Final post

I can honestly say that this is one of the most informative classes I have taken at UT.  I have learned so many new tools and programs I can now integrate into my future classroom.  One of my favorite projects was this blog.  I loved being able to reflect on each project we did and make this my own.  I could see myself using this in the classroom to keep parents and the students at home involved.  My favorite projects were learning about the Web 2.0 tools, like Picassa, Glogster, Animoto, Wordle, digital collections using Imovie, and the Interactive spreadsheet.  All of these activities were fun and once I got the hang of them were fairly easy to use.  As a teacher I would use digital storytelling to introduce something that students may deem as boring to jazz it up to where it will appeal to them.  The Web 2.0 tools I mentioned would be a great way to design a video or a newsletter for the parents to see what students are doing in the classroom.  My partner and I were assigned to research Glogster and found that this interactive poster board would easily replace a boring book report or Science Fair poster with an animated, interactive, creative and collaborative web page.   I now realize how being a master of technology will help me in the classroom.  Students want learning to be fun, and if it is something interactive where they can use and work with these tools, they will be more likely to remember the lesson and enjoy it.  I will expose  my future students to all the tools I have used in this class to allow them to create their own work and learn in a fun and digital way!!      

imovie

I had never used imovie before now, but I have used Windows Movie maker to make a digital photo collection.  I found Windows movie maker to be easier, only because that is the operating system I have at home and have used it before.  Imovie was one of the more difficult tools I have worked with in this class.  It was difficult putting the pictures exactly where I wanted them and having all the titles match up.  Once I got the hang of it I sped through it.  I also had to use the Audacity application in order to cut and break up my song I used.  This was very frustrating and difficult at first, but I eventually was able to make it work with my collection.  My digital collection was on the Spanish Alphabet, and because my minor is Spanish, I could incorporate mini Spanish lessons in my future classroom.  I enjoyed working with imovie though, and would definitely  use it in my future classroom! 

Interactive spreadsheet

In the excel spreadsheet I wrote multiplication facts that a third grader would know.  I had worked with excel briefly before so I found it to be not as difficult.  It was hard when I had to type the formula in over and over again in each row because I kept leaving out a symbol which messed up the whole formula.  I had never used the privacy or hidden tools which I think will be very useful in the classroom.  The students can't change what is already written but they are able to type and re type their answers.  I can see myself using this in the classroom for 3rd to 5th graders.  They will be able to complete the spreadsheet just like a worksheet but will automatically know if their answer is right.  The automatic feedback will be helpful so they can try again until they receive the right answer.  The only thing I didn't like on excel was their very limited amount of clip art images.  I expected excel to carry simple math images but could hardly find any. 

Inspiration Software-Life cycle of a butterfly

I used the inspiration software to design a diagram for 3rd grade students in a Science class.  This diagram explains the life cycle of a butterfly.  Finding the information was the easy part but working with this software was difficult.  I had to constantly delete a text box or link and try again.  Eventually I got the hang of it and was able to put all the images and text in order.  This would be such a great tool to use in the classroom especially for visual learners, this diagram would really grasp their attention and would better understand the material. 

Digital Collection

My theme for my digital collection was pumpkins.  I am very familiar with taking pictures myself and looking up images on Google but never have I used Big box of art, a scanner, or taken a screen shot.  Big box of art was similar to clip art which I used many times in elementary and middle school.  Scanning was scary for me I'm not very good at working a copying machine so I was nervous of scanning, but it was easy.  I never knew you could take a screen shot of anything. I think that is so cool!  I can see myself using this photo application, Picassa, for many things in and outside of the classroom.  This tool was also new to me but very easy to use.  I could easily make a small slide show of the alphabet, classroom rules, holidays that can be shown in my future classroom.  It would be so easy to find these pictures online, ones that were in the book, or I had taken with my personal camera.     

Scavenger Hunt- Colors

I enjoyed working on the digital scavenger hunt!  My group decided to take photos of different colors and use Google docs presentation.  This tool was very easy to use for our group because each group could make a contribution and their work would appear automatically.  I could see myself using this in the classroom and possibly allowing older students to go out and take the photos.  This is a very useful tool for working with students who are visual learners, like English Language Learners.