Wrapping Up!

This summer in TPTE I was introduced to lots of new sites and programs that can be used to help benefit me as an educator. This wealth of new knowledge that I have received did not come without frustration. Before this class I had not had much instruction in technology so I had lots of learning to do! Some of my favorite things were the mini lessons we gave the class in pairs. I liked this part because the sites that were talked about were simple and user friendly and accessible from anywhere. I like Wordle for spelling lists and Delicious for keeping track of my bookmarks. I was so surprised to learn of so many social networking sites. My favorite part was the iMovie. While I had some difficulties starting out, I know how to use it now and would do another! The one downfall is that technology moves so fast, it will be hard to keep up with! I feel good about where I am in my knowledge of technology now and will be able to better keep up with it in the future!

Eportfolios: TaskStream!

On Wednesday we were instructed on the new online portfolio we will be using this coming year, TaskStream. It is beneficial that we can store artifacts online for others to see such as future employers and parents. This is better than having to tote around so much paper and can even help save some paper. I am bummed that it costs money, in the future I will have to be selective about the sites I join because many of them cost money. But using this online portfolio will be very helpful in the upcoming year to post assignments for teachers and also to create a portfolio for future jobs!

iMovie

Making the iMovie will be the most memorable lesson in TPTE this semester and the tool which I think I will use again. It did start off a little rough and painful but in hind sight is easy to use. I had the most trouble figuring out how to download pictures from facebook and I also had to scan in my pictures. Sometimes I feel like specific instruction in the class is lacking and it almost feels (personal opinion) that we are expected to have prior knowledge. Individual instruction is very helpful but it can take a while for one teacher to go around to all students. So that adds to some frustration. However, all in all I really like iMovies! I am going to show mine to my class at Lonsdale on the first day and I already shared it with my parents and teacher. I think there are so many ways to use an iMovies in the classroom and also for all sorts of events! I look forward to making another iMovie and seeing what different effects I can add.

Excel Spreadsheet: Practice for State Capitals

This project posed a very different experience and challenge for me. I had worked briefly with excel on a PC doing work for my dad, however that was mainly focused on properties and calculations. I had never thought of using an excel spreadsheet for a practice quiz for my students. Due to the unfamiliar nature of this project, I encountered a great deal of frustrations. Some of the written directions were not clear or had changed slightly to what was actually required. I found myself getting lost in the directions and would complete one part before another. Our teacher helped me, which was greatly appreciated. I also noticed my neighbors getting frustrated with this project as well. I did like my end project. I thought it was crisp and looked good, however, I think my frustrations outweigh the benefits of this style of assessment. I also had difficulty when printing my rubric (answers to my questions). My image would only print very small and even my instructor could not figure out how to correct it. But as my dad told me when I did work for him on excel, they always seem to have kinks that need to be worked out when they develop a new program.

Inspiration Project: What Different Animal Groups Eat

Inspiration 9 provides teachers the ability to easily create content webs to present to the class. Text, images, linking words, and even notes visible only to the teacher are all apart of the Inspiration project. This project was useful for me to use in a elementary class because I can only write in one word keys that can be tailored to the student's age. I think that this program would be one I would use in my classroom, the only problem would be if my school district provided it for my school. I think it is a good way to give simple one word hints to the students and hopefully it will spur their knowledge. The pictures also help the students to make connections.

Mid-Course Check In

Thus far in TPTE 486, I have been exposed to numerous Web2.0 sites that promote collaborative, social learning. I have become more familiar and comfortable working with Macs and as a user on social networking sites. I have enjoyed and benefited from learning about sites such as Delicious.com, SmileBox.net, GoogleDocs (I really like having a google account), and blogging. I now see that blogging can be a good way to learn from my peers and educators in the future. I have learned how to use my flash drive to save my work, both pictures and word docs. I have also benefitted from learning how to share and edit with GoogleDocs. Brooke and I actually used GoogleDocs to write and edit a fact sheet we had to do for another class. Had I not been introduced to this program before, I would have just emailed her my work and thus, created two emails out of one document. Wikis and PBWorks are fun sites, I have gained a lot from working collaboratively with others in the elementary education program. I now have a ton of sites to reference as I begin teaching. Working on my Delicious wiki was also easy, my partner and I got to work individually on our own time and still see what they other had done. The one down fall to Wiki's is that only one person can edit a page at a time. It can be easy to kick someone off by mistakes, causing them to loose what they had written. Collaborative editing is new to me and I like it for the most part. However, I could see how some controversies could arise as people edit others work that they spent lots of time on. That part must be explained to the students, not to take Wiki editing personally. I have learned how to take a screen shot and upload pictures. There are so many different social networking tools that I find it best to pick the ones that work well for me and stick them. I like SmileBox and Wordle was very cute! I could see myself using it for a word wall in my elementary classroom. There is so much out there in terms of technology but one thing is clear, that I need to keep up with the changing times of technology. It is important for me to be able to connect with my students and this means that I will need to incorporate technology into my instruction.

Opposites: Scavenger Hunt

This project required us to go on a scavenger hunt, taking photos of assigned objects. My category was opposites! I was excited about this category because it left so much room for creativity. I actually used two different cameras to obtain my pictures. I used my ipod and a digital camera. I must say I think the ipod took the better pictures. I tried to be creative in my responses. Uploading my pictures from the camera and ipod was the easy part. Cropping the photos, uploading to Picassa, and renaming them was the confusing part! We moved very quickly in class and I quickly felt overwhelmed. I needed the one on one instruction to be able to complete this assignment. I am not as up to speed or intuitive as others may be, so I got a little frustrated. However, with the help from my instructor and my neighbor I was able to catch up. It is good to know how to resize photos and this was a good lesson for me. However, I was not crazy about the google slide show. I do like SmileBox! I think it is really cute and actually easy to use. I also like all the different options for newsletter, slideshow, music, collage, and so on. It seems to really have all the templates I would need for uploading pictures. It was good to know how to post my SmileBox slide show onto my blog. I just am not sure how big of a blogger I will be in the future. Blogging is a nice way to reflect on what you have read and been involved in. I could see myself blogging if other teachers at my school did as well. To take a screen shot, shift-command-4, is simple enough, I just am still a little unclear as to when I would need to take one? Technology has so many different things to offer that do similar things. It is up to me to narrow down the sites that I prefer most. Today was successful in introducing me to SmileBox. I really like it and think it will be my go to site for picture collaborations!

Smilebox Opposites!

Photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Opposites: Scavenger Hunt!

Its Delicious!

Today we were paired off into groups of two and assigned to a specific internet resource site. My partner and I were selected to make a wiki page and teach about delicious.com. I had never heard of the site and was curious to see what it offered. Delicious.com is a bookmarking site, one that you can personalize with your favorite or most important bookmarks, share with other friends who are on delicious.com, and access from any computer simply by logging on to the site with your user name and password. Delicious.com also offers categories that you can sort the link into so that you keep your bookmarks organized. Delicious.com already has "favorite" or most popular bookmarks that are good to reference. Before today, I had only minimally used bookmarks and would have never even thought of an idea like this. However, the more I explored the site, the more I realized how easy it was to use. I think it would be useful to share link with colleagues and just to send to myself to reference at a later time. Although it is not the most exciting site, I believe that it holds a fundamental purpose and can help me to stay organized when I am searching lots of websites.

Wiki

Yesterday I was introduced to Wiki's. I first learned that it means "quick" in Hawaiian. This "quickness" is translated into the speed in which you can edit, write, and share a wiki page with anyone or a select group. Wiki has many pros but also some cons. Using wiki can be beneficial in the classroom through numerous activities including virtual field trips, class scrap books, weekly newsletter, peer paper editing, group discussions, research projects, and so forth. Wiki is can also be beneficial to teachers in planning grade wide lessons, sharing ideas, drafting projects, and coordinating meetings. Wiki has also come a long way in providing reliable resources and information. It still is not recognized as a scholarly source but it can be a good starting reference for many projects. Downfalls of Wiki include its emphasis on group consensus. Wiki is not good for individual projects and those who use it for group projects or editing need to be cautious of other's feelings. That said, one should not take group input or editing personal when working on a wiki. Other cons include the inability of the wiki to allow more than one group member to edit a page at the same time. Never steal the lock from the current user, they can lose all that they had just written. It would be wise to save your individual contribution to the wiki on a word document because it is possible that someone could accidentally delete the segment during editing.

Web Site Evaluation Reflection

This activity was beneficial to introducing me to a new educational site. The beginning of the activity allowed me to search for various websites aimed at producing materials and resources for teaching elementary students. The web site I chose, Enchanted Learning, had thousands of activities on lots of different subjects. The evaluation process was useful in prompting me to think of questions I may need to ask myself when I search or use a site that I am not certain of its credibility. As a future teacher, I need to be aware that all cites are not credible and know how to check for credibility. In that respect, I think that this exercise was beneficial.

My Learning Expectations for TPTE 486

I have high expectations for this course and the benefits it will offer me. I expect that by the time this course has ended, I will have grown greatly in my experiences and knowledge about technology. I expect that I will become competent in the new and various programs that I can use as an instructor and also personally. Technology has come to encompass so much of our daily lives that I can only benefit from learning how it can best serve me. Already, I have been introduced to GoogleDocs and really like the program. It really is easy! But I probably would have never known about it, had it not been for this course. Im sure that there are many more great tools out there and I am excited to learn about them!

About Me

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog! I am new to this whole thing but excited to share with everyone how I am growing as a techie. Prior to my summer courses that have introduced me to technology, I have pretty much avoided all contact with technology. But I have always said I would like to take a class that could help me grow as a computer savvy individual. Nows my chance! I am looking forward to learning a lot about the advantages technology can offer me, both personally and professionally.