ILP #2 Design - Prezi

I chose Prezi as my ILP due to its popularity with students today. I've already seen teachers beginning to use it in their own presentations to classes. While I have collaborated on Prezis, I'd never made one on my own and wanted to get a feel for it, as I imagine it will continue to become more popular.

The interface was easy to understand, but the tools used to move things around weren't my favorite. Everything snapped to grid which made it hard to customize my presentation the way I wanted to. Additionally the limited frame shapes also felt a bit stifling. The interface provided easy-to-understand instructions when problems arose. That said, I would need to spend more time with the program before I made it my primary presentation method. 

I made my presentation as if I were giving a presentation to college-aged students learning about WWII, as an introduction to the topic of female espionage.

http://prezi.com/8l75hjn5g_44/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

Blog #10

In the future, I think I would use data collection tools to gauge how familiar students are with a subject before I begin. I once heard a history professor say that they spend most of their general ed courses reteaching what students learn in high school, because the students don't usually fully comprehend the progression of results of certain events in history. Because of this, they try not to expect their students to know very much, but then this means they potentially waste time on subject matter that students might already know. So, for example, I could ask them to write a brief in-class writing assignment on the year they think is most important to the class curriculum, in which they explain why that year had the most impact on the subject matter.

When looking at class blogs, I was drawn to the creative designing assignments we had. I was really impressed with what other students came up with, and what they saw as important in their webdesign projects. I also enjoyed going through the interactive PowerPoint presentations and seeing the ways they incorporated different PowerPoint functions.

In the future I would like to learn more about e-research methods. I know many archives put up electronic versions of their materials online and I think I would like to be part of that process. Additionally, I'd like to see if there are any resources like blogspot or Diigo specifically for researchers, so that others in the field may keep up with the progress of their research. I think this would be encouraging as a fellow researcher, and could potentially be useful in a classroom where we learn about researching methodologies.

Blog post 9

In a regular classroom, teachers give lessons and lecture, and then assign homework for students to do at home, where they can apply the things they learned. The flipped classroom refers to the teaching model in which the students have learned the lesson before they come to class, and they then do all of the activities in class. This ensures that students have the help they need when they are attempting to apply the knowledge, because the teacher is right there to better explain or help with understanding concepts. The Khan academy offers videos categorized both by subject and grade, covering k-12 and everything from basic fractions to WWI. 

"Open" refers to resources available to both teachers and students to reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute. These resources are open in that to copyright keep people from using them to educate themselves and those around them. While the podcast focuses on teachers' ability to find these sources and use them in class, it is important to know that those contributing the resources also benefit. This system allows for free revising from peers, and also allows them to expand their understanding of their own topics, as teachers might use them in new and interesting ways that the creator might not have thought of. 

I've been using PowerPoint from a fairly young age, I used to do them for fun just because I was excited to get to use the computer, so while I had fun with the assignment, I'm not sure I learned anything completely new. With the other PowerPoint project I learned how to do nonlinear navigation which was new to me, but this one felt more basic to me. 

Blog #8

I really liked the idea of the glasses that tracked where you look. I think it would be especially beneficial to teachers deciding how to design a classroom. By putting the glasses on students, they could see what distracts students, where their eyes are drawn to, etc. Additionally a teacher could wear the glasses themselves and better understand which students they pay more attention to versus which students actually need more attention.

Bloom's Taxonomy addresses the different levels of learning that can be utilized, starting with lower level learning (knowledge, facts, etc) to creating and developing new ideas. For example, for a history project presentation using PowerPoint, a student could create a timeline to accomplish the first step, remember. The timeline would give simple facts to be learned and memorized, like "the Declaration of Independence was signed on the fourth of July, 1776" (it actually was approved by congress on this date and was probably signed on August 2nd, but for the purposes of this I'll use the commonly believed misconception). The next step, understanding, would give more explanation as to how and why these events happened. This would show that they, for example, understand that taxation without representation acted as large motivator for the continental congress to call for independence from the crown. Applying their knowledge via PowerPoint, they could show a list of sources they used for their presentations. To accomplish the steps of analyzing and evaluating, students could critique each other's presentations, asking questions and commenting on elements that weren't clear. And for create, they could use PowerPoint's design features to make a new constitution, complete with amendments they think should be added.

To stay up to date with technology I would use http://www.techradar.com/, a site that prides itself with keeping regular people up to date with the newest technology and the best prices. While the site might look a little unprofessional, it offers valuable information on what new technology is available and trending. Additionally, by looking at its section on purchasing, teachers can stay up to date with how affordable new technologies are.

Blog #7

I really like the idea of text-to-speech and vise versa technology. I think it could be useful for multiple disabilities including blindness, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy, and even anxiety. A friend of mine actually uses this technology in coordination with their severe anxiety. After reading homework for a really long time or when they're feeling particularly anxious, their eyes will not focus any more on the words before them. With these technologies they are able to get their readings done on time with a clear understanding of what they read.

The website development helped me with spacing and how best to lay out materials in a manner that doesn't overwhelm the viewer. I wasn't a big fan of the website, it's templating method was very strict and there wasn't a lot of wiggle room. In the future I'd like to use some fancier techniques in terms of template and effects, but I have plenty of time to hone those skills.  http://haleyeme2040.weebly.com/

Working with Diigo pushed me to find key words quickly in an article, as well as helping me find ways to stay connected with other teachers and students. As a person planning on teaching college level students, I can definitely see myself using this tool as a way of encouraging students to comment on articles we read in class.

At first I went to the website of my old high school, but found no teacher websites. So instead I went to the one for Leon High. I looked at several websites of teachers, beginning with one from a Spanish teacher. The website was fun and eye catching, with the teacher introducing themselves in Spanish before continuing in Spanish. The sidebar had plenty of extra links to homework, extra credit assignments, announcements, and other things. The teacher fully embraced the requirements and the  time they spent shows.

Another teacher, however, was obviously not happy with the requirements. The only things on her website is the school calendar, which I saw featured on every teacher's website and seems to be updated by the school rather than the individual teachers, and her opening remarks from the beginning of the year. She opens with welcoming the students and parents, and then states that she wants to meet with all the parents in person, by appointment. She says things like "attached, you will find..." which makes me think she printed this and several other things out for students, and then didn't even edit her letter before posting it online. She says that she has been teaching for 26+ years, and seems to be from the generation of teachers that is uncomfortable with technology. 

I like the idea of using Diigo to actually have online conversations with students, I plan on teaching grad school, so using Diigo to have online discussions on important documents, that can then be expounded upon in class. 

I like the idea of using Occulus to go on "field trips" to museums with students. This would have to be a smaller class, and we would have to be viewing a very specific exhibit but I think there is a lot to be said for being able to see something in person, and Occulus would be a good tool to make it half-way. Especially if I teach at a University like FSU, I could make an appointment with the education technology people at my school and get my students to experience a museum in a way they might not be able to otherwise.

ILP "Participation" - Lynda.com Tutorial on Excel for Beginners

I'm actually very nervous about using Excel. The few times I have used it, I felt entirely lost and ended up accidentally deleting all of the data at least three times, and doing formulas manually which made the program feel useless. Because of this, I decided I wanted a bit of a head-start on the class, and took a Lynda.com tutorial. The tutorial was around an hour and a half long, and began with a basic discussion of what Excel is and why people use it. The first "chapter" described how to input data, how to use and create formulas, and over all how to access the functionality of the website. The second "chapter" discussed the different ways you can format the sheets in order to make them more neat and professional looking. The last "chapter," the shortest, talked about how to share the sheets, both by using the cloud and by emailing.

While some of the formatting tips were a bit obvious, I genuinely didn't know that Excel could do all of the things it can in terms of formulas, recommending charts, recognizing patterns, etc. As a history major I don't have many projects in which I enter data, but I could definitely see this being used by teachers to calculate grades.