Enhancing the Classroom Experience

      Just this semester, I have had a teacher use a technology tool that I hadn't seen before. In one of my 4000 level classes, my teacher always uses SmartBoards, which are also very useful tools for teachers. The tool we used that I was not familiar with before, was using Google Docs. It allows for all of the students in the class to revise, add to, and edit the same document. This class is Rhetorical Theory and Practice, so being able to subtract and add to your ideas and theories is extremely useful and helpful. The use of this technology for this exercise showed the thought our professor put into creating it. She had to take into account our needs as students struggling through the material we were assigned; she had to know we would be changing our minds and used technology that could adapt.
     I believe that, if need be, I could research and find a technology that would suit the needs of students during their assignments. The saying goes here, practice makes perfect. As a teacher, you would have to incorporate technology into many of your assignments, this way you would always be searching therefore always discovering more technology that promotes productivity and creativity in your students.
     Inspiration 8 is the program we have started using in my EME2040 class in the past couple weeks and I have to say, I love it as for completing the given assignments. For creating a concept map, this is the absolute perfect program. It is simple to use while still being appealing to the eye. It allows for creativity with different fonts, colors, images, and tools that give your map a little extra. It allows you to easily convert your concept map into a Word document, which is necessary for teachers who need to put these attachments into an e-mail which can be accessed by practically everyone,The Inspiration 8 program is truly a breeze to operate. If I ever do have to create a concept map in the future, I can guarantee you I will be using Inspiration 8.

Let me Google it...

    We all know there's a difference in websites that are strictly fun and games and websites that are useful for the classroom and educational purposes. Saying that though, a teacher's goal is to make learning and the classroom environment as enjoyable as possible for his or her students. That's why Fun Brain is such a great tool for teachers to get their students involved with technology that teaches. Fun Brain is made for all types of students and has categories that will suit multiple interests, whether math or reading. It's very accessible, and the organization is wonderful! You can select games by grade level or by type of game such as: Word Games, Puzzles, Number Games, etc. (I have to say, the games are pretty fun! I always enjoyed them in school.) If you haven't tried Fun Brain, you're missing out, and so are your students. Introducing children to learning through technology better prepares them for their education in the future.

     Using web-based resources for student research can be extremely useful for teachers and for the skills of the student. I, personally, have written more research papers in the past 3 years then I can remember. Without being able to research the Internet, though it's possible, my papers would have taken triple the time and we all know there's no time to waste in the 21st century. The Internet also allows for massive amounts of information to be accessed by students; something that can't be done by searching through only one university's library for a day. Though, there is a time to use research and a time not to use the Internet in education. People have a problem now, in my opinion, of not discussing problems aloud and through cognitive thinking, but resort to the simple action of 'just Google it'. Students still need to talk through questions they have through their own minds and not just resort to what someone has said before them. It takes away from creativity and curiosity. It's better to incorporate research on the web with scholarly websites only, this keeps students from using websites that are not educational or truth/fact-based.

     In my experiences with writing research papers and completing research projects, my professors have always been clear about the kind of websites of which they require us to obtain our information. When I first had to use only scholarly articles in research, my eyes were opened to the difference in content and the way to evaluate legitimate websites from non-legitimate sites. That skill has served me well outside of the classroom as well, when it pertains to news articles and the like. I use some methods that the podcast talked about in the ABCD-T acronym the speaker talked about. I always read to see if the website is biased in any way as well as if the news is current. Knowing how to evaluate websites will allow you to gain more truthful knowledge and information as well as your students.

     I have been asked to visually critique a website based on the rules presented to us in Chapter 6 of our Tech Tactics textbook. I've chosen to evaluate the online educational gaming website, funbrain.com! I used this website many times as a kid and was excited to have to go back through its contents. I notice right off the bat that the website complies a lot with the first rule of using General Design Principles; there are many pictures that are immediately corresponded by captions with explanations or game titles, making it easy to comprehend. Rule 5 talks about limiting colors, which this website doesn't do much of, but I believe that this is because of the younger audience it is striving to reach. It does stay consistent with a blue background though. The website follows Rule 23, Placement Matters, very well by categorizing all of the hundreds of games into 5 main categories. This makes searching through the material much easier! Here's the link to the website I evaluated: 

http://www.funbrain.com/

     

     This idea of open source, open content, and open software is totally new to me! I love the idea for educators, especially for secondary school educators. Many schools are very limited in their budgets so this idea of free or reduced prices for software programs and educational classes is a steal! Literally! If I were going to be teaching, I would definitely use these types of programs for my students. The more programs you are able to incorporate into your teaching, the better your student will be prepared for using technology in the future! It's like buying the Publix brand food instead of the expensive brand name stuff. The only difference is in the name.

     Skill Check #2 was extremely helpful for me! I had never even heard of such a thing as Mail Merge! Down the road, sending out newsletters, invites, and the like will be so much easier! Our professor, Ben, does a wonderful job being patient with our class, as this assignment was much more difficult than those we have done previously! By the end of it, I knew exactly what I was doing though and I believe I could repeat this task if asked to! I definitely need to practice a couple more times with the Mail Merge option, but overall I was excited to learn a different skill in technology!

The Meaning of the Word

     Growing up as a digital native, computers were introduced into my schooling at very early age. And with the introduction of computers came the introduction of Microsoft Word. Students and teachers alike use Word in so many different ways, for a variety of subjects and projects. I started having to use Word just to write short journals, and was about to learn how to obnoxiously begin to put use Word-Art as every single one of my titles. It is simple enough to start using with elementary age kids, like they talk about in Chapter 9 of Tech Tactics. Being able to introduce the Word program to young children, helps teachers keep everyone on the same technology wavelength. Teachers use them to make quizzes, handouts, and worksheets on a daily basis. Students, such as myself, use Word for taking bullet-ed notes and writing papers in MLA format. Without Word, I just don't know how education would work anymore.
     If I'm going to be honest here, I must admit I've downloaded a song or two off of the Internet. Shame on me, I know I know. After listening to the podcast about copyright and fair use, I really must say I feel a small pain of guilt for those songs and the many images I've used just searching through Google. It is important for students to learn how copyright and fair use rules work, as downloading things without permission of the originator can get you into big trouble if not cited correctly and efficiently. So many times we hear the code of conduct speech from our professors about plagiarizing at the beginning of the semesters. As a teacher, I would also include the copyright and fair use rules and regulations speech; this way my students know how serious it is, and I am, about the correct use of images, music, and the like.
     This is the first time in a long time that I have had to create a mock quiz using Word. I learned that no matter what type of bullet you are using (numbers, letters, shapes, etc.), thankfully the Word program recognizes this and will continue to repeat the type of bullet points you are using throughout your process of creating the document! This makes the task so much quicker and easier. Though I am not an Education major, I enjoyed the quick assignment. If I am ever asked to make up a quiz or a test, I am ready for action!