Post #10

I must say, I really enjoyed this classed and I like the structure and the way were given tasks to prefect what we learned. I learned a great deal from this class and had a lot of fun with it at the same time. A lot of classes are forced learning because it’s something that you have to do, but this class was a class that made me want to learn. I picked up a lot of skills that I will not forget and will be very helpful in my future.

As I stated in my previous blog, I really like this project because I know the fact that a teacher will actually use the finished product for educational purposes in the classroom. I enjoyed working with my partners and learning new communication techniques. This was a great way to utilize multiple skills that we learned throughout the semester.

Throughout the semester, I feel every new skill that we learned can be utilized in not only a classroom setting but other professional settings as well. The Microsoft Word, power point, excel, wikispaces, and a lot more are all tools that I know I will be thankful that I have an in depth understanding in my professional career.

Most of the time, when commenting on my classmates blogs, it is apparent that we think alike on a lot of different subjects. I feel that I was surrounded by a group of students that are very intelligent and will all have promising futures based on the great responses that they gave.

Post #9

Knowing that the fact a teacher is actually going to use this finished project for educational purposes in the classroom, I feel this is a great project for use to do. We have the opportunity to utilize a lot of skills that we learned throughout the year. I have great partners who are hard workers and very fun to work with. My instructor had also been very helpful with making sure we are taking the correct steps towards having a successful finished project.

My contribution to this project has been to produce a Power point slide show to tell the story. I was responsible for breaking the story up and imputing it into slides at a ratio that does not have too much text in one slide. I was also responsible for gathering pictures and making the slide show look entertaining for a group of middle school kids.

An important thing that I learned in the previous week is “communication is key” for a group project of this nature. Had we not communication and collaborated on what needed to be done, there is no way possible that this project would’ve gotten done or been a success. My group worked very well together and stayed in contact on numerous occasions outside of the classroom.

Post #8

I can adopt WebQuest into my project by creating a WebQuest that correlates with the short story that our project is on. Our project is primarily for 6-8th graders in a Language Arts class. A WebQuest will be valuable to them because I can create the WebQuest that compliments the short story, "The Seventh Grade." The resources that I can use are websites about the author and the short story. After the students read the story and answer the questions, they will be more acquainted with the story, and will be prepare for a test.

A good example of a WebQuest that I could have for students would be to tell what career they want to pursue and find all the information they can about it. They will find what educational steps they would have to make, what locations they can pursue it and how it has affected our country throughout history. Through this, the students will have the opportunity to think and begin to plan for their future and learn better tactics for web searching.

A skill that we learned in class that would be very beneficial to my future career would be use learning how to use wikispaces properly. Through this program I would be able to collaborate with not only fellow teachers and co-workers but also parents of the students as well. I could post critical information in a constant and continuous manner. This way parents would have consistent avenue of staying updated with what is going on with their children in the classroom

Post #7

A great internet tool that I found that I know would be beneficial to all teachers is called Easy Text maker. Easy Test Maker is a free online test generator to help you create your tests. With Easy Test Maker you can create multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, short answer and true and false questions all on the same test. You can also insert instructions and divide your test into multiple sections. Easy Test Maker automatically generates alternate versions entirely randomized and master answer sheets with a single click! Just click the "Generate Alternate Versions" or "Print Answer Sheet" link when you are done creating your test. http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx

A way that I will be using Excel as an educator is to handle my grades. Excel will allow me to manage, monitor, and manipulate the student’s grades and progress throughout the year. There are functions in excel that will allow me to generate the final grades automatically and have charts and data show averages and individual student progress.

A great example of how teachers used Excel in the school setting is to manage their curriculum. Teachers were able to create a specific progress guideline as to what should be done on what day, and what progress should be made at a specific point in time. In using this tool, teachers where able to ensure that are not moving too fast, nor are they slowing a student’s progress.