Week 13

MS Word:
As a student, I use MS Word for so many different reasons. While note taking, I find the organization tools to be effective (bullets, indentations, etc.) since they have quick buttons where you can easily redefine a level of indentation. Since note taking requires a need to quickly process the information and jot it down--it helps having these quick switches and the knowledge of outlining points easily.

I also use the tables and text boxes quite often in projects. Having the ability to customize the font and structures of these two, allows me the ability to concentrate on the content as it helps organize things visually for me. Their selection of real to cartoon images for clip art are helpful when planning lessons. Children are so easily drawn to visual design traits, and MS Word offers so many variations.

MS Excel:
I must confess that I do not use this program as often as I could. MS Word has tables that I would use on a more regular basis. I find that Excel might be helpful in terms of budgeting--though I have created visual representations of data in Excel. Since there are online spreadsheets (ie. Google spreadsheets) that allow me to share information with others as well as allow them the ability to interact with my spreadsheets, I generally will turn to those first. Since data itself is better served while feeding to an audience, using the offline Excel is less beneficial to the Google version. I know there are methods to share Excel, and it is also more technical with better formulas or functions, but I rarely need anything beyond a basic function of defining sums or lists.

MS PowerPoint:
MS PowerPoint is so helpful with presentations.  I use it often for lessons or class presentations.  The functions I mostly use are embedding images or videos, slide animations (with different levels of timing), and of course the templates they have.  Since it is visual, organizing your information with less text is ideal.  I find that the slide animations help me most in defining what I want shown at a specific time.  I've used this for class games before as well.

Projects for MS PowerPoint:

• Targeting elementary-level students, they would learn the importance of form, structure, and organization through creating a PowerPoint and its animation function.  Students would show a procedure or tell a story with dynamics.  The animation function allows them to control when information is given and teach them the use of structure.
• For middle-level students, I would ask that they create a presentation on the three branches of American government.  Since they will be taking a field trip to the state's capital, I would ask them to incorporate a self-interview embedding video clips, organizational charts, word-bullets, etc. to show their experiences.
• For middle-level students, I would ask them to present 3 short presentations with different themes (three different styles of information perhaps with the intent to evoke sadness/empathy, humor, and excitement).  Students would need to persuade an audience by using PowerPoint's templates, animation, etc. in an effective way.  The teacher will ask students to reason their use of certain functions to show their thought process.

Flipsnack

Week 12

Three question to the NU Educators Panel Members:

• With flipped classrooms showing signs of promise for the future of education, do you see yourselves changing the classroom structure to accommodate that style of learning? 
• How can we update our educational system, especially as it is headed toward a more technologically based learning if the economic ability of families are declining? Does this move upward, in the technological field, add to the difficulties for families to provide the right type of learning environment at home? 
• With a few exceptions, why is there such a large gap in quality and equality of educators in a low-income district versus a high-income district? How might we better bring up a higher standard of education for those in a low-income area?

Reflection #12

Using Movie Maker for the first time, I've run into some issues.  Though problem solving is quite intuitive to my nature, I wonder why the creators neglected to incorporate more user-friendly options.  It seems that the basic functions are there; you can even edit the sound clips--with some effort though.  Why is it that when you add more pictures/sounds in front of previous work, it does not shift or insert the bulk of your work behind the new additions, but rather makes it overlap?  I don't understand why I have to go back into the program to manually shift all else to match with the gap made by the additional pieces.

I wonder how I would help students build these problem-solving skills when it comes to technology.  It seems that it requires for the user to have some experience--though not with that issue.  Users would also have to have some practical sense.  I have a friend who would not be able to work out issues so easily.  How would I help students persevere through frustrating technical issues?

Week 11

Edudemic

With examples and stories from his own experiences, Matheson presents the necessities that technology must follow to be integrated well into a classroom. We have touched upon this topic before, but it never fails to serve as a reminder how easily it is to lose focus on the art of teaching.

What is particularly wonderful about this education site is that it opens up this community of teachers who have had different experiences. It is not by one particular person, but many other posts on this blog address the issues that have and will come up within our own experiences; we can look then to this site to provide another perspective into our own methodologies.

Comment Awaiting Moderation

My comment shares my own struggles to make learning the highest priority with technology. I find that technology should be like water; it is fluid and unseen under all that it carries.

Reflection #11

With more jobs and focuses in the field of technology, will we lose our ability to socialize well with our community?  Many companies have different methods of communicating now, without the need for face to face contact.  I worry that we are moving toward a society that will forget how to behave or socialize.

This trend has shown through oral and written grammar; grammar has increasingly adapted to oral traditions due to the lack of consistency in school standards (many high schools do not even require grammar to be taught).  It also has shown in handwriting.  Some schools have phased out cursive handwriting, when at one point, it was a necessity.

Are we losing our foundations?

Reflection #10

Sketching with Electronics

As you may have gathered from previous posts, I really enjoy TED talks.  After browsing many videos for the older audience in the past, I had noticed TEDYouth, talks targeting a younger audience.  This particular video (I have linked it above) highlights the innovation of the speaker.  She bridges the gap between the complexity of technology with art so to give a more concrete understanding to engineer basic circuits.  This would be such a wonderful way to interest students who are creative but lacking in the mathematical and scientific processes.

Reflection #9

abc's tv show

I came across this and thought it was a bit ridiculous.  This show basically has parents betting on what their child will choose to do.  The justification is that this money goes into the child's college tuition fund.  I just find that it errs a bit on the side of exploitation.  Although the child is simply playing, the fact that it is televised and a form of gambling makes it seem rather sketchy.  Rather like running a test to see if a mouse can navigate properly through a maze to find the door with the cheese.  Do you think this borderlines the inappropriateness of media and entertainment?

Technology Project Plan

This is a podcast of my technology project plan. I will have students create a public service announcement of sorts or a video showing the rules of the classroom using stop motion technology.

Annette's Technology Project Plan >>