Week8

Week8

Computer security is very important for personal computers as well as educational (school) computers. Computers should have current and up to date software and virus protection in order to combat new and emerging viruses. Viruses and other malicious software are everywhere in the World Wide Web. They are in the emails we read, the files we download and on sites we visit. Therefore, you can see how easy it is and how important it is to have good security measures.

Computers are at home, in our businesses and in our schools. Computers are used by almost everyone in the world. They have become an integral part of our society and our everyday life. For some people not a day goes by when they don’t use their computer. It is important to understand and know how to use the Internet safely in order to prevent a virus. Some tips include never opening emails that are from a unknown source, never get on a site that may potential harm your computer, and never download anything from a source that is unknown to you. The first step of this is to educate people in the work place and in our schools. Teaching students about the many different ways that they can get viruses will help them when they move on with their life.

I have seen many different virus protections in schools such as scanning for viruses nightly and restoring computer settings to their faculty settings at night. Having a computer reset to factory defaults promotes you to re-install certain programs and possibly update software again which can be a problem. Some computer labs I seen scan for viruses at midnight or other times. This can be beneficial because you can set it to perform a scan at a time when you are not using it and keep it virus free.

A lot of schools use blocking websites as a solution to stop students from getting on content they shouldn’t be on at school. This works, but some students who are technically inclined can work there way around it. Therefore, it is important for administrators to constantly keep their systems up to date and their AUP’s current as well, especially with emerging technologies such as tablets and smartphones. Having websites blocked can also have it disadvantages as well. Administrators may accidently block a site that can be beneficial to students if used correctly. It is an easy fix but when you need it on a fast basis it can prove aggravating. 

Week7

Week7

This Weeks blog entry is about the different types of software and files that can be utilized in the classroom. Technology is everywhere in todays school and thus it uses various software for students and teachers to use. It also uses files to help keep our work organized and be more efficient. There are many different types of files and each file corresponds with a certain software application.

There are different types of software including drill and practice, problem solving, creative, tutorial, simulation, image editing and draw and paint. In drill and practice students answer questions or perform an activity, they are given instant feedback. This helps students correct their mistakes if they miss it so as to help them learn the right answer immediately. Problem solving software encourages students to solve problems on previously learned content. Creative software requires students to think outside the box in order to figure out problems and discover new information.

Tutorial software teaches students how to do a certain task, answer specific problems and teach new skills. This is one piece of software that I would use in my class because it would provide students with something visual to look at. I can have students watch a YouTube video that shows them how to perform certain exercises and they can perform and execute the exercises in my PE class. Students will be able to perform the various exercises and correctly name the muscle that it works.

Simulation software enables students to experience something with out having to actually experience it. Image editing software lets the user create, edit and enhance digital images. You can completely redo images in order to facilitate your needs as a student or a teacher. Draw and point software lets users create new images or modify images. Users can also modify images from other sources to fit their needs for the photo. This can be a great way to incorporate technology into an art class as well.    

We also learned about various software tools in our technology explorations. One such resource that I liked was the history pin site. It lets users see images from a different time and lets students compare present images of the same place. It is an interesting way for students to take a look into the past and see what it was like. I also liked the calculator sites because they offer a new way for students to execute mathematical operations in an audible and manipulative format.   

Week6

My Blog URL That I created- http://questgarden.com/151/64/8/121118151600/

                                                 Week6

During this weeks lesson we learned how to implement WebQuest in the classroom. WebQuest are great for incorporating educational content in an online format in a way that is familiar with students. What students do in a WebQuest is entirely dependent on the teacher and there effective use creates a deeper understanding of content. Students do research about a topic, learn about the material on their own and finalize their understanding of the topic. WebQuest’s are great instructional tools and can be used in a variety of different subjects/grades.

There are many different aspects to a WebQuest other than the research portion of the activity. Students must be given a task to do, such as write a paper that is based on their research. It is up to the teacher to decide what they want the students to research for. For example a teacher may ask students to infer about the various tools used in Native American societies and how they are distinguished between tribes. The teacher can instruct the students to write a paper, make a PowerPoint presentation or even a combination of both. The WebQuest can be implemented in a group activity or for individual work as well.

The construction of the WebQuest is the most important aspect of the activity because it is what guides students in their acquisition of knowledge and the completion of the task. The current model of WebQuest includes an introduction, task, process, evaluation, conclusion, credits and a teacher page. The area that is of most concern with the teacher is the task, process and the evaluation of the project. The reason why is that these areas discuss what is asked of the students. It must be clear, attainable for the grade level and must be assessed in a way that is both beneficial to the students and the teacher. The process is the part of the quest that students perform their research and is how they come to a conclusion for the task.

I did have some problems in the implementation of my own WebQuest using the quest garden site. The overall use of the site is easy but it proved difficult for me to figure out what to say on the credits page and the teacher page. It is hard to explain how you did it so that other teachers could understand how to do it as well. The credits page was difficult because the site wanted you to list things other than just a list of sites. I really enjoyed using the site though and I think it is easier to use this and construct a WebQuest instead of using a PowerPoint for example. The reason why is that everything is laid out for you to complete step by step on quest garden. The site for the WebQuest creation site is- http://questgarden.com/index.php

Week5

 Week5

During this weeks lesson I have learned a lot about online communication tools and how to implement them into the classroom. In this blog entry I will discuss the various materials that I have learned throughout this lesson. These will include various websites, informative reading, and explorations of various communication tools. The world is being more connected today with technology than ever before. Everyone uses technology for creating lessons, for research or even doing homework. Therefore, communication can prove very beneficial to the learning landscape and to the tech savvy student.

Teachers should first learn about the various forms of online communication tools before they implement them in the classroom. These include Synchronous and Asynchronous online communication. Synchronous communication involves communication at the same time and Asynchronous communication involves communication that doesn’t have to take place at the same time. Some asynchronous examples include emails, blogs and discussion boards. Some synchronous examples include a chartroom, whiteboards and web conferencing. It is important for teachers to understand how they want to integrate online communication in the classroom.

I have learned of several resources that can help teachers utilize online communication in their classroom. These include Prezi - http://prezi.com/ and SpicyNodes - http://www.spicynodes.org/, Edmodo - http://www.edmodo.com/ and a math dictionary http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/dictionary.html, Glogster - http://www.glogster.com/ and Jing http://www.techsmith.com/jing/, You Tube for Education - http://www.youtube.com/education?b=400 and SchoolTube http://www.schooltube.com and TeacherTube http://www.teachertube.com. These are great websites and are very informative resources that range from social networking to informative videos.

As teachers become constantly aware that technology isn’t going to disappear, it is important to understand it and utilize it for our advantage and for our students. Online communication can become an important assist in the educational process and increase learning. For example a teacher could use Edmodo to incorporate lessons, homework, show grades and discussions in a social networking format. Edmodo is an easy way to incorporate online communication besides your average email. Social networking sites like Edmodo can help students stay connected to the classroom without being in class. This has many advantages such as keeping students up to date on tasks and informing parents of what they are doing and their grades. Instead of having paper homework a teacher could assign homework to be done on the site and have students comment on work. It is easier for students to learn this way because students already use social networking sites. You can see that there are no limitations to what you can do with online communication tools. I hope that the sites that I have provided can help you gain an understanding of online communication usage in the classroom.

Week 4

Week4

This week’s lesson focused on presentation software such as PowerPoint, which is available through the Microsoft Corporation. PowerPoint is a great presentation tool that can be used in business, education, and for personal use. For this blog entry, I will focus on the many different ways and reasons why PowerPoint can be an effective tool in the classroom. I will also discuss other material that was presented in this lesson including the technology explorations.

Other than PowerPoint there are also other ways to present material. Some websites that I explored that can do this are comiclife.com, storybird.com, and voicethread.com. These websites are the ones that I liked the best in my technology explorations. These different presentation websites are great for students to get more creative and learn content in a different way. They help develop critical thinking skills and can help student’s comprehend material.

Although PowerPoint can be an effective and very useful tool in education, it can also be implemented in a manner that is unwanted. For instance, before any presentation is executed, the presenter must fully understand how to work with the software. If a problem should arise, the presenter should know how to correct the problem and quickly resolve the issue. Once the presenter has fully understood the workings of the software, the user should understand the many different reasons why it should be used and when to implement it in their teachings.

There are many different reasons why you should implement PowerPoint or other presentation software into your instruction. It foremost incorporates technology in the classroom. It allows for multiple divers learners to learn in their own way, such as audible and visual learners. Another reason to use it is to break the mundane of everyday teaching, for example the lecture. It keeps students attention span because they are being instructed in a different way. It can also keep students engaged because of the many different items you can use in a presentation, such as videos, images, links, and even manipulatives. 

I put together a PowerPoint for my PE class that was about a game called human foosball. It is a game that implements various soccer skills in a foosball table layout. They organize themselves into a formation that is similar to that of a foosball table. It was presented to my eighth grade class and I am most proud of the diagrams of the layout of the game and links showing a video of how the game is played. This gave students a better understanding of how the game is played and sparked their interest. The game was well accepted and students were interested in the presentation. One thing that I would do differently would to make the presentation more detailed and longer. This would help better student’s comprehension and have more playing time than time spent talking about how to play.