Computer tutorials are beneficial in ways I did not think of before. Several times some students get done early, so those that are done early could have the option to go and do an online computer tutorial activity. Another benefit with computer tutorials is that students can go on their own pace. Some students are slower or faster than others. Using tutorials students are able to go at their own pace and then the teacher is free to move around, monitor, or help individual students.
On the other hand, I think using computer tutorials could get out of hand. Teachers should remember they are the teacher and should not expect to do computer tutorials all the time. Some students do better if their learning is more hands on using manipulatives and others may do better if an actually person is sitting down with them and to answer questions they may have that the computer could not answer or give time to ask.
If I were to design a tutorial, I would consider making a section where the students could either move on or raise their hand to have the teacher answer any questions. However, overall, I thought the tutorials we did in class we helpful and beneficial. It is important though to remember that great tool to help students.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Lesson Plan 2
Here is my webquest lesson plan:
http://questgarden.com/71/92/5/081027081536/
I worked with Whitney Anderson and Shara Israelsen on my project.
http://questgarden.com/71/92/
I worked with Whitney Anderson and Shara Israelsen on my project.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Exploring Instructional Architect
Once again, I was amazed at another program and resource available to teachers on the web, Instructional Architect. It seems like only a few years ago that the internet was becoming a popular thing, and now it is becoming more and more a great resource and tool in teaching and researching. The internet can be a wonderful tool, however, we need to also be careful and evaluate sites to make sure they are credible.
As we looked at the Instructional Architect program, I was impressed with many aspects. First, I thought that it was nice how it was completely free for teachers to use and bounce ideas off each other; whereas, with Quest Garden, people have to subscribe. Also, I liked the simplicity of Instructional Architect. It was easy to search a topic and have the site list several links that looked credible and helpful to the topic chosen. With Quest Garden, teachers have to search on their own for credible website and then put the URL's in the lesson. I enjoyed being able to have a folder where I could keep the different sites that I found using their search engine. Another aspect I really enjoyed was how easy it was to put together. Quest Garden has a lot more components when you are putting it together. It can sometimes be confusing.
On the other hand, I do appreciate having many options for backgrounds and I think the finally product may be a little more appealing to students since it has task tabs, introduction, extra pictures, etc. It can difficult in the process of putting it all together versus Instructional Architect, though. Instructional Architect seems more friendly to teachers putting it together, while I think Webquest may be more appealing to students.
However, as a teacher, I may find that I use both because they both have their positives and negatives. I liked Tom Caswell's suggestion though that teachers should be able to rate each others pages, so that others know how useful and helpful different lesson are to teaching different subjects. I know, though with time, that this program and others will be improved and several years down the road, we may find the programs to be simply, amazing, and beneficial for students.
As we looked at the Instructional Architect program, I was impressed with many aspects. First, I thought that it was nice how it was completely free for teachers to use and bounce ideas off each other; whereas, with Quest Garden, people have to subscribe. Also, I liked the simplicity of Instructional Architect. It was easy to search a topic and have the site list several links that looked credible and helpful to the topic chosen. With Quest Garden, teachers have to search on their own for credible website and then put the URL's in the lesson. I enjoyed being able to have a folder where I could keep the different sites that I found using their search engine. Another aspect I really enjoyed was how easy it was to put together. Quest Garden has a lot more components when you are putting it together. It can sometimes be confusing.
On the other hand, I do appreciate having many options for backgrounds and I think the finally product may be a little more appealing to students since it has task tabs, introduction, extra pictures, etc. It can difficult in the process of putting it all together versus Instructional Architect, though. Instructional Architect seems more friendly to teachers putting it together, while I think Webquest may be more appealing to students.
However, as a teacher, I may find that I use both because they both have their positives and negatives. I liked Tom Caswell's suggestion though that teachers should be able to rate each others pages, so that others know how useful and helpful different lesson are to teaching different subjects. I know, though with time, that this program and others will be improved and several years down the road, we may find the programs to be simply, amazing, and beneficial for students.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Comic Digital Photography
This was an amazing activity today! I have used digital cameras, however, I have never used the ComicLife program or Photoshop. Both of these programs could be fun and motivating for students as they explore shapes and geometry.
In class today, I enjoyed how we first talked about letting the students come up with their own definitions for the shapes and letting them take pictures of shapes that surround them. It makes them aware of geometric shapes that are all over that they probably pass everyday. I did not even really think about all the geometric shapes there are even in just the education building. We do not even realize that most things have a shape, including our bodies.
Besides the learning and understanding that takes place in taking pictures of geometric shapes and coming up with a definition for the geometric shapes, the ComicLife program adds such a fun demension to the project. Students love comics. I think using the ComicLife program is motivating for students as they create bubbles with sayings and manipulating their pictures to further show the shapes. Plus, it allows them to be creative and funny. It is also easy students to use on their own. However, I think Photoshop may take a little more explanation for students to use. These programs are fun to explore and would be something a teacher may use to create a scrapbook of activities done throughout the year, too.
Math can be so boring and hard for students, however, if we take time to connect math with real life experiences that the students have, then they are going to internalize the concepts more. It will become more meaningful and students may find they enjoy math. Using different ways of exploring math concepts such as taking pictures or using math manipulatives is motivating for students! ComicLife and Photoshop are useful programs that can be used in a variety of projects, such as the one we did today, studying plants, book reports, etc.
In class today, I enjoyed how we first talked about letting the students come up with their own definitions for the shapes and letting them take pictures of shapes that surround them. It makes them aware of geometric shapes that are all over that they probably pass everyday. I did not even really think about all the geometric shapes there are even in just the education building. We do not even realize that most things have a shape, including our bodies.
Besides the learning and understanding that takes place in taking pictures of geometric shapes and coming up with a definition for the geometric shapes, the ComicLife program adds such a fun demension to the project. Students love comics. I think using the ComicLife program is motivating for students as they create bubbles with sayings and manipulating their pictures to further show the shapes. Plus, it allows them to be creative and funny. It is also easy students to use on their own. However, I think Photoshop may take a little more explanation for students to use. These programs are fun to explore and would be something a teacher may use to create a scrapbook of activities done throughout the year, too.
Math can be so boring and hard for students, however, if we take time to connect math with real life experiences that the students have, then they are going to internalize the concepts more. It will become more meaningful and students may find they enjoy math. Using different ways of exploring math concepts such as taking pictures or using math manipulatives is motivating for students! ComicLife and Photoshop are useful programs that can be used in a variety of projects, such as the one we did today, studying plants, book reports, etc.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Website Evaluations
I never have really taken the time to evaluate websites, so I was grateful that we took time to look at different websites and actually fill out evaluation forms.
The evaluation forms were for the most part helpful. I particularly liked the midlink magazine web page evaluation form and the form that looked at links. As I filled out the midlink magazine web evaluation, I particularly enjoyed being able to tally up a score and looking at the score chart at the bottom to determine if it was a good website. Also, it was easy to read and the criteria was clear. The form that looked at links was helpful in checking the accuracy of a website. I liked how the form had you go to www.altavista.com where people can check to see what sites are linked with the one be evaluated. I have never seen this before and I thought it was interesting to see what other sites are linked with it. The evaluation for of a website by Kathleen Schrock was easy to read and I liked how at the end you can write a paragraph about the website. However, I found it not to helpful with the website I looked at because many of my answers were not just yes/no answers. I like scales that I can actually rate rather than yes/no because many times things are inbetween. The cyberguide form was also hard for me because it was just yes/no questions and I could not rate inbetween.
From doing these evaluation forms, I found that finding updates and the creators of websites is sometimes difficult to find. Others are really easy to find at the bottom of the website. Also, as I was filling out my evaluation forms, I discovered that websites tend to have a lot of links that may or may not work. This is why the creators need to constantly check their websites to make sure their links are working.
Besides finding these things, I think these evaluation forms really help you decide whether the website is worth taking time to look at and use information from them. Many times, we just google sites expecting to find great sites in the first few options, however, sometimes that is not always the case. I want to teach my students how to evaluate and practice evaluating myself to find website that will be benefical to my students and that are credible.
On the other hand, I may not use an evaluation form to when going to websites such as government direct website (i.e. .gov) or ones that come from a direct source of knowledge such as a university. These websites are generally credible because they are constantly doing the research and are update often with they latest research. I do think that using the evaluation forms for most websites that do not come directly from the previously mentioned website are valuable.
The evaluation forms were for the most part helpful. I particularly liked the midlink magazine web page evaluation form and the form that looked at links. As I filled out the midlink magazine web evaluation, I particularly enjoyed being able to tally up a score and looking at the score chart at the bottom to determine if it was a good website. Also, it was easy to read and the criteria was clear. The form that looked at links was helpful in checking the accuracy of a website. I liked how the form had you go to www.altavista.com where people can check to see what sites are linked with the one be evaluated. I have never seen this before and I thought it was interesting to see what other sites are linked with it. The evaluation for of a website by Kathleen Schrock was easy to read and I liked how at the end you can write a paragraph about the website. However, I found it not to helpful with the website I looked at because many of my answers were not just yes/no answers. I like scales that I can actually rate rather than yes/no because many times things are inbetween. The cyberguide form was also hard for me because it was just yes/no questions and I could not rate inbetween.
From doing these evaluation forms, I found that finding updates and the creators of websites is sometimes difficult to find. Others are really easy to find at the bottom of the website. Also, as I was filling out my evaluation forms, I discovered that websites tend to have a lot of links that may or may not work. This is why the creators need to constantly check their websites to make sure their links are working.
Besides finding these things, I think these evaluation forms really help you decide whether the website is worth taking time to look at and use information from them. Many times, we just google sites expecting to find great sites in the first few options, however, sometimes that is not always the case. I want to teach my students how to evaluate and practice evaluating myself to find website that will be benefical to my students and that are credible.
On the other hand, I may not use an evaluation form to when going to websites such as government direct website (i.e. .gov) or ones that come from a direct source of knowledge such as a university. These websites are generally credible because they are constantly doing the research and are update often with they latest research. I do think that using the evaluation forms for most websites that do not come directly from the previously mentioned website are valuable.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Spreadsheets and Surveys
Google Docs. program has so many amazing features. It can make things so much more organized and helpful. Particularly the spreadsheets and surveys we explored today were fun to discover all their functions.
I remember my teachers using in grade school using an actually grade book to record our scores. The grade book could easily become messy as the teacher had to erase and change scores. Plus, it was hard to look through all the scores to find all the scores that were missing. I plan on using Excel or Google spreadsheets to create my gradebook if the school does not already have a grade book program. By using Excel or Google spreadsheets, teachers are able to quickly add in formulas to figure out averages, percentages, etc. Also, teachers can quickly add in scores or change scores without the messy look on the paper. It looks nice and clean which can help teachers find scores that may be missing.
Besides Excel and Google spreadsheets, I love the Google surveys/forms feature. This would be a simple way to find out how parents feel you are doing or teachers can discover what the students already know and what they want to learn through taking a simple survey that can be quickly done in class or at home if they have a computer/internet at home. Plus, I really liked the idea of using the Google survey/forms feature to give quizzes to the students. It is easy to create and use. However, I may consider giving the quiz at the school computers rather than at home so that they do not cheat using a book or something. Although, I guess the students could cheat at the school computer, too, yet at least the teacher would be there to monitor.
Google spreadsheets and surveys/form are user friendly programs that I hope to incorporate in my future classes. I also plan on sharing these programs with others. This can be helpful in so many different careers such as doing business surveys to find out how customers like the store or creating a spreadsheet to keep track of how much is selling in different departments. I love these programs!
Here is my amazing survey that I created: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pO1OFsTbORWnYn3ntLdeVQA
I remember my teachers using in grade school using an actually grade book to record our scores. The grade book could easily become messy as the teacher had to erase and change scores. Plus, it was hard to look through all the scores to find all the scores that were missing. I plan on using Excel or Google spreadsheets to create my gradebook if the school does not already have a grade book program. By using Excel or Google spreadsheets, teachers are able to quickly add in formulas to figure out averages, percentages, etc. Also, teachers can quickly add in scores or change scores without the messy look on the paper. It looks nice and clean which can help teachers find scores that may be missing.
Besides Excel and Google spreadsheets, I love the Google surveys/forms feature. This would be a simple way to find out how parents feel you are doing or teachers can discover what the students already know and what they want to learn through taking a simple survey that can be quickly done in class or at home if they have a computer/internet at home. Plus, I really liked the idea of using the Google survey/forms feature to give quizzes to the students. It is easy to create and use. However, I may consider giving the quiz at the school computers rather than at home so that they do not cheat using a book or something. Although, I guess the students could cheat at the school computer, too, yet at least the teacher would be there to monitor.
Google spreadsheets and surveys/form are user friendly programs that I hope to incorporate in my future classes. I also plan on sharing these programs with others. This can be helpful in so many different careers such as doing business surveys to find out how customers like the store or creating a spreadsheet to keep track of how much is selling in different departments. I love these programs!
Here is my amazing survey that I created: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pO1OFsTbORWnYn3ntLdeVQA
Monday, October 13, 2008
Word Processing (e.g. Google Documents and Microsoft Word)
When I see attachments in my email, I have been given the option to open the attachment as a Google document. I have been curious to discover what is Google document and the features that it offers.
Google documents is such a helpful tool. I could see this being positive thing to use in the classroom. I struggle a lot with grammar. Google documents would be nice to use in order to have another teacher help me write and correct a document that I may be sending to parents. This may be easier rather than using attachments back and forth. Attachments can be confusing if you have too many from sending and receiving so many times.
On the other hand, I liked the activity we did in class using Microsoft Word. I think in a situation where you were having the class do a writing activity and are not going to be sending attachments, this would be a fun activity for them. The students would love using the editing feature and it would be so much easier for the students and teacher to read.
Before today's class, I did not really see any way a teacher could make using a word processing program any fun. However, after class, I realized that so many different writing assignments can be done and made exciting for students to use. Students should use and become familiar with Microsoft Word because it is used so much today in many careers. Older students could also learn to use Google documents which also would be useful in their further endeavors. I enjoyed learning more about Google documents and features in Microsoft Word. I plan on using them in my classes today and in my future classroom.
Google documents is such a helpful tool. I could see this being positive thing to use in the classroom. I struggle a lot with grammar. Google documents would be nice to use in order to have another teacher help me write and correct a document that I may be sending to parents. This may be easier rather than using attachments back and forth. Attachments can be confusing if you have too many from sending and receiving so many times.
On the other hand, I liked the activity we did in class using Microsoft Word. I think in a situation where you were having the class do a writing activity and are not going to be sending attachments, this would be a fun activity for them. The students would love using the editing feature and it would be so much easier for the students and teacher to read.
Before today's class, I did not really see any way a teacher could make using a word processing program any fun. However, after class, I realized that so many different writing assignments can be done and made exciting for students to use. Students should use and become familiar with Microsoft Word because it is used so much today in many careers. Older students could also learn to use Google documents which also would be useful in their further endeavors. I enjoyed learning more about Google documents and features in Microsoft Word. I plan on using them in my classes today and in my future classroom.
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