Post #9

This class has really opened my eyes to different web based technologies that I can easily use in my classroom. When I become a teacher I want to teach kindergarten. I've researched a lot of resources that can be used on the web for younger children, and one site in particular stood out to me as one that I will certainly use. The site is http://www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/currl/kindergarten/, and it colvers every basic skill that kindergarteners need to leave the classroom with. It goes over colors, math, art, different memory games, shapes, differences, and I-spy games. The website has everything from fun games to educational and learning ones. I believe that it is an excellent site that has so much to offer. My students will love it!

I think that I will use this daily. I'm going to train them on how to use it, then during their computer time they can get on and decide what they want to play. If there is a certain subject that is giving them trouble, I can show them where that game is and they can work on it. All of the games and tutorials that I have looked at on the website have been very well thought out and informational. The site is easy to navigate around, so the students will be able to work very independently. I think that this site is excellent. It is educational, fun, easy to use, and informational. Even students as young as 5 can work on activities especially for their grade level. I think it's cool because the website is so organized, and I believe that my students will really enjoy it. I also think that it is a good website for my age kids because it is a site for solely kindergarteners. Any game that they plan on the entire site is for their skill level. There are tons of web-based technologies that I plan to use with my students. The world of technology is rapidly growing so I think that good, fun, and educational sites, even for young children, are an aweosme way to learn!

Excel was one program that I knew nothing about before taking this class. It has been my most challenging, but has also taught me a lot. I think that Excel will be most useful for me as a teacher with my organization. I can make lists and charts, and keep track of students assignments and grades. I can also do things such as surveys in order to get students feedback on certain programs. I never knew that you could do things such as the mean, median, and mode, and also think that will be useful in many ways. I can record students grades and then see what the average grade was so that I can see what progress they have made from assignment to assignment. Excel has been the most difficult, but also the most informational and I think useful. If you're a teacher, one thing that you need to be is organized. I think that Excel will help me stay organized and keep track of assignments and students progress. I want to teach kindergarten and will use Excel to keep track of all of their assignments. This way I know what they are all doing well in and what area I need to spend a little extra time. I can't wait!

Post #8

I think that overall I did pretty well on my powerpoint project. I honestly never thought that powerpoint had the capability to do such awesome things, and I'm glad that I got the opportunity to learn them. I think that it's important for a teacher to be able to make learning fun and exciting while also keeping it educational, and what better way than to create a game that goes along with the days lesson! You can specialize what you think is important in the lesson for the students to learn and then review with them in a less formal way. It's extremely important to keep your student's attention no matter what age they are, and a game is a perfect way. I love that with something so common as powerpoint, as an educator I can do so much. I always thought that powerpoint was just for plain and boring slides before I took this class, but now I realize that there are so many neat things that can be done in order to spice up the learning atmosphere. Above is a slide that I thought addressed many of the concepts talked about in chapter #8 such as making slides easy to look at and informational. The pictures on the page are not meaningless, and everything looks neat and orderly. The color scheme on the page is simple the colors compliment each other. Most importantly, it is not distracting.

There are a few peripherals and non-computer audio-visual technologies that I will definitely plan to incorporate into my classroom. I like that things such as printers and scanners are available to teachers. Obviously these are things that I will use on a daily basis in order to make things easier for my students. If I create a worksheet that I want my students to complete, having something such as a printer or coppier will make it so much easier for me to get it to them in a timely fashion. Also I would like to educate my students on the many helpful ways that a zip drive can be used. They are so simple and compact now that many people even carry them on their key chain. It is a good way for students to store work that they did at school and work on it at home. In case something happens with the computer and their work is lost, they can have a back up version on their zip drive instead of having to do it all over again. This also minimizes copying. Students can delete the project from the computer once they are finished for the day so that no one else can come in and read it. This is just an example of one non-computer technology that I plan to use in my classroom. One other that I am interested in is the overhead. This is a way to show things that are printed on paper for everyone to see. Many different documents and objects (such as a newspaper or page from the textbook) can be enlarged for the entire class to see them. All of these can be used in conjunction with computer- based technology in order to make the classroom run more effectively.

This past week I learned so much about powerpoint! Powerpoint will no doubt be something that will be useful in my educational career no matter what grade or subject I teach. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that powerpoint could be used in so many fun and innovative ways. I love that you can create a game with powerpoint. I also like that you can present material that you feel is important for the entire class to see. As an educator, I learned this week just how important powerpoint can be. I plan to teach my students how to use it, so when they do things such as a presentation, they have the option of using Powerpoint. I also learned this week the basics of Excel. Excel is one program on a computer that I know obsolutely NOTHING about. It's going to take me a little longer to get used to doing things on this program, but I definitely think that it will be worth my time. I know that once I figure out Excel, there will be just as much if not more thing that I can do to make my classroom a more efficient learning environment.

Post #7

There are many advantages and disadvantages of using presentation software in the classroom. Personally I feel as though there are more advantages than disadvantages, and that the good outweighs the bad. Some advantages of using presentation software in a K-12 class are that it enhances learning, and gives students a visual while the teacher talks. I think that it is true of all ages that it is hard to keep the undivided attention of students, and I believe that something such as a powerpoint is extremely helpful in giving the students something to look at besides their textbook. Another advantage of using presentation software is that it can be an organized way for teachers to sort out the main points that they want the class to take from their lesson. Sometimes it's easier for students to take notes when they have some sort of outline to help them organize their thoughts. Although I think that presentation software is great, I also feel as though there are some disadvantages that must not be overlooked. Students can sometimes be distracted by the slides or presentation and not catch the entire lesson. Teachers must be extremely careful when deciding what to put on their slides because things such as animation or colorful text can be distracting for the students. Another disadvantage is that students don't get to be necessarily interactive which is very important. The teacher has complete control over the presentation software. Although this is an advantage, I think that it is something that can be fixed. Teachers can let students give presentations and teach them how to use the presentation software so that they can be interactive in the lessons. It's all up to the teacher as to ways that presentation software is used in their individual classroom, but there are plenty of opportunities open for the teacher to use it in their classroom!

I plan to use powerpoint all of the time to aid student learning! I want to first teach my students how to use powerpoint because I think that is very important. Once they have an idea of how to use it, I can assign projects for them to do that involve the use of Power Point. Say for example I was teaching a business class in high school. I might assign them a project that requires them to research a type of business and report on it to the class. They can use powerpoints for things such as pictures of the business type and interesting facts that they found during their research. This engages the other students in the project and also lets students practice using technology. Powerpoint is a way that students can sort their ideas and give them a reference to go by when giving their presentation. This is my idea of a lesson that can be devised where I get to teach the students how to use powerpoint, then get to see how they apply it in an everyday situation such as a project.

One issue of educational technology that really interests me is one that is fairly new. I think that it is so weird that students now can go to school completely over the internet. This new phenomenon is called "virtual school" and I think that it's rediculous. Anyone who has been to school knows that it's just as important to get the socialization as it is to get the actual education. If you go to school over the internet your entire life, then you're missing out on so much more. What about school sports, homecoming, football games, learning to work together, and learning how to adapt to conflict? All of these are extremely important in developing as a person and I think that if you choose to go to this new "virtual school" you are truely missing out. I'm all about technology and using it in the school system, but this is taking it too far. It's teaching kids that they don't need teachers and they don't need friends to make it through school. From my experience, this is completely untrue. Starting at the age of kindergarten a student can now go to school full time ONLINE! What's next? Are we going to just do everything over the computer? Click here to see what you think.