I went to a school of technology, so the teachers always tried to include technology into the lessons as much as possible. By the end of my high school years, we were all even required to have an iPad. There were many apps that could be used in a variety of ways to enhance learning. In math, we used an app that served as a graphing calculator; in English we used Websites to check for grammar and plagiarism in papers, and used eBooks to avoid having to buy textbooks; in economics we used interactive games to learn the ins and outs of economical stability. There wasn't a single day that at least one of my teachers used an app or website to enhance our learning experience and provide an additional resource to the students. We would also frequently use YouTube videos, Powerpoints, or online interactive websites as alternate/hands-on ways of learning.
Honestly, I feel like I am more than capable of incorporating different uses of technology into the classroom. I have "grown up" with technology and feel that I am able to learn different uses/techniques very quickly. There's always tons of blogs/websites which provide new ideas to teachers, and teachers testimonies on whether they liked the new technology or not. It will be important to pay attention to the students' feedback on each source of technology used, and see if they find it beneficial and useful. I think being born into the Technology Era makes me naturally more "tech savvy" that those who were my teachers, and I think as long as I am able to find technologies that my students actually enjoy, it can be very beneficial in the education system.
Honestly, I really liked the concept mapping tool we used in class! I like how the Inspiration program lets you build your concept map, and then turn all the info into an outline with the click of a button. When I teach little kids I could definitely see me using this tool to help explain concepts, and I like that I would be able to include Hyperlinks and cute pictures to help the kids understand even better! So far, I think Inspiration is a great program and will actually be very beneficial to my teaching career.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
Blog #4
One of my favorite educational sources on the web is the ever-popular Khan Academy. When learning new subjects in school teachers can go very fast and it is easy to miss some of the information, so it is nice to have another resource to cover the lessons you don't understand. Khan Academy provides videos with explanations of a wide variety of lessons. In high school I frequently referenced their videos about math and chemistry. The videos cover such a wide variety of subjects and always the views to pause, rewind, and rewatch all the videos, giving each person total control over their learning. https://www.khanacademy.org/
I do believe the internet for student research is a great idea and useful way of learning. I know from experience, I remember information better when I am forced to look for it myself rather than simply being told the answer. If students know how to properly use search engines and know which sources are credible, then they will be able to find really great information on their subject. I think Websearches/Webhunts are great for learning, because it prompts the student to look up multiple things and read all about a subject. I think the only time the internet can be harmful for students is for example if a teacher gets a paper online and all the answers are online (so the student can just copy the answers) or if the students get information from unreliable sources.
While my methods of judging internet based sources aren't quite as extensive as the ABCDT method mentioned in the podcast, I do agree with everything she said to look out for. I agree that author plays a huge role in judging if a source is valuable or not, because I have learned that .edu, .org, and .gov sources are the more reliable sources. I also agree that design and content play a huge role in how credible a source is, because generally you can tell how reliable the information will be based on how good the website looks. Also, I definitely think bias plays a huge part in finding good sources, because it is important that a source should not only be one sided and only provide strong arguments for one side. After doing research for many years you learn what websites feel credible versus ones that you can tell right away are bad.
I do believe the internet for student research is a great idea and useful way of learning. I know from experience, I remember information better when I am forced to look for it myself rather than simply being told the answer. If students know how to properly use search engines and know which sources are credible, then they will be able to find really great information on their subject. I think Websearches/Webhunts are great for learning, because it prompts the student to look up multiple things and read all about a subject. I think the only time the internet can be harmful for students is for example if a teacher gets a paper online and all the answers are online (so the student can just copy the answers) or if the students get information from unreliable sources.
While my methods of judging internet based sources aren't quite as extensive as the ABCDT method mentioned in the podcast, I do agree with everything she said to look out for. I agree that author plays a huge role in judging if a source is valuable or not, because I have learned that .edu, .org, and .gov sources are the more reliable sources. I also agree that design and content play a huge role in how credible a source is, because generally you can tell how reliable the information will be based on how good the website looks. Also, I definitely think bias plays a huge part in finding good sources, because it is important that a source should not only be one sided and only provide strong arguments for one side. After doing research for many years you learn what websites feel credible versus ones that you can tell right away are bad.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Post #3
Link to website used: http://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/stratosphere-overview
Rule #1: The website incorporated a picture into the text that helps explain what the text is about.
Rule #2: There aren't any headings to break up the information... It is a bit overwhelming when there is multiple paragraphs and no headings to separate them.
Rule #3: The text is all left justified, however the author of the website didn't indent any of the paragraphs.
Rule #4: The website only uses one type of text, so the entire page feels very coherent and concise.
Rule #5/6: The two colors used were yellow and blue, and since they used the same colors throughout the entire page, it really brought together the website's theme.
Rule #7: Unfortunately, there was only one picture on the entire page. I definitely think the page could have been enhanced and easier to understand if there were more charts/pictures.
Rule #8: All the content on the page was necessary.
Rule #9: The upper vs. lower case rules were followed correctly.
Rule #10: The sentences on the site weren't that long, however the paragraphs were.
Rule #11: The book says to skip a space between each line, but to not indent. The site followed this rule, however I didn't know it was a rule!
Rule #12: The page that I was on was only one page, and all the information was right there in plain site, so it was very well structured.
Rule #13: There was only one idea on the page. The entire page talked about the Stratosphere.
Rule #14: There was no use of italics, underlining, or bolding.
Rule #15: The site used a somewhat higher vocabulary, but the site wasn't hard to follow, no matter who the audience is.
Rule #16/17: There was no flashing text or bullited lists,
Rule #18: The navigation buttons are all the same on the top and bottom of each page.
Rule #19: There was no stacked text. Everything is formatted into paragraphs.
Rule #20: There was only one graphic, even though there was multiple paragraphs.
Rule #21: The website looks very concise and organized, and is not visually distracting.
Rule #22: All font is the same size, so nothing stands out or seems more/less important.
Rule #23: The graphic is at the top of the screen, which emphasizes its importance.
Before listening to the Podcast, I had no clue what open source or open content was. After hearing the podcast, I do thing open source and open content are both very important in the education field so teachers can share and adapt work within the teaching community. I also think it saves money, while allowing teachers to customize each piece of content to fit their specific needs. I like the idea of open content/sources because it seems very useful and convenient, but I don't think I would ever contribute to them. I would most likely adapt them to fit my class' needs, but I wouldn't adapt them for any other teachers.
For the Newsletter assignment, it was fairly simple to do since Word provides an outline of a sample Newsletter. The sample even has directions on how to create columns, or how to add pictures. Having the outline and directions together made it a very easy assignment. I thought there were too many elements/instructions for the assignment so it took a long time, but it definitely wasn't hard and I don't have any recommendations for change.
Rule #1: The website incorporated a picture into the text that helps explain what the text is about.
Rule #2: There aren't any headings to break up the information... It is a bit overwhelming when there is multiple paragraphs and no headings to separate them.
Rule #3: The text is all left justified, however the author of the website didn't indent any of the paragraphs.
Rule #4: The website only uses one type of text, so the entire page feels very coherent and concise.
Rule #5/6: The two colors used were yellow and blue, and since they used the same colors throughout the entire page, it really brought together the website's theme.
Rule #7: Unfortunately, there was only one picture on the entire page. I definitely think the page could have been enhanced and easier to understand if there were more charts/pictures.
Rule #8: All the content on the page was necessary.
Rule #9: The upper vs. lower case rules were followed correctly.
Rule #10: The sentences on the site weren't that long, however the paragraphs were.
Rule #11: The book says to skip a space between each line, but to not indent. The site followed this rule, however I didn't know it was a rule!
Rule #12: The page that I was on was only one page, and all the information was right there in plain site, so it was very well structured.
Rule #13: There was only one idea on the page. The entire page talked about the Stratosphere.
Rule #14: There was no use of italics, underlining, or bolding.
Rule #15: The site used a somewhat higher vocabulary, but the site wasn't hard to follow, no matter who the audience is.
Rule #16/17: There was no flashing text or bullited lists,
Rule #18: The navigation buttons are all the same on the top and bottom of each page.
Rule #19: There was no stacked text. Everything is formatted into paragraphs.
Rule #20: There was only one graphic, even though there was multiple paragraphs.
Rule #21: The website looks very concise and organized, and is not visually distracting.
Rule #22: All font is the same size, so nothing stands out or seems more/less important.
Rule #23: The graphic is at the top of the screen, which emphasizes its importance.
Before listening to the Podcast, I had no clue what open source or open content was. After hearing the podcast, I do thing open source and open content are both very important in the education field so teachers can share and adapt work within the teaching community. I also think it saves money, while allowing teachers to customize each piece of content to fit their specific needs. I like the idea of open content/sources because it seems very useful and convenient, but I don't think I would ever contribute to them. I would most likely adapt them to fit my class' needs, but I wouldn't adapt them for any other teachers.
For the Newsletter assignment, it was fairly simple to do since Word provides an outline of a sample Newsletter. The sample even has directions on how to create columns, or how to add pictures. Having the outline and directions together made it a very easy assignment. I thought there were too many elements/instructions for the assignment so it took a long time, but it definitely wasn't hard and I don't have any recommendations for change.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Post #2
As a student, I generally use Microsoft Word to write essays, resumes, or other documents which involve writing many sentences or paragraphs. Occasionally I would have to use Word to compose creative projects such as making quizzes for other students, taking class notes, or compiling a document with pictures. My teachers often use Microsoft Word as an avenue to type out the instructions for a class assignment, a syllabus, or flowcharts for the class to fill out. My teachers often used to do "fill-in-the-blank" notes and type them all out for us on Word.
Many times my teachers would complain that they could not pass out or make copies of certain documents because of copy right issues. If they did make copies, they would have to collect them after class so none of us took them home. I found copyright issues very annoying to deal with, because I love having copies of my own and being able to keep physical hard copies of all my papers/notes/documents. As a teacher, I would search the internet and find other sources to use and provide my students with other online options, that don't involve copyright. Another way to avoid copyright would be if instead of making copies of a paper and handing them out to my students, I made a Powerpoint of the material and taught it in a different way with pictures and my own interpretation of the material. Avoiding copyright can be tedious and annoying, but it is important to make sure all copyright rules are being thoroughly followed inside and outside the classroom.
The one new thing I learned in the Word and Graphics 1 assignment was the date/time feature. I do think that is helpful, and will come in handy in the future. Everything else we used for the assignment I already knew how to do, but it was a nice refresher, and that was the first time I've had to apply all those skills together. I think it was good that we did that assignment, because when I am a teacher I know I will have to make many, many quizzes for my children. Generally none of my teachers ever put graphics into my quizzes, but I really like that we were required to do that, because I realized the graphic really brings together the questions the quizzes are asking. I will be more likely to include graphics or Wordart in my future quizzes, thanks to this assignment!
Many times my teachers would complain that they could not pass out or make copies of certain documents because of copy right issues. If they did make copies, they would have to collect them after class so none of us took them home. I found copyright issues very annoying to deal with, because I love having copies of my own and being able to keep physical hard copies of all my papers/notes/documents. As a teacher, I would search the internet and find other sources to use and provide my students with other online options, that don't involve copyright. Another way to avoid copyright would be if instead of making copies of a paper and handing them out to my students, I made a Powerpoint of the material and taught it in a different way with pictures and my own interpretation of the material. Avoiding copyright can be tedious and annoying, but it is important to make sure all copyright rules are being thoroughly followed inside and outside the classroom.
The one new thing I learned in the Word and Graphics 1 assignment was the date/time feature. I do think that is helpful, and will come in handy in the future. Everything else we used for the assignment I already knew how to do, but it was a nice refresher, and that was the first time I've had to apply all those skills together. I think it was good that we did that assignment, because when I am a teacher I know I will have to make many, many quizzes for my children. Generally none of my teachers ever put graphics into my quizzes, but I really like that we were required to do that, because I realized the graphic really brings together the questions the quizzes are asking. I will be more likely to include graphics or Wordart in my future quizzes, thanks to this assignment!
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