Sunday, April 27, 2008

End of the Year!

It seemed like the end of the semester would never come! Then all of the sudden it is upon us while projects, papers and tests are staring us in the face. I am quite exhausted with school and track taking up all my spare time!

Taking the EDCI 250 class online is a blessing in that I can work on my projects in my own time. The only problem I have encountered is going on trips with the team with no laptop and with a project deadline weighing me down. I learned not to put projects for the technology class off until the last minute after the Wikipedia assignment. How stressful! As for other assignments that we have completed in the class, my favorite was the Desktop Movie. I had no idea that every PC has the Desktop Movie program already installed. After completing my movie of the lifecycle of a butterfly, I showed my sister how to use the program. She thought it was as much fun as I did and now she creates Desktop movies using family photos.

Learning how to create a website and a Webquest was also interesting. I believe that I will utilize Webquests in my own classroom some day because it is a fun and interactive way to teach. Students are given the tools to learn and can be held accountable for what work they do. I also liked creating a rubric because I know it is important for a teacher to have guidelines about how they grade assignments. It is not fair to the students if no rubric is used for grading because then the teacher becomes too subjective whether he/she means to or not.

Overall, I really enjoyed taking the educational technology class online and I believe it was created in a very user-friendly way. I had very few questions throughout the semester and I enjoyed learning about the different ways technology can be used in the classroom.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Spring Break

Spring Break is finally here, and it is a time I can sit back and look back on the things I have accomplished so far this semester. I have been overly busy with school and the indoor track season so this week is a blessing!

For my technology in the classroom class we have covered two ways in which teachers can present materials in a visually pleasing manner. First, we were asked to use the program Inspiration to create a story board or web of ideas. I chose to create a web based on blood and in particular, the different type of white blood cells. It was my thought that such a topic might be better understood by graphing out the connections and functions of white blood cells using a web. This way students could choose to use their notes or the web to study, or a combomination of the two.
We also learned how to make a non-linear Powerpoint presentation, something I had never done before. It was interesting learning how to create links so that the presentation did no simply go to the next slide, but it was also frustrating at times when I couldn't make it do what I wanted. My Powerpoint was made like flachcards oh the cardiovascular system. It was designed so that students would be able to quiz themselves on the keywords or definitions of the system. It is nice being able to use technology to create supplemental educational tools for the students' success!

As for my other classes, chemistry is stressful as usual but I love the professor I have for lecture; I need to boost my grade in anatomy for the rest of the semester if I want to get an A; and Educational Psychology is going very well! I am nervous about the next few weeks because I have to miss a few days of school for a track meet, but I will just have to make sure I stay on top of things. Have a great spring break!

Monday, February 4, 2008

Beginning of the Semester

Hello All! My name is Elise Bottarini and I am a Junior Life Science Education major at Ashland University. Right now I am taking an class focused on enhancing the technology skills of future teachers. This class is very important because I believe teachers need to be aware of the many opportunities that technology in the classroom can offer. We read an article explaining all the benefits technology brings such as connecting students to the outside world (making them globally aware), allowing for more artistic expression in the classroom, and giving students different methods of learning. I think that by the time I have a classroom of my own, technology will be more commonplace in schools. Actually, when I did observations for a class last semester, I saw many SmartBoards in the schools I attended. SmartBoards were not part of my education until I came to Ashland, so I am impressed that first graders have been introduced to such technology and are familiar with how they work.

For another assignment, I created a Word document worksheet. I have been using word for many years, but have been unfamiliar with many of its features. I had never used borders or text art for a Word document because typically I use it solely as a word processor. It was amazing how artistic one can be using Word! I thought that was what Microsoft Publisher was for! For the newsletter, I created an informational page about how substances can move across the cell membrane which would be pertinent to a high school biology class. I included pictures of how each method worked because I know that some students are more visual learners rather than simply reading how it is done. This assignment was very helpful in making me aware of the features of Microsoft Word, and I enjoyed being able to add some artistic expression to an assignment!

That is all I have on my mind for now! Until next time.....