EDU 3040 Class 8/23

We began class tonight by discussing instructional and assistive technology for students with special needs. Instructional technology is any type of device with the capability to support the teaching-learning process. Assistive technology is specifically designed to aid those with disabilities. There are numerous types of both instructional and assistive technology. It is important that teachers know about and understand these technologies. This way,they can be effectively integrated into the classroom.

After the discussion, we went into the computer lab. There we worked on our websites. It is much more difficult to create a website than I thought. Therefore, I am glad to be learning how to do it. I need as much help as I can get.

Copyrights and Copying Wrongs

It is a video of a law.gov workshop hosted by Stanford University. The topic was copyright laws and fair use. There were many speakers from different universities and such.The purpose of law.gov is to try and get the federal and state governments to make it easier to access information. This will help smaller research companies all the way down to students. Access to information is expensive. Therefore, many people cannot get information they may need because they simply cannot afford it.

EDU 3040 Class 8/16

We began class by discussing copyright laws and rules of etiquette. These should be followed when doing anything on the internet. If you use something created by someone else, you need to ask for permission and give the person credit for the work. You cannot call it your own. Also, teachers and students need to know what information should and should not be put out on the internet. For example, you should not put the full names of your students on your web site.

We also talked about why teachers should have web sites. Web sites serve a variety of purposes for a teacher. They can be used to communicate with parents and students as well as other teachers. I looked at two different teacher web sites that I really liked.

The first was a site for Mrs. Raude's 3rd Grade Gifted Brainbusters. http://www.teacherweb.com/FL/SunsetLakesElementary/MrsRaude/apt4.aspx Her site included a parent's corner with different information for parents. There were also announcements, projects, and activities. She also had a teacher's file cabinet with links to many different sites that are very useful for teachers.

The other site I looked at was Mrs. Baker's site for her 1st grade class.
http://teacherweb.com/GA/DuncanCreekElementarySchool/MrsBaker/h0.aspx She had information about herself as well as a link to he Blog. She also had a calendar and announcements. The thing I liked most about her site was the wish list. This is a list of items needed for the classroom that parents can donate. I think that this is a great idea.

We ended class by beginning work on our own web sites. We watched two tutorials that showed us how to use Google Site to do so. It is important for teachers to have a web site, and I am happy that I am learning how to create one now. This is definitely something I will use in the future.

EDU 3040 Class 8/09

After our usual quiz, we began class by discussing web site evaluations that everyone did. We were all assigned three web sites to go over and evaluate. I gained a lot of useful information during this discussion. I learned about many different websites that can help me both as a current college student and as a future teacher.

Next, we finished up work on our graphic organizers that we began last week. We linked different types of technology to ISTE Standards.

We then wrote a mid-point class evaluation and sent it to the professor via e-mail. This evaluation allowed me to tell the professor what I think about her, the class, and what I am learning. I am glad that she gave us this opportunity to let her know how we feel things are going.

We ended class by talking about how to make a grade book using Microsoft Excel. We then had some class time to work on creating our own grade books. It is crucial for teachers to know how to keep grades in an efficient and organized way. Otherwise, you will be lost.

EDU 3040 Class 8/02

We began class today with our usual quiz. We then took a minute to talk about curriculum and what it is. Curriculum is the knowledge, skills, and performance standards students are expected to acquire in different grade levels.

After that, we went into the computer lab to figure out different ways to integrate technology into our curriculum. We took a standard and told how we would use various types of technology to teach that standard. We talked about digital images, Wikis, Blogs, educational games, etc. We also talked about how to integrate technology for students with special needs. These included translation software, sound recorders, narrators, and many more assistive technologies. It is very important to understand technology so that I can effectively incorporate it into my classroom.

We ended class by working to make a graphic organizer using Kidspiration. As I have said in previous posts, I feel that Kidspiration is wonderful and I will most definitely use it in my future profession as an educator. It is great for both students and teachers.