Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Final Reflection

This semester has come to an end and I am now writing my final blog posting :(  Lets look back on my IT 365 journey.  The first day of class I have to admit I was kinda starting to feel the senioritis coming on and I was not looking forward to this technology class.  I truly believed I knew all I needed to and I should not have to take yet another computer class.  I quickly learned that first day of class I was completely wrong!  I learned something new the first day I attended class, and little did I know I would continue to learn something new about a specific use of technology every day after that.  There are so many things I have learned ranging from websites to assistive technology! I was so pleasantly surprised that i was able to take this specific course. 
Little did I know I would meet and become close with so many new people as well.  I am thankful for the friends I made as well as the information I learned.  I feel like I need to create a folder somewhere safe of all the information developed this semester.  I want to store it somewhere I can access when I am student teaching as well as have my own classroom.  All of the knowledge I have gained will benefit me not only as a student, but as a future educator!

Web Tools


This assignment had so many different aspects to it I was amazed! I could not believe I was a senior in college and had never heard of any of these particular websites.  I actually used some of them even after this assignment was due! My favorite tool was probably the word cloud.  You can use these in your every day assignments! I actually was doing my clinical at Oak Grove Elementary and the teachers there used them on the outsides of their doors! It was a cute and creative way to describe themselves to students and parents. 
The rubric site is another helpful everyday tool for teachers.  It is something that is used often on classroom assignments, so it is hand to have a tool such as this one available!
            The story website was neat, but I have to be honest I am not very creative so it was somewhat difficult for me to make up a story.  Once I finished I was proud of myself and my story!  All of these tools will be helpful once I become a teacher, and even now while I am a student. 
            Track Star was interesting! I enjoyed it, but it was slightly difficult to use.  I think it will definitely be helpful in the future; however it will take some practice getting familiar with the site.



Below are the links to each Web Tool used:
Rubric: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7C9j8ctiOfwSUItNnBUbDcwbU0
Word Cloud: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5737335/Food_Chain
Story:http://storybird.com/books/lets-explore-what-will-happen-if-i-dont-take-care/?token=u99tvr
Track Star:http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/ts/viewTrackMembersText.do?org.apache.struts.taglib.html.TOKEN=13772771096357858fc170c4fbd94c5b&number=444578&password=

AT Project


Assistive technology is a subject that is near and dear to my heart.  I am a dual major; therefore I will be teaching Elementary and Special Education.  In many special education situations, children need to be provided with assistive technology.  Technology is such a big part of today’s society, it is not easily accessible for all students.  I learned so much from this one activity.  There are so many things that are free and readily available on your home computer that can benefit a person with disabilities.  As a teacher, it is important to be up to date and knowledgeable of things such as hearing and vision features on a computer.  I have to be honest and say that if it were not for this specific activity I would not be as familiar with some of the challenges that can be easily over come using technology. 
            We used aids that varied from enlarging text on the screen, to making your keyboard beep when typing.  It is amazing just what technology can do. I believe that this lesson is more for adults and for children with disabilities rather than your entire classroom.  It is important though to have these aids readily available for any student in need. The NET Standard it applies to is the model digital age work and learning.  Teachers can model this to students with disabilities in order to support them and their use of technology. 
            This project would be extremely helpful in any class that is training students to become future educators.
            To view my Assistive Technology PowerPoint please click the link below:

Web Development


So far this semester this has been one of the most challenging projects assigned.  Individually we created a classroom website! This is something that is crucial to our classrooms as future educators, I just did not realize how difficult it may be.  There are so many aspects that go into creating a website.  You have to create a design, layout, specifics that go into it, etc.  There are so many aspects that I did not realize until I began this specific assignment.  After it was all said and done, I enjoyed learning how to create the website and I will use something similar to this in the future.  It was neat to learn how to insert you email as the footer and contact information.  A website is something that is easily accessible to almost anyone in today’s society. 
            The website challenged me to think and develop classroom rules and regulations, search for resources and links for parents, create a small autobiography, as well as homework and assignments.  I can only imagine keeping a website up to date in today’s society.  You do not realize how much work goes into creating and updating these things.  This is something that I will implement in my future classroom, as well as make sure my students are aware of what all goes into a website.  A couple NET Standards that apply to this project are:

·      Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
·      Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments