Week 7

Teachers should try and use some of the technology that the students use because it will make the lessons more interesting for the student. At the same time it is important to remember that you are the teacher and all the material you plan to cover must be presented in the way in which you can.

I think that instant messaging and online chats add to the learning environment because the students enjoy this time, and also can share their thoughts about the material which will lead to better learning.

The primary benefit of text communication over face to face communication is being able to review what was discussed. The information is only a click away and the student is not responsible for keeping up with everything.

I think that podcasts are just a new way because I do not think they are any more effective than online chats. I think these lectures should be int he classroom.

Video games can be effective, but too much can also be harmful. Coordination and literacy skills can be gained through video games. If I had kids I would allow them to play daily because when they finsish their business they deserve some fun.

Reaction to Activities

I thought that the activities this week went really well. i enjoyed making the brochure because I think it really would be nice to pass these out on the first day of classes. At first it was tough to create the brochure, but after playing with the assignment I think I did a pretty good job. I enjoyed putting the pictures ont there, and I think they help show my personality. I really enjoyed this weeks activities. As far as a muddy point, I think maybe a little more work with the spreadsheet but I really do not know.

I really like Desktop Publishing. I took Dp in high school and we really made a lot of cool things. The resumes and brochures are awesome, but there are so many things that can be done on this software. It really is amazing! I think it allows you to have a lot of fun and make lots of items. I think that we could also make business cards to ahve to pass out, and put some sort of clip art that is relevant. I think this would be cool for teachers to have. If i could make one thing on desktop publishing for my classroom I would for sure make brochures. I really liked it, because of it's appearance and the amount of information it can hold. Brochures are my favorite thing for the classroom for sure. Desktop publishing allows you to create many things, and it is a lot of fun.

SPREADSHEET Q'S

I think that the spreadsheet is an awesome tool for the teacher. It is basically just a grid that can perform claculations in numerous cells and rows. It is very useful because it allows the teacher to get the results for a students average, a class's tests average, as well as many other commands. It allows the teacher to work far more quickly and with fewer errors. I would certainly use it in my classroom because it is very helpful. It makes the gradebook far less stressul, and I know I will always have it in my bag of tricks.

As a teacher the most useful reason for using it is the gradebook. As I have alrady mentioned it allows the teacher to perform many calculations with one click of the mouse. Another reason is for problem solving reasons, and to construct some worksheet that are relevant to the topica t sudy. It is much better than using a calculator because it can calculate the entire classrooms results far quicker. I think that the three preimary sources are vert helpful. I do have another function whcihis a planner. It would look much like a calendar but would have a space for assignments and due dates. I think that this would help each student be acountable.

Insiration Thoughts

While looking around the inspiration site, I found that there was a very interesting web for brainstorming. It allows the students to type in their thoughts and soon have a great start when writing papers. I think it is a program that can and will gain the students interests which is vitally important to the process of learning. I am most interested in stories from teachers who have used the software to get their feedback, and ensure the best oppurtunity for it to work in my classroom. I think first I would use the brainstorming part to show the stduetns different ways of piecing togetehr a paper.

I would use the web part of the program to teach the kids how to outline a paper. There are different webs availabel which will represent the point that there are many ways to appraoch a paper. To get the studetns to help each other I can allow them to make a web together because this will allow them to share their knowledge of the program because different students will have different strategies. I can let the students help me by giving critiques about what is and is not useful.. This program is outstanding but can be most successful when the studetns and teacher work together.

What I learned this week

This week I learned about many different tools that can make experiences on the internet much more pleasant. I learned how to limit the results when searching so that we are only supplied with hits that are relevant to out topic. Also, I learned how to bookmark important pages for easier access to that page in the future. I learned many new things this week, so there is no way that I can say I learned nothing.
I really like your lessons and I think they are very self explanatory. I enjoy some classtime and then lab time which helps us keep the course current. I cannot really think of any way to do better with the lessons, because honestly I am satisfied.