end of semester reflection

My perspective has become enlarged and more complex. Classrooms are based around technology and it is our job as teachers to use our resources and expand our areas of technology. I still agree with my thoughts that technology should not take over the classroom. I have however expanded my thinking. Technology cannot take over the classroom without someone controlling it. Technology is man-made and man-operated, it does not control things, we do. Not only does technology allow students to learn in different ways it also enhances a child’s education. It is proven that kids learn more information if it is given using technology. Through this semester I have been able to learn things that I have never known before. I learned about the Flip Video and will continue to use mine, I learned how to make a web page which was unthinkable when I first started this class. There are many other things that I have learned this semester and the I plan on taking with me into a classroom.
I enjoyed working on the trouble shooting NETS for teachers. It helped me to remain calm when dealing with problems. Unfortunately, none of my trouble shooting experiences actually solved any problems. I have learned that it is a good idea to always have a plan “b”. Technology is not always going to work, so if you want to keep your classroom running smoothly, then have a back upJ

Assignment #4

check out my website that I have been working on. I have also attached a Wiki which allows parents to sign up for "my parent teacher conferences coming up in January" -but not really:)
list of features on website:

• downloading pictures
• downloading files
• downloading audio (which I'm surprised I had the option to do)
• copy and paste from word
• downloading my google search engine
• adding hyper links
• using different font, color, and alignment
• adding youtube videos
• creating a blog

list of features on wiki:

• editing text
• inserting hyperlinks

I didn't really work too much on Wiki because I spent most of my time on the website. There are other things that I can do on wiki but for right now they don't apply to me.

What was it like creating this project?

• time consuming :)
• I had a blast being able to use my own hands to create something from nothing
• frustrating at times. It is a free website so things don't work perfectly
• Frustrating. I feel like a digital immigrant when it comes to such complex works of art and for me to have to read everything slowly to understand and then be stuck if it is not explained well it gets frustrating
• enjoyable. Weebly offers a very simple website with step by step instructions (which i needed).
• un-enjoyable. Weebly is too structured. I'm not allowed to place things exactly where i want them b/c the way weebly works is that everything is consecutive on the page and not centered or separated by a column. You can however copy whatever you want from word so that is easily solved except for the inconvenience
• the wiki was hard to use at first because i thought i offered more things (and maybe it does and i haven't found out every thing yet)

what does this project mean to you?

this project has been helpful to me b/c i plan on using a class website and i would like to you a wiki as well to set up times for conferences. it has been an accomplishment for me b/c i don't consider myself tech savvy.

Nets for teachers:

3. Model digital age work and learing

I am demonstrating fluency in technology systems by creating a class website where my students can go and interact with the technology for the class. Creating this website shows to my students that i am not afraid to try new things. Creating the wiki is a contemporary tool that will come in handy and will be time efficient on both the side of the parent and the teacher

Nets for students:

1. creativity and innovation

hopefully through this website students will be encouraged to think creatively when using technology. I will give the students the ability to use technology to educate themselves. My website will be used as an example of a creative way to educate your self and use technology.

reflection of inspiration sotfware and gradebook

unfortunetely i didn't get a chance to watch the inspiration video so i was not as sure what the inspriation software offered. i did work on the software for a little bit and it seems like it would be helpful to visual learners. i would be able to use it in my classroom to show the students for example how to create a paper. we would be able to create an outline of a paper in class and they would even be able to use the software to create a web of information. i also liked that you could use people or events to create a web of information. they offere a variety of pictures that i also think would be helpful especially to ELL students who might not know what words mean.
the other piece of software i used in class was the gradesource gradebook. i really liked this software (maybe that's becuase i don't know any other one) there were a few too many hoops to jump through to get the information you needed but if it's free how could i complain? gradesouce is for the secondary level and provides an aread to add students, tests, all class periods, and i'm even able to send emails. i really like the option to send emails because all of the email addresses are already in the program so if you wanted to send an email to a specific student you would just select their name and if you wanted to send an email to a whole class you just select what class. This would help with time management, instead of going in and typing every students address in, this saves time and allows you to click on the appropriate names or classes.

inspiration video

i was supposted to watch the inspiration video that everyone elso watched in class but thanks to my low wireless connection it is not possible for me to watch the video right now. i don't realize what it is with a slow internet connection until it happens to me:) and now i'm frustrated and impatient. do you think quick access makes us impatient when it comes to something not working correctly because we are so use to instant gratification? i think it does. anyways i wanted to post something so you guys don't think it get a way with more just becasue i'm not in class with you for the first 30 min. Professor gives me work to do...trust me:) until later my friends.

Reflection #12

I think I am the only student in the eduction program to not have a school to teach at next semester. This is alarming but this is also a great time to lean on Jesus for patience and faith. I have to caste all my worries on Him. He knows the plans he has for me and I just have to have faith that they will be carried out.
I pray that I will be able to be placed before the start of school on January. I think it would be weird if I showed up after all of the kids went back to school. This is a great time for me to start observing in some schools that I might be interested in teaching in. I have found it easier to start their rather than waiting around for someone else to place me.
I already found a teacher and school that was willing to be my help but unfortunetly it was too far away from the University for anyone to observe me. If I ask myself it seems to aliviate some of the hoops.
anyways I just relying on God and the fact that I'm here at this school for a reason. I know He has something planned for me, I just don't know what it is yet:)

reflection #11

Today I observed my first male teacher classroom. I was excited to observe a male teachers classroom because i have only had experience with females. one thing i found interesting about him was that he did not dress professionally, his uniform consisted of vans, blue jeans, and a stripped polo. he was well kept just not professional. when i think of teaching i think of professional attire. i want to dress up to show respect to my students, and to show my principal that i'm serious about my job. i'm not saying these are not things that this teacher doesn't have, he just must show them in a different way. when i stepped into the classroom i found him about 50lbs lighter and 20 years younger than i imagined. for some reason when i think of male social studies teachers i only have my own experience to work off of. my experiences have been around the age of 50 and about 250-300 lbs. the point to me telling all of this is that he probably has some things to worry about; from his looks i could tell that some girls have crushes on him. it probably makes it even worse that he dresses like the boys do in high school. this is something that we as teachers need to be aware of; male and female alike. as a teacher dressing professionally helps to close that gap between friend and teacher. i'm sure that if i dressed more like the students i could have crushes and the students might think i was there friend over their teacher. but however this was just an observation

word, excel, and powerpoint

word: bullets, columns, different fonts, colors, and sizes, spacing, preview, print 8X11's and envelops, highlight, thesaurus, endnotes, headers and footers, spell check, watermark, incerting tables, pictures, and word art, inserting cover pages, blank page, and page break.
project: they could create a newspaper article including one picture (either from clip art or word art), one graph, and two different fonts.
excel: (i wish i was more experienced with excel) insert text, add two or more colums, change cell styles, copy and paste, delete cells, add borders to cells, print, font, size, and add tabs.
project: i could have the students make a time line using two different colors using a table chart
powerpoint: (i don't use powerpoint on a regular basis) add a slide, replicate a slide, change the format of a slide, add word art, add a text box, insert a picture, play a movie, put a theme to the slide, add animation, run a slide show, change presentation views, and print.
project: I could have my students prepare a slide show with five different animations, one movie or sound clip, and three different formated slides.