Tuesday, June 28, 2011

515 Overview

     This course has been one I have found that taught me not only about how to use various tools but also how to find them and what I am able to do with them.  This has proven to be an invaluable tool in my teaching arsenal as I am now armed with more and more tools to teach my students.
     Spreadsheets may not help the students in my 2nd grade class, but it will defiantly help me.  The idea of having a grade book that will calculate for me once I put in my formulas will same me SO much time!  I also really enjoy the idea that I can share receipts and change the amount of servings is great!
     Further, learning about software evaluation was great as I know have a perspective and background that I will be able to bring to the table in my school district.  I have tools in my bag and I know that I am able to show how to evaluate and what makes good software. This allows me to not only have discussion with my co-workers but also the tech team and administrators.  This knowledge will make me even more of a more invaluable asset to my school.
     Overall this was a great class that taught me more about what I can do in a classroom and application of programs than any yet.  The real work application to this class is what will prove to be one of the greatest things to take away.  There were tools listed and learned and now they are in practice as I am teaching my way though Summer Acadamy and prepare for next school year.  The ideas are swimming through my head, now it is only a matter of using them!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

What We Study and It Is In The Real World!

     THe information we have been covering over the last 5 weeks have been very valuable.  It has been a great influence on what I can do as a teacher in my classroom.  I will be teaching summer academy starting this week and having a webpage for my digital photography class will allow my students to see the various projects we will have and what they will be expected to do.  The use of the calendar will be used to show due dates and projects as they will be assigned.
    Further, as our 2nd grade gets new curriculum materials for next year we will be looking into new software to accompany the programs.  It has been requested that we review all of our materials for use next year.  The software evaluation will give me background knowledge into how to properly evaluate and approach this project.  With this knowledge I will be able to lead my team in proper evaluation of the software.
     The use of the various google tools will prove to be invaluable as I am finished loosing my work on school computers as servers and computers crash quite often.  With the ability to create and store my work online, I find myself very capable of accessing my work on any computer in the school and I am able to skip the step of logging in and out of accounts.  All I need is the internet and all of my work can be accessed.
     Overall the past few weeks have proven to be some of the greatest for learning I can apply immediately in my work and home life.  This not only eases my work load, but proves as proof of my learning.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Online Resources

After exploring the intent webpage I found that there was a lesson that was directly inline with my 2nd grade curriculum.  We teach dinosaurs in 2nd grade and have been looking to update, infuse technology, and create new lessons.  This is actually a focus of many of my teams meetings this summer.  In paging through the lessons I came across one that was exactly what I was looking for.  All of the information, links, standards are right there and ready to be used.  This is a great resource that will allow me to teach new and up to date lessons.  This webpage upon further exploration I am sure will provide many more lessons that can be used in my classroom.  This webpage is one I plan to share with my team mates at our coloration meetings.

Our readings this week seem to be some of the most helpful I have had yet.  There were sample projects laid out for almost every content areas as well as.  This has been the chapter I have been waiting for.  It is useful to any teacher, and even gives ideas on what one can do to use adaptive technology for our SE friends.  This overall, included with the 2 week break, has been one of the better chapters/homework weeks for inspiring my teaching and my bag of information!