Final Blog! #10

Anyoung!

The last blog for the semester and I have mixed feelings about it. I was just getting used to weekly blogs and this semester has really flown by. We are rapidly approaching finals and assignment deadlines are getting closer and larger. But that is not what I'm here to talk about in this last blog, but rather data collection. We have been learning all about It, and even getting practice with creating online surveys using Qualtrics. Data collection is very helpful in terms of so many things. Teachers can use it for their students and about how well they are doing in the classroom with certain teaching methods. Businesses can use it to determine the effectiveness of their products. As well as a large sum of other uses. Relating to teaching, I know that this type of data collection using surveys and converting numbers in excel can be helpful in more mature classroom atmospheres, like high school or college. Especially with larger classes like Math or English in grades 9-12 where teachers can ask their students if they feel they are learning efficiently and what the teacher could do to improve. I have had a couple of professors in the past who have used anonymous surveys that the student could fill out for certain lessons, saying what they learned, or wished they could learn. It's very helpful and generally a better way to access individual student progress than just asking them in front of the class during teaching time.

In EME2040, we have all had to create a blog where we answer to the weekly prompts, and comment on our fellow classmates blog posts. I think the most interesting thing for me in terms of looking at everyone else's blog, was how they made it so unique to their  characteristics, from layout design to the words they spoke. The names of the blogs were even different in the best ways. The dynamic of each persons blog was clear and well thought out. I appreciated being able to see that though the words they wrote. I especially liked viewing the different ILP's on each persons site, because just like their blog page, it was so different from each person to the next. The Projects where we had to design are especially interesting. Because the project was up for our own interpretation, I got to see resources I had grown familiar with over the years used in new ways. And those I had never heard of before. That parallel was very cool to say the least.

In terms of what I learn next, seeming as I want to be an elementary school teacher,  I think it would be beneficial for me to learn about computer related storage devices. That means the realm of hard drives, usb's, disks, zip storage etc. Saving my lesson plans will be essential to an organized classroom, and I can't rely on my personal laptop to keep all the information. My best bet is to learn how to store my information so that I have a backup in case connection goes down, or I lose the location of my work online. I think the best way to go about achieving this goal is to start with the basics like USB storage and work my way up, learning how to save certain pieces of information, and retrieving them when necessary. Thank goodness for the advancement in technology, I can look up different informative websites, and videos that can help me get started on my computer storage journey, and prevent me from ever having a "loss of material horror story"!

 
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Blog #9

What is up!

This week we are talking about the concept of a flipped classroom and all that entails. A flipped classroom is essentially having the kids learn in a different way. The learning method of choice: videos! They can watch these videos at home as another method of instruction and take what they've learned and apply it by taking notes or asking questions the next time they have class. The use of online tools is rapidly increasing. Giving students the opportunity to have these tools at their disposal can prove beneficial for growth in learning. From interactive stimulations to instructional videos, the students are sure to learn something if they can spend individual time on it and work at their own pace. Then when they come to class they are ready for the lesson and they can ask questions and work through any quick fix issues before its too late.

Switching gears lets talk about open educational resources. They are these really cool pieces of information that are usually accessible to educators far and wide. They can use these resources without worry of a having a license and work on lesson materials, take different pieces of text or media to use in the classroom. They can also evaluate the resources for future research proposals. A very helpful website I found allows teachers from all over to access OER's. It was called: "OER Commons." Not only can teachers pick whatever grade level and topic they like, but they can also sort through different class standards and find the best resource for their class in particular. Its an online public library where they can create, collaborate, and share what they find. Teachers can also build certain lesson plans and publish them for other teachers to use. The website is very helpful, and could be beneficial to any teacher who came across it.

Here is the link to the website! OER


In terms of the two recent assignments we as a class have been working to complete, we have been using Powerpoint and learning to master all it has to offer. This weekend has been very frustrating to say the least. Its one of those weekends that make me realize how much technology frustrates me. There have been a lot of things that are going wrong in terms of trying to use my Mac computer to turn in any assignment, mostly because I'm lazy and never updated my computer for fear of losing any haphazard work. I can't fathom why my computer won't cooperate. But good news is i'm learning as I scramble to figure this situation out. As of now Saturday, November 2nd, the odds are not looking so hot; But that's a sob story for another day. Lets talk about what I've learned. Ive learned so much in terms of creating a presentation. For starters, I had no clue that you could record audio over your powerpoint, I thought that was only on iMovie or something regarding a video editor. Being able to add speaker notes was really cool as well. I also like being able to add animations and make it pop with the topic of my choice. For my presentation I decided to do it on animals and classifying them, I had fun making each side unique. I learned that you could add your own idea to slide master which is so cool because sometimes the layout ideas that powerpoint suggest are a little questionable haha. As we are still working on these two powerpoint assignments, next time in terms of improvement I will just throw my whole mac computer away and do it on windows, because the amount of problems I have had to deal with in terms of saving my work a certain way is very troubling. I definitely learned the word "corrupted,"  and if  I had any confusion on the word, my computer made sure to crystalize it for me. Below is a picture from my Assignment 4 presentation. ;)
(Update I figured it out! Thank goodness for keynote)
November 5th: Today I turned in my interactive powerpoint. Let me just say, I have no complaints. This assignment was so fun to do. Being able to come up with a game and make it interesting was something I would happily spend time doing again in a classroom of my own. I always wondered how powerpoints had buttons that moved from one slide to the next when you clicked on it. Basically hyperlinks myth bust every technical question I have regarding powerpoint.
Below are screenshots from my powerpoints! :

A4:

A5:

 
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