CEDO515 - Week Six

We have reviewed many pieces of technology over the past weeks. It is very interesting to see all of the different technology that we have at our disposal, and that we can use on a regular basis. Google offers many of these opportunities, and the site at our school does not run super well, but it is a start. Once we have a better server and wider broadband access, the program will move much more smoothly. I have been familiar with many of the options that Google has to offer, and I think the best piece that I want to take back to my department at the high school was offered by Louis the last class period...SCHOOLOGY! I cannot wait to look at it more closely...so far, it is better than Edmodo, and I have been using that for about the past month. Thank you for another excellent experience!!

CEDO515 - Week Four

The video I viewed was titled Assistive Technology in the Writing Process. Students in this class were using the Internet to research an assigned/teacher-approved topic and then used computer software to create graphic organizers, outlines, and the assistance of word prediction and spell-check software as well. Computer speech capabilities are also used to assist in the proofreading process. Watching this take place was interesting, and I say that for the fact that we have been exploring the use of a guided writing program for student papers from one of our textbook companies. I can see where items like this can be useful. It allows students the opportunity to be creative, and still stick to a template to be successful. My concerns are that sometimes, it is necessary for students to proofread on their own, or read their papers aloud in order to see the value of finding one's own mistakes and making those corrections on one's own. I have mixed feelings about this, and will probably be spending more time exploring such software before I come to a conclusion.

CEDO515 Week Five - Blog

What we are studying, this week in particular, is very important. We are currently trying to build a curriculum for our high school seniors that is online, and differentiating instruction is the one piece where I think we are going to struggle the most. It is necessary as we are teaching a blend-ed course, that we incorporate and work with all learning styles. Having these resources at hand will be helpful in building activities and discussions to take place in class and online for students who need help, scaffolding, or enrichment opportunities.

Moderator

Moderator could be useful in the classroom and there are several ways in which it can be put to good use. Educators could survey classes or perhaps gain opinions of the class in terms of particular issues. It could also be used as a pre-reading guide with thought questions at the start of a unit, or perhaps a during reading guide throughout. In Literature, it is nice to prompt students with questions to get their ideas beforehand, discuss, then continue with the readings as necessary. Examining different opinions or answers can spark quite interesting conversations at times, and I am thrilled when my students control discussion. Our group discussed these various thoughts on technology producing different products: * Allows students to be creative and they can put their own personality into projects they create using PowerPoint, wiki pages etc. using graphics and videos * Even with the same assignment it can look or be set up a variety of ways and still be correct (for example each of our web pages for class have the same information but we all set it up a little differently) * For students with different learning styles or levels, technology can help differentiate instruction (students can work on different projects or at different levels/can offer more options) * Projects can be shared via technology for all to view * Students are expected to create products individually, and while exploring different avenues of technology for presentation purposes are often less likely to plagiarize another student's work as the creation ownership can be extremely valuable

InTime Videos

In viewing some of the InTime videos, it really allows the teacher an opportunity to use technology in the classroom on a regular basis for a variety of purposes. Students are able to be creative in a manner that can be useful to them, and are able to produce educational pieces that can be used in the future. It also allows them an avenue to present themselves to others in a successful manner, and perhaps a manner in which they might be most comfortable. Teachers can then reuse these pieces in future years, either as a learning experience for others, or samples of what had been completed in the past in hopes that new generations will push the creativity envelope further in their learning and expressions of their learning.

CEDO515 - Week Three

We went over a great deal of material this week. It was nice to get to know a few more technological options that could be used in the classroom. I am enjoying seeing what others post and find in their search to include technology in the classroom. The main focus this week was Google Spreadsheets. I have spent a small amount of time using this option, however, I don't believe it is something that I would use on a regular basis in my English classroom. There were a few frustrations among my classmates about how to complete the spreadsheet so that it appropriately reflected different measurements when calculating different serving sizes. I will blame the school's server and broadband for this, I am often frustrated with working on this homework while at school. It is much easier to complete at home! What will next week bring?!

CEDO515 Week Two - What I Didn't Know

As I was going through the presentation of "20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web," it was interesting to note that Web Apps are not downloads and do not affect how the computer runs. This is one thing I was not aware of, as I do have a smart phone and I thought apps were items that needed to be downloaded in order to work. It is also interesting to see that the apps do not interfere with other items that are currently running on my computer. HMMMM...we learn something new every day! I was also not aware that HTML had a newer version, HTML5, created and used to incorporate video and other interesting pieces such as the interaction with web apps while offline, as well as the drag and drop option. This feature also works everywhere. I learned quite a bit through my Masters in Instructional Technology, but I have to say, there is still much more to learn, and as John says, "Don't blink!" Technology is ever changing, and I think that I will always need to be taking courses if I want to keep up with it. The nice piece is that once I find something that works and is reliable, I am likely to stick with it, even though I am always up for learning new information.