Session 5: Web 2.0 Applications

This has been my favorite session so far. I had no idea that all of these applications existed. So many of them would be so helpful in the classroom, especially Quizlet, Backpack, and Delicious. I really enjoyed exploring Delicious and creating bookmarks. This is an application that I will definitely use as a teacher to find and share websites with other teachers. Depending on the grade I teach, I may also have my students use it.

I also really enjoyed the article "A Facebook Education." I did not necessarily agree with everything, but it gave me a new perspective on using social-networking sites in the classroom.

Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging

In this session I learned more about how to use desktop publishing in the classroom. In other classes, we have discussed the importance of keeping in touch with parents throughout the year. Using desktop publishing to create a newsletter is a great way to do this. As I started working on my desktop publishing project, I was surprised at how easy Microsoft Word makes it to create a professional looking newsletter. The flyer was also incredibly easy and looked great.

The digital imaging part of this session was also helpful. I always thought I needed Photoshop to do some of the things I was able to do online

This is definitely something I will use in my classroom.

Session 4: Adaptive Technology

This session taught me a lot about the types of adaptive technologies that are available to teachers and students. Some of these technologies are for people who are severely disabled. Because I never planned to teach students with these needs, I thought that adaptive technologies were not something I would ever use.

However, this session showed me that many of these technologies are useful for students with milder disabilities, including students with poor vision or dyslexic students. These are the types of students that I may have in my classroom. It is helpful to know that these technologies exist.

Session 2: Spreadsheets in the Classroom

During this session, I learned more about how spreadsheets can be used in the classroom. I already use Microsoft Excel regularly in my personal life; however, I never thought about using it in the classroom. I also never realized that use of spreadsheets in the classroom is not limited to teacher use for grading and other forms of record-keeping.

The spreadsheet ideas I found online had ways to use spreadsheets with your students in any grade and in any subject. I really liked the idea of using spreadsheets to make a timeline in history class.

I also appreciated using spreadsheets for data analysis. This is a great way to evaluate how well you did making a test, rather than how well your students did on the test.

Session 1: 21st Century Learning

Today we read the article "Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives." The concept of digital natives and immigrants was new to me, but it made a lot of sense based on my experiences. The idea that my future students are digital natives changes the way the I think about instruction. Before reading this article, I always though of technology as being something I would add to my instruction; however, the instruction would not necessarily require it. However, this article has made me realize that in order to engage my students I will need to allow technology to define and transform my instruction.