Assignment
Reflections:
1.
Introduction Video
The introduction video was a little
weird at first because I do not like to video myself or talk about myself. It
made it more awkward when we had to do it in groups. I did not learn anything I
did not already know about shooting a video and uploading it onto the blog. It
was easy to find the video icon on a new blog post. However, I did have to
e-mail each of people in my group their video because we took all the videos on
my phone. I think that introduction videos are a great way to introduce
yourself to the parents of your students. It lets the teachers know who you are
and it allows them to get a visual of your face before they meet you in person.
Introduction videos are a great assignment for students to do also. It teaches
them how to make a video and upload a video onto the computer or particular
website. Videos can be used for a variety of assignments like reading a speech,
a poem, doing a project for history, or other activities involving speech and
movement. The NETS-T Standard that went with this assignment was:
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age
Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences
and assessments
incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content
learning in
context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified
in the NETS-S.
Teachers:
a. design or adapt
relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and
resources to promote student learning and
creativity.
The
TED videos we watched in class, especially John Hunter’s “The World Peace Game,”
were very interesting. Before this class, I had only heard of TED one time. The
first video I watched was this past summer. I am glad this class introduced me
to many different videos on TED. I like how these videos are short and talk
about real world issues because it keeps your attention the entire time. In
John Hunter’s video, I learned the important and real impact of using hands-on
activities in the classroom because students become more intrigued in learning and
want to learn more about a certain subject. John Hunter proved that through his
World Peace Game. I think this game is very beneficial for all students. It
allows students to learn about our world in a hands-on way instead of from
lectures and facts out of a book. I believe that students learn better through
interaction than lecture. Children are able to learn about the world problems
at an early age and that draws the students into the worldly problems and they
will most likely become more interested in the future. The World Peace Game
educates children on the important facts of our world. Teachers have to bring
real life/world into children's perspective. John Hunter’s ideas can easily be
integrated into the classroom. Not only will I use the hands-on approach for
certain activities, but I will show some of the TED videos to my students and
educate them on some of the problems that are faced in our world. The NETS-T
Standard that went with this assignment was:
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student
Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning,
and technology
to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and
innovation in
both face-to-face and virtual environments.
b. Engage students in
exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems
using digital tools and resources
3.
Concept MapThe concept map was one of my favorite assignments in this class. It was so beneficial and will defiantly be implemented into my future teaching. I learned how to properly set up a concept make on the program, Inspiration. I loved how easy it was to organize the entire concept map. I also loved that an outline of the concept map was provided. An outline would be a great way for teachers to refer to and stay on track when explaining a concept map. It was so easy to import links to worksheets or pictures. I think the hardest part of this assignment was importing a video link into one of the sections of the concept map. I had to get one of my peers to show me the correct way to import it so that I could just click on the link and it would go straight to the website. I have already used some of the knowledge I learned from this assignment in some of my other education classes when I’ve had to make a concept map. I will defiantly use Inspiration in my future teaching. Concept maps are a great tool to use for younger students to refer to when learning. They can be complex or simple depending on the age of the students. It can be something teachers make or an assignment for students to make on a certain subject. The NETS-T Standard that went with this assignment was:
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student
Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning,
and technology
to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and
innovation in
both face-to-face and virtual environments.
c. Promote student
reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify
students’ conceptual understanding and
thinking, planning, and creative
processes
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age
Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences
and assessments
incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content
learning in
context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified
in the NETS-S.
Teachers:
b. Develop
technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to
pursue their individual curiosities and
become active participants in setting
their
own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their
own progress
3. Model Digital Age Work and
Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of
an innovative professional in a global and digital
society
c. Communicate relevant
information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age
media and formats
4. Do
Not Track Me
I did not do this assignment because
honestly, I did not feel comfortable putting the “Do Not Track Me” on my
computer. When I first tried it, it would not work on the Google browser. Then
I tried Firefox and it still did not work. I went to class the next day to see
if it worked on my classmates’ computers. Some said it did and some said it didn’t.
For the ones who did use it on their computer, they mentioned that they had
trouble getting it off their computer or turning “Do Not Track Me” off. After I
heard that I did not want to put anything else that could harm my computer. The
NETS-T Standard that went with this assignment was:
4.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and
responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and
ethical behavior in their professional practices.a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the
appropriate documentation of sources
5. Augmented Reality
This article was a big shock to me, but I feel like it should not have been that surprising because technology is so common within classrooms now. I learned that augmented reality uses technology to blend the real world with interactive and enhanced content. This enhances the normal scene of whatever is being looked at. Students are able to use an iPad and hover over an object which will then connect them to videos or websites that further elaborate on that object. These apps allow students to get a first person perspective on whatever is being taught. IT is really neat how this can work and be used in the classroom. I think augmented reality apps are a great asset to the classroom. They will help students have a better and deeper understanding of a certain topic. It will also help incorporate technology into different lessons. Augmented reality is something that I will defiantly look into for my future classroom. I think it would be good for history and science subjects. It will be something I will have to explore myself before I let my students try it because there is no telling what will show up on the internet. This would not only help students, but also teachers as they prepare lessons. I do believe that it will become more and more popular and schools all over as well as other businesses will be using augmented reality. The NETS-T Standard that went with this assignment was:
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.
b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
6. Voki
Making my own Voki was really fun. I learned how to design my own Voki, pick a voice, and include any text I wanted it to say. The Voki was not hard to do at all. There were so many different options that could fit to different scenarios. I think the toughest part was choosing what I wanted mine to look like because there were so many choices. Obviously I fixed this by choosing a Voki that looked like me with more of a teacher look. This would be a great feature to add to a class website. Teachers could create an introduction of themselves before the school year begins and change what the Voki says throughout the year. It would be good to have weekly reminders for parents and students and let the parents know of any big and important events coming up in class or at school. A Voki could also be used to read poems, books, or any other text to students. Technology teachers could also teach their students how to create a Voki as an introduction of themselves. They could let their Voki play in front of the classroom as a way to introduce themselves or say something interesting about themselves. The NETS-T Standard that went with this assignment was:
3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
7. Web 2.0 Sites (include my 2 websites)
Although the presentations of this assignment took two weeks to complete, all the websites presented were very helpful for a future classroom. My first website was Penzu. It is basically a journal. It can be great for taking notes or writing a personal journal. It has almost all the features of Microsoft Word. You can also print off your journal entries if you want. This website would be great to use in the classroom as a way for students to keep up with a journal on their progress. You could have the students do several journal entries and print them off to be handed in for the teacher to get feedback on their academic progress. My second website was iCloud. I did not know that iCloud had its own website that can be accessed through your own iCloud account. Pages is just like Microsoft Word, Numbers is just like Microsoft Excel, and Keynote is just like Microsoft PowerPoint. Each of these sections had great templates for letters, reports, gradebooks, and PowerPoints. I think my favorite was the gradebook template under Numbers. This could defiantly be used in my future classroom. It was very organized and easy to follow. This assignment provided me with some great resources for my future classroom. I learned about some websites to make concept maps, blogs, and reliable search engines for students. The NETS-T Standards that went with this assignment were:
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.
b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating
c. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular
basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources
in support of student learning the effective use of digital tools and resources.
8. Website
I did not know you could make a website under Google until this assignment. I defiantly learned a lot of new things about creating a website. This assignment was very rushed on time and I feel like I could have done a lot better on my website if I had more time to play around with the many options provided. The hardest part of this assignment was trying to put my pages in an organized set up. The website would not let me change the order of my pages after I made them. That was a little frustrating, but it turned out okay. Knowing that you can develop your own website on Google makes it very easy and accessible for teachers to make their own websites for their classrooms. I would make a website for my classroom to upload announcements and any files that are important for parents and students. Technology is so dominate now that a website is a great way to stay in contact with the parents of your students. The NETS-T Standards that went with this assignment were:
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments
incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in
context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
Teachers:
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to
pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting
their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their
own progress
3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
9. Movie
I really enjoyed making a short movie about an experience that means a lot to me. I have never made a movie before, so everything was very new to me. I learned how to import pictures, import music, create captions, and put animations on my pictures. I loved how my movie turned out. The hardest part about this assignment was making sure I had all my pictures saved correctly so that my entire movie would not get deleted. I learned this the hard way. Luckily, I had all my pictures saved on a flash drive. The only way I could fix this problem was to start over. I had not done too much work on my previous movie, but it still took a lot of time because I had to start over from the beginning. Making a movie is a great technology tool to integrate into a classroom. A short movie could be made about any subject, introducing facts and showing pictures. I would also let my students create a short video about a memorable experience and present it to the class like our class did. It is a great way for students to have a chance to shine in the class and let their peers learning something new about them. The NETS-T Standard that went with this assignment was:
3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
At the beginning of this course, I did not know exactly what to expect. My idea of this class was that we would be learning how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access more effectively and efficiently. I thought it was connected to the BTLE, but clearly I was wrong. This class much more exciting and interactive than I thought it would be. The articles we read increased my knowledge of the Common Core State Standards. I knew a little bit about the CCSS from some of my previous education classes, but in this class I got a better understanding of the standards and the positive and negatives it is having on the education system right now. The articles really showed how the rise of technology is being implemented within the Common Core State Standards. I think all the articles we read during the semester were interesting and related to some kind of technology in the classroom. I learned how to be more careful and cautious when using the internet, especially in front of students. There is no telling what will show up when you use a search engine. One of the most useful things I got out of this class was all the websites we were shown. There were so many useful websites for teachers. A lot of the websites were free to sign up and provided great resources for teachers of all grades. One of the most favorite assignments we did in class was making our own movie. I have made a movie before when I was in middle school but not on the program we were using. I think I liked it so much because we got to connect it to something we did in our life that we enjoyed. Students would have a great time making their own video or making a video as a group about a certain subject. There were so many helpful facts and discussions in this class that really broadened my knowledge of how technology can and is used in the classroom. The only part I did not like about the class was how long it took us to present projects. For example, presenting the websites we were assigned took a lot longer than it should of taken. It made it hard to concentrate for each person’s website, especially when a lot of them were very similar, but I did find some great websites to use in my future teaching career. The only thing to improve in this class is the time management of the class. It is already really fun because we are using all sorts of technology. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the semester in this class. I know understand how important it is to incorporate technology is in the classroom. Students learn better that way because it interests them. Technology is already growing faster than we can imagine and it is going to be an important part of the school system and teachers are going to have to learn to teach safe and effective technology skills to their students.
