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.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, February 11, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, February 4, 2013
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.
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.
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