Class Reflection

Wow! Spring term has gone by so fast! It seems like just yesterday that I was struggling to write a blogpost...So here are my answers to the questions posed to us:

1. How have you used technology to contribute to some domain of knowledge?
I think the main way I've used technology to contribute to some domain of knowledge is through this blog. I was able to put information out there on the world wide web that I found to be helpful to me, as a potential teacher. Hopefully I helped some lost, lonely teacher solve a problem that he/she was struggling with. Also, I contributed to some domain of knowledge through my projects. I made a video for youtube about the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and I made flashcards on flashcardexchange for U.S. History

2. How have you used technology to collaborate with classmates?
We used the new technology googlewave to collaborate with classmates. This was helpful to us because it provides a way to instantly communicate with others. We also used google.doc to communicate with our T.A. on a couple occassions. As a group, our group members collaborated using blogposts and commenting on each other's blogposts.

3. How might you use technology in your classroom?
There are a million ways to use technology in the classroom. You can use technology to teach, communicate, collaborate, etc. For example for Project #2, our assignment was to make a youtube video of a concept that would be difficult to teach not using a video. So, we can uses videos created on iMovie to teach, websites and blogs to communicate, and googlewave and google.doc to collaborate.

4. What did you learn in this class?
I learned a lot in this class. I know that I'm supposed to be part of the "technology generation," but I am definitely the exception to that stereotype. I use email and facebook and that's about it. This class taught me how to use many different technologies, including blogger, googlewave, googlesites, iMovie, etc. But I think the most important thing I learned was what Ben said his goal was at the beginning of the semester- how to figure out things on my own. I was SO proud of myself when I figured out all on my own how to switch my google.docs from private to public.

5. What will you use that you have learned in this class?
I think that I will continue to use blogger. I think its a great way to keep in contact with people and you can personalize it so much more than facebook. I also really enjoyed learning how to use the iMovie program and want to make more videos- even if its just for fun. Also, I think that when I start teaching, I will make my own class website using googlesites. It was actually a lot easier to make a website than I thought and I think it would be helpful to use to communicate with both students and their parents.

Project #3 Reflection

For Project #3, I chose Option 1. So, for this project, I made an assignment for my students to use a technology that was new to me. I made the directions for this assignment using a google.doc, which I used how to learn in this class. After making the assignment for my students, I completed it myself. I used a website called "Flashcard Exchange." I made thirty flashcards with terms relating to the second half of U.S. History. I made my flashcards public. My account name is caitlinanderson89@yahoo.com and my password is caitlinanderson for access to the cards. I'm actually really glad that I found this new technology. Making flashcards is a great way for me to study, but it can be very time consuming to write out all the cards and it's also a waste of paper. This website is great because it's so user-friendly. Also, online flashcards are quicker to make and more economical that paper ones.

My Flashcard Project

http://www.flashcardexchange.com/mycards?view=mine

Directions to Students for Project #3

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASQZaB84zmzYZGdrOHNwa18xNnFzemhmdmto&hl=en

Software Tools and Online Safety

So our assignment for class this week was to spend some time on the internet searching for software tools we could use in our teaching. At first, I thought this would be a pretty difficult assignment for me, as a history teacher. But, as I began to do some researching, I actually found more than I expected. The software that I am going to do my final project on is from a website that one can use to make online flashcards. I thought that that would be a great software tool to put on my class website to help my students study for exams. I could put people, places, and dates on the online flashcards. Also, I found a website that will make timelines if you enter the correct information. I found a crossword puzzle generator that could be a fun extra credit activity for students. I found exam and quiz builders and a multiple-choice question generator, which could be interesting. A disadvantage to these software tools might be that they might not be formatted the way the teacher wants to. I also found a bunch of different websites that can generate awards/certificates. That might be a little young for high school students, but middle school students would probably like to receive certificates. Another software tool that I found for teachers was an online gradebook. I know the teachers at my high school always had problems with their gradebook system crashing, but if it was online it would be better protected and more reliable.
In class last week we discussed online safety. Our discussion didn't make me want to go home and delete my facebook, but it was very interesting. It's amazing how much information is out there about an individual on the internet. We were shown a website that pulls information from different online sources and makes an information page about individuals. Luckily, there was minimal information about my parents and my husband was not on the site at all, but it was still a little scary. I'm pretty cautious about the information that I put about myself online, and this discussion confirmed to be that I should continue to be careful.