly and learn related topics for fun (and allowing kids to enjoy learning is a very important thing). But as a resource for school, it's very difficult to allow them to use it because it could be wrong and hard to trust.

Learning how to make a wiki was awesome! I now know how to make a web page for my own reasons and I can use it for education reasons as well. I can make web pages to help my kids learn. It can be a very useful tool and I look forward to teaching and incorporating what I learned in this class.

Post #5

I believe students should be able to use the internet for research because it makes it easier for them. When students are able to do something without too much effort they can't complain and and are more willing to do the work. However, the students should make sure their resources are valid, and if they sources are not valid, points will be deducted. Some students will still use books because they may personally find it easier to use a book they know is valid, rather than making sure a web page is valid. This offers many different ways of doing things with validity.

I think blogging, Black Board, and e-mail would all be very useful for students. I think blogging offers students to communicate with those who are willing to listen (read), which will make stronger connections between the students as they learn about one another. I also think Black Board has been very helpful for most students. It offers them the use of internet connection to send in assignments and to view whats to come in upcoming classes because of a syllabus or calendar. E-mail has also been very vital to me as a student; when teachers e-mail reminders, study group opportunities, and other class info, it has saved me a lot of time and head aches.

I am personally worried about students (and even my kids) on getting on adult websites and other pages they shouldn't be on. True there are parental blocking applications, but some sites still manage to avoid these. I am also worried about cyber stalkers, who are also hard to keep computers and phones safe from. Young students are not aware of the danger behind chat rooms. As a teacher I feel I must constantly be aware of what websites the students are on.

Post #4

I would use Microsoft Power Point to make good clear presentations for my students. This way the can clearly see what the topic is on and what is most important. I personally feel Power Points to be extremely useful to students when done properly. This way none of my students (with a few exceptions) will be confused on what the test will be on and what to know (I want to be a teacher who's students know what I want them to, not to trick them, but to make them smarter).

Outline, idea map, and story boarding skills are very helpful to clearly plan anything in life, be it an essay, a presentation, or even movies/comic books. These simple skills can help with school and hobbies, and make kids a lot less stressed. (I'm not sure what else there is to say on this topic).

I think learning some tiny things about search engines can help me in the future. Knowing that " " " tells the search engine to put those words together, that "and" means to include both, and that "or" means to have one or the other. Knowing these things can fine tune my searching abilities to make it much easier for me to search the web for things I may need to teach class or answer students' questions.

Post #3

I may have a lesson plan including Microsoft Office Power Point. I would be using Power Point to do slides for my class, which will be 5th grade and under, to get the points of the topic clearly on the board. I may also use Inspiration for charts, such as in English (in elementary you typically teach all fields) students can clearly see how an essay should be written when they can see a chart.

Facebook.com is a great website that meets many criteria from Chapter 6 on a good power point on a web page. It's very consistent in color (gray and blue), text is justified (at top and columns), very few different fonts (header, body, some links), more than just text (pictures and so forth), everything is important (well as important as something can be on facebook), correct capitalization, very easy to use, screen is focused (with help from tables), matches audience approval, no flashing texts (except in ads), lists (everywhere on the site links are in list form), navigation is simple (in header), graphics (pictures), organized screens (once again, tables), size is used appropriately, and things are placed properly. Facebook did a good job at creating a user friendly web page.

When I was a kid, my teachers were very skeptical of plagiarism, they had web pages that would determine if the paper was plagiarized, they made you use books only they knew (so they can tell if you just copied it), and other things. As a teacher, I would probably allow my students to use any source they wish, as long as they had a complete bibliography and the paper was written more as an analysis rather than a lecture on the subject matter. This proves that the student actually read the books, articles, etc. and understood it enough to think about it and write what he or she thought of the book.

Post #2

As a student I have used Microsoft Word to write papers for my teachers, both in high school and college. It's useful when you need a word count, certain margins, and/or certain fonts. My teachers have used it for syllabuses, other hand outs, and tests. It made it a lot easier for them to create a mass of these things with cool designs using Microsoft Word.

I will probably use word processors to help students write and read. For some students, hand writing can be hard, so using a keyboard can greatly ease the assignment. For others who have a hard time reading, word processors can offer help to them as well. I will also ask my students to use Microsoft Word to make more appealing assignments, such as a brochure or flier.

One of the skills I learned is the Mail Merger in Microsoft Word, I can see that coming in great use to create all sorts of things for students' parents. Another is the cool things you can do with Microsoft Word now, like in the Word & Graphics 2 assignment. I thought it was cool, and I hope to combine the Mail Merger with those cool new things I learned for this assignment. This will make my handouts much cooler and more personal with out being tedious on my part.

Post #1

I believe computers are becoming more and more popular in classrooms (no matter how hard people try to prevent it, things change). As I continued my education, I've seen more and more technology used in classrooms, from tests composed on Microsoft Word, to presentations done on Microsoft Power Point, and even graphs done with Microsoft Excel (I know it seems like it's only Microsoft Office, but its the most accessible program for teachers). Using computers makes teaching reach a whole new level. My only concern with computers being used my students and teachers is online teaching, it brings the online experience too far, it takes kids away from school, where they gain necessary social skills for the real world. I do agree that computers can be used to help teaching, but I don't believe it should be used to teach.

When I teach, I don't expect to use much besides what I listed above (using Microsoft Office) because I will be teaching Elementary School. If by the time I get to become a teacher students can use Black Board, I will as well. That is one thing I would like to learn in class, how to use Black Board from the teachers point of view.

Hey class mates! I can't wait to become a teacher. I didn't know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but now I will be just walking and I jump because I am so excited about teaching. I never thought I would become a teacher when I was growing up, I thought teachers sucked and that I wanted a lot more money then what teachers make. But now I don't care about the money, I'll deal, besides my girlfriends gonna be a doctor, so she'll be my sugar mama. :P

Blog Setup

I have used technology in the past many times. Through out high school I took many technology classes, such as BST (business technology) and Web Design. In BST I was actually more of a teacher than the actual teacher, and in Web Design I knew everything he was teaching, until he made us use a program, which I refused to learn because I believed true Web Designers shouldn't use short cuts such as Dream Weaver. I have been very good with technology, growing up around it; however, I would not say I am exceptionally skilled, just familiar.

I hope to become a bit more knowledgeable on the fine details of things. One such example is how to make certain graphs with MS Excel; I know how to make 95% of these graphs, but sometimes I can't figure out how to do one or two. I am also excited about Inspiration, a program I know nothing about and can't wait to just try something new.

I learned today that I am an Active, Sensing, Visual, and Sequential Learner, very left winged, just like my political views [although I doubt there is any connection (that would be a fun social experiment!)]. As an Active learner I like to do things; I like hands on experiences to "grasp" ideas. As a Sensing learner I like facts and details, which is probably why I am good at Math and History, and why I struggled in Humanities (which was just based off stories to try and understand an ancient civilization). As a Visual learner I like to see things; when taking multiple choice quizzes I find myself picturing the day the instructor taught us the information and I can actually see the information on the slide or on my notes. As a Sequential learner I like to follow steps; I find myself confused at times if I skip as step. However, I am very mid-line between Sequential and Global, and at times, such as in math, I can give you an answer with no clear way of explaining how I did it. I believe the way one learns doesn't randomly switch between the two types, but changes based off what situation one is in, or what one is trying to learn/do.