A Super Fun Saturday
4 years ago
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Final Reflection
It has been good to take this class to prepare me to be a better teacher. I feel like one of the most valuable things I have learned to do was create a class website. I would also like to learn, in the future, how to post grades in a secure way so students and parents could monitor how they are doing. If the school I go to does not already provide grades that parents can access on-line I might look into figuring out how to do that. I have also appreciated learning how to convert video files as well as create multimedia projects. I plan on using the more basic types of technology in my everyday classroom use like power point, song clips and movie clips. I think some of the best ways to make classroom learning active with technology is through using wikis.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Favorite Assignment
I really liked how my video turned out. It's not Hollywood quality or anything but I consider pretty watchable. I was really glad that I was able to learn how to use iMovie and I appreciated being able to really produce something.
Here is the URL for it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgDmL5TQsaI
Here is the URL for it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgDmL5TQsaI
Wikispace
Contributing to the wikispace was super easy. I just clicked on the appropriate links and added my information. It was really simple. The links I added were "Effective Teaching" and "Erin Anderson's Lesson Plan." I added my lesson plan under the social studies section under HSSocialStudiesLesson under Adventure Learning. I added the effective teaching link under Social Studies and under High School Social Studies Blog and Personal Learning Network and Resouces.
Here is the URL for my lesson plan:
http://k12instructionaltechnology.wikispaces.com/Erin+Anderson%27s+lesson+plan
Here is the URL for my PLN blog:
http://k12instructionaltechnology.wikispaces.com/facultyfocus
I think wikispace cold be used in teaching in lots of ways. It could be used for group projects. A teacher could set up a space about a certain topic and then split that topic into 3 subtopics for each member of the group to make a page on their subtopic. Then the members of the group could edit eachothers' pages and help eachother. A wikispace could also be used to help students share notes in an organized way in order to study for a test. This may be more appropriate for High School students who need to study more intensly. Using wikispaces would probably make learning more fun for students. It is also a great way for students to collaborate with each other.
Here is the URL for my lesson plan:
http://k12instructionaltechnology.wikispaces.com/Erin+Anderson%27s+lesson+plan
Here is the URL for my PLN blog:
http://k12instructionaltechnology.wikispaces.com/facultyfocus
I think wikispace cold be used in teaching in lots of ways. It could be used for group projects. A teacher could set up a space about a certain topic and then split that topic into 3 subtopics for each member of the group to make a page on their subtopic. Then the members of the group could edit eachothers' pages and help eachother. A wikispace could also be used to help students share notes in an organized way in order to study for a test. This may be more appropriate for High School students who need to study more intensly. Using wikispaces would probably make learning more fun for students. It is also a great way for students to collaborate with each other.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Internet Safety Teaching
I decided to teach a child I know about internet safety. He is only 8 though so I didn't want to go into details about the dangers of the internet because I didn't want to give his innocent mind ideas about finding bad things on the internet. He also has a slight learning disability so I didn't want to overwhelm him or confuse him.
I started the conversation by asking him how he has used the internet before. He told me that he had used the computer before with his mom to look up information about Hitler. We talked about how Hitler was a bad guy and that it was neat that you could use the internet to learn more about him. After that I told him that sometimes there are bad things on the internet that we don't want to see. I told him that if he ever saw a bad thing on the internet to go tell his mom. Then we kept talking about Hitler and he showed me a yo-yo trick. Then my husband entered the room and I asked the little boy if he could tell my husband what he is supposed to do if he sees anything bad on the internet. He said "tell somebody." I was glad that he could remember that.
I know that I learned a lot more and could have lectured to the boy I was teaching for a longer time about all the things I learned, but I felt like it was more important to teach him one solid thing that he might be able to remember and use. Overall, I think it went well.
I started the conversation by asking him how he has used the internet before. He told me that he had used the computer before with his mom to look up information about Hitler. We talked about how Hitler was a bad guy and that it was neat that you could use the internet to learn more about him. After that I told him that sometimes there are bad things on the internet that we don't want to see. I told him that if he ever saw a bad thing on the internet to go tell his mom. Then we kept talking about Hitler and he showed me a yo-yo trick. Then my husband entered the room and I asked the little boy if he could tell my husband what he is supposed to do if he sees anything bad on the internet. He said "tell somebody." I was glad that he could remember that.
I know that I learned a lot more and could have lectured to the boy I was teaching for a longer time about all the things I learned, but I felt like it was more important to teach him one solid thing that he might be able to remember and use. Overall, I think it went well.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Internet Safety Research
First off, I want to say thanks for being flexible about how much reading vs video watching was expected. I enjoyed being able to spend the majority of my hour and a half reading.
Before beginning this assignment, I thought I was pretty well versed in internet safety. Reading articles and watching videos on internet safety though, I have learned that there are a lot of neat ideas of ways to be more safe on the internet. I feel that I have learned to keep computers in a high traffic area of the home. I have also learned that it is a good idea to use larger, more reputable search engines instead of small ones to avoid getting links to inappropriate sites as much as possible. Children and adults can bookmark websites they use so they don't accidently open an inappropriate page. Another way to avoid inappropriate material on the internet is through using a filter as well as installing pop-up blockers. Adults can also check and empty the history of an internet browser at regular intervals. By checking and emptying the history every Tuesday evening, parents will be able to know if their children have emptied the browser on their own to hide that they have been to any questionable websites.
One thing that I considered while reading the articles and watching the videos was that parents can play a big role in keeping their children safe on the internet. Parents can decide where the computer is placed. They can also install pop-up blockers and web filters. They can also check history as well as teach their children about what is appropriate.
However, as much as parents can do, parents need to be careful to not make their children feel accused. I knew a family that initially did not have a web filter. When the parents decided to put a web filter on the family computer, the teenage son felt insulted. The son felt that his parents did not trust him with the internet. I feel that parents do have a lot they can do to protect their children, but they must do so sensitively so as not to hurt their children.
Before beginning this assignment, I thought I was pretty well versed in internet safety. Reading articles and watching videos on internet safety though, I have learned that there are a lot of neat ideas of ways to be more safe on the internet. I feel that I have learned to keep computers in a high traffic area of the home. I have also learned that it is a good idea to use larger, more reputable search engines instead of small ones to avoid getting links to inappropriate sites as much as possible. Children and adults can bookmark websites they use so they don't accidently open an inappropriate page. Another way to avoid inappropriate material on the internet is through using a filter as well as installing pop-up blockers. Adults can also check and empty the history of an internet browser at regular intervals. By checking and emptying the history every Tuesday evening, parents will be able to know if their children have emptied the browser on their own to hide that they have been to any questionable websites.
One thing that I considered while reading the articles and watching the videos was that parents can play a big role in keeping their children safe on the internet. Parents can decide where the computer is placed. They can also install pop-up blockers and web filters. They can also check history as well as teach their children about what is appropriate.
However, as much as parents can do, parents need to be careful to not make their children feel accused. I knew a family that initially did not have a web filter. When the parents decided to put a web filter on the family computer, the teenage son felt insulted. The son felt that his parents did not trust him with the internet. I feel that parents do have a lot they can do to protect their children, but they must do so sensitively so as not to hurt their children.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Innovative Instruction Competition
I think I liked Amy and Beth's project best. I really enjoyed that they made sure that they focused on having students learning how to really write and not just learning tools disconnected from actually writing. I especially liked that they used Mighty Authors in order to allow students to publish their own books. When I visited a charter school, Walden, there was an English class that had their students create their own books. The students seemed really proud of their work. I think that it is great for students to be able really create something and to feel that they are good at something.
Overall it was neat to see all the different projects. I was able to see how beneficial technology can be for students. Students can really learn better through some technologies. I felt that teachers do need to be careful to not overwhelm their students with technology, but I saw a ton of technology that could be really helpful for students.
Overall it was neat to see all the different projects. I was able to see how beneficial technology can be for students. Students can really learn better through some technologies. I felt that teachers do need to be careful to not overwhelm their students with technology, but I saw a ton of technology that could be really helpful for students.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
iMovie
So I have decided that I really enjoy I movie and it is actually really easy to use once you get the hang of it. I made my movie for the innovative instruction competition last night. It was my first time using iMovie and it was really fun and not too had. I made about a 4 minute video and it took a while but it was fun.
Here is the url to my video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTENUBMV0ew
I learned a couple of things that I thought I would share:
1. To upload the video to youTube you click share and then click youTube. You have to get a youTube account. That is pretty easy too. You just go to youTube and click account. Then you can pick a user name and use your google account to make the youTube account. Then once you put your youTube account into iMovie, iMovie pretty much does the rest.
2. To insert text, click the "T" button in the bottom right quadrant. That will give you a variety of options. Hover over the options and you will see what the text does. Click and drag the option you like right onto one of your images in the upper left quadrant. That will put the text on that slide. Then you can change the color, outline and size of your text by clicking the "text" button on the toolbar.
3. Inserting audio from freeplaymusic is really easy. You just have to go to freeplaymusic and download your clip. Once it is downloaded you go to your downloads and double click it to make sure it plays in iTunes. This will assure you that your clip is saved in iTunes. Then you should be able to click the button that looks like two 8th notes in the lower right quadrant. That should display your iTunes music. Simply select the music file you want and then drag it to the image you want it to start playing at.
Anyway, I learned a bunch of other stuff too, but those were perhaps the aspects that gave me the most trouble. iMovie was a really fun program to work with and I feel like I am much more open to making movies in the future since now I know how the technology works.
Here is the url to my video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTENUBMV0ew
I learned a couple of things that I thought I would share:
1. To upload the video to youTube you click share and then click youTube. You have to get a youTube account. That is pretty easy too. You just go to youTube and click account. Then you can pick a user name and use your google account to make the youTube account. Then once you put your youTube account into iMovie, iMovie pretty much does the rest.
2. To insert text, click the "T" button in the bottom right quadrant. That will give you a variety of options. Hover over the options and you will see what the text does. Click and drag the option you like right onto one of your images in the upper left quadrant. That will put the text on that slide. Then you can change the color, outline and size of your text by clicking the "text" button on the toolbar.
3. Inserting audio from freeplaymusic is really easy. You just have to go to freeplaymusic and download your clip. Once it is downloaded you go to your downloads and double click it to make sure it plays in iTunes. This will assure you that your clip is saved in iTunes. Then you should be able to click the button that looks like two 8th notes in the lower right quadrant. That should display your iTunes music. Simply select the music file you want and then drag it to the image you want it to start playing at.
Anyway, I learned a bunch of other stuff too, but those were perhaps the aspects that gave me the most trouble. iMovie was a really fun program to work with and I feel like I am much more open to making movies in the future since now I know how the technology works.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Story Board
While playing 30 seconds of the audio from the youtube clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhHwnrlZRus
Your mission is to discover the murderer of 20 million people. This is a cold case. It has been closed for more than 95 years. It will be difficult to find the killer after all this time. Your only hope will be the primary documents.
Image of a detective : http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowshot/3400087352/
2nd Image of a detective : http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowshot/3360563547/in/set-72157616048823537/
You will have to look at these documents carefully, analyze them closely. The website below will be your guide. On it there is the list of suspects. I have already gathered some primary and secondary documents on each of the suspects. It will be your job to analyze these documents, narrow down the suspects, and find the killer.
Image of girl with magnifying glass : http://www.flickr.com/photos/etringita/854298772/
Image of man with a magnifying glass : http://www.flickr.com/photos/paurian/3550755709/
When you have discovered the killer I expect you to create a video explain what he, she, or it did to cause World War One and kill 20 million individuals. The following is an example of the type of video I am expecting you to create. The killer you choose does not have to be Gavrilo Princip. You may choose whoever you like; I simply chose to create my example video on Gavrilo Princip.
While playing song without words opus number 19 http://freeplaymusic.com/search/category_search.php?t=f&i=84
Gavrilo Princip was a murderer. He was born in 1894. His father was a postman.
Murderer Image
Information on slides on Gavrilo Princip taken from : http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/princip.htm
and http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand
As a young man Princip joined a secret terrorist organization called the Black Hand. The Black Hand was a Serbian Nationalist group. Their goal was to make Serbia, a province of Austria-Hungary, its own nation. Princip was ordered by Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the leader of the Black Hand, to assassinate Franz Ferdinand.
Image of a black hand : http://www.flickr.com/photos/74528046@N00/1574135349/
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. An assassination of him would send the message to Austria-Hungary that Serbia was serious in its demand for independence.
Image of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne : http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasroche/2619038721/
Others were also given the order to kill Franz Ferdinand. Gavrilo Princip met with them to plan the assassination.
Image of where Gavrilo Princip and his friends planned the assassination: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beograd/1335580049/
On June 28, 1914 the plan was put into action. Franz Ferdinand arrived at the railway station in Sarajevo and was driven to the city hall to give speeches and greet the people. Those assigned to assassinate Ferdinand were waiting for him. Nedjelko Cabrinovic, one of the assassins, threw a grenade at the archduke’s car. It, however, bounced off, and exploded underneath a nearby car. Two of the people in the car were badly hurt.
Image of grenades : http://www.flickr.com/photos/20692718@N00/2723164955/
The Archduke was able to arrive safely at the city hall. But he was distraught. During the welcome speech for the Archduke, Ferdinand interrupted the mayor and said, “What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous!"
Image of quotation
After the festivities in the city hall, the Archduke decided to travel to the hospital to visit the two people who were badly hurt by the explosion of the grenade. While in route to the hospital Gavrilo Princip spotted the Archduke’s car from the café where he was hiding. The car was driving over the Latin Bridge.
Image of the Latin Bridge where the assassination took place : http://www.flickr.com/photos/spdl_n1/2568537790/
Gavrilo Princip shot his pistol from five feet away. His first shot hit the Archduke’s wife in her abdomen. Princip shot again and hit Franz Ferdinand in the neck. He called out Sofia, the name of his wife. They both were killed.
Image of the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding in : http://www.flickr.com/photos/govert1970/3040981621/
Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. The people of Austria-Hungaria were angered. The actions of the Black Hand were inexcusable. In their anger, the Austria-Hungarian government declared war on Serbia. Other countries that were allied with Serbia or with Austria-Hungary were pulled into the war and then countries allied to those countries were pulled into the war. Within the span of approximately one month all of Europe was at war.
Image of Gavrilo Princip : http://www.flickr.com/photos/wackelijmrooster/3826600228/
Your mission is to discover the murderer of 20 million people. This is a cold case. It has been closed for more than 95 years. It will be difficult to find the killer after all this time. Your only hope will be the primary documents.
Image of a detective : http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowshot/3400087352/
2nd Image of a detective : http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowshot/3360563547/in/set-72157616048823537/
You will have to look at these documents carefully, analyze them closely. The website below will be your guide. On it there is the list of suspects. I have already gathered some primary and secondary documents on each of the suspects. It will be your job to analyze these documents, narrow down the suspects, and find the killer.
Image of girl with magnifying glass : http://www.flickr.com/photos/etringita/854298772/
Image of man with a magnifying glass : http://www.flickr.com/photos/paurian/3550755709/
When you have discovered the killer I expect you to create a video explain what he, she, or it did to cause World War One and kill 20 million individuals. The following is an example of the type of video I am expecting you to create. The killer you choose does not have to be Gavrilo Princip. You may choose whoever you like; I simply chose to create my example video on Gavrilo Princip.
While playing song without words opus number 19 http://freeplaymusic.com/search/category_search.php?t=f&i=84
Gavrilo Princip was a murderer. He was born in 1894. His father was a postman.
Murderer Image
Information on slides on Gavrilo Princip taken from : http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/princip.htm
and http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand
As a young man Princip joined a secret terrorist organization called the Black Hand. The Black Hand was a Serbian Nationalist group. Their goal was to make Serbia, a province of Austria-Hungary, its own nation. Princip was ordered by Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the leader of the Black Hand, to assassinate Franz Ferdinand.
Image of a black hand : http://www.flickr.com/photos/74528046@N00/1574135349/
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. An assassination of him would send the message to Austria-Hungary that Serbia was serious in its demand for independence.
Image of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne : http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasroche/2619038721/
Others were also given the order to kill Franz Ferdinand. Gavrilo Princip met with them to plan the assassination.
Image of where Gavrilo Princip and his friends planned the assassination: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beograd/1335580049/
On June 28, 1914 the plan was put into action. Franz Ferdinand arrived at the railway station in Sarajevo and was driven to the city hall to give speeches and greet the people. Those assigned to assassinate Ferdinand were waiting for him. Nedjelko Cabrinovic, one of the assassins, threw a grenade at the archduke’s car. It, however, bounced off, and exploded underneath a nearby car. Two of the people in the car were badly hurt.
Image of grenades : http://www.flickr.com/photos/20692718@N00/2723164955/
The Archduke was able to arrive safely at the city hall. But he was distraught. During the welcome speech for the Archduke, Ferdinand interrupted the mayor and said, “What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous!"
Image of quotation
After the festivities in the city hall, the Archduke decided to travel to the hospital to visit the two people who were badly hurt by the explosion of the grenade. While in route to the hospital Gavrilo Princip spotted the Archduke’s car from the café where he was hiding. The car was driving over the Latin Bridge.
Image of the Latin Bridge where the assassination took place : http://www.flickr.com/photos/spdl_n1/2568537790/
Gavrilo Princip shot his pistol from five feet away. His first shot hit the Archduke’s wife in her abdomen. Princip shot again and hit Franz Ferdinand in the neck. He called out Sofia, the name of his wife. They both were killed.
Image of the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding in : http://www.flickr.com/photos/govert1970/3040981621/
Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. The people of Austria-Hungaria were angered. The actions of the Black Hand were inexcusable. In their anger, the Austria-Hungarian government declared war on Serbia. Other countries that were allied with Serbia or with Austria-Hungary were pulled into the war and then countries allied to those countries were pulled into the war. Within the span of approximately one month all of Europe was at war.
Image of Gavrilo Princip : http://www.flickr.com/photos/wackelijmrooster/3826600228/
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Copyright Assignment
I know copyright is important to protect the people who have produced things, but to be honest I think copyright laws are kind of annoying. I think teachers already have so much to do. Then to require them to only show 10% of a movie or song seems like it just adds to the headache of everything a teacher already has to do.
I am glad that teachers have options such as Flickr with a creative commons search. The search brings up quite a few hits. I was able to find a few good pictures of WWI trenches. I found Wikimedia a bit difficult to use though. I tried to find an example of music played by hippies and I couldn't find several songs I searched. I also couldn't find an image of the famous Kent State shooting. I didn't really like freeplay music that much either. None of the searches I made except Beethoven had any hits. It looked like the website had lots of options of different sound clips, but they didn't look like they were very recognizable or meaningful clips. Maybe I'm just a "negative nancy" (term said by Courtney Yates on CBS's Survivor: China, aired September 2007).
On TeacherTube I searched for a video about the holocaust. I found this one:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=106062
The teacher who put up the video (a collage of pictures) did not cite where he or she got any of the pictures. At the end of the video she showed a quotation. She atleast attributed the quotation to Anne Frank, but she did not state when or where Anne Frank wrote or said the quotation.
I looked up another video on teacher tube that again was a collage of pictures. The author of the video did not tell where she got any of the pictures from. The author also put up a quotation from Rosa Parks and one by Martin Luther King. The author cited that Parks and King said the quotes, but she did not say when or where the quotes were said or where the quotes were obtained from. The author also had Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech streaming in the background, but the author did not attribute it to Dr. King or say when it was given or say where she got the clip from. The author did, however, have text on the video that labeled some of the images. It seemed like those labels were written by the author herself so that is good. The url to that video is:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=140073&title=Martin_Luther_King_and_Civil_Rights_Movement
I am glad that teachers have options such as Flickr with a creative commons search. The search brings up quite a few hits. I was able to find a few good pictures of WWI trenches. I found Wikimedia a bit difficult to use though. I tried to find an example of music played by hippies and I couldn't find several songs I searched. I also couldn't find an image of the famous Kent State shooting. I didn't really like freeplay music that much either. None of the searches I made except Beethoven had any hits. It looked like the website had lots of options of different sound clips, but they didn't look like they were very recognizable or meaningful clips. Maybe I'm just a "negative nancy" (term said by Courtney Yates on CBS's Survivor: China, aired September 2007).
On TeacherTube I searched for a video about the holocaust. I found this one:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=106062
The teacher who put up the video (a collage of pictures) did not cite where he or she got any of the pictures. At the end of the video she showed a quotation. She atleast attributed the quotation to Anne Frank, but she did not state when or where Anne Frank wrote or said the quotation.
I looked up another video on teacher tube that again was a collage of pictures. The author of the video did not tell where she got any of the pictures from. The author also put up a quotation from Rosa Parks and one by Martin Luther King. The author cited that Parks and King said the quotes, but she did not say when or where the quotes were said or where the quotes were obtained from. The author also had Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech streaming in the background, but the author did not attribute it to Dr. King or say when it was given or say where she got the clip from. The author did, however, have text on the video that labeled some of the images. It seemed like those labels were written by the author herself so that is good. The url to that video is:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=140073&title=Martin_Luther_King_and_Civil_Rights_Movement
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Google Docs
I never knew how easy it is to keep the formatting of a document I want to post to my blog. I remember hearing that I was supposed to post my lesson plan using google docs. I went to google.com and went to google docs. I created a new document and then copied and pasted my work into it. The formatting changed a little so I had to fix that. I made my document public. I also selected that I wanted to post the doc to my blog. All I had to do was enter my gmail information and name of my blog and the document posted itself. Plus the formatting looked really good. I liked how user friendly and simple google docs is.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Pasting... Cancel
WWI Lesson Plan
A. Anticipatory Set
a. Show images of soldiers in the trenches and have the students write down how they feel
B. Objective
a. Students will come to their own conclusion about who or what started WWI and will be able to write an essay clearly arguing their opinion.
C. Input
a. Trenches
i. Stalemate war
ii. Cold/ wet
iii. Rats
iv. Disease
v. Shellshock
vi. Trench Foot
b. Weaponry
i. Machine guns
ii. Barbed wire
iii. Poison gas
iv. Airplanes
v. Tanks
vi. Flame thrower
c. Facts
i. Deaths
ii. Length of the war
iii. Countries involved
d. Treaties
i. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
ii. Versailles Treaty
D. Checking for Understanding
a. Ask students for questions
E. Modeling
a. Demonstrate how to use the website to do adventure learning.
F. Guided Practice
a. For your homework assignment you will look at who or what should be blamed for the atrocities of WWI. You will do this using the following website: https://sites.google.com/site/causeofthegreatwar/home
b. You will go to the pages of the website and follow the links to analyze potential causes of the war.
c. Take the class to the computer lab to introduce them to the website and the assignment
G. Independent Practice
a. Continue exploring the website at home and then write an essay that argues who or what caused the war.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Personal Technology Project
I decided to use adventure learning for my project. I created a site using google sites that links to lots of other websites that contain primary documents or are good secondary documents. With adventure the idea is that the students are supposed to visit my website and then visit other websites and come to their own conclusions.
In my adventure learning website I pose the question: who or what started WWI? I think adventure learning could be a great way to engage students more especially in an online class.
Here is my website. https://sites.google.com/site/causeofthegreatwar/home
In my adventure learning website I pose the question: who or what started WWI? I think adventure learning could be a great way to engage students more especially in an online class.
Here is my website. https://sites.google.com/site/causeofthegreatwar/home
Monday, February 22, 2010
Personal Technology Project Progress
I think my Personal Technology Project is coming along well. I decided to use the adventure learning. I set it up so the students could go through my website on google sites to look at what were the causes of world war one. On my google site I have a home page so I could explain what their assignment was and then I create pages so I could have links to original documents and links to other webpages that describe the original documents.
This is my website. I think I am making good progress.
http://sites.google.com/site/causeofthegreatwar/
This is my website. I think I am making good progress.
http://sites.google.com/site/causeofthegreatwar/
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Class Website Link
Here is the link to my class website.
http://sites.google.com/site/mrswilcoxclass/
http://sites.google.com/site/mrswilcoxclass/
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Class Website and Blogging
This week I have been working to finish my class website. I feel like I have learned a lot.
First, I learned how to create a new page on google sites. Using the create new page made it really easy. However I actually had to look around for a little while for the button that probably should have been obvious. For some reason, I thought I would have to edit the side bar to create a new page.
I learned how to make a google form and then embed it in a website. I used the instructions on the voice thread and a link to more instructions on a group members blog. I was excited to see the spread sheet that was attached to the quiz. I tend to be disorganized especially with loose leaf papers. Having all the students work all togather on-line would probably relieve a lot of stress for me.
I also learned how to embed a video from YouTube. It was convenient that YouTube keeps their embed link directly under the video. I never really noticed it there before but then when looking for it, I was able to find it in seconds.
Lastly, I learned to appreciate blogging so much more. I had never done blogging before this class. I figured I didn't want my personal life on the internet. During this class I learned that I could make a blog private - awesome! I could record my private life online without any one seeing it. Also at the beginning of the year, I made a goal to write in my journal everyday. I have found though that by the end of the day when I get home from school I want to relax not write in my journal. I have found that by blogging my journal, I can make an entry any time during the day. That makes it really easy to just take a second at my convenience to make an entry.
I can usually be a bit of a pessimist about technololgy. I have this inherent belief that most technology is not worth the trouble of learning how to use it. However, I have found that learning what I did this week wasn't that bad. The work I have speant on learning this technology will be worth the convenience of using it.
First, I learned how to create a new page on google sites. Using the create new page made it really easy. However I actually had to look around for a little while for the button that probably should have been obvious. For some reason, I thought I would have to edit the side bar to create a new page.
I learned how to make a google form and then embed it in a website. I used the instructions on the voice thread and a link to more instructions on a group members blog. I was excited to see the spread sheet that was attached to the quiz. I tend to be disorganized especially with loose leaf papers. Having all the students work all togather on-line would probably relieve a lot of stress for me.
I also learned how to embed a video from YouTube. It was convenient that YouTube keeps their embed link directly under the video. I never really noticed it there before but then when looking for it, I was able to find it in seconds.
Lastly, I learned to appreciate blogging so much more. I had never done blogging before this class. I figured I didn't want my personal life on the internet. During this class I learned that I could make a blog private - awesome! I could record my private life online without any one seeing it. Also at the beginning of the year, I made a goal to write in my journal everyday. I have found though that by the end of the day when I get home from school I want to relax not write in my journal. I have found that by blogging my journal, I can make an entry any time during the day. That makes it really easy to just take a second at my convenience to make an entry.
I can usually be a bit of a pessimist about technololgy. I have this inherent belief that most technology is not worth the trouble of learning how to use it. However, I have found that learning what I did this week wasn't that bad. The work I have speant on learning this technology will be worth the convenience of using it.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Voice Thread
I have the spiritual insight for the upcoming week so that forced me to learn how to use voice thread a bit better so I could upload my power point presentation and record my comments.
I wanted to write about this technology because of the positive experience I had with it. So often I get so frustrated with technology when it doesn't work or can't figure out how to make it do what I want. It's like I'm speaking English to some program and it only understands German. Anyway, uploading my power point, recording my spiritual insight, and sharing the thread was not like that at all. It was super easy. I didn't know exactly what I was doing so went to the my voice tab and it had a little tutorial. It showed me exactly what to do perfectly. The best part about the tutorial was it was only a minute long. I was able to get the information I needed super quickly. I learned that all I had to do was go to the create tab and upload my power point from my computer. Then all I had to do was record individual comments for each of the slides. I liked how it seperated out the recording to each individual slide; that made it way easier to record. After recording, I pressed the share button and highlighted Dr. West and Danny and then pressed the invite button. As I was leaving the thread a pop up asked me to name, describe, and label my thread. Creating a voice thread was super easier than I was expecting!
So often you only her negative stories about technology. I lost my 20 page research paper on the night before it was due or my computer crashed again or all sorts of other stories. Because there are so many people that do have negative experiences with technology I thought it might be nice to share my positive experience.
I wanted to write about this technology because of the positive experience I had with it. So often I get so frustrated with technology when it doesn't work or can't figure out how to make it do what I want. It's like I'm speaking English to some program and it only understands German. Anyway, uploading my power point, recording my spiritual insight, and sharing the thread was not like that at all. It was super easy. I didn't know exactly what I was doing so went to the my voice tab and it had a little tutorial. It showed me exactly what to do perfectly. The best part about the tutorial was it was only a minute long. I was able to get the information I needed super quickly. I learned that all I had to do was go to the create tab and upload my power point from my computer. Then all I had to do was record individual comments for each of the slides. I liked how it seperated out the recording to each individual slide; that made it way easier to record. After recording, I pressed the share button and highlighted Dr. West and Danny and then pressed the invite button. As I was leaving the thread a pop up asked me to name, describe, and label my thread. Creating a voice thread was super easier than I was expecting!
So often you only her negative stories about technology. I lost my 20 page research paper on the night before it was due or my computer crashed again or all sorts of other stories. Because there are so many people that do have negative experiences with technology I thought it might be nice to share my positive experience.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Reaction to Week Three
Week Three Voicethread Reaction
During the voice thread Dr. West discussed communication. I enjoyed reading all the students comments on how they communicate with their professors and peers. Many said they communicated to their professors through email. I agree, I like to communicate with my professors through email too. You can really get a fast response. I enjoy being able to shoot my professor an email at before bed and have it answered by the time I wake up. A lot of people said that they enjoy communicating with their peers through text messaging, facebook, on the phone, and webcam.
I think as teacher, I would like to try to make myself as available as possible to my students. I want to especially be available by email because that can be a very convenient method of communication. I also want to be available over the phone, facebook, webcam, and text. I want my students to be able to access me any through any method they find convenient.
I feel that websites for classes are really valuable for students to. It allows them to access the syllabus, their reading assignments, and homework assignments whenever they need it. I also plan to post my lecture slides on my website. I feel like it is important to do this so students can focus more on listening and taking supplementary notes during the lecture instead of copying down the lecture slides.
During the voice thread Dr. West discussed communication. I enjoyed reading all the students comments on how they communicate with their professors and peers. Many said they communicated to their professors through email. I agree, I like to communicate with my professors through email too. You can really get a fast response. I enjoy being able to shoot my professor an email at before bed and have it answered by the time I wake up. A lot of people said that they enjoy communicating with their peers through text messaging, facebook, on the phone, and webcam.
I think as teacher, I would like to try to make myself as available as possible to my students. I want to especially be available by email because that can be a very convenient method of communication. I also want to be available over the phone, facebook, webcam, and text. I want my students to be able to access me any through any method they find convenient.
I feel that websites for classes are really valuable for students to. It allows them to access the syllabus, their reading assignments, and homework assignments whenever they need it. I also plan to post my lecture slides on my website. I feel like it is important to do this so students can focus more on listening and taking supplementary notes during the lecture instead of copying down the lecture slides.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Since I will soon be a teacher, I decided to find websites and blogs that will help become a good teacher. One thing that I think will be difficult about being a teacher is preparing lessons. I have already prepared lessons in an education class I am taking and I have found that lesson preparation can be very time-consuming. I was able to find a website though that should help me prepare lessons faster. That site is Classroom Lesson Plans: Helping Teachers Teach History.
I expect that classroom management is something I will struggle with. For that reason I found multiple sites that discuss classroom management strategies. Those sites are Effective Classroom Management, My Classroom Management, and Top Five Classroom Management Strategies.
I also found some other websites that should just help me in general as a teacher. Those websites are So You Want To Teach, Teach Effectively, and TeacherTube. TeacherTube in particular, looked like an interesting website to keep up to date on. TeacherTube basically posts videos that gives teachers ideas of how they can teach better and ideas of lessons. One of the videos I looked at even was on how to incoporate technology into the classroom.
I am minoring in Computer Science Teaching as well so I wanted to find a website on how to teach Computer Science. I found Computer Science Teacher. This is a blog written by a man who taught Computer Science for 8 years. In it, he gives advice to other Computer Science teachers. I think this site should be particularly helpful because the education classes I am taking have mostly been focusing on how to teach history instead of how to teach my minor Computer Science.
I am subscribing to one of my group member's blogs. The other person in my group doesn't have their blog link on the classroom website. I am also subscribed to my sister's blog and my parents blog.
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