Last class in Computers in the classroom

Today we went to a lecture to hear Nick Donofrio talk about innovation. He believes that what leads to innovation are when things are, "open, collaborative, global and multidisciplinary." There are many things that we as teachers can do in order to bring innovation into the classroom. We need to be open to ideas of our co-workers as well as students. We need to be open to the different methods and techniques that can be used to engage students more in the classroom, rather than just shutting them out, without giving them a chance. I need to be more open to the wide and brilliant range of technology that is continuously being introduced into the classroom. If I do not give it a chance just because I do not like it or understand it, that it restricting a student from utilizing something that can help them learn better or help them become interested in something.
While we are being open with ideas, opinions and techniques, as a class and school we need to collaborate on these ideas and come up with a mutual agreement on what would be best suited for ourselves and students. I can also have my students collaborate in the classroom by assigning group projects which make them work as a team and express and accept opinions and ideas; then use these to come up with a group decision.
We can innovate in the classroom by becoming global as well. By using skype or other video web casting methods, I can have the students talk to mathematicians from around the world about topics that we are discussing, giving them a wide variety of methods and opinions about the different types of math they are learning about.
Lastly, innovation will stem from multidisciplinary acts in the classroom. I can incorporate this into the classroom by allowing students to learn from a wide range, rather than just a chalkboard and text book. What I learned and loved most in computers in the classroom was smart notebook. It allowed you to be very creative with your lesson, incorporating media, the Internet, activities and much more. I also really liked the idea of voice thread and video story. With these different tactics to learning, students will innovate and never want to stop!

Day 13 in computers in the classroom

Sadly, today was the last class in this room :( . I have learned so much throughout this course and I feel so prepared to go into a classroom and be able to use a variety of technology, and allow my students to open their minds and be creative using these technologies. I am so excited to use thinkfinity. I think this website is the greatest thing created. I have already used it so many times and I plan on using it much more. I think the activities are genious and so much fun. I am so excited to engage my students by introducing blogging, podcasting, and wiki, giving them a variety of ways to learn and be assessed. I am also excited to use SmartBoard in the classroom. I am getting more and more familiar with it and I have a feeling it is going to be my best friend!

Day 12 in Computers in the Classroom

I had no idea how serious copyright was until today. I did not realize how many laws and rules are broken everyday not only in the classroom but out of the classroom. I thought it was outrageous how many restrictions are placed on media, images, literature and much more. I didnt realize that putting a picture of Mickey Mouse in a school yearbook could get you in so much trouble. After seeing the powerpoint, I will be more cautious as to what I use in my classroom and expose to my students. However, I admit that I probably won't follow copyright regulations entirely. They are way too strict and I think that you need a little more freedom. I do have to be careful about citing my work though, I often tend to forget to do that and now I realize how much trouble I could actually get in.
As for second life, maybe I just dont understand the whole virtual reality thing, but I didnt really think that it would benefit me. Maybe I just have to play around with it and explore. I also was unsure of what it meant to be in an island or in the orientation stage, but once I start using it more, hopefully I will understand it better.

Day 11 in Computers in the Classroom

I really enjoyed today's class. I thought it was really interesting to see how different schools use different technology in the classroom. I observed that some classrooms are primarily run on computer based technology, while others rely on old fashioned methods such as the chalk board and projector. In Greg's presentation, he mentioned that classrooms would have computers and SmartBoard in them, but teachers would only use the computer to take attendance and ignore the SmartBoard, preferring to use the overhead. Greg also made a good point in his presentation when he noted that technology is a great tool, if used properly. Many students and teacher "over use" it and starting to become anti-social. They rely too much on technology as a means of communication, becoming obsessed with this technological world. While I think it is important to incorporate technology in the classroom and use it to its fullest advantage, I also think that it is important not to abuse it and to not forget about the "pre-tech" period.
I also started to grasp google sketch up a little more, thanks to Kira. I think its going to take me a while to really get the hang of it, but once I do, I'm going to create the coolest learning environment, one that students will want to come to and learn!!

Day 10 in Computers in the Classroom

I absolutely loved today's class!
I found it really interesting to learn how to use different types of video and photo storyboards from my classmates. It was cool seeing what they are passionate about and have interests in. It also gave me more insight with how to use different types of media and technology like importing audio files, pictures and videos. The more practice I get, the more comfortable I feel.
I also thought it was really great that Wendy asked us to import our own pictures and audio files to make our very own storyboard. This allowed all of us to create something that we cared about, rather than just using sample pictures, which would have been broing.
Right now I am creating a lesson plan on Transformations and rotations for one of my classes. I could ask students to take pictures of things at different angles of roations and make a storyboard out of it. The storyboard would be a great way to engage students into an interactice approach to learning, allowing them to explore this technology and take pictures of things that interest them and a great way for me to assess them.
I also learned from this class that learning from your peers is just as important as learning from the teacher. It shows more involvement in the class, and for me at least, resulted in a greater understanding. I will have to keep this in mind and incorporate this into my classroom.

Day 8 in Computers in the Classroom

Today, we made our own wikis. Getting started was a bit rough for me. I wasnt too sure what I wanted to make it about, how I wanted to relate it to a "class" or even how to make new pages. But once I came up with an idea, things just started falling into place. I was able to make a few different pages, with links on them, that corresponded to different groups in my class. (I was so proud that i figured out how to do it!) I also got a little creative and made a survey on surveymonkey for my students to take, so I could get input on what they thought about the assignment. I also posted the link to surverymonkey to allow students to make their own surveys so their classmates could take them. I am excited to actually start using this in the real classroom. I love how it engages all the students and allows them to edit anything they want, so they can feel like a part of the wiki, I think that is really important.

Day 7 in Computers in the Classroom

In today's class, we broke up into three groups, completing three different activities. My favorite one was sharing my blackboard lesson and activity to Danielle. It gave me good practice on how to present a lesson and then go about including the class in the lesson by raising certain questions and asking them to complete the activities at the end of the lesson. While I was presenting my lesson, I saw that I had made a mistake. This put me in a great situation because now I know how to react if this ever comes up. I can ask the class, "what is wrong with this page?" and then ask them to correct it.
My least favorite activity was using google sketch. After watching the videos on how to use it, I understood it a little more, but not enough to create a simple chair. It took me many times to get a simple shape on the diagram, but after many tries, I started to get the hang of it. I guess practice will eventually make perfect (or close to prefect). A program like this would be good to use in a math classroom when learning about dimensions and geometric shapes. I think it would allow the students to be more creative and definitely interact them more in what they are learning.

Day 6 in Computers in the Classroom

Today was a very interesting day in class. I was exposed to something that I had never used before, Skype. I was really excited to learn how to use and it learn about all its applications. One of my best Friends is studying in Italy right now and the other is in Spain, and the only way to keep in touch with them is to skype. Unfortunately, I had never been able to use it. BUT NOW... I will be able to talk to them all the time (pending time zones). Thanks so much for introducing me to one of the newest and I think most popular ways to video chat with people from all over instantly.

Day 5 in Computers in the Classroom

I'm not going to lie, but I thought today's class was so beyond me.  In high school I was only exposed to blackboard in one of my classes, and it was only used for simple powerpoints, and even then, I was always so confused as to how it worked.  

Although I was very confused and felt a little embarrassed with how technology illiterate I am, I did think that this class was very beneficial.  It was a good introduction on how to use SmartBoard, but if I am going to use this in my classroom, I am going to have to go through much more training and practice using SmartBoard much more in order to understand it.  It is amazing how many different details go into a simple activity, lesson or game.  You have to understand how to incorporate color, fonts, themes, pictures, animations, sounds, and different ways to interact the students with the lesson or activity that you are presenting.  I thought the coolest part of SmartBoard, was being able to record what you are writing on the board, and then either save it for a student who is absent, or include it in a slide, so the whole class can see it while you are giving the presentation.

Smartboard is definitely beneficial and brings much excitement and engagement into the class room, however........ I hate to say it, but even with all the training in the world, I do not think that I will ever fully understand how to use SmartBoard and all its applications.  

COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM -DAY 4

Today's class was the most interesting one to me so far. I think one of the reasons why I liked it so much was because the technology that we learned about and used was easy for me to follow, which definitely peaked my interest in the area. This lesson also proved to me yet another way that I will be able to incorporate technology into my math classroom and lessons.

What I loved about the training was the fact that we investigated every site thoroughly, to explore every aspect and concept of the web pages, giving us an expert understanding in how to manipulate each site. I really appreciated that we had to go into each contributing website of thinkfinity and explore certain lessons and activities that were of interest to us. Although some of the web pages didn't pertain to my major, it allowed me to see how different content areas set up lessons and the variety of lessons that they offer. To me, history is a very boring subject, but after playing around with the activities, some areas really caught my attention and allowed me to express a new interest in history. I feel if a simple website can do that for me, I'm certain it will help other students that find certain areas either boring or difficult, develop a new sense of appreciation in the subject. As a future math teacher, I have observed that many students ask how math is going to help them in life? Many of the activities that I came across show students how math will relate to certain everyday activities, and presented a fun approach to practicing this type of math.

I enjoyed this website so much that I sent the link to my roommate who is an elementary education major. When I got home, I showed her how to use the website and she was so excited about it. On the walk home from class, I called my mom, who is a teacher herself, and raved about thinkfinity. She said that it sounded so interesting that she was going to mention it to her principal and suggest that he put the link on the school website so it would be available to teachers, students and parents.

What I liked most about this lesson was that we spent the whole class examining this website and there is still an endless amount of information to be discovered and exposed to our students.

Day 3 in Computers

Today in class, I proved to myself that, "you cannot judge a book by its cover." The looks and sounds of making a podcast always seemed too hard and complicated for me to understand, and I always just assumed that I could not do it. I admit, it took me a lot of questioning and a while to get the hang of it, but once I did, I was able to create a podcast no problem. I learned so may different audio effects that could be used to edit my podcast and make it more audible and interesting. When I tried to "rename" my file, I somehow did something so that it would not open anymore. At first I was discouraged, thinking I was never going to be able to do this on my own. After getting over my fear of technology, I attempted to make another podcast and was able to do so very easily. I had no problems and this made me realize how fast I will be able to catch on to the current and future technology that will be used in the classrooms.

Throughout the class while we were discussing the ways to use podcasting in the classroom, I was trying to come up with ways to use it in a math setting. For a while, I could not come up with any, discouraging me from using it in my classroom. BUT....when I am doing math problems, I find it easier to work through a problem by talking about it out loud. For some students, this may be the perfect learning method for them. While a student is doing a problem, they can make a podcast of what they are doing, explaining every step they take and the methods they used. After posting it on the internet, this student as well as other students can listen to this podcast while doing their homework, using it as a reference to aid them through problems they need help with. I believe learning how to make and use podcasts will greatly benefit myself and my students in the classroom and in the school as a whole.

day 2 in computers

In today's class, we went over how to use Microsoft excel. It was very interesting to me how to create a quiz on the computer and allow the students to answer the questions right on the computer and then immediately see if their answer is correct. Although this is a very modern and helpful way to test children, I probably won't use this in my classroom. As a math teacher, I am more likely going to give my students paper tests, so I can see the work they have done and be able to determine how they are progressing through their work, not their answers.

However, there is something that I found that will be very useful to me when I am a teacher. It is going to be very helpful to know how to make attendance sheets and grade sheets to keep a record of each period I have and for every year. I thought it was very convenient that all I will have to do is enter the grades, and excel will calculate the average for me. Using different spreadsheets and group-books is going to keep me very organized and allow me to accessibly keep track of all my students throughout the years, rather than having to dig to find old record books.

Day 1 in Computers

I have to admit, I was not looking forward to this class because I am not a huge fan of technology. I never really understood how to use it and I don't really like how technology has taken over some people's lives. But after the first day, I am excited to learn about all the new technology that is available to students and in the classroom. No matter how hard I try to keep away from it, technology is becoming a rapid and booming industry, and a part of our everyday lives; it is going to play an important part in the classroom. My biggest expectaion for this class is by the end of the semester, to have a new found appreciation for technology. I want to learn how to use it and appreciate all of its great benefits.