Thursday, May 3, 2007
Blog #15
Education 422 has been a very valuable class for me. When I first walked into this classroom, I could hardly do anything using technology. I have learned a tremendous amount of things I never knew before. I first would like to say that the video project has been the most fun to do! There are so many things that we learned that I will look forward to using in my classroom. I think the filamentality project would be a lot of fun for the students to do. As a teacher, it is so important to make things fun for the students. Inspiration was really challenging, but I think it is a great way for students to organize their thoughts before beginning a big project. I can definitely see grades fourth on up using this program. I had never worked with excel or databases before, however, I am the type of person who likes to keep things organized, so, I can see myself using these programs to keep data for my students. Powerpoint and rubrics (Need I say more….). Both of these things are very valuable tools for teachers. Powerpoint is a great way to add a visual perspective to any lesson plan. Rubrics are necessary for grading purposes. Okay…Blogs. I’m not making a promise, but, I will probably not be using Blogs in my classroom. For one thing, they are very time consuming, and not everybody has a computer at home! That’s enough about that. I can’t think of anything about this class that needs improvement. I learned so much and I have Erika to thank for that. Erika was a great professor. I liked the way she explained everything in class before we actually had to do it. Anyway, I wish all of you the best of luck in your teaching careers. I’m sure all of you will be wonderful teachers! Yes—No More Blogs!!!
Blog #14
This project has been a lot of fun. It was really great to be able to work together as a team to create such a fun and educational lesson. I thought the planning of the lesson went really smoothly as ideas just poured out of us. The actual filming went pretty well. I can definitely say that I will never become an actor. It was hard to not feel silly while trying to remember my very short line. In the end, the most time consuming part of this project was the editing. I felt lucky to have a couple of people in my group that have edited movies before. The most difficult part of editing is getting the video to line up correctly with all of the transitions, music, and so on. However, in the end, I felt that our project turned out pretty awesome. As far as using this type of project in the classroom, I feel that students could gain a lot of knowledge about not only the subject they are working with, but also about technology itself. The more hands-on the assignment is, the more knowledge the students can gain. After this project was completed, I also started to think about how fun it would be to make a movie to show parents at open house what their children had been doing all year.
The article, Splicing Video into the Writing Process, correlates with the video project we did in this class. The article talks about the importance of preproduction and prewriting, which includes gathering information, concept mapping, consensus building, scripting, brainstorming, researching, and storyboarding. This is an important first step because it is the step that organizes the entire story that will be told. The next step to video production is production. This step includes planning, rehearsing, and filming. This step is important because this is the part the audience will see. It is very important to plan out the entire process, so it can run more smoothly as you begin to film. The third step to video production is postproduction. The postproduction portion covers rough digital editing, class feedback, more editing, adding additional audio, visuals, still, graphics, and publishing. Once postproduction is complete it is time to show your audience. The end of the article has an area called reflection in which teachers state how well video projects work in the classroom. The teachers stated how much the students like to work on a project like this and how beneficial it is to do in a classroom.
The article, Splicing Video into the Writing Process, correlates with the video project we did in this class. The article talks about the importance of preproduction and prewriting, which includes gathering information, concept mapping, consensus building, scripting, brainstorming, researching, and storyboarding. This is an important first step because it is the step that organizes the entire story that will be told. The next step to video production is production. This step includes planning, rehearsing, and filming. This step is important because this is the part the audience will see. It is very important to plan out the entire process, so it can run more smoothly as you begin to film. The third step to video production is postproduction. The postproduction portion covers rough digital editing, class feedback, more editing, adding additional audio, visuals, still, graphics, and publishing. Once postproduction is complete it is time to show your audience. The end of the article has an area called reflection in which teachers state how well video projects work in the classroom. The teachers stated how much the students like to work on a project like this and how beneficial it is to do in a classroom.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Blog #13
The first article, The World Wide Web: Interfaces, Databases, and Applications to Education gave a good explanation to what all of these terms mean and then gave examples of how this can be used by teachers and students alike. The fact that information that is plugged into one computer can be viewed by many over the internet is amazing. The article states that we are able to do this because of these three components: the database, the interface, and the Web form. The article goes on to explain what these components are use for and why they help teachers in the classroom. Some of the things that can be done in database form are: handling assignments on the web, filling out class evaluation forms, doing a web-based calendar, discussion groups, and research tools. All of these things would be valuable for both students and teachers.
The second article, Database: America’s President, is about a teacher, Beth Holmes, who teaches students how to organize information using a database on U.S. presidents. She uses what she calls the “Six C’s” to teach her students about organization of classroom assignments and information. The “Six C’s” are compute, communicate, conclude, confirm, categorize, and classify. These skills involve problem solving, and information management. By using all of these skills Beth Holmes believes students will be able to create a successful database. The example database she used about the U.S. Presidents was a lot like the one we did in class. Basically, she defined her fields and then entered her information. I can definitely see how organizing data into one place can be very beneficial to our students.
The third article, Bells and Whistles: Organizing Data for Whole-Class Use, was about how databases can be used by students in the classroom. Every subject imaginable can be used in a database system, including math, history, science, etc. The article includes information on why databases are useful, how to organize data in a database, and how to create and use databases in the classroom. Databases are a useful tool because they require students to use critical-thinking skills, such as categorizing, comparing, and contrasting. Organizing data in a database is quite easy because the student can easily define a field as text, number, date, or time. Fields can be defined as a popup menu, a value list, or a check box. Basically, by assigning a field with one of these options, the students will be able to have a multiple-choice type option to choose from. Creating and using databases in the classroom helps students learn how to organize their data in a much more efficient way. If students follow all of these guidelines, they will have creating an effective database.
The use of databases in education can be a valuable tool for teachers. I, for one, never thought of entering student information into a database system. I guess I’m kind of old school as far as grade keeping. The only thing teachers had “back then” was the good ole’ grade book. After completing the database assignment in class, I realized how beneficial something like this would be to use in the classroom. If definitely seems a lot easier for many reasons. First of all, when it comes to keeping track of student information, it seems a lot less time consuming to be able to click a couple of buttons on a computer over sifting through tons of scattered paper work. Also, looking for specific information about students as a whole seems to be a lot easier if all of the information is in one database. The assignment we did in class was a great example of how easy it was to find specific information about our students. I also liked how easy it was to create the fields. Databases could also be geared toward student use. I liked how we could use symbols to represent the students. I think our students would have fun making their own database of information. The only thing that scares me about using an electronic database is when things go wrong with computers. One way to make sure you don’t lose all of your information is to continuously save things to a flash drive, for example.
The second article, Database: America’s President, is about a teacher, Beth Holmes, who teaches students how to organize information using a database on U.S. presidents. She uses what she calls the “Six C’s” to teach her students about organization of classroom assignments and information. The “Six C’s” are compute, communicate, conclude, confirm, categorize, and classify. These skills involve problem solving, and information management. By using all of these skills Beth Holmes believes students will be able to create a successful database. The example database she used about the U.S. Presidents was a lot like the one we did in class. Basically, she defined her fields and then entered her information. I can definitely see how organizing data into one place can be very beneficial to our students.
The third article, Bells and Whistles: Organizing Data for Whole-Class Use, was about how databases can be used by students in the classroom. Every subject imaginable can be used in a database system, including math, history, science, etc. The article includes information on why databases are useful, how to organize data in a database, and how to create and use databases in the classroom. Databases are a useful tool because they require students to use critical-thinking skills, such as categorizing, comparing, and contrasting. Organizing data in a database is quite easy because the student can easily define a field as text, number, date, or time. Fields can be defined as a popup menu, a value list, or a check box. Basically, by assigning a field with one of these options, the students will be able to have a multiple-choice type option to choose from. Creating and using databases in the classroom helps students learn how to organize their data in a much more efficient way. If students follow all of these guidelines, they will have creating an effective database.
The use of databases in education can be a valuable tool for teachers. I, for one, never thought of entering student information into a database system. I guess I’m kind of old school as far as grade keeping. The only thing teachers had “back then” was the good ole’ grade book. After completing the database assignment in class, I realized how beneficial something like this would be to use in the classroom. If definitely seems a lot easier for many reasons. First of all, when it comes to keeping track of student information, it seems a lot less time consuming to be able to click a couple of buttons on a computer over sifting through tons of scattered paper work. Also, looking for specific information about students as a whole seems to be a lot easier if all of the information is in one database. The assignment we did in class was a great example of how easy it was to find specific information about our students. I also liked how easy it was to create the fields. Databases could also be geared toward student use. I liked how we could use symbols to represent the students. I think our students would have fun making their own database of information. The only thing that scares me about using an electronic database is when things go wrong with computers. One way to make sure you don’t lose all of your information is to continuously save things to a flash drive, for example.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Friday, April 6, 2007
Blog #11
Hi Class!
I thought the article about Bridging the Digital Divide was interesting for the fact that it not only placed blame on the access to computers on the teacher, but also on the economic status of the classroom. The article stated that it is most beneficial to have computers in the classroom versus having students go to a computer lab. This idea makes a lot of sense, but unfortunately, many schools do not have the budget to do this as the article point out. The other point I got from the article is that access to monitored technology is also very important. In other words, it’s not only important for students to have access to technology, but it is also important to make sure they have are able to use the computer with guided assistance. Teachers need to be educated with technology, so they can teach their students how to use the technology in the best way possible.
The WIKI assignment we learned how to do this week seems pretty cool. I have to admit, I feel a little confused when trying to manipulate through the site. However, I know with a little bit of practice, I will be able to manipulate through this site in no time. I think the WIKI website is a great website to use when you need to collaborate with others. It is a lot less time consuming to go to one site to offer information about a topic or to use a discussion board for communication. I can see how this website would be useful for teachers. I also like the idea of being able to add links to other valuable websites on this one website.
I thought the article about Bridging the Digital Divide was interesting for the fact that it not only placed blame on the access to computers on the teacher, but also on the economic status of the classroom. The article stated that it is most beneficial to have computers in the classroom versus having students go to a computer lab. This idea makes a lot of sense, but unfortunately, many schools do not have the budget to do this as the article point out. The other point I got from the article is that access to monitored technology is also very important. In other words, it’s not only important for students to have access to technology, but it is also important to make sure they have are able to use the computer with guided assistance. Teachers need to be educated with technology, so they can teach their students how to use the technology in the best way possible.
The WIKI assignment we learned how to do this week seems pretty cool. I have to admit, I feel a little confused when trying to manipulate through the site. However, I know with a little bit of practice, I will be able to manipulate through this site in no time. I think the WIKI website is a great website to use when you need to collaborate with others. It is a lot less time consuming to go to one site to offer information about a topic or to use a discussion board for communication. I can see how this website would be useful for teachers. I also like the idea of being able to add links to other valuable websites on this one website.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Blog #9 The Midterm
Hello Class!
I thought my midterm went pretty well. I was pretty nervous about trying to remember how to do everything on a MAC. Once my nerves settled, I was able to concentrate on what needed to be done. I didn’t think the exam was too hard. But, for the life of me I couldn’t remember all of the extensions. I guess it becomes too easy to just name your document and hit enter without having to include the extension yourself. One of the hardest parts of the exam was trying to remember the command for the screen shot. Some how I was able to push the right thing to take the picture, but, I don’t know if I placed it onto the midterm sheet in the correct way. Oh, well! I tried as hard as I could. The easiest part of the exam was typing in my name-Just Kidding. I thought the easiest section was actually creating the Inspiration. It was nice to have the information presented to us that needed to be included on the midterm rather trying to come up with the assignment on our own. I hope everyone did well!!!
I thought my midterm went pretty well. I was pretty nervous about trying to remember how to do everything on a MAC. Once my nerves settled, I was able to concentrate on what needed to be done. I didn’t think the exam was too hard. But, for the life of me I couldn’t remember all of the extensions. I guess it becomes too easy to just name your document and hit enter without having to include the extension yourself. One of the hardest parts of the exam was trying to remember the command for the screen shot. Some how I was able to push the right thing to take the picture, but, I don’t know if I placed it onto the midterm sheet in the correct way. Oh, well! I tried as hard as I could. The easiest part of the exam was typing in my name-Just Kidding. I thought the easiest section was actually creating the Inspiration. It was nice to have the information presented to us that needed to be included on the midterm rather trying to come up with the assignment on our own. I hope everyone did well!!!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Blog #8
Hi Class!
I thought the readings about webquest were very informative. Webquest is designed to help students use the internet to gain a better understanding and knowledge about a particular subject. The articles focused on how to search the internet to find the absolute best information out there possible. It talked about how to use search engines, what kind of information to look for and what relevance this information has to the students in the classroom. If a student uses webquest, they would be more likely to comprehend the material by using problem-solving and decision-making skills. This is important for students to know how to do because this will help them comprehend the material more effectively. The article also describes the elements of a good web quest which are: an introduction, a task, a process, resources, an evaluation, and a conclusion. If a teacher follows these guidelines they will have created an effective webquest for their students.
I learned a great deal this week. First and foremost, I learned how to create an assignment that would help my students have a better understanding about whatever subject they are learning about. This assignment is based on webquests, called Filamentality. I learned that Filamentality is a great way to structure an assignment for a class and this can be done for students that range from Kindergarten on up. I had never heard of this before, but I can picture using this is my classroom. Kids love using the computer and the internet. Any way I can get my students to open up their minds while having fun, I am more than willing to do. Creating an assignment based on the Filamentality would be a great way to motivate students to want to learn, and the best thing about it is the fact that the type of learning they do when using Filamentality would help them comprehend the material.
I thought the readings about webquest were very informative. Webquest is designed to help students use the internet to gain a better understanding and knowledge about a particular subject. The articles focused on how to search the internet to find the absolute best information out there possible. It talked about how to use search engines, what kind of information to look for and what relevance this information has to the students in the classroom. If a student uses webquest, they would be more likely to comprehend the material by using problem-solving and decision-making skills. This is important for students to know how to do because this will help them comprehend the material more effectively. The article also describes the elements of a good web quest which are: an introduction, a task, a process, resources, an evaluation, and a conclusion. If a teacher follows these guidelines they will have created an effective webquest for their students.
I learned a great deal this week. First and foremost, I learned how to create an assignment that would help my students have a better understanding about whatever subject they are learning about. This assignment is based on webquests, called Filamentality. I learned that Filamentality is a great way to structure an assignment for a class and this can be done for students that range from Kindergarten on up. I had never heard of this before, but I can picture using this is my classroom. Kids love using the computer and the internet. Any way I can get my students to open up their minds while having fun, I am more than willing to do. Creating an assignment based on the Filamentality would be a great way to motivate students to want to learn, and the best thing about it is the fact that the type of learning they do when using Filamentality would help them comprehend the material.
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