EDU 3600 Blog

Class 12 Reflection

2005-04-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

I wasn't in class for very long today, and I am sorry that I missed most of it. Today we were supposed to critique each other's webquests, and it's always fun to see what other people have created. I was able to look at Holly's and Carol's to fill out the evaluation forms at least. They were unable to look at my whole webquest because the copy I burned onto the CD didn't include the pictures, and I didn't give them the URL. They had seen it before, though. I also showed them when I finally was able to come to class.
We are very excited to create our digital video, as you can probably guess! We started taking pictures today before class and continued afterwards. I have Movie Maker on my computer, so we practiced importing pictures from the digital camera and adding audio. It was very helpful to watch the sample video in class. I want to run out and buy a digital camcorder! They look like so much fun! I read an article on digital videos in eschoolnews a few weeks ago, and apparently they are becoming the next generation of multimedia projects, replacing PowerPoint. I'm glad we get a chance to try our hand at this, since it will only increase in popularity in schools.
It's hard to believe the semester is winding down. While I'm very grateful that it's almost summer (I think we all need a break!), it's kind of sad to think this semester is almost over. We've done so much in this class, and I feel better prepared to use technology with students. Thanks for a wonderful semester!

Class 11 Reflection

2005-04-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today in class I learned lots of new things. I have never made a digital movie before, so it was so much fun to play around with Windows Movie Maker. I brought some pictures from my Mexico trip to make into a digital video, but the computer froze before I saved it. Oh well. After class I tried to download Movie Maker onto my own computer, but I don't like Microsoft's webpage. I couldn't find what I was looking for! That's pretty hard for a future media specialist to admit, but it's true. :)
I am excited to create the video. I like our group's idea and I think we'll have a fun time bringing everything together. I'm still somewhat apprehensive about the project in that it's something completely new to all three of us, but I'm glad it's a pass/fail assignment and that we'll have some time in class to ask you questions! I'm sure we'll have plenty...
I know I have mentioned this before, but I am still very frustrated with Netscape Composer. I tried to tweak my webquest in class today, but when I checked on it in my room there were still some idiosyncracies in it. My links are a strange color and I can't change it no matter what I try. I figured out how to download my page onto my computer and upload the changed page, but I give up! Overall I like the way it turned out, but there are still some things I wish I could fix. I know Composer is free and I appreciate that, but when I work as a media specialist I hope the school has a software program that's not so frustrating (or a webmaster!). At least I feel more comfortable with creating webpages. I know that I can do it, but I either can't be a perfectionist or else I have to figure out a more efficient way to work out the little design flaws. Until then, I'll try not to pull my hair out!

Class 10 Reflection

2005-04-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today we mainly worked on our webquest pages. It was nice to have time in class to work on them because there are so many other projects due in other classes! Thanks for moving the due date back a week–hopefully I won't need it, but next week is crazy!
I spent most of class creating a webquest on the Holocaust for high school seniors to use. Since I am going to be a media specialist and not a history teacher, it was difficult to think of a good project for students to do. I know how to find information, and that's what I like to do. Creating something with it is something else!
I realized again today why I don't like Netscape Composer. I have used it for a few classes before, and although I appreciate the fact that it's free, it is also quite frustrating! I downloaded the webquest template, but ultimately decided that I wanted to use my own format. I hope that's okay. I know how to create anchors and all that, so it will include the same information as the template.
Something I learned today is how to grab backgrounds off the Internet. I didn't know that you can just take backgrounds from other people's webpages. I thought the backgrounds were copyrighted. It's really neat that there are specific webpages with different backgrounds. There are so many options out there! It was fun to search for backgrounds for my webpage, but most of the time I don't like to use pictures or textures for a background. I find them to be distracting, to be honest. I stuck with a plain background for my webquest. I hope that's okay.
I stayed after class to finish my webquest, but ultimately I just got frustrated with Composer and had to leave! It's almost done, though, and each time I use Composer I learn something new. Eventually I'll figure this program out!

Class 9 Reflection

2005-04-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

Class was very fun this week. If I had to go to school on my birthday, I'm glad I had technology class! :)
The reason I enjoyed class so much is that we learned about more about digital videos and had a chance to use Netscape Composer. I am excited to make a video because that is something I've never done before. The samples we looked at in class varied in quality, but they gave me some ideas for our video. It seems like taking PowerPoint to the next level–it's a real multimedia presentation! Maybe making movies is the next generation of PowerPoint. It sure sounds that way. Some of my brother's friends have created digital videos for their high school projects, and they were so impressive. I hope this is something I will see more of when I am a media specialist.
I have used Composer in other classes before, but it's kind of a quirky program so I'm glad to have the chance to learn more about it. It's nice that it is somewhat similar to PowerPoint (and that it's free), but I don't really like it all that much. I think I'm learning more about it and spending less time trying to figure out how to get things to look like I want, though.
Anyway, I enjoyed class this week (like I always do!) and I can't wait to get started on the video.

Class 8 Reflection

2005-04-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

This week in class we spent time organizing the rest of the semester and doing some housekeeping. We learned about the digital movies project, which sounds like a lot of fun. I know that as a media specialist I will be looked to as a sort of technology expert, so I'm glad to have the chance to create a movie before graduation. When Holly and I were organizing History Day, one of the state History Day employees was filming a documentary on how History Day comes together. We also were able to watch a few student videos, but they weren't what I expected. They looked like PowerPoint presentations to me. It was neat to see the second-grade class video. They did such a great job!
We also discussed webquests in class this week. We worked in small groups to go over some of the webquests we evaluated. It's amazing how much they can vary–some webquests are incredibly detailed, while others appear haphazard. I created a pathfinder last semester and put it online, but I haven't created a webquest before. I'm excited to learn more about creating webpages and putting my webquest online.
Here are the websites I have looked at for my webquest on the Holocaust:
* http://www.ushmm.org
http://www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl/html/eng/start/index.php
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide
http://connections.smsd.org/veterans/wwii_sites.htm
http://remember.org/index.html
http://www.rongreene.com/holo.html
http://www.holocaust-history.org/
http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/
* http://www.nizkor.org/
http://www.auschwitz.dk/
http://voices.iit.edu/
(The * means that this is a website I evaluated using Kathy Schrock's evaluation form for secondary students.)

webquest reviews

2005-03-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

As a future media specialist, I chose to look at three technology webquests from the Bernie Dodge webquest site. They were so interesting! I wish I had done projects like this in school. Here are the three that I looked at:

"States for a Change"
http://www.nhcs.k12.nc.us/williams/quarterwebquest/index.html
This webquest is for a fifth grade social studies unit. Students work in small groups to create a quarter design for their 'home' state. Before submitting their design to the teacher, the students must research the state quarter program and their state to determine what they should include in their design.
One thing that I liked about this webquest is that it includes both group and individual tasks. This helps keep the groups on track and ensures that each student contributes to the end result. I was not very impressed with the rubric, though. The descriptions of what constitutes each score is vague. Also, the points range from 10 for a 'beginning' score to 50 for 'exemplary.' That's a big range! There has to be a more descriptive way to divide up 150 points so students know exactly what is required of them. Fifth graders would probably need more guidance than this rubric provides.

"Jurassic Park Information Literacy"
http://fayette.k12.in.us/~cbeard/jp/webquest.html
I just taught a lesson on information literacyto ninth graders over spring break, so I was very interested to see this website. One thing I liked about this webquest is that it was part of a whole unit on Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. It complements the book quite well and serves as a nice final project. In Child in the Classroom we learned about the importance of creating authentic learning tasks, and this definitely qualifies as an authentic learning task. Students are asked to evaluate specific websites and then find quality sites using search engines. Although the site had some dead links (and some that were just plain outdated), it was a very creative and well thought-out project.
As the author states in her conclusion, "In Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton reminds readers that knowledge and judgment are not the same thing, and that gaining knowledge without also improving judgment can be very dangerous. During this webquest you have developed your ability to judge information on a Web site." I like the way she related the project to the book's message. It's a great way to wrap up the unit and remind students why they did the project. I wish I had found this sooner! I think it would have worked well with the ninth graders I taught over break.

"Buying Your First Car"
http://www.otsego.k12.oh.us/bernthisel/carshoppingwebquest.htm
This was a really neat webquest. It was created for 9th and 10th grade computer applications students, so it was more high-tech than the others that I looked at. Students use various computer programs to research and finance buying their first car (Publisher, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint).
This webquest is an authentic learning assessment that students would love to do. At 15 and 16, most kids can't wait to get their license! This webquest harnesses that enthusiasm and gets kids to see how expensive cars really are. They have to consider insurance costs and how many hours they would have to work to pay for their dream car. While it seems like a lot of different components and a lot of hoops for the kids to jump through, each part of the project is interesting. (For example, creating a resume to get a job so you can pay for a car is important, but does this all have to be one project? Couldn't the webquest be split into different parts, so kids find a job first, then think about buying a car?)
Even though this webquest seems a little too far-reaching in its scope, I think high school students would enjoy working on this project and would learn a lot!

Class 6 Reflection

2005-03-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

Class was quite exciting this week. It was very helpful to learn how to print transparencies in class (and how to print PowerPoint slides). Those are things all of us will use someday. Printing transparencies also taught us how to use manual feed. When I printed out my brochure I used manual feed to print on both sides of the paper. (Thanks to Holly, who helped me figure out which way to put the paper in to print the second page!)
I learned how to create brochures and newsletters last semester using MS Word. I've never tried Publisher before, but it's a great program. It makes it very easy to create a professional brochure in no time at all! I need to go back to the lab to play with my brochure a little bit, but I was pretty much able to finish it in the hour or so we had in class.
Brochures and newsletters are great ways to send information home for parents. They're also helpful for students, especially media center brochures. You can put a lot of information on a little brochure, and adding graphics makes it interesting to read.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone's brochures next week. It will be neat to see how creative my classmates are!

Reflection on GLEF Website

2005-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

I didn't see this assignment until right before class, so I'm sorry I didn't know about it and blog sooner! The article I read was called "From Hula to High Tech." It was a story about an elementary school in Honolulu that integrates technology into its curriculum, K-6. It amazed me how high-tech the school was. I've heard of high schools having a TV studio, but not an elementary school! Each grade participates in producing a news program watched in each classroom. The teachers use technology to pull together several different subject areas. That resonated with me because that's how technology should be used. That's what I like about the media center. It's not strictly one subject area--students come in to learn about a wide variety of topics! This article is one example of the creative ways teachers can effectively use technology in the classroom. It's not hard to integrate technology if you have a staff that is enthusiastic and committed to doing so.

Class 5 Reflection

2005-02-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

I learned all kinds of new things in class yesterday. One of the best things about this class is that we can learn from each other. Lauren showed us how to import a video clip into PowerPoint, which is something I've never even tried to do. I learned how to export an Inspiration document into Word, which I've never thought of doing before either. I usually just copy and paste!
I really enjoyed looking at other people's PowerPoint presentations. PowerPoint is such a great program because it lets you be creative. Even though we all had the same assignment, each project turned out very different! It was neat to see what other students had done. It gave me ideas on what I might like to try the next time I create a PowerPoint (which will be this weekend!).
I am excited to try using Microsoft Publisher. I created a brochure and a newsletter in one of my EDM classes last semester, but we used Word. It will be fun to learn a different way of doing it. I've never used Publisher before, but it looks like a lot of fun!
I'm very glad we got to use Qwizdom in class. I learned about it in Marie's class, and I presented on it in Special Needs last semester. But I hadn't had the chance to try it out before. I can see the benefits to getting instant feedback from students, especially with survey questions. And it forces students to participate, since you can see who has responded and who has not. One question I have is would it be possible to not display the main screen when students are answering questions, if they feel self-conscious? I know the questions have to be projected, but maybe if the screen was minimized or something students wouldn't worry about being the last to answer. That is my biggest critique with Qwizdom. I also don't like that you can't see what you are typing in until the class results are shown on the screen, but I believe you said that is changing in newer editions.
Anyway, class was very interesting yesterday because I learned some new programs and tried some things I hadn't before. I'm glad I'm taking this class! I know it will be very useful when I am student teaching and when I get a job in a media center.

Class 4 Reflection

2005-02-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed class on Thursday because I am starting to realize how much you can do with PowerPoint! I've used it several times before, but each time I create a new presentation I learn something new. I hadn't downloaded backgrounds before. There are some really neat ones out there! I'm glad we learned about that because next weekend I'm going home to help my brother create a PowerPoint presentation. He is going to study abroad in Sweden next year, and he has to make a slideshow about his life in Minnesota. He'll show it to a lot of people in Sweden, so he wants it to look very professional. I have so many tricks to show him!
I appreciated the worktime we were given. I don't have PowerPoint on my computer, so whenever I need to use it I have to go to the lab. It was nice to have you available to answer questions, too, and show us things to try--we all learn from each other in this class! It'll be fun to see what everyone else has come up with for their presentations.

Class 3 Reflection

2005-02-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

Class was very interesting this week. We learned more about PowerPoint, and I'm excited to make a staff development slideshow on copyright. I've had people ask me whether or not they would be breaking copyright before. It surprises me how little people know about it--shouldn't every education major learn at least the basics? Schools can and do get caught violating copyright. I can't to get started on this project and tell my classmates a little bit about what they can and cannot do because I think it's important information they can definitely use.
I hadn't heard of LoTi before, but it definitely applies to the media center. I have just skimmed over the information, but I'm looking forward to learning more so that I can use it in my library someday. You have to know where you're at before you can improve!
I learned more about Inspiration today. I hadn't really used the templates before, so I didn't realize there were so many of them! They'd be very useful in the classroom, that's for sure. I like using the outline feature to help me organize presentations or papers.
I'm kind of going in reverse here, but we started class talking about the difference between search engines and directories. It's very important for people to know the difference! Google is a search engine because it searches websites for certain words with no regard to the type of website it brings back. It just searches the metatags (I think). Directories are lists of websites organized by categories that have been checked for accuracy and appropriateness. Yahoo has both a search engine and a directory. I'm glad you taught everyone some search tips. I've helped my roommates find information because they don't know how to efficiently search the internet. We went over some basic computer terms in my media class last semester, and I think it's very important for everyone to know how a computer works. Teaching us a few words a day is a great idea--it's a hook, and it breaks a complicated and intimidating subject into smaller steps.
We did a lot of different things in class this week and the time flew by! I can't wait until next Thursday!

Class 2 Reflection

2005-02-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed class on Thursday because it was interesting to learn about my classmates. I liked looking at some of the other PowerPoint presentations. It surprised me that there are so many features of PowerPoint that most people don't know about, like the transparency tool for pictures. I learned about PowerPoint in one of my media classes last semester. I really liked helping people figure out how to do different things, like animate their slides and use slidemaster. I realized that I know more than I think I do, and also how much fun it is to help other people learn more about technology.
Using Inspiration was fun, too. I also covered that in my EDM class last semester, but not very in-depth. I'm looking forward to using it more and learning some other features.
Even though we've only had 2 classes so far, I'd say this is probably my favorite class! It's important for teachers to know how to use technology effectively in the classroom. My job will be to support them in that effort. Getting education majors comfortable with technology while they're in college will make it easier for them (and for me) to integrate technology into the classroom. I can't wait until Thursday!

Reflection on Educational Technology (K-12)

2005-01-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

We didn't get a computer at home until I was in high school! The thing is, technology was used fairly often in my schools. Mostly computers were used for fun in elementary school. We had free time to play games sometimes, and I remember playing Oregon Trail in the computer lab. We learned word processing on really old Macs in the lab every few years. Technology was available but not necessarily used very often. It seemed like an extra part of the curriculum--it wasn't integrated very well.
In junior high we had access to more computers, but it was hard to use them because so many other classes also wanted to use them. I remember that we had laptops that could only do word processing to use in English classes, and sometimes in science we'd do simulations. There was one computer lab for the whole school, and the media center only contained books.
I went to a relatively new high school that had lots of technology available for student use. Originally there was a computer lab for every four classrooms, but the computers were in common areas. Students ended up breaking them, so by the time I graduated there weren't quite so many labs. But the media center had several computers (including one classroom lab in the library), plus there were a few other labs throughout the school. We used the labs quite often to do research and create presentations using PowerPoint. In science classes we typed up lab reports and analyzed data using Excel. I never used digital cameras or anything like that, but it may have been available. By that time, most teachers assumed that students knew as much or more as they did about technology, which definitely wasn't true in my case! I appreciated the chance to learn through experience, though. I wish I could have had more instruction--I know the basic functions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but I know there's a lot more to those programs.
Most of what I've learned about technology has been at college. As an EDM major, the majority of my media classes include the application of technology in schools, at least in some small way.
This semester I hope to learn some ways to include technology in schools, especially programs that I should purchase for students to use. Media specialists are often looked to as technology experts, and are in charge of providing up-to-date technology. I hope this class gives me some great ideas and teaches me how to use some of these technologies, such as digital camera and video, and how to create multimedia programs that go beyond the basic functions of PowerPoint.