1. Intro Video: The first day of IT 365 the class took a
part in an activity that used NETS-T standard II, which is to “design and
develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments.” We did so by filming
a classmate using the video function on our IPhone and uploaded them to our
newly created blog. By using our IPhones we were using contemporary tools we
were used to in order to record ourselves and upload them to our new blog,
which maximized our learning and developed new knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
This beginning project lead us into the many new skills we would soon learn
about using technology. This project showed us many different forms of
expressing ourselves in creative ways. This assignment taught me that a video
can be just as meaningful as words. The most difficult part of the video
project was giving information that explained myself in thirty seconds. This
taught me that there are many different ways to express yourself with different
medians. I’ve learned through this project that I can incorporate an
informative video of myself or anything else to help explain different
information to my students that may not be allowed inside the school.
2. Concept Map: NETS-T standard II, which is “design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments” was used during our concept map project. We used a program called inspiration to produce a concept map for our future classroom. We chose our own lesson plan that allowed us to search for our own topic. We created our own digital aged learning experience. I learned that there is a lot more that goes into the lesson plan that just an activity or information. Concept maps are a great tool that I will use many times during my future career. As future teachers we have to get used to integrating the common core standards into each lesson and insuring that our students get the proper education they need to move onto the next level of education. It was difficult to learn how to incorporate different lessons with the specific common core state standards and make an interesting lesson for the students. But I learned that you can modify your lesson to meet the standard. I gained knowledge form this project that I will be able to use in my future classroom as far as inspiration, common core state standards, and concept maps.
3. Website:
NETS-T standard IV was met by producing our own webpage. The standard states to
“promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.” We were able to
create our website correctly and avoid copywriting someone else’s work and
share our own. We used Google sites to create this website which was a new tool
for me. I learned how to be a digital citizen by citing and stating where the
information I used was from. I learned how to use graphics and google sites.
Although I encountered a few problems with glitches and programs, I was able to
navigate and learn how to fix the problems myself. I will be able to
incorporate creating a website in my classroom to help teach my students how to
be a digital citizen and the correct way to cite online material as well as
explore and express themselves in different ways. This will be helpful for my
students to learn how to work their way around a website and it will also be
helpful to their parents to keep them updated on the things that are going on
in class and what they need to be doing outside of the class so that they are
always informed.
4. Movie: In class we created our own movie using a
program called Movie Maker on our desktop. This involved using NETS-T standard
I, which is to “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.” We
were offered the chance to express ourselves through pictures that told a
story. It was difficult to find pictures that told a whole story without giving
a long explanation of each picture and how they connected to one another. It
was also difficult to decide how to choose the right pictures that would make
the story come together. I learned that computers can be difficult to use when
you are trying to save something and you have to be specific and make sure that
you are saving to the correct place and uploading it correctly. I also learned
that different computers have different programs so you have to know how to use
different programs that go hand in hand. This is a good way to teach students
creative expression how to give credits to those in the movie as well as the
songs used. This would be an interesting way to get students to meet each other
in a different way.
5. Turn-It In: For this assignment we
were given a set of questions and given instructions to find the answers in
articles online. For the first submission, we were to copy and paste
information from the articles and turn it in on Turnitin.com plagiarizing the
information without changing any words. For the second submission, we were to
put all of the information in our own words and resubmit it so we didn’t
plagiarize at all. This assignment follows the NETS-T standard IV which “promotes
and models digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the
use of technology and information.” Through this assignment I learned the right
way to paraphrase an article to make sure that it’s not plagiarized. This is a
great tool that I will use in my future classroom to teacher students the
importance of using their own work and teaching them what is considered
plagiarizing. It will be important to start teaching students the importance of
plagiarizing in elementary school so that they are prepared and know how to
paraphrase and summarize when they get into higher grades.
6. Web Tools: Following the NETS-T
standard II to “customize and personalize learning activities to address
students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using
digital tools and resources” we created a rubric, online quiz, and online
bookmark. This project is a great tool for the future because we were given
websites that are templates for all three of these things. In the future I will
have to create rubrics for each project, so having a website that helps me do
this is a great tool that I will be able to use all of the time. The online
bookmark keeps webpages that are helpful for me and my students in the
classroom. This is a good tool that I can use so I don’t have to worry about
losing a webpage that I come across. All of these websites were new to me so I
had to learn how to navigate around the pages and figure out how to use the
website for my benefit. I learned that creating these things is not as easy as
it sounds and having these template websites makes things much easier for me. I
will be able to keep these sources and use them regularly in my future
classroom.
7. Google Assignment: We used the
NETS-T standard I, which “Promotes, supports, and models creative
and innovative thinking and
inventiveness” in the web tools project. For this project we were paired in
groups and had to come up with a story, having each person in our group add on
a part of the story. We also had to create a PowerPoint using Google Drive
where we worked from our own computers and worked on the project. We used
Google groups in this project, having to learn how to use another Google tool.
This project helped me to learn to cooperate with other people which is
something that I will need in my future profession. I also had to communicate
with my peers in my group to know what information needed to be included. As a
future teacher, I will be working collaboratively with other teachers to ensure
the best material for our students. These tools would also be helpful for
students in upper elementary school if they were working on a group project or
group PowerPoint. It is a great way to have students work together but also be
able to work from their own stations instead of having to be all at the same
location. This allows people to be able to do their part of the project on
their own time and not have to work around everyone’s schedule.
I have learned how to
better use technology from this class. It has taught me different ways to
incorporate technology into the classroom and how important it is for the
future. With technology evolving and growing it is important to keep the
technology in the class room up to date. It allows children to become involved
in a different way of gaining information rather than just listening to a
lecture or reading a text book. I’ve learned how important technology can be to
incorporate the Common Core State Standards into the classroom. It is
another way to get the students involved with the lesson an allow them to get
hands on learning. It can offer freedom of research and teach them the
importance of being a good digital citizen. I hope to be able to teach my
students the information about technology I have learned from this class.
Coming into this class, I
knew I wasn’t that great with computers, so I know that I had weak points. One
of my main weak points was trying to figure things out on my own when we used
tools that I had never used before and didn’t know how to work my away around
them. I think that this is a weak point for me because I don’t have a lot of
patience so when I can’t figure out what to do right away I start to get
frustrated. This is something that I need to work on to be a better teacher in
the past. One of my strong points is getting things done and staying on top of
things. I don’t like when things are late and not completed the right way so I
usually get things done before they are due. This is a good strength because I
am going to need to be on top of things and manage my time when I become a
teacher.
I believe it is important
to incorporate technology into the classroom because children can easily
interact and gain different benefits from researching of aiding fin motor
skills. It is important not to overpower yourself or the students with the use
of technology in the classroom but find a happy medium. The projects that we
have done are all great projects that can easily be used in my future classroom
and that I hope to use with my students. I think that the Blog that we created
is a great way to show our assignments and also a great tool to teach students
how to use. Hopefully they will take away as much as I have taken away from
this class. I will be sure to incorporate technology into my classroom thanks
to the different things I have learned for IT 365.
