ED480 Self Evaluation

ED480 The Educational Technology class this semester was fun and educational at the same time. The software we used could be definitely applied to the classroom for a variety of projects and activities. I am sure that over time computer technology will change and will even be more user friendly, all you will need is the computer hardware/software and internet access.I recommend everyone to take this course including those teachers in the classroom who may want to incorporate technology into their classrooms. Thanks Mr. J for making the class fun and enjoyable on a Saturday afternoon. See all of you in the fall.

One True Media Class Project

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The final class project and presentation was the use of a film software presentation, our group selected One true media software for our film project. the software was easy to use but in order for you to access more bells and whistle options you need to pay for the upgraded version. Another problem encountered from all groups was the length of time it took for the software to download the video shot by the teams. But the end result was a sharp video picture very good sound and hilarious plot and storyline, we had a good laugh on our last day.The end presentation was a Weebly commercial in which Colleen is putting together a resume for a job interview, watch the video in the next post to see what happens.
Enjoy the show.

Weebly.com

This weeks assignment was to use a software named Weebly. The Weebly software allows users to post a online resume for prospective employers to view and evaluate.I personally really liked using this software it was easy to use and the many options that made it a joy to work with. In comparing weebly to a blog, I would say they are very similar in regards to the ease to work with, the contrast is that weebly in my opinion shows the person in a true light and not an opinion a person may have that week which could change over time in a blog. Using this software would be beneficial to a teacher in that the students would share a little bit about themselves and their experiences. A teacher could build upon their strengths and help them catch up to speed on areas where they needed assistance.

Elluminate Live

The application of this software is amazing, we in the classroom at NMC talked to a person in Washington State and another person in Kuwait at the same time. Both spoke on the benefits of using this technology for keeping in touch with family and friends but also the ability of bringing in a guest speaker and be interactive with this person.All that is required is that you be both online at the same time. If I had this technology I would definitely use this in the classroom, imagine if your students could actually talk to a world leader, a scientist, an astronaut or a student in a classroom a oceans away. They could share experiences about their culture and family life which I presume would mirror their own lives only miles apart.

Using Technology with Authentic Learning in a PBL Classroom

In researching Problem Based Learning, I found that this is a teaching and learning technique that is being used worldwide which is eye opening in that the students are ultimately held accountable for all learning contrary to a conventional classroom where a teacher is held responsible.I would like to give thanks to the University of California of Irvine and the University of Delaware for all the enlightening information in putting together my presentation.

P B L

View more presentations from kcspn.

Slideshare.net

This software allows you to upload and share your Powerpoint presentations online to a similar format as what you see on teachertube. The program was very simple to use and had different formats that left it up to your creativity as your limits. Upside was the ease and simplicity in using this program, downside was the registration requirements but thats just me. Some of my teammates had problems in uploading a newer version of the powerpoint but I think everyone was satisfied with their results.

Picture Trail

This Saturday our project was to put together a video project using the Picture Trial sites software. The site offers many formats in presenting Photo Flicks, Image Hosting, and Photo Sharing. The site has links to Hi5, Blogger, Friendster, MySpace, and ebay.The program is very simple to use and could be used by elementary school students in giving class presentations.
Our presentation is based on a leprechaun named Lucky who went around the NMC campus collecting shiny silver items without the owners knowledge, eventually Lucky gets caught and goes willingly with the police once he's handcuffed with silver shiny bracelets.

Teach-nology vs. XTimeline

The first assignment was to come up with the 8 most important events that have happened to you until now. Using teach-nology (www.teach-nology.com/web-tools/materials/timelins)each of us posted significant events in our lives and shared in class, the layout was simple and very easy to use. While the program limits only 8 events its simplicity made it easy to work with. You don't need to register to use, which to me is a positive you don't need to remember another user name and password.
The other website Xtimeline (www.Xtimeline.com)was a more advanced timeline program. The assignment was to graph out a timeline of computer history. The program allows for more information to be posted in greater detail. While posting some data we in advertedly put the data out of order, the program corrected the error. Advantages of the program is the ability to list more events and add photos to the entry. What I didn't like was the necessity to register but that's just me.
I would use both of these websites in all subjects to establish a timelines in math, science, history and art. We all know that you learn to crawl before you walk, the same logic can be applied to these applications. First use the teach-nology method and once you've mastered it move on to the Xtimeline, wish I had this earlier when I needed to put a history timeline in order.

Presidents Day Project

This is the photo we used for our President's Day project, other projects that impressed me was the kindergarten project using letters and another group had put together a project implementing the PSS Standards and Benchmarks.

Web Quest

2 February 2009 - Our class project was to produce an interactive scavenger hunt where students would search key words and links in order to find answers to the asked questions. My team is comprised with Agatha and Colleen, we brainstormed on two relevant topics for the month of February which are St. Valentines and President's Day.

We opted for Presidents Day, the website is very simple to use and is very interactive with its user. The instructor can collaborate with other teachers who may have posted a similar lesson plan and customize their own plan and assessment to fit their students needs.

In our scavenger hunt we posted relevant keywords in relation to our web quest, such as names of the Presidents, the White House and Air Force One. In our class activity we would divide the students into groups of four and have them select their favorite U.S President. They would develop a mini biography and give their Presidents significance to America and the Commonwealth.

I will definitely use this resource in the future, there is a wide range of subjects in which you can develop a plan in which the students would use the combination of computer technology and teamwork in order to develop a project that can be shared and enjoyed by the class.

On-Line Word Processing

31 January 2009 - The class project for the day was to download a word processing program and assess its simplicity and possible use in the classroom. Our project was a program named "Buzzword", the program was unable to open on 3 of the 4 computers we were using. The program was very basic and simple; similar to word processing tools you would find on a email account.

The next assignment was the use of Google docs in which the student at using their computer would correct grammatical errors and language use. This is an extremely useful tool in my opinion especially in our multicultural classrooms, students will have the ability to use the latest technology and apply what they learned from the textbook and teachers instruction.

Then we added our classmates to our individual blogs as part of the SP'09 ED 480 family.