Semester in Review

Throughout this year, I have definitely learned a lot about technology tools. I think the most valuable aspect of the class was learning how to utilize these in our classrooms in the future. It presented various options for us to teach and involve our students. I especially enjoyed the ActivInspire software that we used for the Promethean Boards. I feel that this, above all, will be the most important information to take away because I foresee technology such as this becoming a regular part of classrooms. I now know how to utilize so many Web 2.0 tools, know about copyright laws, and even know web terms that will allow me to be a better teacher for my students. My favorite part of the class was creating the website. Because we made this as we went, I think that it is a good representative of what we have done and how far I have come this year. I also loved learning about blogging. In addition to this blog, I have created a classroom blog to model an actual blog that I might keep as a teacher. In this new blog, I welcome the students and parents to my class. I also let them know what the purpose of the blog is: to keep them informed and updated on classroom events and information.  Because all of the assignments in this class were tailored to the teaching program, we got a good feel for what kinds of lessons we could create and what standards needed to be met. Overall, the class has allowed me to increase my technological knowledge and really start thinking like a teacher.

iMovie and Web Authoring

This week, we finished up our digital stories using iMovie. I took most of the pictures myself, and my friend Andrea took the rest. I ended up finding the music from freemusicarchive.org. I have embedded it on my website as well. Now, we are just finishing up our websites. I need to make sure I have plenty of images to keep it interesting and user friendly, but not distracting. I also need to make sure my pages are completed and consistent regarding color and style.

Here is my how-to digital story:

iMovie

This week, we finished up our Digital Diagrams and our ActivInspire flipcharts, both of which are now on my website. Now, we are starting to work on our iMovie projects. I decided to do a "How to Follow a Recipe" movie. This would be applicable for students in how to closely read and follow directions, as well as dealing with measurements. I have now gotten all of my photos collected for the project. There are a lot more steps than I had anticipated! I took pictures of Kroger, a brownie box, all of the ingredients, and the process itself. I need to find some music to put in the video and enter in the captions that will coincide with the pictures. After the project is finished, I will upload it to YouTube and link it to my website.

Digital Diagrams

This week, we finished up our Interactive White Board projects. The file is now attached to my website. The link is titled "ActivInspire Flipchart" under the Technology Projects tab.

We also finished up our digital diagrams using the Inspiration 9 software. I had trouble getting the software downloaded to my personal computer; it said it was incompatible with my computer's software. I ended up doing my diagram on the water cycle. We were required to have 3 subtopics and then 3 more subtopics off of the first subtopics.

This is a screen shot of what the final product looks like. It is also linked on my website under the Technology Projects tab as "Digital Diagram." The original project also includes a link to a Magic School Bus YouTube video about the water cycle.

Now, we are starting to work on our digital storyboard videos. I have chosen to do mine on "How to follow a recipe." I will go around the grocery store picking the proper ingredients in the correct sizes and then make the recipe step by step.

Interactive White Board and Storybird

This week, we continued working on our Interactive White Board projects using ActivInspire for Promethean. I have honestly had a lot of fun creating my flipchart on counting coins, but I am still working on it because it is fairly time consuming. I wish that it had templates like a PowerPoint instead of having to create the header and text box separately each time. Even though it is time consuming, it is very cool! All of the functions that are available make it a potentially very interactive resource for the classroom. For example, my students would be able to come up to the board and complete activities rather than doing worksheets or having manipulatives in front of them. I will have my flipchart completed by Tuesday, so I will then post it to my website. Here is what the front page looks like!

We also learned about another Web 2.0 resource called Storybird. This is a website where you can choose artwork based on theme or artist and add words to each page to make a small book! I thought it was fascinating and loved looking at the artwork. This resource would be more for older children or teachers because it would be too complicated for most younger children. Each Storybird that you create must be approved before it can be embedded, so here is the link to mine for now! 

Our next project will be working with Inspiration 9, which they call visual mapping software. We will be creating essentially a flow chart for a particular subject area that corresponds with a textbook. Luckily, Inspiration offers a free 30-day trial, so we could use the program on our home computers. I haven't decided what lesson I want to do yet, but I think I might try science since I haven't done a science lesson so far. 

Interactive White Board and Web 2.0

This week, we continued learning about Interactive White Boards (IWBs). There are literally so many uses for it, and there are so many actions that you can use in a flipchart. I have decided to do my lesson for first grade on money. My lesson will involve naming the different coins and maybe some bills, knowing the value of each coin, being able to combine different coins to produce a certain value, and applying these skills to real-life situations. All of these correspond to TN state standards, which I will include after I have completed the project.

 We also learned about Timetoast and Animoto this week, which are two more Web 2.0 tools. Timetoast is a way to produce timelines, which could be used in various ways. The example that I created (seen below) was just a timeline of my life. An older elementary schooler would be able to produce one of these for a potential project.




We created videos using Animoto. This tool allows you to select certain photos and videos to put in a video/slideshow. Unfortunately, the free version doesn't allow you to select the time span of the pictures or which clips of any videos to use. It also only allows you to make a 30 second video. I think this tool would be very interesting to use, but I would prefer the version in which you would have to pay for the extra tools. This is my video:


Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Google Presentation and Interactive White Board

This week, we finished up our Google Presentations. I made a slideshow of mammals using photos from Pics4Learning. It is embedded below.




The interactive white board is an amazing resource that we have just started learning about. There are so many actions and lessons you can do with it. "Interactive white board" is also the generic term for the resource. Some brand names are the "Smart Board" and the "Promethean Board." We were shown one lesson from many that can be downloaded from Promethean Planet, which has tons of FREE resources for teachers. Basically, they give you a free bank of resources to make you want/pay for the board, which can be very pricey. The only thing you have to be careful about is any teacher can upload a lesson they've created, so some of them may be great, but some may be pretty bad also. For our class, we will be downloading a software program called ActivInspire to develop our lessons. This software is free if you have a code that comes with a board. I am really excited to develop skills with the interactive white board, but I will be disappointed if I end up not having one when I start teaching, ha!

Glogster

This week, we finished up our ABC scavenger hunt and used those photos in a Picasa Web Album (seen below), and we learned about Glogster. Glogster is kind of like a blog, but it it much more involved regarding layout, graphics, etc. I created a Glog using the "edu" version of Glogster (FREE!), which can be seen below, about the Cherokee Indians just to stay on the track that I've been going down with some of my other projects. I found it time consuming to make and get all the graphics the way I wanted them, but it ends up producing a great finished product that could be very stimulating for a class to look at. I think it would be too difficult for most elementary-age children to use as a tool on their own, so this would be a teaching tool. I also had slight difficulty getting it to embed properly, but it finally embedded correctly.

Picasa Web Album

This is an example of a Picasa Web Album that I created. My group went on an "ABC Scavenger Hunt" to find objects around campus that corresponded with the letters A-L. I was able to embed the slideshow and put it on my blog, here.

Web 2.0 Project

This week in class, we finished our Web 2.0 project on Wordle. My partner and I presented a step by step tutorial for how to work Wordle. We had some difficulty with Java because neither one of us is super technologically knowledgeable, so it took a few minutes before the entire class had activated Java. The rest of the tutorial went pretty smoothly. The only thing to me that was difficult was that Wordle itself wasn't the easiest tool to learn how to use, let alone trying to teach others to use. In hindsight, I wish we had kind of practiced what we were going to say and how we were going to present to the class. It wasn't a bad presentation; it just could've been better.

Next week, we will continue to view other people's presentations on their Web 2.0 projects and work further with photo apps like Picasa and Flikr.

Web 2.0 - Wordle

This week, we worked on our Web 2.0 projects. Our project was on the web application Wordle. We found it to have great potential as a classroom tool. The projects you can create with Wordle can be very visually appealing. We created a few different ones for our Wiki, in which we teach our class how to use the Wordle tool. We used the Declaration of Independence, a poem, motivational words, and song lyrics to create our Wordle. It definitely had some drawbacks because it was a little tricky to figure out and use. Wordle also would not be useful except for creating posters or aesthetically pleasing visuals for the classroom. I do not think it would have much educational use besides creating pictures teachers could use in lessons. 

This project meets the NETS•T Standard: 3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning. 

Here are some Wordles that we created for our project: 

I created this one using motivational words.

My partner created this one, which would be great for a government lesson.

My partner also made this one using names, like you could do for an elementary class. 

Inquiry Project

We finished our Inquiry Projects this week for class. I chose to do mine on Native Americans, particularly The Cherokee Indians. I decided to focus on fourth grade, so I used a Houghton-Mifflin textbook called Social Studies: Tennessee grade 4 - United States, The Early Years. I mainly focused on chapter 3 in the textbook, entitled "The First Tennesseans." This chapter had sections on the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Shawnee Indians. I also found a website through Ehow with some "Cherokee Facts for Kids" that the students could utilize to answer the questions on the inquiry project. We created a Wiki with our questions and answers online and a paper handout that would be given to students in a class. 

For the handout, you must start with a name and date space at the top of the page. It is best to put these in the header section of the page, so you don't waste any of your space within the margins. Next, you want to title the handout. Mine was titled "Native American Research: The Cherokee." For younger students, it is best to add some sort of graphic to grab their attention, so I added a picture of Sequoyah, a famous Cherokee Indian. I then added clear directions for how to complete the worksheet. The directions must be able to stand alone, so no extra teacher direction is needed. After the directions, I gave the students the URL for the Ehow website to use for their research. Then, I listed about 5 simple questions (with space to write after each) that would be answered from the material on the website. Finally, I listed the standards for Tennessee and NETS•S that would be met through the activity. 

For this activity, the standards met were:

NETS•S: 3: (3b, 3d) Research and Information; 6: (6a, 6b) Technology Operations

Tennessee Social Studies, 4^th: 4.1.spi.1 (Pre-colonial Native American groups); 4.5.spi.1 (Cherokee, Creeks, Chickasaw)

This inquiry project is a great way to get students involved in learning, while still utilizing technology. You could even incorporate higher-thinking as well. This could be used at any level in elementary school; however, with younger children the formatting would have to be changed simply because they can't read or research as well yet. 

I also ended up finding a WebQuest that pertained to this Inquiry Project. I posted that in the Resources section of my website. 

Next week, we will be working on Web 2.0 projects with a partner. My partner and my project is on "Wordle." 

Wikis and WebQuests

This week in class, we focused on WebQuests and Wikis. We all got into groups (mine was a group of two other Elementary Education students), and created a Wiki about a particular gemstone. Our group chose the gem, Ruby. Then, we answered a few questions regarding Rubies, which is what our Inquiry Projects will be modeled after. For elementary-age students, 3 to 5 questions is sufficient. We were given a particular website (galleries.com) to use for our research. It is better for younger students to only be given one source for information, so they don't get confused or aren't searching a multitude of locations, which would be time-consuming. I found it very useful to use the Wiki because all the members of our group were able to go in and edit/add information without having to be in the same place. We could gather information independently and then, present it in one central location. We answered questions regarding the gem: what it looked like, where it could be found, interesting facts, etc. A Wiki would be difficult to use in young elementary-age students because they would need a certain level of technology knowledge and skill before they could be successful. I think Wikis could start being used around 4th grade.

Our Inquiry Projects will be modeled after these Wikis that we completed as a group. They will include a resource from which the students can gather information. The topic that I chose was Native Americans, and I will include 5 questions about this content area. This will become more specific next week and will be based on a 4th grade-level Social Studies textbook.

We also learned how to evaluate WebQuests. First, we looked at a WebQuest About WebQuests. You must consider the website itself (any broken links, easy to read, grade level, reading level, format, etc.), whether it is a group or individual activity, how much time it takes and whether it uses time effectively, and whether it promotes higher-level thinking for the students. We used this website to search for WebQuests with the QuestGarden search. I am still in the process of finding some WebQuests that I could use in an elementary classroom, but once I do, I will add them to the Resources section of my website.

Website Evaluation

This week, we learned about what is expected of a website that would be a useful tool in a classroom setting. A couple of key factors that make a good website are easy navigation, being easy to read (font and color scheme), being a credible source (who designed the website), and being educationally beneficial and interesting (factual information, etc.). We were provided with a long list of websites that are used in many classrooms, and the one I selected was ABCya! This particular website was created by a teacher who wanted to provide free access to online student games and activities. The website is sorted by grade from K-5th and has activities for multiple subject areas. I thought that these games and activities would be stimulating to students; however, they would be used for student practice, not as a teaching tool. The evaluation we did required us to delve into the website, checking for grammatical errors, searching for credibility, and really putting ourselves in the mind of a young student. Since I am pursuing a career in Elementary Education, I had to think about what Kindergarteners and First-Graders would be able to accomplish as early readers. This particular website, ABCya, would require some adult direction for most students wanting to use the website, even though the activities seem to be grade-appropriate. All they might need would be directions on how the play the game. Most of the games had audible instructions, which is beneficial since most that age would not be able to read directions. The only issue with that is they may not have the audio on; it could be classroom quiet time, etc. It was especially difficult for me to look at the website as if I were a 6-10 year old. I had to think about whether the font was easy enough to read, whether the navigation would be easy enough for an early technology user, whether the graphics were overwhelming or organized accordingly, etc. There were many factors that were brought to my attention that I would not have thought of otherwise. This is great knowledge for me to have because I predict that technology will continue to increase in prevalence and importance in classrooms everywhere, and I want to be tuned-in to current technology trends and tools in order to make my classroom the best learning environment for my students.

My Expectations for TPTE 486

This is my first blog post for TPTE 486! My expectations of the class mainly include learning about web tools and how to use them and apply them to a classroom setting. Already, we have done more than I was expecting to learn this semester. We have started a classroom website, which has been relatively simple to use. We did this through Google Sites, and the process has been quick and easy to catch on to. We also created a Wiki for our class called "All About Me," in which we learned how to create and use a Wiki while also learning about each of our classmates with a small biography. Now, obviously, we have created blogs, which we will be posting on at least once per week. My knowledge has already increased greatly, and I cannot wait to see what is in store for the rest of the semester!