Post #10

While looking through my classmates' blogs, I found their ideas for technology assignments very interesting. Rather than just using my own ideas, it was nice to be able to consider others' ideas for class assignments. I also found it interesting how much we've all learned from the first blog. I definitely think every person in the class learned at least one new and wonderful thing this semester, and I believe we will all be better teachers because of it.

Next, I would like to learn about picture editing. I always wish I had photoshop and would love to use it to edit photographs for various personal and professional reasons. I think learning how to professionally edit photos would be both fun and interesting.

I really would like to become an extremely technologically savvy teacher in the future because I feel that knowing about different technologies will help me in many ways. Technology is invented to make our lives easier, but we can't use it if we don't know how. I think that learning about as much technology as possible will help to keep me organized and make me a better educator.

Post #9

I think that Facebook could actually be used as a terrific tool for teachers. A teacher could create a facebook and ask the parents to do the same. Then, the teacher could have all of her students' parents as friends. This would be an easy and convenient way to share information, photos, assignments, etc.

While I think Facebook would be a great idea for teachers, I feel there should be a difference between a professional facebook or website and a private facebook or website. While teachers love their students and teachers' lives are largely based on students, it is still important that teachers be allowed to have a private life separate from their school.

I think Excel is a terrific way for teachers to manage students' grades. If I were to assign a fifth grade class three math homeworks and a test, I could keep track of their grades in Excel, and use formulas to calculate the class average total and on individual assignments. This would help me to know if my assignments were good for the students or not.

Teachers can also use Excel to keep track of their classroom spending. Excel is a terrific way to manage money for business professionals as well as individuals.

For my final project, my group members and I are using our grant money to purchase iPods for a twelfth grade student body and also purchasing materials to be used with the iPods. So far, everyone has been doing a great job and we haven't run into any problems!

Post #8

I feel my Power Point 2 assignment was very good. I really enjoyed the assignment and I feel it shows in my work. I think I followed all of the guidelines, the content was all closely related, navigation was easy, my grammar and spelling were good and my screen designs were interesting.

I know most teachers make use of projectors and projector screens as well as DVD players in showing movies. Also, having students use cameras, scanners, and zip drives to do a project is a creative way to get students thinking. Using these photos and editing them for an educational purpose would also integrate the computer into the assignment.

I think learning how to create the connection links in power point is incredibly useful, especially in the case of making a game for students. Power point in general is a very useful tool for educators and learning about how to use it has helped me a great deal.

Post #7

I feel that using presentation software in Elementary Classrooms definitely has both positives and negatives. On the positive side, presentation software provides a method of demonstrating lessons to younger children who often learn better when they have a tangible example to go off of. A negative might be younger children's inability to maintain attention for long periods of time, making it hard for them to pay attention to a power point presentation.

Teaching students about an assignment they have using a power point presentation can be effective at any age level. Because the assignment will vary depending upon the grade level, the presentation will vary in length and vocabulary. Power point could easily be used to teach a second grade classroom about an assignment on different kinds of animals or to teach a twelfth grade class about a research paper they've been assigned.

I'm curious to know more about schools that use iPods as a method of learning. I've seen theam at some of the schools I've worked in, and they ususally have lessons on them, however I don't feel that they're so effective that we should use thousands of tax dollars on them.

Post # 6

I think that using web 2.0 technologies in the classroom is incredibly important, especially in our technological world. When using these technologies in the earlier grades, I think it is important to modify the topic of the assignment, however to teach them the basic skills in the programs early on. The earlier kids start to learn about technology, the better equipped they'll be for life later on.

I feel that wikipedia has the potential to be an incredible source for information, however it can also be extremely dangerous to use. If the student isn't careful, they can obtain totally false information and jeopardize their academics.

In the past week, I've found learning about power point incredible. I absolutely love the program, and I always have, however I'm enjoying learning more about it. This is one of the programs I know I couldn't do without! I feel that power point is an amazing resource for presentations, but only when used properly.

Post 5

I feel that the internet is a wonderful tool for student research, but only when used carefully. While there is wonderful information that can be accessed quickly, there is also information that can be dangerous or inaccurate. Also, sometimes using the internet can make plagiarism easier because the information is so readily available.

I think that other online tools, such as homework help sights and blogs, are also extremely useful internet resources. By creating sights on certain homework topics, students can access information they might have forgotten or might not have understood very well in class. This also presents alternative teaching methods to the same material, which may help students understand better. Blogs are a great way for teachers to stay connected. We can help each other by giving ideas on certain material, as well as offering advice on specific situations.

As an elementary school teacher, I know that allowing my students to use the internet will prove to be challenging. There is a lot of harmful information online, especially to younger children who are more impressionable. Having a large class, keeping up with each student's internet use will be difficult. While I understand the difficulties in using the internet with young students, I feel that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Post 4

I think that the concepts presented in Chapter 7 will be very useful to me as a teacher. I find that making outlines or organizational maps helps keep me organized, as well as focused. I could use outlines to keep track of the material I need to cover, as well as to jot down information about students regarding their performance in class. Organizational maps are a great way to present information to students because it helps to see the connection rather than just hear about it. Some students are more visual learners than they are auditory learners, and a concept map would definitely help them. I definitely feel that programs such as inspiration are wonderful educational resources because they make creating concept maps easy. Also, Microsoft Word's outline tools make creating outlines easy and help to keep the information uniform.

I would absolutely encourage my students to use outlines and concept maps as tools for learning. Creating outlines is a terrific way to take organized notes as well as to keep knowledge organized. Also, concept maps help to create connections on paper so that understanding them can be easier. While I feel that all students can benefit from knowing how to use these methods of organizing material, I also know that some will benefit more from other things.

I feel that with the last assignment, I gained a lot of knowledge on using Inspiration. I had never used this program before, so getting to know it was terrific and will definitely benefit me as a teacher.

Post #3

As an Elementary School teacher, I might be responsible to teach kindergarten students their abc's. As a part of my lesson plan teaching this, I could make great use of Microsoft Power Point. Using a projector, I could project the powerpoint onto the whiteboard and ask students to identify letters as the come up. I could give each letter its own slide, and include both the capitol and lowercase version of the letter, along with clipart/pictures starting with the letter and have students identify the image. For example, I could have the first slide be for the letter A. I would show both the uppercase (A) and lowercase (a) along with a picture of an apple and an apron.

At http://www.algebra.com/, students can recieve help with their algebra homework, as well as view lessons on specific topics. While this website is helpful to students, it could be more effective. The headings and captions on the page are confusing- they are nearly the same size as the rest of the text and are also the same font and color. There are virtually no graphics, only words and numbers, so the page looks overwhelming at first. Also, the justifications of the text (both at the top and the left of the page) are confusing. While the page is limited in type styles and colors, it is very boring by not varying type or color at all. This page has very few superfluous items. I also feel that the titles of the sections are not targeted at students struggling in Algebra, they should be more descriptive.

As a teacher, I would make sure to include outside sources in my class to show validity as well as varying opinions and ways of teaching. While using other resources is a good thing, teachers must make sure not to violate copyright or fair use guidelines. All of my teachers thus far seem to have used outside sources in a fair and legitimate way and have educated students on avoiding plagerism. I feel that educating students on how to use other sources fairly is very important as most schools have a zero tolerance policy on plagerism.

Post #2

As a student, I have relied on MS Word many times. I use it to complete most general assignments for my classes, and always have. I have seen my teachers use MS word to create handouts for class, to post announcements around the room, to create fliers, etc. MS word has, so far, been the most useful of all the MS products.

As a teacher, I would use MS Word to teach students how to properly write papers, create fliers, etc. I would also use it to create my own documents to give to students, as well as create tests and other assignments. Another use for MS Word is making lists; I would use MS word to keep track of my tasks.

I have found the newsletter assignment very educational. Prior to the assignment, I did not know how to make columns or use the mailings feature, which is incredibly useful, particularly for a teacher. I feel that knowing how to efficiently use MS word will definitely make my job easier and keep me organized and looking professional.

Post #1

I believe that computers are a very important part of the learning process because it enables both teachers and students to use a multitude of resources. Teachers can use educational games, articles, and other technological resources in the classroom to enhance the learning experience. Also, computers help ensure that teachers have up to date information to give to their students. While technology can serve as a distraction to some, for most, it increases the chances of information retention. As a teacher, I plan to use the computer to have students organize their work, do research, and bring in outside ideas into the classroom. While I feel I know how to use the computer and most of its applications, I am hoping this class will show me new ways of using technology inside the classroom as an educational aide.

Introduction

My name is Kathryn, and this is my first year at FSU but currently I'm a sophomore. I am an Elementary Education major and worked last semester with the Youth Mentoring Program here at FSU.

I lived in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia for most of my life, but moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida during my junior year of high school.

I love to shop (although my budget doesn't allow for much of it) and I also love to read, watch movies, go to the beach, and travel.

I'm looking forward to working with everyone this semester!