Week #5

Today we were put into groups to complete a wordle, glogster, and primary pad. I think Al did a great job of assigning the groups, I get along so well with my group (not that I wouldn’t have gotten along with others, but I think I can relate the most to these girls). Primary pad is a great way to keep everything that we are collaborating about in one place. I like the idea of using this to organize a group. You can log in whenever and get caught up on what was said and post your own comments or suggestions. It is a good way to be able to monitor who is doing what in a group project.

We are working on our glogster and it is coming along. It is nice to be able to go in and edit something or add something and have everyone else see what you have done immediately s o they can add to it or edit it. I like glogster but the only concern I would have with brining it into my classroom would be that when you search for something there are some racy pictures that come up sometimes. I would be able to use this with my Software class no problem (they are mature students) but I might think twice before incorporating it into my business technology class (they might be more susceptible to search out the inaproppriate images). I will use this to create an assignment. I think it would be a very creative way for students to get an assignment. It is great that you can add video and audio to the glog.

I have seen wordle posters but I have not actually made one before, so I am excited to get into this. I will defiantly incorporate this into my classroom.   

Week #4

Today’s class got me thinking more about the idea of homework. I usually don’t give homework, maybe it’s based on the courses that I am teaching but I usually don’t feel the need to get them to do their work at home. However, I didn’t really think of the idea of using homework as a way for students to connect their home with what they are learning in class. Students are motivated by having an interest in what they are learning. What better way to do this than to show them that what they are learning can be connected to their life outside of school? This allows them to bring something in from home and use it in what they are learning.

In my business technology 11 classes we don’t do much research, however I know that they are doing research in other classes. My students have access to computers every class. This is not a luxury other classes have. I think I will take a day out to reinforce validating information. If a student finds incorrect information and starts a research assignment with that information they are going to be very frustrated once they realize that.  They need to know how to filter out the incorrect information and be able to pick out the information that they should be using.

I am excited to use movie maker in my class. Once I have the program figured out I will be able to get the students to create a movie for someone. I believe they will be very motivated since they will be using some or all of their own photos.  They will be able to create something that they will be proud of and be able to show others.

Week #3

Compressing Pictures

I didn’t really have a good grasp on the size of digital photos until tonight. I have received e-mails from friends with huge pictures that you have to scroll across and down to see and you can’t look at the entire picture at once. This is annoying and I usually don’t spend too much time trying to get the idea of what was going on in the pictures. Also, I have never made a movie using pictures and I am very excited about getting to do this. I am definitely going to get my students to do a project similar to this once I get it all figured out. I am very excited to learn about how to incorporate music into the movie as well. Students have such a huge connection with music with ipods being all the rage that I am sure they will like the ability to pick a song and make it into a movie with images.

Week #2

Hyperlinks and Bookmarks

Once we were shown how to use hyperlinks and bookmarks I realized how useful and easy this function was. I gave my class an assignment that week using hyperlinks in their power point assignment. They really enjoyed learning this function because most of them were not familiar with how to use hyperlinks. I could see they were impressed with their ability to set up a hyperlink and use it. This was something that I might not have introduced in this course had I not learned about it in class.

Digital Camera Brochure

I found it useful to learn about the different aspects of a digital camera. I have had a digital camera for years, yet never really took the time to learn about the different terms in detail. However, one of the most useful things I learned from this assignment was how to set up a brochure. I never had the need to present information in a brochure. However, I can see how using a brochure to give instructions for an assignment or review for a test would be a good way to grab the attention of my students. I gave my software students an assignment this week where they had to use a brochure to present their information. Even though their information could have been presented in a word document they were more motivated to complete the assignment when asked to use the brochure format.

Week #1

Marks

What a relief it was to hear that we would all have more than one opportunity to get an A-, A, or A+ in this course. Having the ability to do something over to improve my mark is something that I allow my students to do. However, not many of them take advantage of this opportunity; they know it is available to them. I believe if someone has done an assignment and it could be improved upon it is beneficial to that student to be able to take the assignment back, make the changes necessary and resubmit it. Being able to submit your work until you get it right allows students the ability to strive for excellence. There are usually a handful of students in a class who will receive 90-100% on an assignment the first time they hand it in. The other students in the class may have received lower marks for a number of reasons including: not fully understanding how to complete or present the assignment, not having enough time, not being in class when they were given the information they needed to complete the assignment.

I believe education is about learning and growing as a person. We get hung up on the marks as the indication of how much someone has learned and grown. Marks can be a good indication of if someone has understood the assignment. Being allowed to pass in an assignment for a second time after being told what you need to do to perfect it enhances learning. It gives students the opportunity to add to their work and make it better. It gives them the chance to excel and achieve a high mark.

Some people may say that giving an assignment back with comments telling the student how they could have received full marks is enough. If a student is not going to get any credit for re-completing an assignment you know as well as I do they are never going to put their time and effort into it. This will hinder further learning on that topic. Our jobs as educators are to increase not hinder learning, so why don’t more people allow their students to re-submit assignments? I believe it is laziness. It doesn’t take up that much time to look through an assignment for the second time because you are just looking for the changes that you asked to be made. Then the student gets a higher mark and this could motivate them to do their best in that course.

Prezi

Learning how to use Prezi on the first class grabbed my attention. I was impressed by the alternative method of presenting. Power point is a useful tool, however it seems like if someone is going to do a presentation that is what you are expecting them to use. It was nice to see and use something different. We are in the process of getting the ability to use and edit Prezi on the computers at school so I can introduce this software into my classroom for my students to use.

I believe learning has everything to do with relevance and willingness. If a student comes into my classroom and doesn’t see how they can use what I am teaching them outside the classroom they might be a less willing to learn the material. However, if a student can see how the topic would relate to their lives outside the classroom they will be more willing to learn.

21^st Century Learner Homework Assignment

I struggled with this assignment a bit because I didn’t know how to incorporate the 21^st century learned with the ability to get something done at home. I know that not all of my students have access to a computer or to the internet at home, but I guess they could make arrangements to go to the library or stay at lunch or afterschool in the lab. Thank you for the comment on the Times New Roman font style, I do need to change that. I was glad to get the feedback on my assignment and was glad I had time to redo it before handing it in. I do feel like I have more of an understanding of quality homework and will be able to do a better job next time.

How Large Are Teacher Effects?

This article was a heavy read. It made me think about teachers and the effects we have on our students. It was a good article to spark a discussion. I liked the idea of having to collaborate with someone on this article. Sometimes when you read something you are only thinking about it from your perspective, and it is nice to see what someone else thought about the same article.