Class #14: THE LAST DAY!!!!!!

Today marks the last day of Ed 331: Educational Technology! It was a good semester and I feel that I have learned a lot. All that remains for this class is to post to our files in our educational portfolio and enjoy the summer.

Class #13: iPad Presentations and Microsoft Publisher

In the beginning of class today we started by talking about our iPad powerpoint presentations. Apparently not many of us understood the point of the assignment as we now have some extra time to re-do our presentations. I don't really mind as I was not completely happy with my finished product and it will be nice to get the opportunity to add more notes and photos to my presentation, since it was kind of boring. We also talked about how it is important to add statistics and other factual information. In order to insert facts and statistics we went over how to insert bar graphs and charts into the power point.

After talking about PowerPoint we moved onto talking about Microsoft publisher to make a flyer to go with our presentation. At first it seemed like it would be difficult to use, but I actually got the hang of it and managed to finish my flyer in pretty good time.

Class#12: eBooks and Project C.

To start off class we discussed one of our past topics on the discussion board: Always being plugged in. The opinions on this topic still vary, and I still maintain that always being plugged in via mobile devices isn't healthy for anyone. We then went over how well our submission of Project B went, the general consesus being that most people were able to turn in their projects with little difficulty.

Then our discussion turned to the topic of eBooks, which I am actually a fan of, as my kindle is one of my most prized possessions. According to the professor eBooks are becoming more and more popular, with the notion of textbooks potentially being available in an eBook in the future as well as kindle now having a "rent" option instead of bying the book. I think that this is a good change because it will make information even more accesible, and I must admit I think my life would be a bit easier if I could access my heavy mathbook on my unassuming kindle. Another student also shared a benefit of using eBooks, which is that students that are lower readers can use a kindle or other device to read a book at their level, without being embarrassed that they are unable to read the chapter books that their other classmates can read. Furthermore potential authors can publish their book into an eBook directly, instead of most likely getting rejected by several different book publishers. I think that this is beneficial especially for good writers who don't have the connections to get a publisher, but it also means that there is potentially a lot of crap authors out there who can also easily get their writing circulated as well.

After this we discussed our upcoming assignment: Project C. I am actually looking forward to developing and presenting this because I think it will be fun to create on the smartboard, and it will be a good chance to show what I have learned.

We concluded class with some work time, which I used to start working on my Project C presentation.

Class #11: Project B Discussion, and other things

Right away in class today we started talking about our Project B. This to me was a nice way to start class because it cleared up a lot of questions that I had about it, and was happy to hear that we do not need to have our activity done until Project C, as Project B is just the lesson plan. Then we posted our Project B drafts to our site, which I am happy to say I have got the hang of pretty well. After sharing our URLs with the professor we moved on to a discussion of lesson planning and showing different examples of lesson plans

After this we got into small groups and talked with each other about the lesson plans that we created. This was really helpful because we were able to get one-on-one advice from one of our peers about the different changes we could make to our lesson plans. It was also nice to talk to everyone else and see the different common core standards that everyone else had, and the different ideas that other people had for a technology-integrated lesson.

We also had time in class to ask the professor questions, or ask other students who might know the answer.

After we asked questions and discussed about our lesson plans we had some time to get used to the Smartboard. For this we  presented some of the different Smartboard activities that we developed earlier in the class. This was helpful because it gave me a chance to show what I could do and also get used to using the smartboard. It was also nice to see the other activities that people created and how they incorporated their major into the lessons.

Class #10: iPads and Confusing QR's

Today's class started out by going over how well the homework went over the previous week. Due to the extended due dates it was much easier for me to get my homework in on time, although I still heard of some people not completing it. It seems as though some people think that they should be able to complete the homework in class the day its due. Then, to kill some time we viewed a prezi presentation titled "60 apps in 60 minutes", which was built in the shape of a clock. Although despite the clever design I still find prezi presentations that are not my own to be quite difficult to navigate.

We then moved on to a discussion about QR (Quick Response) codes, which I have been noticing are more and more poplular on mobile devices. For this discussion we each selected an iPad, unless we brought our own, and tried out scanning a QR code. While the iPad I was using was being difficult and wouldn't connect to the internet, I still got the jist of it, and I can see how that could be really handy in the classroom. This could be particularily useful for students with special needs, as you can maybe hide hints inside the codes, or even have the code lead to a social story for certain social situations that students with autism could use. Unfortunately using and creating these QR codes proved to be much easier said then done. Creating an activity to link to a QR code is still something I am completely lost on (what program should we use? how do you create an activity that isn't multiple choice in google docs?). However I was able to figure out how to convert a url to a QR code and add that code to a word document. I guess progress is progress however small it may be. We then posted the different QR codes we created to our sites. That at least I have managed to get the hang of.

Next we got into small groups to discuss the homework (iPad articles and reflections), and compile a list of five strategies that were listed in the articles. We then verbally presented our finding to the class. This was followed up with a short lecture on the use of iPads in a classroom, and what ages they will benefit the most.

To conclude our class we talked about lesson planning, which we discussed in order to complete our Project B.

Class #9: Mobile devices and immovable opinions.

Class today began with a barrage of questions directed at the professor regarding the our google sites and blogs. While I must admit that I am one of the many who are somewhat flustered by this, I feel that I have a relativiely firm grasp on the concepts, and was also happy to find that I am not the only person who isn't 100% savvy with this.

We then moved onto the discussion of mobile devices. Devices such as smartphones, ipads, tablets, digital cameras, and even portable gaming devices. This led to an assignment to read an article about Digital Devices and their effect on people in the workforce, who work through their phones even when away from the desk, part of which I read during class. This part sort of scared me because it is becoming even more popular for people to be expected to be available for work, even when they are clocked out. Not my idea of a happy and fulfilling career. The article also mentioned that as of now about 2/3 of the U.S. population owns a smartphone, which again, made me uncomfortable as I do not own a smartphone, nor do I wish to. I do not like the idea of being so dependent on a phone, as many people are, and I often enjoy distancing myself from technology and being completely unreachable and secluded, however morose that may sound.

The next activity was to take our discussion on mobile devices and direct it towards smartphones, and the different versions of them. We then created a smart notebook presentation of them. This was at first difficult because I was very confused as to the expectations of the short assignment, and also I hate cellphones and don't really know much about them, nor can I tell any brand apart from each other. But with some help from the professor I pretty much got it down, along with the help of interet photos of phones with their brands obviously visible in the photo.

Finally in class we were supplied with ipads to use and our professor went over an introduction of its functions. I hadn't really used one before, other than holding the one my cousins owned, so I found it quite enjoyable to get used to one. And I drew a tree. Maybe owning one of these wouldn't be so terrible.

Day #8: Smart and Tech Savy

Class today started with an introduction to the new questions discussion board, the purpose of which is to allow us students to answer the questions that one another has, or for Dr. Kele to answer them on the discussion board instead of through emails. After that we had a short lecture about standardized testing.

We then moved onto a video that talked about the use of technology in the classroom. One quote that came up was a quote by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. The quote went as followed: "Teachers with not be replaced by technology, but teachers who don't use technology will be replaced by those who do." I agree with this statement. A teacher who is more tech-savy will be much more capable of taking new technology advances in stride than those who are intimidating by advancing technology. But teachers will not be replaced by technology because as teachers we still have our knowledge about the certain subject that we teach, and we will still be capable of teaching our subject even if we don't have technology. The video then went on to give the several reasons why students benefit from technology, and while the format and presentation of the video was sub-par, the information was very helpful.

After this we broke into groups to discuss the articles that we read for class. The article that I read was about the use of smartboards for students with disabilities in the regular classroom. It listed a wide variety of tips for engaging students with disabilities, tips that will also further engage the regular ed students as well. Another article discussed was an article read by a group member. This article also dealt with students with disabilities, only involved teaching students with cognitive disabilities about real-world situations such as grocery shopping. Then, as a class, we shared the results of our article search.

Class# 7: More SMART talk.

Ed Tech started off pretty slow today, mainly because there appeared to be something up with the projector, but we eventually got started and delved into conversation about our weekly discussion posts. We then moved on to discussing the various sources of information that Dr. Kele gave us about smart boards. One of the main points I recall about the article that I read was that there will be an ability gap between teachers. I found this interesting, as we normally talk about ability gaps between students. In the case of this article it brought to light that some teachers will take to smartboards and other technologies faster than others. This is sometimes due to an age difference, or perhaps simply a difference in preferences. The result, however, can severely impair a teacher's confidence. An example that the article provided was that in a grade where the students have different teachers for different subjects, there may be one teacher who uses the smart board more than another. The result of this can be that the students will come to understand the workings of the smart board better than some of the other teachers. A situation such as this can damage the confidence of a teacher that ends up needing help with their smart board lesson from one of the students. This is something that I have never thought about prior to reading this article. It brought me to understand that if a school decides to implement smart boards, as many have, they will have to ensure that all of the teachers are trained in how to use it effectively. Also the article listed the stages of learning for teachers, and brought up the point that teachers using smart boards will not become advanced smart board users with just a few uses. It takes a long time to learn.

We then moved on to discuss an article written by a teacher that opposed the use of smart boards. She brought up some pretty good points, mainly that the smart board doesn't necessarily change the learning experience for the students. The format of teacher lecturing and student listening is still the same, it doesn't promote interactive learning as much as it should given the amount of hype about it. She also brought up that it will be a wow factor for a while, but the novelty will wear off. However, despite her thought provoking opinions, I am still a supporter of smart boards, and reading her article simply challenged me to make my future smart board presentations even more engaging and informative.

The discussion of her article brought us to discuss the use of smart boards further as a class. One question that Dr. Kele raised was:"Do you have every student come up to use the smart board in a lesson?" My answer for this was that not every student needs to use the board in one lesson, you can group the students together and have them collaborate.

Finally in class we started working in groups, or alone, on creating a smartboard lesson. My partner Jennifer and I began creating a small geometry lesson involving identifying different angle sizes. Some parts of creating the lesson were frustrating, but overall it is still a very enjoyable program to use.

Class #6: Get SMART

So class today began with attempting to install a SMART technologies program. This did not work so well on my computer. We then moved on to watch a video showing different people who code on computers, and showing that all types of people are able to do it, and not just brainiac nerds with glasses and pocket protectors. Even a man who was a basketball player was interested in coding. This actually caught my interest because I actually taught myself some rudimentary HTML coding when I was in middle school and learned to build a very basic web page from scratch. Unfortunately I have forgotten almost all of it.

We then moved on to using the SMART program we downloaded on our computers. Since mine didn't work I shared with a neighbor. Using the SMART program was actually a lot of fun, and I was able to find some pretty cool tools. The tool that was my favorite was the shape correcting pen, which perfects shapes that you draw freehand. Although for a while there the program changed every shape I tried to draw into a circle. All circles aside it was cool. My other favorite was the protractor. You can draw a shape and then pull out the protractor tool and line it up to your shape to measure the angle. You can rotate the protractor to fit any angle, and resize it for larger or smaller objects. It was a really handy tool and was fun to use as well.

We then watched some more videos about different smart board activities that were very simple to create, and also very interactive.

Overall I really like SMART Technology and can't wait till I am able to one day incorporate it into my teaching.

Day #5: Work with Video and Sound.

Today in class we talked about the different online video and audio converters that we can use in our future classrooms. These actually seem to be really helpful and are very easy to use. Most of them only take a few seconds and then produce the newly converted file ready for download. Honestly though, the first thing I thought of was how easy it would be to use these to get free music from youtube. But hey, that probably ran through most people's minds. I guess theres always a downside to accessible technology.

I also spent a good chunk of class working on my Project A as well. It seems to be coming along very well. At first it was a little confusing selecting the rubric format on the Rubistar website, but once I realized that I could make up whatever categories I wanted to it was pretty easy. The online tool I am using is WiseMapping. It is not as easy and fun to use at it first originally looked, but it got the job done, and I was able to alter the colors, which was really my main creative focus. Looking back on my creation of the project I realized that it might be a little difficult of a young student to use.

We then looked at an online voice recording tools. That actually looked pretty cool. Aside from needing a microphone to speak into this also looked very easy to use. The online recording tool could also be used to record a youtube or online video. I could definitely picture myself getting into shenanigans with something like this.

Finally we worked a bit with Screencasting. This is something that is super handy and invloves recording what you are doing on the computer for the purpose of teaching computer activities. I found this to be pretty cool. I was able to record my Prezi creation very easily. Unfortunately after starting to record I remembered that I have actually never made a full Prezi before and ended up recording myself fumbling about and trying to figure it out as I went. Regardless I learned how to screencast which was the main purpose.

Another day of Educational Technology

Class today went rather fast, and I found it quite enjoyable. Although I was unable to sit still for more than about 5 minutes at a time, and more than once spun my wheely-chair at least on revolution around, I was quite productive.

We started out talking about a sample quiz we had made in google docs. Before class we were to fill it out as if we were the students. Then we converted it to a spreadsheet, and graded it with Flubaroo. I had some initial trouble with this but was able to complete it with the assistance of the professor and another student. I think I've got it down now. Afterwards we posted the spreadsheet of results onto our site.

The second main task of the class involved a conversation about technological integration. We reflected for a bit, brainstorming what we thought it was, and what it was not. As a class we went around and gave examples of each. I thought that this was pretty informative, as a lot of other students has ideas that I did not when it came to integration. I also realized that there were several positives to integrating technology into the classroom, which is something that scares me as a future teacher, as I have a tendency to be tech-fearful.

Class concluded with a lecture on Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. The professor made a big point to tell us that our first project should incorporate Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, and to bring activities that support higher-order thinking skills.

Class #3. Creating Sites and Stuff.

So class today was (or more accurately is, as I am typing in class) a very interesting and incredibly confusing class. We started working on making spreadsheets and creating multiple choice worksheet things through gmail. That site has everything. This part was actually very straight forward and simple to figure out.

Unfortunately I am not technology minded, and this was a confusing class. For starters I ended up losing the video url I found through youtube for our project, and got quite behind the rest of the class. Then I slowly started to despise the layout that I had spontaneously chosen for my site (since I figured I could always change it later) so I will probably end up deleting it and making a new one. But I have confidence that I can catch up.

In reality all of this stuff really isn't incredibly difficult. But getting used to it does take some time.

We then worked with Windows Media Player. Luckily I have at least a rudimentary knowledge of how the program works, so I am rather confident when working with it.

We also talked about what it means to be a critical thinker, and how we can develop critical thinking skills in students. In class we watched a video about what it means to be a critical thinker, how to be a critical thinker, and what can happen if we are not.

Second Day of EdTech

Second Day of Educational Technology

So starts the second day of Educational Technology (at least for those of us in section 1). Let my very first blog commence!

Anyway today in class we came with our assignments completed. This consisted of looking through a list of online tools to use in the classroom, and then sharing them on a googledocs spreadsheet. My genius self posted it to the wrong section, but there are perks to having class in a computer lab, and my mistake was easily and quickly fixed.

The online tool that I found is called Draw Anywhere. It is a website that allows students to create diagrams, charts, flowcharts, and other forms of concept mapping. These can be saved online or printed, and can be accessed from any computer. The perks of this is that a student can create a flowchart to organize their ideas, and easily access them at home or at school. Concept maps can be created at school, and viewed at home, and vice versa. Pretty brilliant.

We also created Prezi accounts and began to get accostomed to using that. The main thing we mentioned was how easy it was to use, and the comparison to Powerpoint, which has to be downloaded on a computer in order to use. I do think that I have fallen in love with Prezi.