Google Website

 

Designing a classroom website has been an interesting experience. I think that a teacher having his/her own website they designed for their classroom is imperative for the classroom throughout the course of the school year. I realized that so many different things can be done on a website in order to provide students and parents alike with the maximum amount of information. The Google website is by far the most diverse tool we have learned to use during the class. Honestly, I think it will be the most useful tool we have learned as well. Unfortunately, I still do not feel extremely confident in my website making abilities. I still get confused and lost on where to find things in order to edit certain aspects of the website. I also still have a difficult time making the text and picture compliment each other on each page that has a picture inserted into it. I am hoping it was just the template of the website that I chose that made it more difficult to work with. I really hope that during my internship I will have opportunities to create a classroom website so I can gain more website experience before I get a classroom of my own. Overall I found this experience in learning how to operate a website invaluable.

Movie

 

Before this project I knew nothing about how to make a movie. Honestly, I am not tech savvy in the least bit. So at first this project really intimidated me and I was not looking forward to it. However, when I started messing around with the imovie by making the Stoney Island example, I soon realized that the program was very user friendly.The hardest part of the project was finding the pictures, information, and making the storyboard. The fun part was actually putting the movie together. It is safe to say that I now feel confident in using imovie in order to make my own production. I am pretty proud of my movie, it is the first one I have ever made and I thought it turned out pretty well. Even though I know how to make a movie through imovie it still intimidates me that I may have to produce a movie using a PC one day because I would have no clue where to start.Hopefully I will have a Mac to work with when that day comes. I am not sure how often I would use this tool in the classroom, but whenever I do decide to use a movie it will be a fun experience.

Digital Diagram

 

I really enjoyed the digital diagram activity. I had never heard of this tool or seen it used in a classroom before this week. At first it was a little difficult trying to remember where all the tools were located within the program. However, once I was able to start my project it was a really easy program to opperate. Personally I am a visual learner so I found the digital diagram to be an extremely valuable tool for students who need more visual reinforcements. I also like how it can easily be printed off as a worksheet or visual handout. I will most definitely be using this tool inside my classroom. It it perfect for visual reinforcements, summaries, work station references, or introduction material.

ActivInspire

I am really glad this class taught us how to use ActivInspire. I have heard in the past many teachers complain about using this system because they did not know how to properly use it. Therefore, they became flustered and did not utilize this resource like it should be. This course has given me the proper tools to be able and correctly and efficiently utilize this software system. I most definitely plan on using this very often in my classroom. I am a hands-on learner and plan to make my classroom as hands-on as possible. I personally feel like students learn the best in this manner. ActivInspire allows students to be able to actively engage with the material and makes learning more enjoyable for everyone. Therefore, the information is more likely to stay them.

The one thing I would change about teaching ActivInspire in this course is to make it a little longer. Even though I had the software system at home and had the book to guide me, I still struggled some with figuring out how to work it properly and in a time efficient manner. Maybe an additional class can be added in the future to go into more in-depth instruction over all the functions this board can perform.

Technology

I have learned so much about technology through this course. One useful thing that I have discovered is how to create websites and wikis. I did not have a clue how to do either one of these before the course. Now I feel confident enough to not only create a classroom website and wiki but to manage them in an efficient and useful manner. I will most definitely be using both of these tools in my future classroom.

I have also learned a lot about digital images. Now I know how to properly re-size and use images in a professional manner. Before I was used to copy and pasting onto a social network site. Now I know that tiff is not good to use on the internet because the image appears too large but jpg, gif, and png are perfectly acceptable for web use. I also learned that raster cannot be re-sized without be distorted but vector can. I also learned that for web purposes the image should be around 72 pixels.

Another important aspect on technology that I have gained from this class is about copyright issues. I learned that anything is fair game for inside the classroom as long as it stays within the walls of the class itself. I can only take 10% or 15 photos from a collection whichever one is the least amount. Learning about all the copyright issues has definitely made me more aware of the issue. I saved the slides that gave the information about fairuse, copyright, public domain, and creative commons so I can refer to it when I have my own classroom.

Digital Images

 

I have learned a lot about digital images this week. The most I knew about digital images before this week was how to copy and paste from my computer onto facebook or other sites. I also assumed that photos from google was free game and open to anyone. However, now I know that I can only take 10% or 15 photos, whichever is least, from google or other copyright photos. There are plenty of websites that have photos that are non-copyright photos that I can use for resources. I also learned that I can basically pull from wherever I want for classroom purposes only. However, if I want those resources to be able to go outside the classroom then I need to check on copyright issues and fairuse options.

I also did not know much about resizing a digital image on a computer before this week. I never really had the need to resize a photo. Now I know that photos need to be 72 resolution in order to be compatible and work properly for the internet. I also learned how to make photos smaller or larger using a tool on the computer instead of just cropping a photo.

All this knowledge is going to be extremely helpful in my future classroom. I will need to know this information about digital photos for my future classroom website, wiki page, PowerPoints, and classroom presentations. I now know the appropriate way to approach digital photos on what is ethical and most efficient.

Resource Wiki

 

 

I found the resource wiki to be extremely helpful. Doing this activity helped me learn how to better navigate and get more comfortable using wikis. Before the resource page I was still a little uncomfortable with how wikis worked and how to properly use the resource. Now I feel confident on how to opperate wikis and will definately be using them for my future classroom one day.

 

Not only did this activity make me more comfortable using wikis but it also provided me with a base resource for educational websites. I got to practice looking for websites in regards to classroom purposes and learned what kinds of sites to stay away from and which sites would be useful tools. I also learned how to work in a group while using a wiki. Everyone in the group must be cooperative in order to succeed. I plan on using group activities in my future classroom for teaching purposes. It not only gives students many different resources to learn from but it also teaches them how to cooperate in a group environment.

Wiki Reflection

The wiki I chose to evaluate was a second grade class in Southern California. The wiki is very warm and inviting on the home page. It was visually appealing and easy to navigate. One reason why I picked this wiki was because of how organized and detailed the information was that the wiki gave. Some of the pages were subject areas such as math, science, art, reading, and P.E. Each one of the pages gave a detailed account of what the students had learned or were in the middle of learning for that subject. It had projects, pictures, and assignments posted on the page. Therefore, students can see visually what they are learning and parents can easily keep up with the the current information their children are learning in the classroom.

I also liked how each page had the letters of the alphabet listed on the left hand side of the page. Beside the letters of the alphabet were words that started with that particular letter and had to do with the subject matter. I found this to be a very cute, pratical, and unique way to post key words for students to remember. Another element to the wiki that I found appealing was that each student had their own page telling about themselves. This gave students not only experience using technology, but also gave them more ownership over the wiki. Therefore, they were probably more involved and excited about partcipating in the wiki activity.

http://mrsibrahim.wikispaces.com/

Inquiry Based Activity

I really enjoyed the inquiry based activity. I found this to be a very useful and easy resource. The way the wiki is set up is so helpful and time efficient regarding putting together an activity for a classroom. I loved the idea of finding a couple of websites that went along with the curriculum we are learning in class then basing the worksheet off these websites. This makes the activity so much more interesting for students. They have a certain amount of independence to explore the websites you have chosen for this activity. This promotes independent learning but while at the same time as a teacher I guide the whole process. I have nothing negative to say about this activity. This has probably been one of my favorite topics we have learned about so far. I will incorporate activities like this often in my future classroom.

Webquest

My experience with webquest has several positive and negative aspects about it. I like that teachers can easily access teaching ideas and activities for their students to do. This can be easily modified to fit different teachers and different classrooms. Also I have the option of using webquest strictly as a source for ideas, I don't have to make the students use computers to access it. The negative aspect about webquest is alot of the projects involve students personally accessing the internet. I am probably going to work in inner city schools and alot of these schools barely have computers for students. So the idea of students getting online to complete a task or assignment is implausible. Also alot of webquest I found had links that were no longer in use, so it is kind of a pain to go through different webquests to make sure that links are still active. It is much easier to just modify the material and use webquests as starters for ideas in the classroom.

Website Evaluation

I had zero previous experience concerning evaluating a website until this assignment. Whenever I went on a website I rarely, if ever, thought about the different aspects that came together to make the website a valuable tool or enjoyable to be on. Now I know to be more conscience of different elements that make up the website. I know to pay attention to details to see if the website has too many graphics, if it is easy to navigate, and if it is browser specific. Something I should always do when checking into a website is look at the author. I need to ask myself how reliable is the author, when was this published, and is there a bias message being conveyed? I need to identify the main purpose of the website. The website needs to either benefit my students, parents, or myself directly or it is utterly useless. Knowing all this information and more can help me make good judgement calls concerning my future classroom. I will be able to pick out websites that have reliable educational games and interactives that my students can truly benefit from. I can research websites that will be beneficial to parents in regards to helping their children through school. I will also be able to identify reliable websites that have good resources, mini-books, lessons plans, and articles for myself to better my curriculum and to get new ideas.

Wikis

As a future elementary school teacher, wikis can be a resourceful tool in regards to my future classroom. Creating a wiki for my class can provide a fun way for a community of learners to communicate easily back and forth to each other. Students can post projects for their classmates to see. One project can concern geography and the students can post a picture of the region they did with the report. Therefore, every classmate as well as the teacher can read about that area and see a visual picture of it. Another way students can use wikis are by posting "fun facts" throughout the school year regarding information they learned. For example if they are learning about the ocean in science a student can post a fun fact they learned about the ocean or aquatic life. If students are learning about multiplication a student can post a fun song or visual that helped them so it can possibly help other students.

A wiki would also be helpful for me as a teacher in regards to communicating to parents. I can send out schedules,helpful information, and important announcements. I can also post websites and resources that would be beneficial to both parents and students. Also wikis would provide me the opportunity to link up with teachers around the nation and world. This would be a great way to share ideas and lesson plans. I could also try to find some classrooms in different countries to try to connect my classroom to. The students could communicate and work with other students around the world by accessing wiki.

Rachel Kitts

My name is Rachel Kitts. I am a senior with a major in History and a minor in Elementary Education. I graduate this May and will continue on to my internship and graduate school with UT. I have always had a passion for teaching, especially teaching younger children. Teachers have such an incredible oppertunity to really impact someone's life. I cannot wait until I can get into the classroom and implement all I have learned. My desire for this class is to be efficient in all the programs we will learn during the duration of the course. I want to use the technology and the resources from this class to apply to my own classroom one day. I know that creating wikis, websites, and google documents will be helpful resources for my parents, students, and myself. Knowing how to properly and sufficiently use technology will help me better utilize my time and provide a more adequate learning environment for my future students.