![]() I was not looking forward to this class. I'll just be honest--I dreaded EVERY ASSIGNMENT! Only because of the time. I have two small children, a full time job, 15 hours of online classes to keep up with, and I am very involved in my church. I didn't have time to do any of these (what I considered) meaningless assignments. I consider myself to be knowledgeable about technology and how to use it. I catch on quickly to most things. But the assignments we were given in this class threw me for a loop! My weak point is most definitely my time restraints and that is probably where most of my frustration and dreading the assignments came from. In the first chat, when Dr. Wang told us she would be assigning us into groups my heart sank. I don’t do groups—it’s grade and I want to control it! But I am ever-so grateful for being paired with some of the most intelligent and wonderful group members! They have been so encouraging and helpful. I have enjoyed looking at their work and comparing it to mine (theirs was always better!). Sometimes, after submitting my assignments, I’d go look at theirs and then change mine because they did a better job than me! They also had some great ideas that I will use in my future classroom, so I am thankful for their input and advice. As stated in an earlier post, my favorite communication tool was the Vocaroo podcast. I can think of so many ways this can be beneficial in the classroom. My most favorite is to pre-record a lesson to use when I am absent that the sub can just play to the students. But, also, another great idea using a podcast is to allow students to record themselves reading books from the classroom library so that other students might be able to listen to a peer read the book to them as they follow along. I am excited to use this tool in my future classroom because it is SO easy and takes minimal time and effort—which is always a good thing for me! The course is coming to an end and I can honestly say this is one of the most valuable classes I have taken thus far. The time seemed to be available when I needed it and the assignments weren't as bad as they seemed like they were going to be. This class has inspired me to, not only incorporate technology into my future classroom, but also into my personal life. I aspire to create a personal blog--when my kids grow up and I retire! When would I ever have time to keep up with a personal blog?
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Key strategies for integrating into english language art instruction![]() Throughout this course, I have been introduced and assigned various ways that I feel are beneficial to incorporating technology into my classroom. Before this class, technology was something I felt might be better left to the "technology teacher" or the "computer lab teacher". It definitely never crossed my mind that it could be or that I SHOULD be using it to enhance my teaching of English Language Arts. I am excited to use each aspect of the assignments from this course. However, my most favorite is the Vocaroo and iMovie. I think this will be an excellent way to "be in the classroom" while not actually being in the classroom. Instead of missing a day of class and having the students do busy work directed by a substitute teacher, I can teach the lesson via movie or voice without even being in the classroom. Also, I like the idea of recording higher leveled students reading AR books so that struggling readers can listen to a peer read the book as they follow along. I am especially excited to do that because I think the students will benefit in many ways from it. Issues of integrating technology into special education![]() There are lots of issues that might arise while attempting to incorporate technology into the classroom curriculum. Most importantly, money is a big issue. Most schools don't have the money to spend on the most up to date technology that will benefit our students. So, teachers are left with the option of not incorporating it at all, or using what they've got to make it work. Even if schools have the funds to provide teachers and students with the most up to date technology, monitoring students as they have access to the internet is difficult and can cause some problems--especially in special education. Also, to incorporate technology in the special education classroom is vital. Hearing impairments, physical impairments, and mental impairments are all factors one must consider when implementing technology in the special education classroom. But having technological advances that help with these impairments can be crucial and mean the difference in a child succeeding academically or not. ![]() Not thrilled about this assignment--to say the least! However, once I was finished with the website, I felt more confident and my creative juices started flowing. I began to think of ways I could use this in my classroom and I began to get a little excited. I think the reason I was not thrilled about this assignment is because of the time consumption it would take away from my busy schedule. But I think in the long run, it would be worth having a web based curriculum to follow along with what is done in class. It would be helpful, not only for parents, but also for students who want to go home and review what we went over in class that week or who were absent at some point. Worksheets and homework could be loaded onto the website as well as practice tests and study guides. I am looking forward to incorporating the web based curriculum in my future classroom. I chose the name "Happy Elementary School" hoping it would make me more excited to do the project! Check out my website below: I was excited to do this assignment because I think it will be very beneficial to have online test makers. It will save time and alleviate some of the careless errors that come with creating a test on, say, Microsoft Word. The only problem I ran into was with the rubric creation. I have a MacBook, so Microsoft programs aren't compatible. I was unable to save the file as an Excel spreadsheet to my computer, but I was able to do it on a computer at my school (Thank goodness!). I was impressed with the Easy TestMaker website. I am glad it was free, but all of your tests and information expires in such a short time; it might be worth investing or finding another site in which your creations do not expire. However, if the creations are saved to your computer it may not be an issue. I like the thought of being able to save tests so that they can be used the following years. I've used Quizlet before which is a great way to make a quick quiz or test. I'm thinking of ways that I can incorporate what I've learned from this assignment into the classroom and I think it would be really neat to have the students create tests. Their tests can be taken themselves as a study aid OR it would be really neat to have students create a test to give to their peers. Then, they could grade the tests and the grades be recorded just like they would if I made the test. Of course, the teacher would have to make sure their creations were 'useable', but it might make them study and work harder in order to pass the tests their friends created! I'm excited to use this in my classroom.
Integrating the Internet into the curriculum
I'm glad we did the video first because creating the Podcast wasn't as difficult! I used the suggested free website to record my Podcast and it was so easy. I literally typed in Vocaroo.com and clicked record--it almost seemed too easy. I decided to do my Podcast lesson on the "Star-Spangled Banner" and the creation of it's existence. The biggest problem I faced on this project is deciding which topic to choose. Due to the recent events with the NFL protests during the National Anthem, I felt it would be a good idea for myself to research the meaning of the song and how it was created. I'm not political and I'm definitely not a football fan, so this lesson is not intended to create a debate regarding my stance on the recent events. It was a topic that presented itself through current events. I am relieved to find how easy this assignment was and am very excited to incorporate this hypermedia into my classroom. I can't wait to have students record themselves reading books and creating podcasts that other students can access and follow along with. Also, a podcast is a fantastic idea to use in the absence of the teacher. The lesson and easily be recorded and played by a substitute teacher. I can't wait to use this!!! ![]() Resources and skills required for multimedia/hypermedia design, development, and integration In order to integrate multimedia and hypermedia into the classroom at all, educators obviously must have access to a computer which is connected to the internet. Most classrooms in the 21st century are equipped with the minimum requirement of a computer connected to the internet. However, in order to incorporate the development and design of multimedia and hypermedia into the classroom, the only missing link would be a teacher who knows how to use what is at her fingertips. Today, you can do anything with access to the internet. Chapter 6 discusses in depth how we can learn to develop new ideas using the technology at hand and integrate these features into our classrooms. While multimedia just defines using multiple mediums or forms of art. Most computers are equipped with multimedia players built into them such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player. On the other hand, hypermedia includes sound, motion, and virtual reality and have become more powerful and user-friendly today than in years past. I have never been exposed to the use of multimedia created by the teacher in the classroom. After doing this project, I think it might be a good idea to start using when I become a teacher. My experiences of creating a multimedia project I feel like I am technologically advanced person, but I was terrified when I realized I had to make a video. I have never done anything like that before. I am not afraid to try new things, but I did put it off until the last minute because I felt defeated immediately upon reading the assignment. I found out, though, that it wasn't near as bad as I imagined it would be. I downloaded iMovie (because I'm an Apple fan) and immediately began exploring and googling. I really don't know what I'd do without Google--forget Siri! I began to think of the assignment as more of making a commercial instead of a movie and I had the perfect topic! Our third graders dissected owl pellets this week. (If you don't know what that is, then you should watch my video!) After gathering my pictures and searching for music, I finally put together an "ok" video. Now that I realize how easy it was to complete, I think it would be a great idea to make these "commercials" for every unit I do in the classroom and play them for the students in the upcoming year so they can see what classes before them have done and can get a bit of an overview of what to expect. Our teachers always send out a "Week At A Glance" sheet that tells the parents and students what to expect that week. Commercials would do the same thing for students. They could even be posted to the class websites for parents to be able to see what their student did that week! I'm excited to use multimedia and hypermedia design in my future classroom! Check out my ![]() "Group Work"; not the words I like to hear when I'm a student in an online class with people I've never heard of or met. I must admit, I was not very enthused when I read that I was required to work in an assigned group to complete a project that I would later submit as a grade! However, I am so thrilled that I was challenged to do this assignment. Maybe it was because my group was awesome or maybe it was just everything fell into place, but my experience in Google Groups was fantastic and an eye-opener for sure! My group consisted of five dedicated ladies plus myself that worked very hard to complete their assigned (or volunteered) tasks. There is no doubt that our project is the best! (insert eye-wink) See for yourself! I can't wait to use Google groups again, especially from an educator's standpoint. I think this would be so useful to teachers in order to collaborate ideas and even meet together in order to be on the same page while teaching. Since everything is online and organized together while being accessible to everyone invited, it takes little to no time to collaborate together!
*The definition of instructional software according to its categories and their usages in classroom
What is educational Technology?...
*definitions of educational technology and issues in education and technology?*
My name is Kimberly Ingram. I am 30 years old and I am happily married to my husband, Stephen. Together, we have two beautiful children: Grayson, 3 and Mattie, 1. They are the light of our lives and they add so much joy to our days. I am currently an assistant teacher at Mize Elementary School where I have been inspired to go back to school at the old age of 30 to pursue a degree in Elementary Education. While the road thus far has been interesting and extremely exhausting, I press on each day in hopes that one day I will be able to shape the hearts and minds of our future.
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