BLOG 8: Final Reflection

I enjoyed this course very much. As research shows, educational technology courses work best when there is a global community formed. This works best when students know each other. Although this is a distance course, we met as a class four times throughout the semester. This helped foster a community feeling. This enabled us to communicate effectively with Blackboards and our blogs. I have experienced distance education courses before where I never met anyone in the course. I was distant and didn't even know whose post I was commented on. It is much more effective to know one another. Also, I appreciated that the syllabus was outlined before we began. In distance courses, one must carefully pace themselves weekly, or else they will get overwhelmed. It takes discipline. In the future, I might state that the My Education Lab in our textbook is optional. It is supposed to serve as an additional resource. The first few weeks I thought it was part of the reading. Therefore, I read and watched all the My Education Lab videos which was very time-consuming. Although it is an excellent resource, some of the information I already knew, and watching the videos was not a productive use of time. However, that was my fault! I liked that this course clearly stated the technology terms. This was an excellent text to help those of us new to technology learn at a comfortable pace. Once I finished the assignments, I felt more confident. The most important part was having a buddy in the class that I could call when I was stuck on something. Again, fostering a global community prior is very important.

BLOG 7 : COPYRIGHT AND INTERNET SAFETY

Wow! Well, this was an overwhelming and slightly scary topic. I think this would be an excellent professional development for teachers, especially concerning issues of copyright. We so often go about our day without knowing what copyright laws we could possibly be violating. I thought to myself, the companies would only go after people who deliberately and knowingly committed copyright violations. Oh, how wrong I was! They have no problem going after teachers or unaware individuals. So, before you make copies or post anything on a website, you need to make yourself familiar with the copyright laws! First, you should take this quiz to see what you know about copyright laws: http://webinstituteforteachers.org/2000/curriculum/homeroommodules/copyright/copyrightquiz/copyrighttestc.htm I was shocked when I took it! I didn't know it was copyright infringement to make a copy of someones image and put it on a webpage. I see teachers and people do it all the time. I am glad I know now. You can usually find the author's email and send them a request to ask permission and then cite it on your page. Or, just use clip art and images that are free if you are worried. Basically, just know this and you can answer almost any question you have about copyright: The AUTHOR is the OWNER. That sums it up in basic terms. So if you have an image, link, or media file, then if you did not create it, it is not yours. Another great website is :http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/offsite.htm . The Copyright Act link takes you to Cornell Law School's webpage which organizes the copyright laws in sequential, organized manner that is friendly to the user. Lastly, and my favorite, was a website just for teachers. http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/copyrightlaw.html . I LOVED the Classroom Copyright Chart. It is a quick and easy reference for teachers. It would be beneficial to print it out and paste it next to your classroom computer. That way you won't forget and there is no need to memorize all the laws. If you just know the basics, and keep the chart by your computer, this will help you greatly. For Internet Safety, this involves the teacher, administration, students, and parents to be educated. First, schools need to have firewalls in place. Also, students need to learn about Internet Safety at a young age. I like reading books and showing videos to the young students. A great website to share with your young students on Internet safety is http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/bigkids/netsafety.cfm . Also, it is important students are aware of online predators. However, in researching Internet safety, I learned students are more likely to be victims of cyberbullying than online predators. I also did a professional development on cyberbullying, so I am aware of current issues regarding this. Sadly, cyberbullying is a vicious cycle in which cyberbully victims often turn into cyberbullies themselves. Cyberbullying can occur anytime and anyplace. Often, it occurs outside of school. Schools that implement awareness programs and educate the community will help this problem. Again, affective education, educating the whole student, will help this problem. Children need to be aware of privacy issues and be careful about the information they give on the Internet.

BLOG 6: NEW & EMERGING TOOLS

One of my favorite new tools is called Wordle. You can click this link to visit the website: http://www.wordle.net/ . You can put in any words and it create elaborate graphics with all the words. You can pick the font, color, shape, etc. To use in class, you might have students pick words that describe a person or character and have them create a graphic. Also, teachers can use this with learning new langauges and vocabulary. Personally, I enjoy using it for creating signs around our classroom. I have one by our classroom library and one above our doorway that has all of our names and positive phrases. This is an easy tool for beginners or younger students. Another new tool I enjoy learning about is Prezi. In our third face to face meeting, Christi and I showed the class this tool. I like it because its new and still gets information across. I like to nickname it PowerPoint on steroids! I love that it is not in sequential form, so the user has more freedom. You can zoom in on pictures and have them linked together. It is free for educators and they have examples ready made. It's similar to YouTube in that it has several videos already to use. For example, in class we looked at the Lifecycle of a Butterfly. Next, I have to mention Apple's applications. As Dr. Lan mentioned in class, we are moving from web-based learning to app. based learning. Well, I thought I was a tech-savvy teacher having my students study their multiplication facts online or with computer games. However, this year my students are using their parents' IPHONES and IPADS and downloading applications to practice multiplication daily. My students love this. I require 10 minutes per night studying facts. However, students are so crazy about playing with apps and discovering new ones, some of them practice an hour. When the kids are with their parents in the car, grocery store, and sibling's game basically anywhere where they are bored), they ask their parents if they can play an app. This is an excellent opportunity for teachers to meet students' interests and use it as a learning experience. I think these tools are supported by Bloom's learning theory. With the app practice, students are recalling data and using their knowledge. In Prezi, students are creating and using higher order thinking skills. They are translating what they know and using application and synthesis. With wordle, students are creating as well. They are using recall, lists, knowledge, and creating a product. I hope these ideas help you in your classroom!

Topic 5: PowerPoint Presentation

Most Important PowerPoint Terms Learned:
1. New Slide
2. Text Box
3. Animation
4. Transition
5. Background
6. Hyperlink
7. WordArt
8. ClipArt
9. Spell Check
10. Font (Size, Color)
11. SlideShow
12. Design
13. View
14. Insert
15. Sound
16. Table
17. SmartArt
18. Chart
19. Notes
20. Slide Number

Like many of you, we have been "killed" by PowerPoints over the last decade. We have sat through countless presentations where the speaker simply reads off word for word each slide. We have all thought to ourselves, "I can read this. Why am I here"? Well, I have learned an effective presentation has much less on the actual slide. It only has the important points. That way, it is not overwheleming, adn the audience listens to the speaker. Also, I learned you can record your voice and narrate your PowerPoint. This is extremely useful for distance learning courses. Now, PowerPoints allows you to hyperlink videos, incorporate movie clips, add animations, sounds, tranistions, and more to make it much more appealing. Further, I learned there are proper formats to creating a PowerPoint. For example, a title page followed by an outline is appropriate. Slides should have bullets in point form, rather than lengthy sentences or paragraphs. Although all the multidemedia componets are exciting, one must be cautious not to go overboard as it will distract the audeince. Slides should be in simple form with an easy font to read. Colors should be in the same family and a simple background should be used. Here is a great video to give you some tips on how to make your PowerPoint meanigful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFfFQ9XU7Jw

TOPIC 4: Database

Here are the most important database terms that I understand:
1. Create
2. Table
3. Report
4. External Data
5. Export
6. Import
7. Link
8. Text Formatting
9. More
10. Data

Researching databases, I searched through Atomic Learning, I learned several important skills while working with databases on Microsoft Access. I also used the Question Mark in the blue corner to connect to Microsoft Office to help me if I had questions. In Atomic Learning, I learned how to cut and paste data. Further, I learned how to manipulate columns and rows. For example, I learned to hide certain columns. Also, Atomic Learning explained how to export my data into Microsoft Word. Also, I researched how to make the material more visually appealing. I researched a tutorial on tet formatting. Then, to make my database effective, I researched how to link and save the data. I researched the various ways databases are used in education. For example, they can be used to keep student information, letters to large groups, grade storing, and personal information. This tool is very effective and saves an enormous amount of time.

In my own experience with databases, I was extremely intimidated at first because I had never used this program, specifically Microsoft Access. I thought databases meant Microsoft Excel. At first, I simply played with the program. Then, I studied the tutorials on Atomic Learning. I made sure I had a significant amount of time and followed instructions step by step. I completed a rough draft at first. Originally, I was frustrated because I thought when I linked my database to Microsoft Word that only one page linked. However, once I printed it, I realized all the recipients were there! I printed 23 pages accidentally! Then, I realized how much time this could save me. For example, I constantly write letters to my students' parents. I always type each students name, print, then erase the previous name, and the process repeats itself. However, this method is much faster. I really enjoyed manipulating the letter to make it look appealing. I used skills learned from previous assignments. For example, I put in a Watermark and a border around the page. I also inserted clip art, used text wrapping, and word art. I feel using databases will be very beneficial for me in the future!

TOPIC 3: Spreadsheets

The most important Spreadsheet terms I understand are as follows:

1. Worksheets
2. Formulas
3. Cells
4. Values
5. Rows
6. Columns
7. Calculations
8. Average
9. Sums
10. Data
11. Charts
12. Insert Function
13. Format Cells
14. Cell Styles
15. Insert Comment

My thoughts : I actually thought using Excel would be more difficult than Word. However, after using Excel for about 30 minutes, I realized how easy and helpful this software is to the user. IT saves enormous amounts of time, and it produces visually appealing products. I was able to formulate averages, sums, and create several types of graphs to display my information. After mastering the basics, I was able to apply different fonts, colors, and graphs to make the data most appealing. I really enjoyed using percents and pie graphs. It made my work seem very professional. I realized I could use Excel not only for managing my personal fiances and creating budgets, but also apply it to the classroom. There are many uses of Excel for my science and math classes. Also, this would be helpful to calculate grades with my students, rather than using a traditional handwritten grade book. Overall, I found using spreadsheets to be flexible, easy, and simple.

TOPIC 2: WORD PROCESSING REFLECTION

Greetings! Here are some word processing terms that I am already familiar with and can use confidently.
1. document
2. word processor
3. store
4. insert
5. delete
6. text
7. file
8. cut
9. paste
10. copy
11. margins
12. word wrap
13. font
14. bold
15. italics
16. underlining
17. headers
18. footers
19. page layout
20. spell checker
I used this website as a reference to help me. You all should click this link to see it!
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/word_processing.html

Using Word Processing With my Students:
I have learned so much with word processing and useful ways to implement them in the classroom. I love that it helps students with the writing process. It encourages students to practice self editing. My students typed their most recent report on mobile laptops, and the level of motivation and effort increased signifiantly. Students focused on using the spell checker and punctuation devises. Some students used the thesaurus to make their writing pieces stronger. The word processing program really helped my students. Further, students worked extremely hard to make the appearance of their report look clean, fresh, and unique. Students played with font sizes, fonts, and colors. I saw a great deal of collaborative working take place. When students had questions about how to save a document or how to change fonts, students immediately helped each other. They were teaching each other and working together. They encouraged each other. My students were complementing each other on "how cool" something appeared on their document. I was simply a monitor and supervised. However, using the word processing program worked smoothly because we had prepared. Before students worked on word processors independently, they had three weeks on keyboarding practice. I also modeled how to open, save, close, and print a document before the students used the laptops. I also assigned two students as my "Technology Helpers". They helped assist other students with questions. Using word processing software in the classroom has been a success!
Personal Experience Using Word Processing Software:
For our SMU class assignments, I have enjoyed manipulating texts, margins, fonts, and graphics. I am familiar with most of the requirements; however, I have stumbled on text wrapping. I have always had a hard time with it! However, I liked learning about manipulating page margins and fonts. I applied these new learned skills to some documents I use yearly for my classroom. For example, open house letters to parents, awards, etc. I am confident using most word processing softwares, but would like to feel more comfortable using Apple's software.