Educational Technology Class

Last Class

2005-08-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

The last class was a lot of fun; we presented our digital stories and culturequests. The digital stories were the best part - everybody chose different topics and some of them were so interesting! The cutlure quests were good too but I got frustrated seeing how great some other people's web pages were. I knew nothing to begin with so I ws proud of mine until I saw all the great links and pictures and graphics other people in the class created. Overall I'm happy the class is over because now I have two weeks of a relaxing summmer - which of course I'm going to use the time to move which stinks. I am kind of sad that it's over too because I learned a whole lot and after learning that many new inspirational things I always worry that I'll forget stuff. I think between my notes and /twin I should be fine though and I am really looking forward to using all I learned next year.

Creating a Website...

2005-08-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ok so creating a website can be a little frustrating, but it's almost all ok. I'm still waiting to edit some pictures in html and hopefully that will work and my pictures and images will perform correctly. It's pretty cool seeing the website for real and I learned some good things today about anchoring and linking text. I wish linked text did not have to be blue all of the time, but I guess it's not that big of a deal. I think I've finally figured out how to fix this picture situation. I also just relearned something about how to narrate my digital story - so I will have to redo that later today and record in one piece instead of many. Want to get back to work.

Getting Excited...

2005-08-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today I stopped by school after class and started rambling on to my AP and other teachers how the things I learned in this class will really be useful and the professional development we could do. I also found out I might be getting ym same classroom next year which will be really nice as far as setting up. About today's class though. Well, the Culture Quest is coming along so that is exciting - it's crazy to make something that looks like an actual web page. We learned Excel today but I'm not so sure about it as I am kind of stuck on gradekeeper. I am still glad I finally learned how to enter formulas though because not knowing how to do that was annoying. I think I'll keep using Excel the way I did before tough - for spreadsheets in class but not grades.

Too early for Poetry

2005-08-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today we explored a website that used pictures to inspire poetry (an vice versa). I wasn't really in a poetry writing mood but the poems my classmates wrote were really good. I can see how this could help inspire my students to write great poems. I tried to upload the picture I drew in response to another poem, asleep, but for some reason this particular computer is not allowing me to do this. Oh well, it was fun to create. I want to get back to working on my Culture Quest webpage which I finally started. All of these activities are so much easier once you do them - the final product always looks so intimidating though.

Applying Technology to Subject Standards

2005-08-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

Technology can be used to meet any of the four standards. In order to meet Standard one, which includes collecting facts and data, a student can use technology by researching her suject online using kid-friendly search engines. They may also want to e-mail with people from different areas or who have a certain expertise in order to gather more information. Standard 2, which requires students to read and listen to oral and written language, could be met when students present Power Point presentations. Once again, in order to help students develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimesnion certain texts represent, internet research may be used. Meeting Standard 3, which focuses on critical analysis using a variety of estblished criteria would certainly be fulfilled during a Web Quest or Culture Quest Activity. A Culture Quest particularly help with one aspect of Standard 3, which focuses on looking at issues or information from a variety of perspectives. Standar 4, using oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people, could be met using Power Point Presentations, communicating with others via e-mail, and writing and reading daily blog entries about a specific subject.

So Much to Do!!!!

2005-08-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Today was good because we were given lots of time to work on our Culture Quests. I still have some work to do for my WebQuest and somehow did not realize that our digital story is due this Thursday - the time has just gone by so quickly. I have a few papers left for my other class too, but next week classes will be over so then I can relax for a while. Today I presented my PowerPoint presentation. Even though I hadn't looked at it in a while, it was still easy to talk about and I really enjoyed talking about the anthologies because they were a lot of fun (and work. Tonight I'm going to need to finish up some work and then I'll feel a little better about what all is due.

Is today Wednesday?

2005-07-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm extremely tired today and class is four hours, but it still was a really good class. Today's PowerPoint presentations were amazing - Aimee's was so terrific. I seriously want her to come to my school and present it for professional development. I liked sharing our digital stories - just wish we had more time because we did not get through all of them. It will be really fun to watch all of them later in the class. The web page composing today doesn't seem as scary or complicated as I thought it would. Also found out field work is not everything mentioned but can be mix - so I'm pretty relieved about that. A lot of work to do next week but looking forward to visiting Samsung Center or Apple store.

Nice Class

2005-07-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today the four hours went really quickly. We started with Power Point Presentations and my classmates did a few really neat things with theirs. I like seeing what they did with the program and learning about what they've taught. We explored some more web resources after this and then moved on to the Culture Quest. We are studying Egyptian food and have found quite a bit of information and found a way to narrow our topic even more and divide our focus. I still feel like there is a lot to keep track of, but I am learning a lot and plan to use this info in the classroom. I'm getting a little to into Power Point though and stayed up last night creating an entirely new and different presentation, which I could probably still find ways to improve and make more entertaining but think I'll let this one be.

Quests

2005-07-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today we reviewed WebQuests, looked a some preventing presentations, created graphic organizers using MS Word, and began working on our WebQuests and Culture Quests. Looking over some more WebQuests was a really good idea because it helped me understand what exactly a WebQuest should have. I had not thought about how roles can be used and how they help shape the task. When we made some graphic organizers on MS Word I could not believe how much more work I had been doing to create my own graphic organizers on Word. The techniques - even just using shapes and arrows - will really be useful and help save time. I still have a lot to think about for my WebQuest. I am excited about the Culture Quest, but it is hard to choose a limited topic.

Power Point

2005-07-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, for one of my last professional development days, my school gave a presentation on how to use MS Power Point. The presentation went over many of the same things we talked about in class today - except how or when to actually use Power Point in the classroom. I feel a little overwhelmed right now about the amount of work I need to complete for my summer classes, but I am also a little excited about the projects we need to do. We have to present our own Power Point show next Tuesday and I'm not really sure what I want to talk about. We also need to write a little story to use for our digital story which looks fun but I'm scared is also going to be hard. I feel comfortable using Power Point in class like we did today, but I've never really had to use it before. It is kind of nice that the audience is busy looking at the screen so you don't have a whole class staring at you, but you still have to know what you want to say. Hopefully it won't be too hard...

Going on a WebQuest

2005-07-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today's assignment involved the class dividing into groups and visiting a website where we could go on a WebQuest to learn about WebQuests. This activity was nice - each of us had a role and focus so it was easier to evaluate the sites. Some of the projects seemed a little daunting and I was relieved that we didn't have to do what some of the quests were asking. I did get a good overall idea about how to use WebQuests and can see how they could be useful in class. I really like the idea of assigning a big project in the form of a WebQuest because the directions and resources would all be right there for the students. They would also probably be more excited about the project because it is on the computer. I could see using a few short WebQuests to introduce my students to the concept and then, later in the class, use the tool to assign a big unit summary project.

About This Blog...

2005-07-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

This blog was created for ESC 529 at Lehman College. My name is Abby and I am an 8th grade ELA teacher at MS 143 in the Bronx. This website will include my responses to class and hopefully share some of the information I gain about using technology in the classroom. I have just completed my first year teaching and did not use technology in the classroom. I look forward to learning more about how to incorporate the internet and computers into lessons and so far it seems this class with help me do this. My students love using computers and giving them the proper approach and materials to do this effectively and efficiently is really important to me. One of my major goals as a teacher for next year is to use more technology and media in my lessons.