The last project that we completed for my intro to technology class at Ashland University was an electronic portfolio. I was skeptical at first but now think that this is a great idea and a great way to keep track of all the work that we have completed throughout the semester. Each project has its own page with a description of the project, a picture of the project and a link to view the project. I used weebly.com to create this project because I felt that it was the most user friendly for someone that has not had much experience with this sort of project. Electronic Portfolios are something that I will definitely incorporate into my classroom to keep track of all the fun lessons and projects that my students have completed throughout the entire school year.
I can hardly believe that this semester is already coming to end; it feels like just yesterday that I began learning about how to incorporate technology into my future classroom. I have learned so much from this course and I know that I will be using everything that I have learned in the future. I encourage all teachers to explore the world of technology in order to teach their students in more unique ways and help to get them excited about learning.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wiki
This past week our assignment was to create our own Wiki space. This was my first time attempting anything like this but I found it to be completely user friendly. Before this past week I knew what Wikipedia was but not how to create my own page. Through this assignment I have learned not only how to create my own wiki but also how valuable they can be.
Looking through other people's wikis is a good way to find out more about certain technologies that I may some day want to incorporate into my own classroom. Personally I think that it is very important to incorporate other cultures into your classroom because your classroom is bound to be multicultural. Because of my strong opinion on this matter I chose to review ePals and Skype. EPals is a website in which teachers can connect with other classrooms around the world and even work together on a project through the web. I chose Skype to go along with ePals because I think that it will take the connection between the two classrooms to a whole new level. Skype is a tool that allows people to communicate like they would through a phone call, but with Skype that can see each other on the computer monitor. This allows the students as well as the teachers to get to know each other on a more personal level. Being able to see one another also allows the students to learn more about other cultures through visuals, which can be one of the best ways to learn.
I would definitely make another wiki and will browse other peoples' wikis from now on to continue learning about different tools or ideas that could be incorporated into my future classroom.
Looking through other people's wikis is a good way to find out more about certain technologies that I may some day want to incorporate into my own classroom. Personally I think that it is very important to incorporate other cultures into your classroom because your classroom is bound to be multicultural. Because of my strong opinion on this matter I chose to review ePals and Skype. EPals is a website in which teachers can connect with other classrooms around the world and even work together on a project through the web. I chose Skype to go along with ePals because I think that it will take the connection between the two classrooms to a whole new level. Skype is a tool that allows people to communicate like they would through a phone call, but with Skype that can see each other on the computer monitor. This allows the students as well as the teachers to get to know each other on a more personal level. Being able to see one another also allows the students to learn more about other cultures through visuals, which can be one of the best ways to learn.
I would definitely make another wiki and will browse other peoples' wikis from now on to continue learning about different tools or ideas that could be incorporated into my future classroom.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Google Docs and Flubaroo
The further in the semester that I get, the more I am learning about technology and all of the different resources out there that are available to the public for FREE. Over the last two weeks I worked with Google Docs and Flubaroo.
Teachers can use Google Docs to create grade books that can be permanently online, which I really enjoyed because I love to be as "green" as possible. There are many different functions in Google Docs that do a lot of the work for you, such as calculating the maximum number of points, minimum number of points and even a function that calculates the grade that the student got on the assignment. But most importantly it is user friendly for those of us that are not technologically gifted.
This week in my class we learned how to make an online quiz that we can easily apply to our classrooms. In order to do this, we again used a Google Doc application called a "form". this allows the individual to choose a theme for the quiz as well as write each question that they would like to include. This application even has different formats for the questions such as multiple choice and text box. After creating the quiz you can make an answer key as well as e-mail the quiz out to your students, and as soon as they take the quiz their answers will appear in a Google Document that looks like Microsoft Excel. If that isn't amazing enough their is an application that can be installed to Google Docs called Flubaroo that will automatically grade the quizzes as the students submit them online! All-in-all I think that these two programs are incredibly useful and everyone should take advantage of them.
Teachers can use Google Docs to create grade books that can be permanently online, which I really enjoyed because I love to be as "green" as possible. There are many different functions in Google Docs that do a lot of the work for you, such as calculating the maximum number of points, minimum number of points and even a function that calculates the grade that the student got on the assignment. But most importantly it is user friendly for those of us that are not technologically gifted.
This week in my class we learned how to make an online quiz that we can easily apply to our classrooms. In order to do this, we again used a Google Doc application called a "form". this allows the individual to choose a theme for the quiz as well as write each question that they would like to include. This application even has different formats for the questions such as multiple choice and text box. After creating the quiz you can make an answer key as well as e-mail the quiz out to your students, and as soon as they take the quiz their answers will appear in a Google Document that looks like Microsoft Excel. If that isn't amazing enough their is an application that can be installed to Google Docs called Flubaroo that will automatically grade the quizzes as the students submit them online! All-in-all I think that these two programs are incredibly useful and everyone should take advantage of them.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Glogster: Interactive Posters
Throughout my educational career I have always been a supporter of utilizing technology in the classroom. If we take a step back and think about how much the world has changed when it comes to technology, we will realize that technology is always advancing and it is sometimes hard to keep up with all of the changes. Along with all the changes we need to remember that our students are constantly using technology whether it is a cell phone, the internet, video games or even their televisions at home. Due to the fact that children are exposed to and good at using technology we need to ask ourselves: why not use technology in the classroom?
The last assignment that we worked on for the class that I am currently taking, that is all about including technology in the classroom, was called Glogster. Glogster is a site that allows students to make online interactive posters. These posters can be about any topic that the students are studying in school. I will admit that I was a little skeptical about this tool at first because I was worried about it not being user friendly enough for the younger students that I hope to some day teach. I was quickly proven wrong when every step is well explained or at least easy to figure out. When creating a Glog students can pick what every aspect of the poster looks like as well as what is included in the poster. Some examples are: URL links, pictures, videos, songs, audio clips and much more. Glogs are a great way for students to work in groups as well. Students can share their Glogs with one another and it is also a simple task for their teacher to access the Glogs that they have made in order to grade them. I also appreciate learning new ways to be green. Using Glogster is green because of the fact that it is all online and saves parents from buying and using poster board and construction paper that cannot be reused.
When I was younger I was definitely one of those students that liked doing projects rather than being tested with paper and pen. I truly believe that using Glogster in the classroom will help reach a broader range of students due to its combination of projects and technology. I loved this assignment so much that I shared the information that I learned with my mother who is also a teacher and she is now using it with her students.
The last assignment that we worked on for the class that I am currently taking, that is all about including technology in the classroom, was called Glogster. Glogster is a site that allows students to make online interactive posters. These posters can be about any topic that the students are studying in school. I will admit that I was a little skeptical about this tool at first because I was worried about it not being user friendly enough for the younger students that I hope to some day teach. I was quickly proven wrong when every step is well explained or at least easy to figure out. When creating a Glog students can pick what every aspect of the poster looks like as well as what is included in the poster. Some examples are: URL links, pictures, videos, songs, audio clips and much more. Glogs are a great way for students to work in groups as well. Students can share their Glogs with one another and it is also a simple task for their teacher to access the Glogs that they have made in order to grade them. I also appreciate learning new ways to be green. Using Glogster is green because of the fact that it is all online and saves parents from buying and using poster board and construction paper that cannot be reused.
When I was younger I was definitely one of those students that liked doing projects rather than being tested with paper and pen. I truly believe that using Glogster in the classroom will help reach a broader range of students due to its combination of projects and technology. I loved this assignment so much that I shared the information that I learned with my mother who is also a teacher and she is now using it with her students.
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