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There were several things I liked about the presentations in class yesterday. I'm not sure of everyone's names, though. In the first presentation about symbolism, I thought those two girls did really well. Their powerpoint was very nicely put together and effective. They chose a great topic that was very appropriate for their target audience (9th grade English class). I remember studying Romeo and Juliet my freshman year of high school. They really sounded like they were teachers talking to a bunch of fifteen year olds, not two college students with their peers. They also did a good job paraphrasing information for us and not reading every word from their slides. I loved the projects at the end, too. That's a great way to reinforce the lesson.In Carmen and Tanner's presentation, I also thought their powerpoint was well done. They picked a great topic and did an awesome job engaging their audience with the list of things for students to research during the lesson. The book they talked about sounds like a really interesting one. The video they showed about the four girls who were killed in the bombing was very moving. Racism is a big issue in our country and I think the way they addressed that in a classroom setting was very effective.I thought the presentation where we did the personality quiz was good, too. Since both the "teachers" had different subject areas, they found something that would be useful for all teachers. Of course the personality quiz would probably interest most students, since it's all about them. I know I like to do stuff like that and it would have been really cool to get to do those things in school. Their idea about grouping students together based on their personality types was good, too. Like they said, that allows everyone to realize that people are different and that others may learn differently than they do. It also helps the teacher to understand each student a little better.I thought Brittany and Gabe's presentation was fun. It was targeted at a younger class so I think their use of colorful maps and stuff in their presentation was very appropriate. Singing the names of the states would definitely help students to memorize the 50 states. I loved their little Animaniacs video. That would work so well with a young class because kids love cartoons. I also liked that they included a little quiz at the end to help reinforce their lesson.
I played around on the voice thread website for a little bit, but I don't really care for it. I like that it is interactive, but I doubt that I would ever use it in or out of the classroom. It's interesting that different people can express their thoughts about something and that those opinions are easy to access, but overall I would say that it's just more trouble than it's worth.
Brittany Cleere and I are working together on this project. Our topic is the role of technology. I like working with a partner because we can combine our ideas to ultimately create a superior finished product. Brittany is really creative and working with her is going really well.
I don't think it's absolutely necessary for the students to be able to use the same technology that teachers use in the classroom, unless it's a blog or something like that. If there is a class blog then I definitely think all the students should be able to access that.
I think online chats also can be really beneficial, because everyone gets to say what they think and everyone else can respond to that. However, if you are in a chat room with 20 other people and you're all "talking" at once, it's inevitable that something will be missed. For this reason, I think that blogs or discussion boards are probably more suitable because they are not in real time. Instant messaging also isn't necessary, but it could be good for brainstorming and feedback on ideas. I don't think a lot of class time should be devoted to these things. They would be better as tools the student can access from home or on their own time.
I think online, text-based instruction has some benefits over classic teaching methods. As I've mentioned before, some students are not comfortable expressing themselves in front of others. The ability to share their ideas via text can be very liberating, especially for a shy person.
I haven't had much experience with podcasts. Currently my opinion is that they aren't necessary but probably could be beneficial. If there's an audio clip that really illustrates something the class has been discussing or something like that, then a podcast could be beneficial. Or in a foreign language class, podcasts of something in that language would be useful. In general, however, I feel like they are probably more trouble than they're worth.
It seems like anything can be educational these days. I kind of agree with what the article says about designing a video game being a great learning experience for a student. I think the group interaction and everyone bringing their own particular abilities to the project is very conducive to learning. However, I also think that time spent working on and playing video games should be limited. Technology is very addicting, be it video games, the internet, or whatever. It's important that students be able to demonstrate their content mastery by means other than video games, and to spend time doing more physical activities. I think a video game as an in-class project could be a good idea, but I wouldn't want my child playing it all the time.
I checked out the delicious site and a few others that are related. I think being able to bookmark certain pages and access those from any site is pretty convenient, although it's not something that is completely necessary. I go between computers so if there's a site that I really need, I just email it to myself so it's always there when I need it. Using delicious kind of cuts out the need to use a search engine in some cases, but I think it would be just as simple to find it yourself most of the time. I probably wouldn't use delicious. I don't even use bookmarks on my own computer, so it's unlikely that I would need them everywhere I go.
I think wikis are okay, but they're not my favorite thing. I prefer blogs for sharing ideas and discussion. In a blog, everyone can express their ideas and then comment on those of others. Wikis could be useful for group projects and peer editing or something like that. I don't think I would use them very frequently in my classroom. However, after completing this assignment, I may change my mind about them.I think traditional instruction in the classroom is still very important. Some students can learn without it, but it is necessary for others. I think teaching something in the classroom setting and then using the interactive learning communities to reinforce what the students have learned would be effective. I've had trouble with online classes in the past, but I do well in hybrid classes that combine online and face-to-face instruction. No matter which way students learn best, combining different approaches to the same material makes the lesson universal to all students in the class and helps each student to understand it better.Whether it is due to their personality type, I don't know, but everyone learns differently. According to my test, I'm an EFSP. The profile for an EFSP fits me in some aspects, but doesn't in others. I can only assume that a similar profile for a student would not be completely accurate either. I don't think I would count on the personality profiles of my students too much. I think it will be fun to get to know my students and discover what works best for each one individually.
I think spreadsheets can be pretty useful in the classroom (once you learn how to use Excel). I haven't used Excel 2007 much and it was a little confusing at first because nothing is where it used to be. But after I got the hang of it, it wasn't hard and was kind of fun. I think using a variety of programs and techniques in the curriculum is crucial to effective teaching. It will keep the instructor and the students more engaged than if they were doing the same thing every day.The three primary functions of a spreadsheet are to store, calculate, and present data. Spreadsheets are useful for gradebooks and material aids, among other things. A spreadsheet allows you to store and edit information easily, whereas a calculator does not. Using a spreadsheet for a gradebook is a good idea because you can keep track of many students' grades in one place. It's easy to see who made what grade on which assignment. Also, the spreadsheet accurately calculates each student's average and it's easy to update when you add a grade. I think Excel is a great program and when used properly can be very effective for both teachers and students.
