Final Post

This course has really helped me in numerous ways to open up using technology in the classroom.  I have learned a lot about different programs and organizational tools to use when planning activities for my students.  I think that using concept maps as a way of brain storming is a great way to tie the kids into using technology in the classroom, I would use it as a group project on a research paper of some sort where each child would have to complete one part to make one whole project.  I also really like using Movie Maker, I think it would be great to use to create slideshows for open house or holiday classroom parties.  Google docs is also something that I was unfamiliar with coming into this classroom, now me and my peers use them religiously!   They are such great ways to communicate with each other via the web.  I do plan to utilize each and every program that I have been introduced to in my future teaching career.

My strong point coming into this class would have to be that I am familiar with computers, my weak being I had no idea about any of these software programs so direct instruction was a must!  I did learn a lot though, a lot more that I thought I had already knew.  Another strong point I think that I had was that even though I was unfamiliar with the programs being introduced I caught on quite quickly.  Another weak area, as I think it is for most students, is procrastination.  I do plan on working on my procrastination skills by setting personal due dates versus the original due dates.  By doing this I hope to not be doing five hundred assignments at one time, if you know what I mean.

Integrating technology in the classroom is a must today, everything revolves around technology.  I plan to utilize this by introducing to the students some of the organizational note taking skills that I have learned throughout this course.  I think it would be great “bonus points” for students to turn in a concept map of the topic of test, kind of like a personal study guide.  I also plan to have the children use google docs in research projects, with the monitor of a parent of course.  I look forward to becoming a future educator and being the best that I can be!

Assistive Technology

Our next assignment that we completed in class was on assistive technology devices that we can use in the classroom.  There are a variety of things like magnification and on screen keyboard that is great for students to use.  We actually created a Powerpoint of screen shots of us using these assistive devices.  Having a hands-on experience using these can give us a better one on one experience to better serve our children when they have questions. 

Learning disabilities do not go away with time. However, assistive technology can help children with learning disabilities leverage their strengths and work around or compensate for specific learning problems. These supports can be key to helping users become more independent in school and throughout life and on the job and in activities for daily living.

To tie this in with common core and the NETS-S is easy with objectives by using technology.  Technology in the classroom is very important for children to learn and applying objectives like writing a story and comprehending it, instead we can type it with the onscreen keyboard that Microsoft offers.

Web Page

This week assignments we made a webpage! How exciting! Making this webpage really has prepared us for using them for our own school that we will be teaching at in the future.  Every school, or school district, should have a web page with teacher web pages within that educators update weekly.  These pages include things like information about the teacher, weekly schedules, and even homework procedures.  This is a quick way for you to get to know your child's teacher on more of a personal level.  It is also a quick and easy way to access from anywhere to check for upcoming events and lessons in the near future, or for that week.  A teacher may also have additional worksheets posted if you feel your child needs more help on that particular subject.  I have created my own personal "test" webpage for you guys to visit!

In my own future classroom I do plan on updating my webpage weekly.  I will post things like what we will be doing that week and extra websites that will help the child if they are having trouble.  Another thing that you can find on my website will be a short biography about myself.  Also, I think  it would be a great idea to post pictures, with permission, of students in action so that their parents can get a more personal experience in the classroom from home!

This is a great way to tie into the NETS-S standards by using technology in the classroom.

Click here to go to my web page!

Google Functions

Google is a powerful tool for students, teachers, as well as any one else.  It has so much to offer, for free!  For this particular assignment we were required to create a document inside of google docs and share it with our assigned group members.  When we "share" this via web with our other group members through google docs they are able to view and edit the word document.  We were required to each write a paragraph about one topic.  So we all took turns editing and adding on to the story.  Google docs can also be used for other resources.  It is very helpful and useful for group projects, this is something that you can use in the classroom to enhance technology in the general education classroom.

We were also required to create a presentation inside of Google.  This is similar to powerpoint in Microsoft office, but free!  It is compatible with programs so it can open anywhere.  Another great feature that I really like about using Google is that you have access to your documents anywhere on any computer that connects to wifi.  How convenient is this, not having to worry about holding onto a flash drive or hauling your lap top around.

Using Google in the classroom is something as a future educator I will be using.  I think that using the Google Docs feature and having them share in a group as maybe a research project would be beneficial.  It allows for all group members to do their portion of the activity and easy for each group member to monitor.  Using technology in the classroom is important in today's society because everything revolves around it and I think that it is important for student's to be familiar with all sources and features available to use.

 

Movie Maker

Our most recent assignment in class was to create a movie using Movie Maker.  I thought this was very exciting to create!  We each got to pick out our own topic of interest.  I chose my dog; I love my dog like a child, for he is my child.  I used pictures from when he was younger to present day.  In my movie I incorporated music and used a voice over feature for narration.

I feel like these would be useful in the classroom for when parents came to visit, like open house.  You could take pictures of the students, of course with parents’ consent, throughout the first weeks of school and display them as a movie to replay while parents are present.  Or you could create a themed movie for classroom parties.  Another educational way you could use Movie Maker would be you could video yourself reading a book and acting it out with lots of props.  This would be very exciting for the younger children during story time.  Also, like us students in this class, you could have your students create a movie on a given topic as a PBL assignment.  I look forward to using this program and feature in my own classroom.

To tie this in with NETS-S you would be designing and developing learning experiences through technology.

Web Tools

Our most recent assignment on web tools was very informational on becoming a future educator.  I learned about a lot of resources I can use when teaching different lessons.  As a student now, I already use quizlet to help me study for test and different lessons and what not.  Being able to pass that onto my students is something I will do.  It is very informational and useful to have to create a “set” into quizlet.  We also experienced with different websites that are available for teachers to use for different lessons.  There were many different activity sheets on literally every topic you can think of.  I found it very informational and something that I do see myself using as a future teacher.  We also created a crossword puzzle which I think are so fun!  I really think my students will enjoy doing these weekly maybe even using them as a vocabulary test, making it more fun and less stressful as the thought of it being a test.  I also think it would be great to have the students create these themselves to maybe go along with a book we are reading in the class.

Tying this in with the NETS-T would be very easy.  Exposing the children to quizlet and the crossword puzzle creation on the computer would definitely be educational to the student.

Turn It In

Our latest assignment in IT365 was a “turn-it-in” assignment.  Turn-it-in is a website that allows the checking of plagiarism, it also gives you the percentage of your paper they believed to be plagiarized.  The program does this by scanning the internet for any similarities in your paper and similar posts throughout the web.  Turn-it-in will highlight those parts of the paper that they believed to be plagiarized allowing time for the students to go back and “reword” the plagiarized portions of their paper.

Turn-it-in ties into the NETS-T by forcing students to do their own work and not copy someone else information on an opinion off of the internet.  By doing so, this encourages creativity and self-inflicted learning upon the student by writing their own ideas about the topic.

As a future educator I do see myself using the turn-it-in program.  Like mentioned above I believe that this creates creativity for the student and I feel like they learn more about the topic.  Personally reflecting on the turn-it-in program as a student it helps for me to research the topic a little more than just “changing the words”.  It forces you to learn more about the topic to form your own opinion.

 Check it out!