TWT5700 Teaching With Technology Blog

It is over.....

2008-12-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to believe that this class has already come to an end. I feel as though I have come so far, and learned so much, but still have a huge mountain of learning to climb. When I began this class, I was completely overwhelmed, and had minimal experience with technology and Web 2.0 tools. Although I found many of the assignments exasperating, I must admit that I learned SO much! I am grateful for all the thoughtful questions comments and suggestions from my group members, and also from my classmates. This class was truly a collaboration of ideas.
I can not believe how far I have come. I am truly a more confident, technologically savvy person than I was when I began this course. I am amazed at what I have accomplished, and grateful to have had the opportunity to do so. Thanks to Dr. Smirnova also for all the encouragement. I would not have been able to experience a class of this caliber without her insight and sharing of knowledge.

Steps to Independence

2008-12-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

2008-12-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I gave my final ICP presentation to the class this evening. At the start of this class, I would never have believed could have accomplished this. I am amazed at how far I have come! I completed a slide presentation in PowerPoint. I added interactivity, and lots of bells and whistles to the presentation. I created a webquest and a quiz, and was able to have the viewers interact with my presentation! I was somewhat disappointed, that due to time constraints, I was not able to spend much time with the class on the webquest and the quiz. I was also able to upload my presentation to Slideboom, and use the Elluminate tools to present to the class. I am very excited that I was able to accomplish these tasks!

I began this class with almost no knowledge of technology and its use in the classroom. I am ending this class with a huge addition of knowledge that will be most useful when I am teaching in my own classroom. I know that the information gained here is invaluable, and I will continue to educate myself and stay abreast of new advancements in technology, so that I can keep in time with my students.

6 c's of motivation quiz

2008-11-30T08:18:00.001-08:00

the_6_c's_of_motivation

Our Class is coming to an end....:(

2008-11-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

I came to the realization that our class will be ending in just a few short weeks. I have learned so much, but also realize that there is so much more for me to learn and experience. Our class meeting tonight was very inspiring. Through our discussion we dared to look into the not so distant future, and imagine education and what it might be. School buildings not necessary? Maybe....Teachers dispensable? NO! No matter how well technology is integrated into our educational systems, there will always be the need for a teacher. Web 2.0 has fast connection, and rapid data transfer making many more things possible. It is about companies providing platforms for users to input data, no longer companies providing content. It is about users working together to create content. Web 2.0 provides endless possibilities for professional connections and development. It is an awesome tool.

My Classroom Newsletter

2008-11-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

Communication is vitally important in any classroom! Communication between teachers and parents enables collaboration as a team in the education of students. Communication between colleagues as well, enables personal and professional development, and effective collaboration for the benefit of all students. I used Microsoft Publisher to create a newsletter to communicate with the parents of my students. Microsoft Publisher was very user friendly, and I was able to create a newsletter quite easily! This is certainly one way I would chose to communicate with the parents of my students. Another way I would communicate with the parents would be through the use of a website. I would post all important information, class and lunch schedules, homework assignments, and copies of homework worksheets. Although I would love to be able to post student grades and progress, I need to complete some more research to figure out the best way to communicate this sensitive information.

If I were to create another class newsletter, I would add some interesting facts, and maybe some sort of class contest. It might be interesting to ask some kind of trivia question, and have the students entered in a drawing of some kind if they answered correctly. Maybe they could win a homework pass. This might make the students remind their parents to read the newsletter.

Engrade is Excellent!

2008-11-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

I am not currently teaching in a classroom, but I created an imaginary class, and experimented with the Engrade program. I was excited about how easy the program was to navigate, and understand. I was also impressed by the organization that this software could provide for a teacher. Another great feature of the software is that parents and students can sign up to view their child's grades, and keep themselves abreast of their child's progress at their convenience. Teachers can also view a report to ascertain which parents are subscribing to the software, and are able to monitor their child's schoolwork.
The attendance report seemed like a great way to quickly search for students who may need extra attention due to excessive absences. The calendar was a great way to keep homework, quizzes, assignments and test grades organized, and viewable at a glance. The fact that a teacher could export her information into an Excel spreadsheet also makes the software flexible, and allows the teacher to manipulate, and connect the information in any way that he/she wishes. The ability to send messages, and post messages on the site helps the teacher to be able to communicate with parents in another way.
Although I found that it was beneficial to have the attendance report, I did find the data entry to be tedious. One possibility is for all students to automatically be given a P for present, and the teacher would only have to change the P to an E or U if necessary. This would cut down on the data entry, and save some time for the teachers. I also would have liked a place to put comments and or notes with the grades. Sometimes, the grade (number) needs some explanation, and this program does not provide any space for notes the teacher might input for her own use, or notes the teacher might add for the parents or students benefit. If this is available in the software, I was unable to find it. Lastly, I found myself wishing that there was some way to connect the attendance information to the assignment and grading information. It would definitely be beneficial to see if a student was missing an assignment, test or quiz due to absence or just because they failed to hand it in.
Overall, I felt this program would save a great deal of time, and would certainly help keep a teacher organized. I thought it would be a very useful tool.

Photostory 3, Help!

2008-10-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

I just completed my assignment for this week. I made a digital story about Pedro de Salcedo and his journal of his voyage on Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria. This was a very difficult assignment for me. I could not find many good pictures to use in my story, and I was not ahppy with the way it turned out. I am hoping that I will be able to talk to my fellow classmates and possibly get some insights as to how they gathered photos and picture images for their digital stories.

Problem, Inquiry, Project based learning

2008-10-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

We had a very enriching discussion on these 3 types of learning styles, and described in detail the differences in each style. The idea that I take with me from the discussion, is that each style has it's own characteristics, but there is no one correct method to use. Each method has characteristics that would work better or worse in any specific subject area. As an educator, I will try to use each method where it is most appropriate, and will provide the most opportunity for learning. I will try not to get "stuck" using only one method because it is easier than the others.

Excel and creating crossword puzzles

2008-10-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

In this assignment, I realized how simple it is to create a crossword puzzle for my students using Microsoft Excel. I also became aware of what an excellent learning tool this could be to teach my students not only the informtion from the lesson we were studying, but also the basics of using Microsoft Excel. I absolutely feel that an assignment such as this one would be beneficial for both subject areas. I found myself creating the crossword puzzle with ease, and I have very limited computer knowledge.
I was even more astounded at how much easier it was to use an online crossword puzzle maker to create a crossword puzzle. It took only as much time as it would require to type in your learning materials, and at the click of one button, you could have a crossword puzzle made for you in seconds. It was amazing. This is such a neat way to get your students to learn information in a fun way that is not boring to them, and save prep time for the teacher. As I mentioned, the crossword puzzle itself took no time at all to create.

Wiz IQ Facilitator

2008-10-06T13:29:00.001-07:00

I volunteered to be the facilitator of our group meeting this week. I was able to figure out how to accomplish sending invitations, set the meeting lenght, and send the link for the recordings of the minutes! Surprisingly, it was painless! My group had a great discussion about our PPT presentation on constructivism. We assigned tasks, and

Reflection on Evaluating Websites

2008-09-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Web Reflection

I found the web evaluation exercise to be extremely insightful. It is not easy to discern when a website is trustworthy and the information contained in it accurate. Until this exercise, I was depending mostly on whether the website was created by a reputable company, one that I had heard of previously. I am certain, that this eliminated many websites that could have been beneficial to me. Having the awareness of what other criteria can and should be used to evaluate a website will be very valuable to me. I will be able to use this information to determine whether a website is one that I can use in my classroom. Most importantly, I have learned that even if a website does not meet all the criteria listed in the critical evaluation, this does not make it untrustworthy. I am looking forward to adding many more websites to my classroom repertoire, and well as my personal development library of resources.

Literacy

2008-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

This week I learned how to use literacy to teach kids to discover, search for, organize, verify and present information. The knowledge I have gained through The presentation from Mrs. Cassidy will help me to make my classroom interactive, not only for the students but for the parents as well. Displaying children's work, and keeping parents intouch with the classroom certainly would increase communication, and inspire children to learn, and parents to be more involved.

A Very Busy Week!

2008-09-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

This week proved to be a trying one....Our group was responsible for presenting Chapter 8 this week, and there was a ton of work to do! I quickly began working on 2 major themes for our presentation. It was a long tedious process, trying to set up the information in slide format using the 6x6 rule, and not missing any important information! It took about 15 hours, but I managed to get all the info to our Powerpoint contact earlier than expected!
Our presentation was going well, and then, in the middle of my presenting information, my computer froze, and I lost my connection with the class!! I was very upset! How could this happen? I did manage to contact another group member, and listen to the rest of the presentation via her speaker phone, and I was able to get back into the session to finish up the class. I was so disappointed that I had not been able to finish my presentation.

Our PPT Presentation

2008-09-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

Since our group is group one, we are presenting our PPT during our class meeting tonight. We had a few really great group meetings and I am excited about our presentation! We worked together as a group and I think we have an awesome sllide presentation! It was alot of work, and we all spent crazy amounts of time on it, but I think it will be worth all of our efforts. I have learned so much from my group members. Thanks group one!

I can't figure out Wiki!

2008-09-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Although I was able to set up my Wiki, and I understand the purpose of a Wiki, I am having trouble. I will need to do a little more exploration, and hopefully, I will be able to get a handle on it!

WizIq????

2008-09-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

We had our first class meeting, and I was very nervous about the webcam, and being able to hear everyone and participate in our group meeting. There were some issues with the sound, very loud echos and some interference, but for the most part, I was excited with the meeting. I could not believe that I was able to see and hear my group members, and have a discussion. It was awesome! I was starting to feel like I actually was getting a handle on all this information.....

My Educational Philosophy

2008-09-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

After completing the student survey about my educational philosophy, I was surprised to find that my philosophy most closely resembles that of a Humanist. I do believe that each individual is responsible for their learning. If a student is unwilling to learn for any reason, they will not learn in any meaningful way. On the other hand if a student is willing to learn, they will learn to their ability, if the material is presented in a way that will facilitate learning. I do not, however, reject the group learning system. I have come to see that there are many benefits from interacting with others in the classroom setting. There is much benefit to be gained from peers, and to ignore this fact is to inhibit learning.

So Much Information, So Many Tools

2008-09-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

I am learning about tools that can be used both in the classroom, and for personal development. I learned how a Wiki can help a group to coordinate and organize information in a much more efficient manner than is possible by using e-mail.

I am becoming increasingly aware that technology is a necessity in the classroom. As an educator, it is my responsibility to begin making global connections, so that I can give my students the ability to make global connections. This will change their learning environment, aand make their school environment as exciting as their out of school environment. It will also open the door to much more enriching learning experiences, and better prepare these students to live in society and be productive.

I am still exploring how technology will help our group to communicate and work together to organize our meetings and material. I am very hopeful that the methods that we choose will be both enlightening and beneficial to our studies.

Help!

2008-09-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed after my first class meeting. Teaching with Technology should prove to be a class where there is much to be learned. I am making good progress, however. I have successfully set up accounts in Skype, Gmail, Freewebs, PBwiki, and Blogger.com. I have become familiar with the basics of these programs, and am starting to gain some confidence about using these tools. They are amazing!

My most memorable moment in the first week was creating my website. I was so fascinated with Freewebs, that I really spent some time playing and creating and tweeking this website. I have much more to do, but I am pleased with how much I have learned so far.

There is so much great, insightful information to read and learn from. I especially enjoyed the tutorial explaining what Web 2.0 is. It is a way to make writing and publishing information easier. Using the internet in various ways, as we will in this class to create learning spaces. These spaces will help us to build networks, and connect with others, not only locally, but internationally. The power to learn in this capacity is infinite.

2008-09-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

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