I worked with Alison VandeMerwe on lesson plan 2. We did a webquest and the link is:

http://questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=72356&l=72352-081103083158&a=&p=introduction&pt=student

Note:
This is our project. We couldn't export our lesson to the site, it was down and wasn't working. We talked to you about this and you said it would be ok to just attach the link.

Topic 12- Applications

Today we learned about different online applications you can use in the classroom. We focused on the different online tutorials and learning modules that students can use on their own.

A. Online tutorials can be a great resource for teachers and students. It allows students to move at their own pace. If they understand the material they can move ahead quickly and practice more challenging aspects of the material. Also, if they are struggling they can move a bit slower and have more practice where needed. It's also a great way to allow children to have some control over their learning. They have to be in charge of getting it done and moving through the lesson and stay on task. It's a great way to teach those skills.

B. One thing that is a concern over using online tutorials is the lack of personal contact. The students can't get personal feedback when they interact with technology. The computer can adjust the types of questions but it can't directly identify their problems or frustrations. A teacher can interact directly with the students and guide the lessons to better fit them. Also, students may just quickly go through the lesson without really trying and not learn what they were expected to. With a teacher instructing them they can't as easily slip by.

C. I think that online tutors are a great way to practice skills but maybe not the best way to learn new skills. If I were to design or use online tutorials with my students I would use them only for practice. I think the students should learn the skill in a hands-on environment with the teacher there to guide them. After they have learned the skill I think it can be great to use the internet to practice those new skills. I'm glad we learned about the features that are available through internet tutorials and I hope to use them in my future classrooms.

Topic 11- Instructional Architect

Today we learned about the features of instructional architect from Tom Caswell. This website is similar to the questgarden website and has a lot of helpful information for teachers. Teachers can use this website to find lesson plans that are already created by other teachers. It's a great way to get ideas for lessons. We can use the lesson plans we find and make adjustments to fit the needs of our classroom and students. This website is also a great place to create new lesson plans. It has helpful guides and resources to steer lesson plans in the right direction. When looking for resources, instructional architect has sites we can use to find well written lessons.

This is a good resource to have as a teacher. I can use this when I create lesson plans for my classroom. It is great to learn about the resources that are out there and helps make the task of creating lesson plans less daunting. I plan on using intructional architect in the future.

Topic 10- Cameras and Digital Photography

Today in class we learned about the uses of digital cameras in the classroom. Digital cameras are used so frequently today and it was great to be able to see how they can be used in the classroom. We were able to complete a project that we could do with our own students someday. We took pictures of shapes around the building and then used those pictures to create a comic strip. We learned how to use the program comic strip and how to add text definitions and pictures to our presentation. I think it's great to experiment with the programs we want to use in the classroom. If we are going to teach the children how to use it we need to be comfortable with it ourselves. The program, comic strip, was a really fun program and fit this activity perfectly. I think it can be used in many other lessons as well so it was good to be able to learn more about it.

Using technology in the classroom is a great, hands-on way to keep children interested and involved. Digital cameras are a great form of technology. It helps the children take ownership of their learning and it also keeps them interested in the topic. I want to integrate digital cameras in my future classroom and today's activity is a great lesson that I can use with a future classroom.

Topic 9- Website Evaluation

1. What form(s) did you like/dislike? Why?
2. Were there any hidden secrets about a website you discovered by using an evaluation form?
3. What is the value of using a web site evaluation process?
4. Are there times you would/would not use a formal evaluation?

Today we looked at different websites that involved education and evaluated different aspects of each site. (1.) Some of the different website evaluation forms were more helpful than others. The one titled, Web Site Evaluation Form, didn't help me decide very much information. The evaluation, Critical Evaluation of a Website Elementary School Level, was much more helpful. It better fit my needs as a teachers and helped me decide if the website would be useful for my students or not.

(2.) The evaluation forms helped me look deeper at the websites. Without using the form I probably wouldn't have checked up on the different links the page had and what other websites it could take me to. It was interesting to look a little deeper at the sites and see which ones were more credible. The evaluations all asked a question about how recent the website had been updated. I don't always remember to check that but it is so important to stay current with the information we are teaching our students.

(3.) I think using a website evaluation process is very useful. By using the different forms I was better able to understand the purpose of the different sites and to see if they fit my intended purposes. The different forms each had useful questions on them but some were more helpful than others. I think teaching students how to evaluate websites would be a good skill. It's important to take notice of the sites we are getting our information from. We need to make sure the sites are current and reliable and the information is correct. By using an evaluation it will help us keep those things in check.

(4.) When I am using a website in my teaching I think a formal evaluation would be good. I would use it to check on sources and intended purposes of the site. It would be worth the time to fill out an evaluation when I am presenting the information to others. If I am just researching information for myself and am not using the information for others I may not use an evaluation. If the site is just for entertainment and not for educational purposes I would probably not do an evaluation. Anytime I am using the information from a website as fact I think it would be a good idea to formally evaluate it and especially if I am suggesting the website to others. I think learning about the different types of website evaluations is a very useful skill.

Topic 8- Spreadsheets

Today we learned about spreadsheets and how we can use them in the classroom. I had used spreadsheets a bit in other classrooms and it was good to refresh those skills. We learned how to use different calculation features to total numbers in a gradebook and to find averages among students. This will be so helpful in managing the grades of my future classroom. It was good to learn how we can actually use this program in the future. I liked how we were able to connect the uses of spreadsheets specifically to our needs and majors as educators.

We also learned how to create online quizzes through google documents. This is a fun and quick way to create and send out tests. Many students like to use computers and that number is increasing so I like learning new ways to incorporate the internet into lessons and tests. We were able to choose between a lot of different question types on google documents which was so great. We can create a test with a lot of variety and choices for students. Google documents also automatically combines all the submitions so I can just look at it and see the answers to my survey. This can save a lot of time managing tests and makes it easy to see how people are doing. I think learning about spreadsheets and surveys will be very helpful in my future classroom.

My survey can be located at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p4njzG98iDe1CO_Qnq7LBcg

Topic 7- Word Processing

Today we discussed different ways we can use word processing in the classroom. It was helpful to learn how we can use this technology with or without an internet connection. Sometimes it's difficult to always have enough computers with the internet in the classroom but it was great to see that the internet isn't always necessary. The students can still edit their own work and each others work by using word processing without the internet. It was good to practice this skill by doing it ourselves. I enjoyed writing and editing stories with my classmates. That would be a great activity for my future classroom. It is a great way to allow students opportunity for creativity while still practicing writing skills. I thought it was also great to use the highlighting feature while editing. I had never used this tool before and thought it was very cool. It will be so helpful for students to be able to see and remember where they made changes and why they did this.

We also spent time on google documents. This is another way of co-editing documents but this way involves the internet. It's a great way to edit when you aren't right next to your partner. I enjoyed being able to practice using it and getting more comfortable with it. I think it's so important for teachers to be comfortable with what they are teaching and we do this through practice. I hope to use both of these word processing features in my future classroom.