What I have learned

At the beginning of the semester, we took a survey and was asked to rate what we believe our
technology skills were. I gave myself an intermediate. I felt fairly comfortable with my use of technology but I knew there was a lot that I didn't know how to do. I now feel much more competent in my ability to use many different types of technology including programs like ActivInspire, Inspire, and iMovie and websites like PBWorks and Picasa web albums. I also feel much more confident in how to incorporate these types of technology into the classroom. At the beginning of the semester, I was unsure how many of the programs we used would work well in the classroom. I also was not sure in the ability of the students to use this type of technology on their own. However, I now know there are many different ways for both teachers and students to use technology for educational purposes, and while, some of the younger children cannot use as many different types of technology on their own, they can still use some and use it with teacher aid. Overall, I feel that my technology skills and understanding of how technology can be very successful in the classroom has increased greatly. Now I can't wait to see how I can incorporate these new skills into my internship classroom next year!

Creating a Website

Prior to this technology class, I had never created a website and I was very intimidated at the thought of creating one. However, I found the process to be much easier and fun than I was expecting. The use of web 2.0 tools helped smoothly create a website. I used many of the tools such as Google presentation, Picasa web albums, and PBWorks to easily add content to my website. The website I created was a part of Google sites. I found it worked very well and was complimentary to other Google programs.

When creating a successful website, I think the key is to be organized and consistent. With these two things, viewers can easily find their way throughout your website and not become confused on where to look for certain information or how to get back to a page. If the you have good content but the website is not organized, the content will not make as much sense to the viewer.

I now feel very confident in my ability to create a website for my future classroom. I think it is a great way to keep both the students and their parents informed about their teacher, what they need for class, school events, and assignment due dates.

Blogging in the Classroom

I think blogging definitely has a place for classroom use. If your students are old enough (at least upper elementary) I think it is a great place to have them share their ideas and thoughts about what they are studying in the class. It can be a safe place for them to express themselves. Blogs can be used in a similar way as journals are typically used; however, now other students can read and comment on what their classmates think about something. Also, blogs have 24/7 access unlike journals that typically stay in the classroom. Classroom blogs can also be used for teachers to update parents on what their children are learning in class. Teachers and students can work together to create posts that inform parents on projects and units the class has worked hard on.

Picasa and Google Presentation

Earlier in the semester, as we were learning about digital images, we had to collect images off of the internet and put them into a Google Presentation. I located and formed my collection of pictures on the website http://www.pics4learning.com/. I had never used this website or other websites similar to this one that provide copyright-friendly images to use. Prior to this class, I just took pictures off of Google images. However, I now know that you can easily run into copyright images when you only use Google. After I had all my pictures, I organized them using Picasa web albums. This is also a new website for me. It is a very easy way to organize and share your pictures. Picasa allows you to add tags to your picture. By adding decriptive tags, you and others can easily locate your pictures. You can also turn your pictures into slideshows by placing them all in an album and placing comments on each picture that provide the viewer a description of the picture. You can view my slideshow I created with Picasa web albums here, Yosemite photo collection.