Post #6

Overall, I think my presentation was well put together. I was impressed with my ability to create a background that looked like one of the ready to go templates. My content was good in the sense of the many varieties of media I had working for me: pictures, sound, clip art, media, etc. However, my content as far as sentences go could probably use some work. I think I did a good job on navigation throughout my presentation, linking my slides to one another and outside sources in a cohesive manner, with fully functioning hyper-links.

I think I could use computer peripherals such as a disc drive to play music that has something to do with what we will be covering that day in class. By playing the music first thing it gives students some time to transition and mentally prepare for my class and can even foreshadow what topics we will be discussing that day. Plus, I just think it's fun. From there I could go to the dry erase board and use the board to write on instead of always using a power point. We could have class discussions and I could write important phrases the class needs to know on the board, so they may make sure the key phrases are included in their notes.

Last week I became a little more familiar with the powerpoint program. I had no idea you could create your own background and once I was able to create one that looked as professional as the templates that came with the program I was on board. I think the assignment to create your own presentation, like one you would use in the classroom was a great activity because it really got me excited about using technology in the classroom; I'm one who abhors using power point to teach! Now that I see it can be fun and interactive I think I am more willing to use it and now that I have the skills to make the presentation interactive, I will be more likely to teach some lessons using Powerpoint.

Post #5

The website I critiqued was the Florida State homepage. The website did a fairly good job at remaining within the range of the guidelines established by the text. There was a cohesive color scheme (the school colors) and very little changing between different types of fonts. There was a large flash graphic which switched between (seemingly important) stories. It was a little distracting, but other than that information was displayed well. To the right was a bulleted list making information pop out at the reader. And the toolbar remained in the same location when navigating through the pages. The color scheme was also closely related as the viewer went from one page to the next.

I feel there are more disadvantages than advantages to using presentation software in K-12 classes. This could be that I am just not well enough acquainted with how to get the most out of using programming software to teach, but I feel that sometimes technology detracts from the lesson. In instances of technology taking awhile to set up or going through the proper steps of problem solving a teacher can lose the class's attention and take fifteen minutes to get it back. I can see how it would be valuable if you were a travelling teacher, instead of having to write a flow chart up on the board eight times a day, or even if you remained in the same classroom, but erased the board to cover other information. I just feel that outside of obviously easier applications that these new technologies are too heavily used/relied upon. Also, I think if I were to try and get my students to use these technologies that I would have to spend more time teaching them about the computers than the content.

Power Point could easily be incorporated to one of my lessons and accommodate each of my students and their different dimensions of knowledge. An example of incorporating Power Point in the classroom would be getting my students to put together short presentations to help prepare for vocabulary tests or go over topics we have been discussing in class. Specifically, students could create a presentation in which was colorful, interactive, and displayed creative ways to help remember the words definitions and spelling. Also, they could include bulleted lists of study tips. I would group my more advanced students with beginners and hope that the more advanced would help the beginners understand the process more.

Post #4

As a teacher I would use outlines and concept maps in my classroom if my students seemed to be struggling to organize the thoughts for papers. I like that by using computer programs, such as Inspiration, it minimizes students' ability to copy information from encyclopedias or the Internet. Using concept maps helps students to better understand how to put ideas into a logical order and by incorporating technology it forces them to actually gain the knowledge and not just copy answers.

I would encourage, but not require my students to use outline and concept maps. I would not require it unless the class as a whole demonstrated that they were struggling with organizing the ideas they had for their papers. If that was not the case I would not require my students to use these concepts because I know each student is unique and not everyone learns the same way. I would encourage their use though because outlining is helpful in determining what needs to be in your paper and weeding out what is unnecessary. What made me see how I could apply concept maps to an English class was the table on 128 which broke up short stories into sub-groups.

Learning how to determine what to look for in a website to use for class was probably the most valuable lesson from last week. First off because it helps me pick out good sources to use and secondly, if I know how to determine good websites, I can teach my students how to find reliable sources. Also the lessons on Google short cuts were helpful. I'm not sure how all those tricks will be applicable in the classroom, but things such as looking up definitions instantly have been useful to me already in college. I think I could use the website to check errors for websites I created or wanted to use which I see being most valuable for the former because I am still hesitant in my computer savvy (even though I can tell I am already getting better.)