Final Blog

This class has been very helpful to me in many ways. When I first started I thought I knew tons about computers but I sure was wrong. You can never know everything about computers. Everything that I have learned in this class will be helpful to me when I being my teaching. Not only will the things that I have learned help me but there are several things that I have learned that will also help the children. One thing that really stood out to me in this class was being able to use different elements of media to teach different areas in school. Being that I am always looking for different ways to display information this was a good thing that I had to take this class.
One of my weaknesses during this class was adequately posting to the blog and the Google groups. As a student I am not a big fan of having to check different sites while outside of class. The only time that these two things are good to have in a class is when the class is online. This is one thing that I will not use in my classroom as a teacher not only because it can become complicated but also because I plan on teaching lower elementary and this would not be a good idea with that age group. One way in which I could improve this weakness is by just getting into the routine of checking it regularly rather than when I think about it.
All of the other things that we covered in this class came pretty easy to me once I followed the instructions. The one activity that stood out as a strong point was the Webpage. I have always liked doing WebPages and organizing information so this could possibly be the reason in which this was my strongest point throughout the semester. The one thing is particular that I really enjoyed about the webpage is that I was able to express myself and plan my classroom. Gathering the information and putting things together to actually make the classroom function has always been what has interested me in teaching. Although I also want to have to opportunity to teach children new things I also feel that having things organized means all the difference in an individual. By me being able to display organization a webpage and other technology additives in my classroom I feel that the students will pick up on the organization and have a brighter future.
Technology will be a huge part in my classroom although I will only be teaching second graders. Without technology in today’s times children will get nowhere in life without knowing how to properly use technology. I will use technology to prepare the lessons for my students as well as allow them to use technology to display their knowledge of what is being taught. Technology has always played a major role in my life and I feel that without it I would be lost. Technology is a great thing to have in your life especially if you plan to be a teacher not only to help you out but also to help the students stay up to date with the world in which they are living in.

Web Page Reflection

Having a webpage that is available for your students to access that is related to the class in which they are taking is a great way to communicate with the students as well as the parent. Being that most parents and students are always online doing so sort of activity WebPages have to be the best way of getting their attention and keeping them informed. The NETS standard that is fulfilled by these actions is communicating with the students using different types of media. By using a web page along with face to face communication the students can easily be able to access any information that is important to the classroom as long as the teacher keeps the web page updated. Having a web page as a teacher gives the teacher a chance to organize all of the information the student or parent would need all throughout the school year. As a future teacher I would post a weekly calendar of events that are taking place in the classroom in case a student in absent or forgets to copy down homework this way he or she will have access to the homework either way. Web pages can be a teachers and students best friend if it is properly set up and maintained.

Google Group Reflection

With Google Groups the students are able to use the NETS standards in communication. Having the students’ use Google Groups allows to teacher to see that the student can use technology to communicate with other students as well as the teacher. Technology Operations and concepts is another NETS standard that can be met using Google Groups in the classroom. When the students are having discussion boards as a class he or she is displaying the fact that they know how to correctly operate technology and understand the concepts of technology. The use of a discussion board in a classroom is very different from a web page or blog. When the student uses Google Groups he or she has the option to edit others post as well as reply to each other post. As for the blog or webpage the owner of the webpage or blog must approve the post and it is also a little more complex using blogs and WebPages. When it comes to an online class I really prefer using discussion boards or Google groups that way only the people or are part of the class or groups are allow to see what is being discussed.

Reflection On Plagiarism Activity

Using Turnitin as a tool to identify plagiarism can be done by allowing the teacher to have the student turn their work in on this program which allows the teacher to see if any of the work is plagiarized and if so the teacher has proof. As for the students awareness of this issues they will no longer try plagiarizing papers and see that it is a serious issue and teachers have ways of tracking this information. The NETS standard that is concerned with these issues is facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. With Turnitin the student has to be creative and do the work on their own rather than just copy someone else work. Also another thing that turnitin makes the students do it actually research the information in which they are writing the paper on rather than just taking someone else hard work. Turnitin is a great resource that I will be sure to use in my classroom once I become a teacher and is very helpful to me as a current student.

Web Tools Reflection

Using web tools such as games in the classroom for students is a great idea because it meets the NET standards with students in critical thinking, problems solving, decision making, and technology operations. When it comes to critical thinking the students have to use this when playing or solving some of the games. Decision making can play a role in playing the games when it comes to choosing the game to play. Problem solving also goes along with critical thinking when it comes to playing the games. As for technology operations the games are online therefore the students much learn how to operate technology in order to play the games. As a teacher the NET standards that I could use when web tools in modeling digital age work by displaying my capability to use digital age technology by retrieving the games for the students to play. Another example is to design and develop digital-age learning experiences by possible creating my own games for the children to play on the computer. Finding games that were age appropriate had to be most difficult thing to accomplish while working with web tools.

Picture-Perfect PowerPoint

Picture-Perfect PowerPoint
Content Area/Topic: Language Arts
Grade Level: 3

Description: Students will find pictures that are related to a certain letter of the alphabet and then find sounds to relate to the picture. By doing this the students will use technology to find the pictures and sounds in be placed in their PowerPoint. Once the students have their pictures chosen they will then add words to their PowerPoint that go along with their pictures.

Teacher preparation: The teacher will have to make sure all of the computers in the classroom as open to the PowerPoint program and to take sure all of the computers are working. The teacher should also so the student’s prior to the lesson how to search to the Internet for pictures and sounds. Along with teaching the students how to find these objects the teacher should also show the students how to save the images and sounds into files to retrieve the objects. When doing this exercise the teach may have to make adjustment to the computer setting to help children with IEPs. This can be done by changing whatever setting needs to be changed to help the student with their needs.

Active participation: The teacher discusses the letters of the alphabet with the students and talks about different words that go along with the letters. Pictures should be related to common objects that are everyday viewings. Each child should place a picture on the slide that represents the letter in which they choose. This project can be displayed at parent conferences or at school gatherings. Remember when displaying the students work to parents there might be some parents who have disabilities that may also need special accommodations.

Movie Maker Reflections

Creativity and innovation can easily be accomplished when making a movie to help students understand a subject being taught. A student how is developing a movie on a particular subject can be creative with a movie by putting their own pictures and music into the movie. By allowing the student to do this he or she will be more interested in the assignment being that they can be unique with the movie. Being able to complete an assignment without doing the same old boring papers and worksheets gives the student something to look forward to rather than knowing that things are not changing. Many students seem to perform better if they are allowed to be creative in their work. Also by allowing this to be part of an assignment the students are allowed to expand their learning fields.
An assignment that could be assigned to students related to movie maker is related to History. If the student are studying a particular group of people for example Indians, the students as a class can go online and research different types of Indians and turn the information that was collected into the teacher. From this information the teacher could produce a movie in which can be displayed to the students that informs them of the history of Indians. Also with this the teacher can make a movie prior to beginning the lesson that gives a little history on Indians to help the students understand what they are going to be talking about in the chapter to come. Being able to have access to movie make gives the teacher to ability to change their way of teaching. Rather than the same old boring notes and lecture, that most kids dislike, the students are most likely to stay alert and pay attention to the movie and actually learn something rather than just acting like they are paying attention. Having movie make as a teaching tool is a great idea and if very help when it comes to different types of learners. This assignment would meet both the communication and creativity NETS.