November 21th, 2011

This class introduced us to the many options of assitive technology that is available to students. I didn't normally think about how dificult it could be for students with disabilities to access technology but after seeing the tools that they use, I now know what options I have as a teacher, to help include them in lessons. There are instruments that could use to drastically increase font size for people with vision problems. There is also a sip/puff insturment that can enable students with limited motor abilities to type things onto the computer. I think these tools should be considered when creating lesson plans and I think it is important to make sure that the activities in the lesson can be completed by all students.

October 24th,2011

Students use websites for various reasons related to schools. Just because you can Google it, doesn't mean the information is reliable. Anyone can make a website and include information which they feel is relevant but sometimes it isn't. When choosing a website, whether it's to share with students or to get information to help plan a lesson, a teacher should pay attention to things like who made the site, when the last time the site was updated, and if the owners of the website can be reached for questions. Prior to this class I did know that not all websites should be used but I wasn't sure what characteristics a trusted site should have. I usually just judge websites by their look. My outlook is that if the site looks like something I can make, it isn't reliable.

October 17th, 2011

The desktop publishing assignment was introduced. Although I use Microsoft Word often, I have never created a newsletter. The class was instructed to chose a template from Word and begin to create a newsletter. I began my newsletter and titled it "Hey Parents" which is supposed to be a classroom newsletter which keeps the parents informed about what's happening in their child's high school English class.

October 10th, 2011

The International Society for technology in Education has what is referred to as NET standards for learning in a digital age. There are standards for Administrators, Educators, and Students. The standards assist teachers with lesson planning because they can help the teacher think about ways to include technology. The standards don't tell a person exactly what they should be doing but they tell the person what purpose technology should serve in conjunction with curriculum. As a future educator the standards tell me what I should be doing to ensure my students will always be current with the curriculum and technology in my classroom.

October 3rd, 2011

This class introduced ways to assess students learning. Assessments are classified as formative and summative. SATs would be considered an summative assessment as it measures what a students knows. Formative assessments are given throughout the semester and can be an indicator of how well students are understanding the information being taught. Formative assessments can be helpful to a teacher as they are planning lessons. If students aren't performing well on them, the teacher can re-teach the information to better prepare students for more serious (summative) assessments.There was a powerpoint on standards. Curriculum is based off of the standards that the Dept of Education set.

September 19th, 2011

This class included the introduction of the upcoming Spreadsheet assignment which is a grade book using Microsoft Excel. During this class was the first time I was introduced to the rules behind fair use, which is associated with copywritten material, and to test our understanding there was a quiz to take about the topic. I learned that there are strict copywritten rules behind images found on the Internet but many places can make exceptions when it comes to educational use.