Week 10 DW/LP

This week we did not learn about any new technology. We continued working on our Dream weaver websites and our final Lesson Plans due on Monday. I am excited to view the other websites created by my classmates.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class because I learned how to use so many different types of technologies and how I can implement these into my future classroom. It was nice to see how technology can be used within an elementary school setting as well. Plus we did not just talk about how the teacher can use the technology, but how the students can be interactive during the class as well.

Successful class!

Week 9 DW

This week I began working on my website. We are using a application called Dream weaver on the Mac computers. I really like learning how to create my own website even though I was completely confused when attempting to begin my own website. Now that the first class is over I feel much more comfortable and was able to produce a website that met the needed requirements.

The coolest thing was being able to link every page together. As long as you make sure the first template is perfect the rest of the website becomes very easy. I will probably use something like this in the future as a future to set-up a class website for my students and their families. This way information is always available and everyone has tools available to them when they are needed.

The only issue I see with this is applications are always being updated and it seems that Dream weaver may already be considered the "old program". Also, I would never use this technology with my students because for them, this application would be extremely hard for them to understand.

Week 8 Sick :/

I was sick this week with strep throat and was not in class, but we began learning about websites and the layout of websites. We learned how the layout of a website can help make it look successful and nice if you follow certain rules.

Week 7 Technology

For this weeks class we had the chance to investigate different types of technology. We had the chance to use iPads, iPods, and the Smart Board and figure out how to best use them. I'm really glad we were given the chance to play around with the Smart Board because there is a very good chance that I will be using this type of technology in my future classroom. We had a really good time looking at all the different input charts available to use. Also, we figured out that the board is harder to use for left handed people to use. I think my favorite characteristic of the Smart Board was the 'script' button which improved your handwriting drastically.

We also worked with iPads and iPods to look at apps and to see how these apps could be used within a lesson. This is helping us complete or next assignment as well. My group decided to use an app that included the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We are going to create an assignment that has the students re-write part of the Bill of Rights into their own words that way they can better understand the language.

Some other apps that I found interesting included different math apps, map apps, and different apps that could quiz you on different subjects. However, these apps might come in handy when needing to assess students quickly by testing them, but would not be helpful in a lesson. I was hoping to find more apps that students could use during lessons as resources. Maybe I will find some if I keep looking and have to ability to browse through the market.

Week 6 iTunes

This week we did not start a new project, but we began discovering and looking at podcasts. We used iTunes to search for lessons, activities, and other teacher resources through podcasting. I liked being able to use a different type of technology to search for possible lessons to be used in my future classroom. Although I did not find exactly what I would want to use in the classroom, I came across a lot of good ideas that I could modify and use them in my own way.

At first we searched all of iTunes and found all the podcasts related to what we had searched. Then we moved into iTunes U, which pulls out collections of podcasts posted by institutions. It was possible to find short clips or even full lectures from professors from the actual school.

This is something I would like to continue to look at more in depth, and try to find useful lessons, activities, tips, and other resources that could be useful and pertain to my future classroom.

Week 5 Hoax or Real

This last week we each analyzed one website to see if it was a hoax or if it was real. Some of these websites were extremely bizarre, but they were still organized and set-up as a reliable website. For example, the website that I had be analyzing continuously referred back to studies conducted by "Doctors" and other "trustworthy" researchers, but in fact they were complete phonies. Their list of references included famous people that had nothing to do with the study the website was talking about, such as Dr. Seuss.

For us to determine if the website was a hoax or if it was real we completed different steps to validate the site. However, when trying to validate the information on the site there was little to no luck. For example, my website was a study on the reaction of cats to men with beards. My first thought was, this is a hoax, only crazy people would try and test this. However, while reading their information it began to look more credible because they were citing work of other researchers. Still unconvinced that this was a "real" webpage, I searched the names of the different researchers, but I only found links that took me to the same website I was already looking at. That is when I started to look at the references listed at the bottom and noticed the list of people was extremely unreliable. In the end I discovered my website as a Hoax.

Week 4 Google Maps

This week we worked with Google Maps. I really like this assignment because I can see myself using Google Maps within my future classroom multiple times, and in multiple content areas. For our assignment we mapped out five locations in Oregon and created a tour of the five places. My tour was on public colleges in different regions in Oregon. These five school included Western Oregon University, University of Oregon, Southern Oregon University, Eastern Oregon University, and Portland State University. My favorite part was learning the codes for inserting a picture and a link to be able to click on for more information in the bubble that pops up at the location. Also, I liked being able to change the colors and markers for each location.

As a future teacher I think the Google Maps program will come in handy. It is very easy to connect maps into your lessons. For example, if we are studying physical education we can map out a tour of a biking trail, just as I did for this assignment with colleges. Or if we are talking about a place across the world I can use Google Maps to virtually take the class to the place we are studying. One last example is I could show apart of the world on Google Maps and use that as a writing prompt for a journal write for the day. There are multiple ways Google Maps can be used in a classroom, both in simple lessons and more advanced lessons. I can not wait to use Google Maps in my future classroom.

Week 2 Collage

For week two we started creating our picture collage. We used three different pictures, one from the Internet, one scanned onto the computer, and one taken with a camera. Then, using the photo shop program on a Mac, we cut out different parts of each picture and put them all together to make a picture collage. For mine I used a beach scenery as the background (a picture from the Internet found by using Flickr), cut and pasted hot air balloons from a scanned picture, and cut out different pictures of myself from a camera and put them into the beach scene. I really enjoyed this assignment because I have always found any type of photo shop really interesting. Also, I have always wondered how this kind of picture cut and paste method had worked, and now I know!

After we finsihed completing our collage, we posted them onto Flickr where the rest of the class could see them. I enjoyed going through the pictures and seeing what my classmates have come up with for their collage. To finish up the assignment we commented on each others pictures about what we liked, or what we did not like.

Next time I do a project like this I would like to learn how to add shadows to the picture. I think it would have given it the final touch to make it more realistic.

Week 3 iMovie

Last week during class we began our iMovie project in groups. My group is creating an awareness 30 second video about bullying. We took the time to learn how to use video cameras and then walked around campus searching for a variety of people to give us their definition and thoughts about what bullying is. Then using iMovie on the Macs we started the process of making our movie. It was pretty tricky trying to learn how iMovie worked, but I think we have the basics down. We met on Friday as well to try and deeper our understanding of how the program works.

Some of the important points I would like to remember about using iMovie is the difference between events and projects and how to correctly save a safe iMovie document. Events are the movie clips that you have recorded on a camcorder that I have been put onto the computer. These clips can be cut and then moved into the project window. Projects are what you are putting your clips from events into. This is where you are creating your movie that will be finalized and shown. Also, this is where you can add different effects, such as music, transitions, cropping/zooming in on clips, etc. When you are finished working on your iMovie it is important to remember how to correctly save it in a safe place. This is especially important when using computers at the school. It will save in your Movie Events and Projects, but to make it safe you need to highlight it and move it to the classy_bucy file and give it a name that you will later recognize. This process is used to re-open the project later, but reversed. You must high light and move the files back into your home drive and then open iMovie. Your project and events will be there and ready for you to work on.

Week 1 Web 2.0

The first day of ED 421 was full of creating and discovering new things. For example, this blog. As a class, we took the time to set-up a g-mail account that would allow us to set-up a blog through blogger.com. Setting up a blog was a learning experience for me. I have never blogged before, therefore, I have never set-up a blog. However, blogger.com is a simple way to set-up a blog for yourself. It even allows you to customize the font, color, and layout to your liking. During this first class we also visited bighugelabs.com. Here we each chose a section to look at as far as it would let us before asking for money. I chose PopArt. It was a place to upload your own photos giving it a "pop-art" feel with bright colors and multiple copies. Then we shared what we had learned to the rest of the class using the SmartBoard. This was a fun and new experience too. Just in the few minutes of sharing I could see some of the positives and negatives that come along with the use of a SmartBoard.

Our homework for the day was too look over web 2.0. A website full of programs used online. I was not sure what to expect before visiting the site, but right away many of the program icons that popped up I was very familiar with. There are over 70 pages of icons of different programs, and some of the programs that I am familiar with include Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Pandora, StumbleUpon, and Chegg. I like how this site is set-up because if you run your mouse over an icon that catches your interest it gives a quick description of what the programs is. For example, when I came across Pinterest, the description given was "an online pin board". If you are still interested and want to learn more after the brief description you can click on the icon for more information. Then you can learn a little more about the site, and if the site offers a free membership. The icons I clicked on were mostly free, there were only few that required money for a membership. Web 2.0 is a website I would always like to remember for fun new programs online.

Week 1 Expectations

By being enrolled in this class I expect to gain a better understanding of the use of technology and different types of technologies that will be useful in an elementary classroom. I expect to use what I learn from this class in my future classroom as a teacher to enhance multiple lessons, and to connect to my students using a variety of different teaching strategies. I hope to use technology to create student interactions and to gain the interest of my students. However, I also expect to never overuse technology and to not stray away from the classic techniques used in a classroom. I still believe using pencil and paper is very important along with group and class discussions. Also, it is important to me that my students are always engaged in the lesson and participate in total body movement in lessons when it is appropriate. There is a line that needs to be drawn when using technology, however, the use of technology in classrooms today is important if used correctly and is not overused.