Final Reflection

If there is one thing I've learned about taking this course, it is that I am not as good with technology as I thought!  I have learned so much about so many different tools that you can use inside and outside of the classroom, and I now feel much more knowledgeable about technology use. 

Overall, I really enjoyed all of the projects we have done in this class.  Most of them can definitely be used in an elementary school classroom and for personal use!  I love taking pictures with my friends and having them as memories, so the projects I enjoyed the most were Picasa, Glogster, iMovie, etc. 

For the classroom, I really liked all of the Google docs. programs, the interactive spreadsheet, and the wikis!  I didn't have a Google account prior to this class, and I am so glad I do now.  I didn't realize that there are SO many things you can do through Google - and I will definitely be using it often through my career.

I even enjoyed the simple things we did - like blogging, and inserting pictures and links into our various projects.  I feel much more comfortable with new programs now, and no longer hesitate to be creative when working with new sites.

This has been such a fun class, and it has provided me with the basic knowledge that I didn't have before about technology use.  It is becoming so important these days to incorporate technology into the classroom, and I now feel as though I have the proper tools and knowledge to do so.

iMovie/Digital Stories

I was really excited to hear that we were going to be working with iMovie this semester.  This is a program I've always seen on my computer, but never tried experimenting with.  I love putting pictures together and being able to add music and make a movie or slide show for any occasion.  I've always wanted to make slide shows on DVD for friends, and now I am glad I know how!

Although I enjoyed working with iMovie, it took me a little while to figure out how to use it.  There are no real clear directions within the program, and I had to play around with it for a little bit before I got the hang of it.  I wished some of the tasks were more clear - such as changing the length of the slide and personalizing font and text size.  Besides a few minor problems, I really enjoyed iMovie and I will definitely use it again!

Animoto

Animoto is a really neat program!!  I have actually heard about this, but have never experimented with it before until this class.  It is a very useful site used to create short movies and slide shows.  I love experimenting with slide shows and making them - they are very useful for a variety of reasons.  This program could be used in the classroom to make a slide show of your year before school gets out, or you could even make it educational and make a slide show out of a science lesson plan.  Although I really enjoyed Animoto, I think this website has more benefits for fun use than it does educational.

My UT Journey Imovie

Interactive Spreadsheet

Google Forms/Spreadsheets

I learned a lot about Google Forms in doing the research for the presentation.  It is a great resource that can be used heavily by teachers.  Google forms provides you with the opportunity to create different types of surveys, questionnaires, quizzes, or tests.  I like how it gives you the options to create any type of question - whether it be multiple choice, rating, drop down, text, etc.  I will definitely be using Google Forms in my classroom.  I plan on giving my students a "get to know you" survey the first day of class so that I can start getting to know their interests and preferences.  I will also use Google Forms when planning different types of assessment.

I definitely did not have that much experience with spreadsheets before doing the in-class activity.  The most experience I've had with them is just simply typing peoples information in - such as names and phone numbers.  I really like using spreadsheets because I like having information set in front of me in an organized manner.  I am still in the process of completing the interactive activity, but I think it is really neat - and is something I could definitely use in my classroom to make games or study aides for my students.  I am still learning how to use spreadsheets and excel and still feel like there is a lot I don't know how to do with it - but I am enjoying learning about it, and I know it's a very helpful resource for various uses.

Inspiration

I really liked working with Inspiration.  It kinda took me a while to figure out what I was doing at first, but once I got the hang of it I had a lot of fun with it!  I like how you can totally make it your own - through the layout, fonts, colors,  size, and pictures you add.  This could be a great resource for teachers when discussing topics that have more than one category, or that have a lot of different examples.  It really helps you see how things that are all related to one topic are broken up into different groups.

World and Tagxeedo

I absolutely loved these 2 sites!!  They are very similar.  They are great sites to display words in a more visual way.  In a classroom, these would be great for visual learners.  I like how Wordle shows the main idea or most important words of a text by making them the biggest.  I like how with Tagxeedo, you can form your words into amazing shapes and pictures.  I think a cool way to use this in a classroom could be with vocabulary or sight words.  It would be neat to let each student get online, type in the words they need to know, and print their own visual that they created themselves.  Or, when introducing a new lesson in math or science, it might be cool to make one big Worlde or Tagxeedo for the class to look at - using new terms they might not be familiar with. 

Here is a fun shot of a Wordle using Zac Brown Band's "Knee Deep" lyrics:

Inspiration

Using Inspiration was a lot of fun!  This would be a great resource for the classroom.

Twitter and Delicious

Twitter is a website that I was already familiar with before this class. I am not a huge "tweeter", but am getting more used to it! I personally use it to keep in touch with friends, and to follow what celebrities are doing. In a classroom, twitter can be used for many uses. It can be used as a resource for parent-teacher communication. I think it'd be cool for a teacher to keep a classroom twitter, and update it with what's going on in the classroom each day or week, and homework assignments. Some older students can use twitter too - Maybe to tweet about what they learn each day, or to communicate for group projects.

To be honest, Delicious wasn't my favorite site. I am not huge on bookmarking sites, so I don't know how much use I could get out of this. However, as we learned in class, it is very important for teachers to bookmark sites for student use. So although I probably wouldn't use this personally, it could be very beneficial in the classroom.

Scavenger Hunt

Smilebox and Storybird

I absolutely LOVED Smilebox!! I love choosing pictures and themes and getting to create slide shows. There were so many fun themes to choose from, and I like how you can add music to it also. Kelly and Jordan made a great suggestion when they said you could make a scrapbook for your class throughout the year! I love taking pictures and creating scrapbooks, and I think that is a great idea that would be fun for the students and teacher as well. I also thought it was neat how you can save it to your computer and put it on a DVD! I have always wanted to make DVD slide shows as gifts for my friends, and this is a great way to do it!

I thought Storybird was very interesting. It is a neat idea, but I'm not sure I would use it in my classroom. It would probably be a fun activity to put in a center or to let the children make their own stories. I don't really know how a teacher could implement it into the classroom for instruction.

Picnik and Glogster

Learning about Glogster was really neat! I have actually heard about this program in some of my other education classes, and was interested to see what it is all about! Glogster is a great program that you can use when you need to combine a lot of information and pictures - kind of like an online poster! I used to love making posters when I was in school, and Glogster is a unique way to get that experience online!! I think it would be cool to use this in a classroom, probably with some of the older students. You could give each student or group of students a topic to research and let them create and present their findings on Glogster!!

I have actually used Picnik before, just for fun!! I played around on it a long time ago with some of my pictures. It was cool to get back on Picnik and edit all of my personal pictures. I was surprised at how many cool things you could do!! I don't remember seeing so many different options before. I really enjoyed the teeth whitening and instant tan options!!!

Smilebox Slideshow

Make a digital slideshow

Summer Fun Picasa Slideshow

Wikis

This was my first time working with wikis.  I had a great experience, and definitely see how it can be used in a classroom.  I have never actually made a website before, and thought it was cool to see the process of how everything is put together.  At first it took me a while to figure everything out, but after I got used to it, it was a very simple process.


Wikis can definitely be used in a classroom.  I am planning on working with primary elementary grades, but I think this would be a great resource for the intermediate elementary grades.  I think it would be cool to make one for a study/extra practice aid.  If the teacher were to make one (similar to the one we made) with a link to each subject, and then include websites the students can go to for extra practice in each subject.  Games would also be a great thing to include in your wikis - and allow your students to access the wikis during centers to play games on different websites.  Wikis can also be a great resource to use for parent/teacher relationships.  It'd be great to continue posting websites for extra help at home, and websites for parents to access themselves to better understand what they can do to help their child, and know what they are learning in the classroom.

Website Evaluation - Coolmath4kids.com

I would highly recommend this site for use in an elementary school classroom.  There is another section of the site called coolmath.com that would probably be of better use in a 6-12 classroom.  This website was made by a woman who has an extensive background in math education, and taught math for 14 years.  It is obvious in her bio that she has a passion for both children and mathematics.  This would be a great site for a student to go to in a math center to see the concepts written on their level.  As stated earlier, the large colorful icons make it easy to use also.  The author of this site is clearly identified, as well as her background and contact information.  She also provides copyright, terms of use, and privacy policy information.  I could not find exact dates, but I did find exact years of the site – 1997-2010.  The grammar and spelling are all correct, and there doesn’t seem to be any flaws with the website.  The information is definitely appropriate for the intended audience.

 I thought it was really interesting to look at the criteria on evaluating other sites.  I never really thought to do that before, but as a teacher you have to before you present the information to your students.  This was helpful for me because I will be with the younger elementary aged students - and these things to look for when evaluating a website will help me eliminate the weak websites, and find the most accurate and effective sites.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

This site is called The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.  It is a great website for educators to use when evaluating other sites.  It was made through the New Mexico State University Library.  The homepage of the website gives you four options: examples, criteria, suggestions, and bibliography.  The criteria category is very helpful.  It breaks evaluations down into things such as authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.  The suggestions category is also very helpful.  Suggestions are listed for assigning students internet assignments.  Overall this is a great site for educators!

My Learning Goals

I do not have a whole lot of experience with computer programs and technology, but I can usually explore and figure out what to do when using new programs.  I use facebook and e-mail daily, and I am familiar with programs such as Word and Powerpoint.  In this course I want to expand my knowledge and learn ways that I can use different types of technology in my classroom.  Since I want to teach primary grades, the programs that my students use for individual or group work will probably be more simple.  I want to be able to know a variety of ways to incorporate technology into my lesson plans.

Introduction to the Class

Informal introduction to class:
My name is Danielle DiMeola.  I am from Nashville TN, and went to Beech High School.  I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember.  I am in the Elementary Education program, and I would love to teach 1st grade!  I’ve had so much fun in my experience with first graders, because they are still so young and excited to learn.  I love to hang out with my friends and family in my spare time.  Some of my hobbies include shopping, working out, reading, going to the pool, and baking.  I don’t have a whole lot of experience with computers and technology, besides the basic email and facebook use.  I am excited to learn more about technology, and how I can incorporate it into my classroom!