Week 8- Teaching and Learning with Technology (chapter 13)

        Some of the different forms of online communication that I have really learnt about this semester are Email (and its many uses), Webquest, and the use of electronic devices such as the PDA. Each of these things provides a different way in which teachers and students, or teachers and parents can communicate. Most of the time when teachers are absent they leave substitute teachers written lesson plans for their students. With the use of a webquest they can now leave the website for the substitute to give the students to have them complete their work with the teacher’s instructions clearly given. All the substitute teacher has to do is monitor that the students are working instead of playing games. Email can used to contact students of assignments which are due soon. Email can also be used between teachers or between teachers and administrators. Email is becoming one of the best ways to contact parents. Many parents email teachers with concerns about their child this is also a way for the teacher to keep parents updated on the child’s progress. The PDA is a small computer. Most of today’s cell phones are PDA’s this allows teachers, parents, and administrators to have access to email and other important programs anytime anywhere.

        My school district has many different computers. We have a couple MAC labs which are secured so that you cannot access the computer without a log on name and password. To insure that the computer doesn’t sit idle to long it as periodically for the user name and password to be reentered. The other computers have systems from Windows 98- Windows xp.  Each of these computers is equipped with antivirus and the same log on security as the MAC’s. The one problem with all the computers is that fact that some of them are so out dated it’s hard to tell if their slowing down are caused by their age or by a virus. Another problem is the fact there are only so many computer technicians in the county. We have 6 elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Each elementary school has at least one computer in every classroom and one lab. The middle school has at least two computers in every classroom and two labs. The high school has atleast two computers in every classroom and six computer labs (3 PC labs and 3 MAC labs). This means that if one computer gets a virus the technicians may not get around to working on it until after a couple days or weeks. This gives the virus a chance to spread and cause more damage. As far as hackers the school has a very secure internet set up. You have to have two different types of passwords to log on to the wireless internet or the schools network. The only concern I have at work is the fact I am afraid if my computer gets a virus I will lose all the documents I have saved on it.

Week 7- Teaching and Learning with Technology (chapters 10-11)

a.   Pick one piece of software to use in the classroom.  Identify the software and the instructional objectives and goals you will meet.

a.   The piece of software that I picked was the voice recognition software. This software is a very neat and handy addition to any classroom. The teacher can stand anywhere in the room and give the students notes which appear on the screen as he/she speaks. I have seen this used in high school and college classes. In some classes the students have microphones and computers and can use the voice recognition software to type papers. As a teacher using voice recognition software gives the teacher two different instructional techniques by hearing and seeing. Students who learn more by hearing the lesson can learn as well as the ones who learn by seeing the lesson in words. On the other hand the ones who get to use the software learn of an alternate way use technology to their benefit.

b.   After using the software with your students, discuss what went well and what challenges you faced.  What would you do differently if you were to use the software again?

a.   The only thing I could see that could be done differently was the fact that the teacher I seen use the software hadn’t properly trained the software to recognize her voice. She had to make many corrections to the lesson as she went along and this took up class time that could have been used for other things. Another thing which I seen was that the students who had strong accents had a very hard time using and training the voice recognition software, it became very frustrating for them and some of them just started typing instead. Over all I think that as time enhances and improves this software we can see it changing the classroom as we know it today.

Week 6- Teaching and Learning with Technology (chapter 9)

The URL for my webquest is:

http://questgarden.com/108/13/6/100810141643/

This is the first time I have every made a wequest. I have never really seen one used in a class before. I am currently subbing in a special education unit and I thought that a webquest on ABC’s could be used to help the students with recognition and familiarization of both the letters, what they looked like upper case and lower case, and words that begin with each letter.

Since creating this wequest I have used the sight many times in my classroom, it was worked very effectively.  Now most of the students can recognize the letters when I point at them. We are still working on upper and lower case and words that begin with each letter but I hope that by the end of the year all children would have mastered all of three tasks. Every day the students spend at least thirty minutes on the website www.starfall.com which is the one I used with my webquest.  I seen this website used in a classroom with special education students who were unable to read and write. They used this website to obtain extra practice after their English lesson. I use it as an aide for extra practice on each letter along with each lesson.  

After this week I have learnt a lot about webquest and the possibilities they have in the classroom. I would like to incorporate them into my own classroom someday. I wish that some of my teachers and professors would have used webquest because not only are they a fun way to learn but they can also teach the person doing the webquest a little about technology. I believe that in the future we may see webquest instead of power point presentations.  Webquest are easy for teachers to create and can be used at any level. This makes them fun for students and teachers alike.

Week 5- Teaching and Learning with Technology (chapter 8)

1.     Have you ever used online communication tools in the classroom before?  If so, detail your experiences.  If not, what has prevented you from using online communication tools?

a.   I have used a couple online communication tools in classes I have taken. I have a graduate class in which we have scheduled chats each week to discuss our chapters. I really enjoy this because not only do you share your ideas with others but you also can learn from the ideas of others. It’s amazing how when you put a group of students together the ideas you can come up with.

b.   Another way which I have used online communication tools is email between the professor and myself. This allows for the professor to contact me about my class work or grade and vice versa. This is also a way to tell the professor of classes I will be unable to attend and of assignments which I have submitted but are not graded. High school teachers use email to send assignments and deadlines to students. I have seen teachers send emails to other teachers giving them lesson plans to give to their substitute teachers on days which they are absent.

2.    Identify one online communication tool you can use in the classroom and discuss how you will prepare your students for using this communication tool.

a.   I don’t have my own classroom but when I do start teaching depending on the grade level I will ask that students practice using email throughout the semester. I will show them what an email is and looks like then I will give them all their email addresses. If available I will show a video about emails. I will also go over the districts policies on emails and the rules.

                                         i.    First I will show them how to log on to their emails and have them practice sending emails to students in the class and myself.

                                        ii.    The second time I will have them draw a name out of a box and write that person a story and email it to them by just typing it in the body of the email.

                                      iii.    The third time we use email I will have them type the person whose name they picked a letter using a word processing program and attach it to their email they send.

                                      iv.    The final project will be to write a class member a letter, a story, and to create a picture document to go along with the story and attach them all to an email and send them.

Week 4- Teaching and Learning with Technology (chapter 5)

1.     What was the presentation about and to whom did you present it?

a.    I did a presentation on The Use of Horses in the Roman Empire. I presented it to a group of middle school kids that live down the street from me. The kids were from grade 6 to grade 9. They also were from two different types of schools. Two of them attend public schools while the other four attends an Independent school.

2.    Of which item in your presentation are you the most proud?

a.    The part of my presentation that I was more proud of is the amount of information I was able to put into each part without putting too much stuff on it. I was also proud of the different pictures I was able to find to include in the presentation. Some animation was in the presentation, it needed more to make it go more smoothly. The one part that I was the most pleased with was the fact that they kids learnt something and they enjoyed doing so. I would like to share this with my own class someday.

3.    What might you do differently if you could create the presentation again?

a.    If was to create the presentation again I would use a different template for the background to make it fit in with the theme. I would also try to find more video clips and media instruments. The children said they would have liked to see more media. I would have like to have been able to add sound to the slides but I could not locate a sound to fit the presentation. I would also group together some of my information to shorten the amount of slides used. I think this would also help to maintain the audience’s attention.

4.    How did your students respond to the presentation?

a.    They all enjoyed it. At the end I ask if they had learnt anything, every one of them had something they didn’t know before. They ask me to add more media. I showed them a clip off of you tube and they really enjoyed it. One of them suggested that I use a different background so that it all went together.  Over all I think they enjoyed it. I know that I learnt some new things about horses in the Roman Empire that I didn’t know prior to making the presentation.

Week 3 Teaching and Learning with Technology (Chapters 4 & 6)

1.    What makes the item visually appealing?  What distracts from the message you are trying to communicate?

a.   The different fonts and the picture make this flyer appealing. A lot of people like that the font color makes the font stand off from the rest of the page. It also includes several pictures so it attracts interest. All of the information needed is included such as the date, time, location, and cost.  This flyer is very simple but yet professional looking. It is attractive to both children and adults alike. The color of the font would make it easy to see the flyer if put up on tinted class. The pictures give visual cues to what the flyer is about and attract anyone interested in basketball. The fact that Lady Eagle is in big letters will attract girls who are interested in basketball.

b.   The part that distracts from the message of the flyer is the several pictures used and the font is hard to see from a distance because of the light color and background color. The font of the message is on the smaller side making it hard to see unless you are up close to it. There really wasn’t much heart and creativity put into the flyer, it looks like it may have been done by a younger child. It needs to be more professional looking. The main message should be the focus point on the flyer. In this flyer the pictures are too large in number and size. This should be shortened to only one or two small pictures.

This is a picture of what it looked like before:

           

This is a picture of what it looked like after I redid it:

Week 2- Teaching and Learning with Technology (chapters 3 & 7)

1. Provide a URL of one Web site that discusses spreadsheet and/or database use in the classroom.
1. http://futureofmath.misterteacher.com/spreadsheets.html

2. Describe something you found that surprised you about how databases or spreadsheets can be utilized in the classroom.
1. The one thing that really surprised me about how spreadsheets were used in the classroom was the use of spreadsheets to teach mathematics. Call me old fashion but I didn’t realize how much easier it is to teach a child math on a computer using a program such as Microsoft excel than it would be with some of the older counting techniques. As I teacher I think I would teach math with the examples on the board after they mastered it that way I would then take them to the computer lab and show them how to do the same thing using a spreadsheet. I don’t want them to lose anything by showing them the easier way which would be on the computer. I want them to be able to show their skills with or without the use of technology. As an educator I have seen so many students who are dependent on the use of technology such as the calculator to do simple math. I believe that it is a shame that students in high school cannot count without using a machine. I think that sometimes students take the easy way out when it comes to learning that’s the reason why I want to ensure that my students can do anything I teach with or without the use of technology.

3. Discuss how you have used spreadsheets and databases in the past. Include ways you have used them with your students or ways you have used them as an educator.
1. As an educator I have used spreadsheets to show many different lessons, I have never used one in the mathematical setting but I would like to. The most recent one I have done was showing a group of students in a computer class how to go back and enter a spreadsheet document into a word document for a presentation they were doing.  In the past I have had to use spreadsheets and databases at work when I worked for a business office this was to record credits to accounts and to show when the customers had paid their bills. I also have used spreadsheets to show how much money was made and spend during the month in a financial planning class.