#17 Blogfolio

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.