Post #10

I found my peer’s blogs to be very interesting, as each one provided a different viewpoint and a different experience with technology. I enjoyed reading about the things that they liked about class and the things that they didn’t, which in turned help me to focus my own feelings. It was an interesting class in retrospect, but I think that 3 hours in one sitting is a bit much of anything.

When doing my final project I came across the whiteboards, a piece of technology that I then saw in use while observing a teacher at FSU high. The board was amazing in both what it could do and what it allowed the teacher to do. He had complete mobility within his classroom and could give notes with a powerpoint while at the same time manipulating anything on the screen, over the powerpoint, with the whiteboard. This is definitely something that I would want to learn more about.

I suppose that as with anything in life, the best way to achieve your goals is to simply put your best foot forward and see where that leads you. Stay up to date with new technology, do your research and homework, and eventually achieving your technological goals shouldn’t be too hard at all, provided you have proper funding of course. 

Post #8

Chapter 8 was all about the great ways that we can use the internet to pay our bills, to shop online, or even to gamble online. The chapter then talked about the inherent dangers involved with each of these activities, as the prevelance of hackers and Identity theifs increases and viruses become a realistic problem for each of us. The chapter also talked about the best ways to prevent these problems though, with software such as anti-virus programs like Nortons.

I learned a lot more about excel since my last posting. It’s one of the few Microsoft productivy suite programs that I’ve never really spent much time with, so it was really nice learning about it. It’s formula integration seemed a bit difficult and meety for the average user, but perhaps I’m just inept.

Well, through the course of this semester I’ve learned that I don’t want to be a teacher. For a lot of reasons I’m just not sure that it’s the correct path for me anymore – I think I’m going to move to nursing now. It seems like the best option for me right now anyways. 

Blog #5

Chapter 6 took a turn and finally started to talk about technology within education and it’s place in the classroom. The core idea of the chapter was integration, with many of my fears of an automated classroom being quenched by this chapter’s many ways to simply include technology as a supplement and not ways to include teachers as the supplement to technology. The chapter also discussed different programs and utilities that can be used in the classroom.

Since my last post I’ve started working on the different PowerPoint presentations. I think it’s safe to say that this area of office is by far my weakest when it comes to overall ability and know-how. Learning how to use actions buttons and the different slide master tools has drastically increased the visual appeal and overall production value of when I use PowerPoint.

So… in other news. The past month of so has been an awesome time for new music. Between the new Matchbox 20, the new Jimmy Eat World, and the new Matt Nathanson, I couldn’t ask for much more – especially considering that I’ve got tickets to see JEW in concert at the House of Blues on Dec. 1st!!!

Blog #4

Chapter 4 also introduced different games that could be used either for education or just pure entertainment. The chapter brought me back to the days of the Oregon Trail! Man how I used to love that game!!! Chapter 5 then talked about how schools are assimilating the internet into everyday educational life and showed us TeacherWeb. It seems to be a good website because of it’s ease of use and helpfulness to students.

Google, the ever informative and increasingly world dominant search engine. It was inevitable that it showed up in our text, lol. I knew about the Google video application and I still personally prefer YouTube, just because of it’s more expansive and more accessible library. However, Google’s scholar function is amazing – I knew nothing about it before this class but I’ve used it several times while writing papers in order to locate various articles. It’s a powerful tool indeed! Thanks Google!!!

So, completely unrelated to this class… the new Matchbox Twenty CD comes out on October 2nd!!!! I’m so stoaked! I’ve been an avid fan since back in the 90’s when they first released Yourself or Someone Like You. It’s been a long time since they’ve put anything new out and I can’t wait for this new CD! It’s going to be amazing!!!

Blog #3

Chapter 4 talked about different kinds of peripheral devices to further the functionality of our computers. Things such as external hard drives and other USB based devices are amazing in what they can allow us to do. More hard drive space for our limited lap tops, a memory stick when we need to bring a paper to school to print off but don’t want to bring our entire computers. Technology and all of the knick-knacks that exist around it are amazing! The chapter also discussed how to care for the simpler things such as CDs, which includes not stacking them or letting them be overexposed to sunlight or other harsh conditions.

This class I learned how to use inspiration and was surprised by how easy and intuitive it was. Before today I had never even heard of the program before but it seems like it would be an amazing addition to any classroom.

As we get deeper and deeper into the subject matter of this class I’m founding it more and more useful. I suppose that’s the way it’s supposed to work, but I can safely say that for the first time I’m actually learning things, things that will give me an advantage in the classroom and that will hopefully help my students to learn better. Things are finally getting interesting!!!

Blog #2

Chapter 3 talked about different applications and their various uses. Most of them I was familiar with, but there were a few that were new to me. When I was looking at buying a laptop for college I considered getting a tablet PC, which this chapter talks about, but decided against it. I do think it would be a pretty powerful tool for its classroom uses though.
I learned a little bit more about word this time around and had my first experience with columns. Other than that, it’s mainly just continued to be a refresher course. Nothing too hard and not really much that I haven’t seen yet… hopefully that will change before too much longer…
It almost seems kind of backwards to me that I’m an English Ed major, but my most interesting class is Middle Eastern History… Maybe it’s just because the teacher’s awesome and passionate about what he does. This is my first experience with anything to do with the middle east (short of my dad spending 2 and a half years in Iraq), so it’s pretty awesome having a chance to actually learn about it’s history, especially given the present situation over there. I guess more than anything it just goes to show that a good, motivated, and passionate teacher can make just about anything interesting… I hope I’ve got that in me…

Blog #1

Chapter 1 talked about the evolution of technology and how much things have changed since our parent’s generation. The chapter then talked about something that I think most of us can relate to – the difference between learning to pass a test and learning because we want to learn. I think most of us spend the majority of our time cramming for tests at the last minute so that we’ll make a grade good enough to keep that scholarship or to keep our parents happy, but for the most part, how many of us learn because we want to learn? I guess there’s a big difference between being in college and in high school as far as that question is concerned, but the principle remains the same. And that’s why the ARCS model was created, to try to help motivate kids to want to learn. I don’t know – I though it was an interesting concept that I know I can relate to. It’s just hard not to pass some classes off as a joke…
Since my last posting I’ve learned a few new handy keyboard shortcuts and a few of the long ways to do certain things. Nothing particularly cool or exciting yet, but everything’s been a good refresher thus far.
Three weeks into the year so far as an English Education major and I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome it is not being a music major any more. I actually have free time and friends and I don’t have to spend 5 hours a day playing boring classical music on my guitar anymore. I love it!!!