Worksheets/study guides

Although worksheets and study guides have little to do with techology, they are still a great resource for instuction and studying. Technology however make creating these resources very simple. Many websites offer free services that will create worksheets with the information that you want.

Electronic Portfolio

The instructional video that I created makes a great way to visually show imployers who I am and what I have to offer them. In my portfolio I included several activities that I completed in the course Technology in the Classroom. I also hyperlinked several items that were not from that class. However every item that was included in my portfolio proves that I am capable of a specific skill.

Instructional Video

I was given an assignment to make an intructional video. We were told to look on u tube to view examples. I used Windows Movie Maker to create my instructional video on how to use Ebscohost. I think that using instructional videos as a form of instruction is a great way for students to learn.

Web Advisor

Web advisor is a great way for teachers and students to keep track of grades. As a student i like the fact that I can log onto my account and check to make sure that I have all of my assignmets done, I can also see what grades I am getting and the days that I was absent. I think that it would be easier for teachers to keep track of assignments also.

Online notes

My statistics teacher post the Power Point notes online so that students can go to the college website, search for his name and then download the notes and print them off. This is helpful to students that miss class or like to take additional note. I find it easier to follow along in class by writing what I feel is important next to what he had already wrote out.

My Space/Face Book

My space and Face book have become a major distraction to students while in the classroom. Having computers in the classroom are great for composition classes. Students however surrender to the temptation to access the internet that is at their finger tips and log onto these chat sites that they live by. Often times this leads to the students missing out on vital information in class and causeing the teacher to have to stop the whole class to disipline the off task student.

Making a test

I now know what is involved with the planning and creating of a test. There are alot of elements involved in this process. Some of them are how many multiple choice, true/false and or short answer/essays do you want to have on the test. However I did not realize that teachers do not have to create the questions themselves. Also you have to take into consideration if you want to have students place answers on a scantron or physically on the test. We got to use the scantron machine in class and it was very simple to use. You also have the choice of leting students use the book of take it with a partner. When considering all of this it is important to think about what the students were supposed to learn and how the test will best show you that.

Making a Rubric

For a project I was asked to make a rubric. I found that the easiest way to make one was to add a chart in a power point slide. By doing this I can add as many rows and columns as I want. I was also able to add a text box to put information in such as names, titles, and points possible.

Smart draw

I had fun using this program because it allowed me to creat a map of a classroom. This was a fun and interactive activity that also allowed me to think about what I thought the ideal layout for a classroom was.

Paint

This is a really neat program that allows a person to edit a picture by changing the color of it and they could also add spots by using spray paint and other tools ect.

Layering pictures

We learned how to layer pictures and add voice recordings to specific pictures. I think we used power point to do this but it was done on one slide. The pictures has to be rite on top of one another so that when the next one appeared the previous picture could not be seen. Then we recorded sound and added it to the show.

Using Windows Movie Maker

In class we learned how to use windows movie maker. With in this program we learned how to add voice recordings to a slide show. I will use the program to make my instructional video.

Class DVDs

My teacher was telling us how her niece's elementary teacher had each kid bring a disposable camera at the beginning of the school year. She labeled each camera, for example she had one for bad hair days. When a child came to school with a bad hair day they got their picture taken. At the end of the year all the cameras were developed and the teacher made a slide show/video. She put the pictures together and added music to it. This was a great way to create a memorable portfolio for the children to keep forever. I have also had personal experience with this sort of technology because the teacher I worked for while in high school made a DVD of her students plays that they performed. When creating DVDs like this it is important to pay close attention too and follow copy write laws.

Smart Boards

Smart Boards are a way for teachers to create an interactive leasson plan. With a smart board teachers are able to plan activites that could involve checking papers on the white board, searching the internet and utilizing interactive sites, and complete work sheets with the class.

Bedford Bibliographer

This ties into my last post. When you log onto dianahacker.com/writersref a student can go to Re: Writing then select The Bedford Bibliographer by Mike Palmquist, a source will appear that will create a work cited page for you. You have to register yourself as a user and create an account. When your account is set up and you want to create a work cited all you have to do is enter your sources in the data base. This makes the process much easier for the students and allows the teacher to track the students sources more easily.

Turnitin.com

Last week in my Comp 2 class we finished a major paper and were asked to turn it into the online database, turnitin.com. I found this a very valuable resource for teachers to use as well as a motivator for students to do there own work and not plagiarize. I was motivated to use less quotes and more paraphrasing. I also concentrated on finding good sources to use and was sure to cite them properly. This resource makes it easier for teachers to catch the cheaters and weed out the plagiarized work.

Texting in the Classroom

2/26/2008
This happens every day in every classroom across America, kid texting. Even though most schools or teachers have rules against cell phones in the classroom students disobey authority and text anyways. Although technology may be helpful to teachers in some aspects, cell phones and the latest advances in communication such as texting has caused headaches and set backs in the classroom. Texing is distracting to other students as well as the teacher. Also students use a differnt language when they text, abreviations and incorrect capitolization used in text messaging carries over into formal writting assignments in the classroom.

Introduction

Hi my name is Sareena Madden, I am currently a full time student at Iowa Central Community College planning to major in Elementary Education. My future goals are to teach elementary art education. I am a member of the Iowa Central Rodeo team, I compete in Breakaway ropeing. I also barrel race and train horses for myself and other people.