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. 

Digital Collection-Pumpkins

Google Docs

I have a tendency to forget to bring my flash drive so if I needed to open a document I can NOW save it to google docs and open it using any Internet access.  This is a tool I will use for sure!  It was fascinating how my group and I were all working separately on the same page and the updates each person did appeared instantly on our screens.  This is a great collaborative tool to be used for group work!

Webquests

The activity we did on webquests was an eye opener to all the tools on the web that kids can be using in the classroom.  I didn't even know what a webquest was until this activity and I really like them!  I have found several wequests that I could use in the elementary classroom.  While doing the activity i loved the Underground Railroad activity.  I love Civil War History and would use this activity in my classroom.  This would be way more interesting and engaging than any story we would read in class about this topic.  Students get to really feel a part of what it was like by taking on roles.  Since this activity I have looked up other webquests that could be used in the classroom and found a coin counting and time telling webquest.  These webquests are aimed for lower grades so I feel with whatever grade I teach I can implement webquests in the classroom.  And who knows maybe I can someday create my own!