https://sites.google.com/site/nixworldgeography/
I did not have too many problems with creating my website. The program was easy to follow and the tutorial Dr. Wang provided was very helpful. I did have one mishap, I started my website the Thursday before it was due, and saved what I had done, but when I came back to finish it another day, everything I had done was gone. My website was still there and my design was still present but everything I typed and added to the web page was gone. I could of swore I saved every page. Who know? So I had to start over, but all in all the assignment was very easy. I thought before I started the assignment that it was going to be difficult because I had never attempted to create a website before, but I was wrong. I am actually thinking about creating one for my classes for next school year.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Week 11 : Chapter 9 & 10 : Question # 2
Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos? What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended message to your students? What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?
Alternative learning systems include many types of technological tools. Teachers and students have a whole world of technology at their fingertips. Teachers can use the internet as a resource for teaching and for displaying educational videos in their classrooms. Teachers also can have class with students from all over the U.S. by using live cams, which enable students to feel like they are a part of a class even though they are sitting at home. This enhances traditional education because students and teachers can come together over long distances to communicate and learn, and students become involved in learning by using more than one sense.
Teachers should always preview and evaluate videos before they introduce them to their students by using an evaluation rubric. Teachers need to make sure the video is relevant to the curriculum because students need to be able to relate what they are watching to what they are learning in the current chapter or unit. The video needs to be current and accurate. I showed a video in class the other day that another teacher loaned me, and I previewed it and made a worksheet to go with it. I should have never used that video, it was very outdated and some of the information was not accurate anymore. I had to stop the video to correct the information; it was very distracting to the students. Next time I will do some searching and find a more current video.
The video should be engaging. Although the video was outdated the students were still engaged, but maybe not in the way I was looking for. They laughed at the crazy hairstyles and clothing the people in the video were wearing and made jokes. The educational side of the video was not as engaging as the humorous parts. Also teachers should try to find good support materials to go along with the video, something the students can touch and be physically involved with. By bringing the tactile experience into the mix, most of the learning styles will be covered in the lesson. The technical quality needs to be good, some students are very visual and if the quality of the video is poor, they may become turned off to learning.
I learned from my experience with showing the outdated video in my class. Next time I will use the video rubric to evaluate my video before I show it. One last note, teachers are required to include a worksheet when showing a video in class at my school. By doing this, I know that my students are paying attention instead of sleeping or talking to other students. I think the worksheet is a great idea and tool and all schools should require it.
Alternative learning systems include many types of technological tools. Teachers and students have a whole world of technology at their fingertips. Teachers can use the internet as a resource for teaching and for displaying educational videos in their classrooms. Teachers also can have class with students from all over the U.S. by using live cams, which enable students to feel like they are a part of a class even though they are sitting at home. This enhances traditional education because students and teachers can come together over long distances to communicate and learn, and students become involved in learning by using more than one sense.
Teachers should always preview and evaluate videos before they introduce them to their students by using an evaluation rubric. Teachers need to make sure the video is relevant to the curriculum because students need to be able to relate what they are watching to what they are learning in the current chapter or unit. The video needs to be current and accurate. I showed a video in class the other day that another teacher loaned me, and I previewed it and made a worksheet to go with it. I should have never used that video, it was very outdated and some of the information was not accurate anymore. I had to stop the video to correct the information; it was very distracting to the students. Next time I will do some searching and find a more current video.
The video should be engaging. Although the video was outdated the students were still engaged, but maybe not in the way I was looking for. They laughed at the crazy hairstyles and clothing the people in the video were wearing and made jokes. The educational side of the video was not as engaging as the humorous parts. Also teachers should try to find good support materials to go along with the video, something the students can touch and be physically involved with. By bringing the tactile experience into the mix, most of the learning styles will be covered in the lesson. The technical quality needs to be good, some students are very visual and if the quality of the video is poor, they may become turned off to learning.
I learned from my experience with showing the outdated video in my class. Next time I will use the video rubric to evaluate my video before I show it. One last note, teachers are required to include a worksheet when showing a video in class at my school. By doing this, I know that my students are paying attention instead of sleeping or talking to other students. I think the worksheet is a great idea and tool and all schools should require it.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Reflection on Rubistar, APTE Puzzle center, Easy Test Maker, Website Eval., and Trackstar
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bx2hDvQyhVLnYjhmZDk0NTMtZDQyZS00MGYwLWI0N2YtMjYwYTQ0M2RhN2Ni&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AR2hDvQyhVLnZGR0OG1xcXdfMGd6N3NnN2N2&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bx2hDvQyhVLnMWFiOGVlZTUtMGU4NS00NzhkLWJlNWMtZmJhNDY0ZmJmYjlm&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AR2hDvQyhVLnZGR0OG1xcXdfMTQyZHg4ZmQ3&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AR2hDvQyhVLnZGR0OG1xcXdfMmNyYnA4M2dt&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bx2hDvQyhVLnZjQyM2U3MTAtMmM4MC00ZGI2LWIxZDUtODZmN2Y4Njg3NTdl&hl=enI didn’t have any problems with Rubistar; it was very easy to use. I did not know about Rubistar, and I will use it in the future instead of making up my own. I like how the choices are direct and the rating criteria are easily understood so that students would also be able to understand how and what they were graded on. The puzzle center was really neat and I didn’t really have any problems using it. The only thing I didn’t like was when I made my crossword puzzle; the program was not able to use all of my words. If I used this for my class, I would have to come up with another assignment to make sure my students received the information that the crossword puzzle did not contain. Also, I was not able to save the puzzle to a file so that I could easily access it later from my computer. When I did try to save it the format was completely messed up.
The test maker website was really awesome; I will definitely use it to make my future tests. I always have trouble with my test format, as far as the lettering and spacing, this makes it a whole lot easier, and also I have trouble with my students trying to cheat. This program offers alternate tests, which would be great and I wouldn’t have to put in all of the extra time to put together different test.
The website evaluation forms were easy and they also helped me to see what I should be looking for in a website. The Trackstar was really neat; I will definitely use it in the future for my classes. I had a teacher at USM that included a reference list of websites for the class in her syllabus. It really helped when I was trying to do projects for her class. Overall I didn’t have a lot of problems with the assignments and all of them will be helpful for my teaching career.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AR2hDvQyhVLnZGR0OG1xcXdfMGd6N3NnN2N2&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bx2hDvQyhVLnMWFiOGVlZTUtMGU4NS00NzhkLWJlNWMtZmJhNDY0ZmJmYjlm&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AR2hDvQyhVLnZGR0OG1xcXdfMTQyZHg4ZmQ3&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AR2hDvQyhVLnZGR0OG1xcXdfMmNyYnA4M2dt&hl=en
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bx2hDvQyhVLnZjQyM2U3MTAtMmM4MC00ZGI2LWIxZDUtODZmN2Y4Njg3NTdl&hl=enI didn’t have any problems with Rubistar; it was very easy to use. I did not know about Rubistar, and I will use it in the future instead of making up my own. I like how the choices are direct and the rating criteria are easily understood so that students would also be able to understand how and what they were graded on. The puzzle center was really neat and I didn’t really have any problems using it. The only thing I didn’t like was when I made my crossword puzzle; the program was not able to use all of my words. If I used this for my class, I would have to come up with another assignment to make sure my students received the information that the crossword puzzle did not contain. Also, I was not able to save the puzzle to a file so that I could easily access it later from my computer. When I did try to save it the format was completely messed up.
The test maker website was really awesome; I will definitely use it to make my future tests. I always have trouble with my test format, as far as the lettering and spacing, this makes it a whole lot easier, and also I have trouble with my students trying to cheat. This program offers alternate tests, which would be great and I wouldn’t have to put in all of the extra time to put together different test.
The website evaluation forms were easy and they also helped me to see what I should be looking for in a website. The Trackstar was really neat; I will definitely use it in the future for my classes. I had a teacher at USM that included a reference list of websites for the class in her syllabus. It really helped when I was trying to do projects for her class. Overall I didn’t have a lot of problems with the assignments and all of them will be helpful for my teaching career.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Week 7 (chapter 7 & 8) Question # 1
What is the Internet? What value does it hold for educators?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the internet as, “an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world.” I define the Internet as the best resource for education since the first encyclopedia was published. I remember when I was a little girl whenever I had to write a report or do a project for school, my only resource was a set of World Book encyclopedias we had at home. We lived way out in the country so I couldn’t get out to the library very often. I was limited to what information I could get back then, but now there are no limits to the knowledge that is out there on the Internet.
As a teacher there are many ways the internet can be used in the classroom. The first thing I can think of is as a resource. I use the internet to supplement the information that is provided in my teacher’s edition textbook. I can find out more interesting information for my lectures on the internet that the textbook might not have shared, and we all know a teacher has to spice it up to keep his/her students attention for more than five minutes. Also if a student asks a question about a topic I am lecturing about and I do not know the answer, I can always jump on the internet and find the answer right then for my students. Another way the internet can be used by teachers is by assigning projects for students to do at home on the internet. There are all kinds of interactive websites on the internet that gets the students involved without the teacher being there to walk them through it.
I also like the internet because of the programs offered to teachers to make their jobs easier. Gradebook is awesome; teachers keep up with attendance, grades, email, and contact information all on one program which is right at their fingertips thanks to the internet. Also teachers can stay up to date on what is happening outside of their school district or even their state by using the internet. Teachers can also share lesson plans and teaching strategies with other teachers all over the world by communicating through the internet. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have the internet as a teaching resource, let alone outside of the classroom.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the internet as, “an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world.” I define the Internet as the best resource for education since the first encyclopedia was published. I remember when I was a little girl whenever I had to write a report or do a project for school, my only resource was a set of World Book encyclopedias we had at home. We lived way out in the country so I couldn’t get out to the library very often. I was limited to what information I could get back then, but now there are no limits to the knowledge that is out there on the Internet.
As a teacher there are many ways the internet can be used in the classroom. The first thing I can think of is as a resource. I use the internet to supplement the information that is provided in my teacher’s edition textbook. I can find out more interesting information for my lectures on the internet that the textbook might not have shared, and we all know a teacher has to spice it up to keep his/her students attention for more than five minutes. Also if a student asks a question about a topic I am lecturing about and I do not know the answer, I can always jump on the internet and find the answer right then for my students. Another way the internet can be used by teachers is by assigning projects for students to do at home on the internet. There are all kinds of interactive websites on the internet that gets the students involved without the teacher being there to walk them through it.
I also like the internet because of the programs offered to teachers to make their jobs easier. Gradebook is awesome; teachers keep up with attendance, grades, email, and contact information all on one program which is right at their fingertips thanks to the internet. Also teachers can stay up to date on what is happening outside of their school district or even their state by using the internet. Teachers can also share lesson plans and teaching strategies with other teachers all over the world by communicating through the internet. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have the internet as a teaching resource, let alone outside of the classroom.
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