In my educational technology class we have covered many of the basic programs and software’s that are available on computers at home and school. Many of the programs we learned about especially Microsoft Word Programs are an example of programs that I use on an everyday basis. I used many of these programs in high school, college, and especially in this graduate course. I was able to blog and reflect as well as review others blogs to learn different teaching styles and methods that can be enhanced with the use of technology in the classroom. I am not a teacher yet, so this is a great way for me to get some pointers from fellow peers who are teachers and have used technology effectively in the classroom. I have learned that it is not only beneficial to the students, but for the teacher as well. Recently we have been learning about different types of viruses that one can get on their computers. We learned not only the types but we also learned how viruses are designed to invade a person’s hardware and cause damage. Two types of viruses that I have heard about and come across before this class are “Trojan Horse” and “Computer Worms”. The computer worm is a software program that is designed to copy itself from one computer to another. A Trojan horse is a malicious program that can disguise itself as something it's not, such as a downloadable game. Once the user downloads the program, the Trojan horse is activated and can invade the user's files. I have unfortunately had problems with “Trojan Horse” virus in the past. I have lost two laptops to downloading games, and or music downloading software that started off by slowing the performance speed of my computer down and ultimately causing my computer to crash. I have learned now to become more careful with what I download, as well as remind myself to use my back up drive in the instance that my computer may crash at any time. This helps me to back up documents and pictures that may not be replicable. As far as using anti-virus software, I used Norton Anti-Virus while I attended EKU. They required students who used the EKU network to have these program installed. I did not encounter any virus problems while I used this program. I do know however that when it comes anti-virus software’s it is best if you do your research and read reviews on the project to make sure you are purchasing a software that is legit. Unfortunately some anti-virus software’s can create more problems for you then you began with.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Lesson 7
I am not teaching yet, but when I do teach I feel that Microsoft Word would be software that I would definitely implement in the classroom. I feel like Microsoft Word is not only beneficial to my students but to me as well. I feel as though Word is a program that many such as me use on a daily basis. I use Word to create many various types of documents; I especially have been using word in this class. A lot of the assignments I complete in Word because even if I’m only copying/pasting the document into another program, I at least have the comfort of using familiar tools with Word to correct and review my documents for me.
I think that Word is very beneficial to students because it allows them to write freely and takes off the pressure to spell words correctly or keep a constant flow throughout the paper. I know that many may feel as though Word may be a sort of “cop-out” to writing a paper because of all the features it has enabled for review. In defense, those tools can actually be turned off so students can write a document first and even submit that to you after receiving it themselves for errors. I just think that it is best to take advantage of a program such as Microsoft Word because more than likely students will use this program in college, or work so they may as well become very familiar with the program.
In one of my undergraduate classes a teacher gave us an example of using Microsoft Word that I found very beneficial and ties into what I was referring to earlier about turning the review tools off. The teacher would have students disable the review tools, write an assignment and save it to a jump drive. The next day in class students would switch jump drives with classmates. The students would then open the documents and turn on the review tools and assess why the highlighted words/phrases were incorrect and write a paper detailing why these were errors. This was a creative approach to doing a editing type of assignment and she said that the students enjoyed the lesson and they would try to get as much as the draft correct as possible before being reviewed by a peer.
So after reviewing the lesson on communication tools, and because of the many uses I personally get out of Microsoft Word software, this would be my top choice for students to use in the classroom. As I mentioned before, Word is a very versatile program, and can be used for many purposes, and I think that by using it in the classroom it will help both the teachers and students to familiarize themselves with a program that they will more than likely use very often.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Lesson 6
This week in class we discussed Web Quest, what exactly they are and we spent time online finding some different Web Quest to review. Before this lesson, I had no clue what a Web Quest was exactly or how to even start creating one. I found out through are assigned reading that a Web Quest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. They are designed to use learners' time efficiently, to focus on using information rather than searching around the web for it. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge with Tom March.
Now that I got a general understanding for Web Quest and what they are, it was time for me to do some researching online to see firsthand how these Web Quest function. For my assigned discussion post, I viewed the website
This Web Quest was an Elementary Music based one which is the field of teaching that I will one day be entering. The lesson being discussed was the history of the Star Spangled Banner, and the students acted as secret agents looking for clues, top secret information to answer questions based around the Star Spangled Banner. The Web Quest also had a “Karate Recorder” link which I though was very unique! Students “master” recorder fingerings and songs and are rewarded with different levels of “karate belts”. I thought this was a very creative concept that could really aide students in maintaining an interest for practicing and learning about the recorder.
This week we were assigned to create our own Web Quest that pertains to our teaching area. I decided to gear mine towards Elementary Music since that it the age and content I one day hope to teach. I looked on www.gardenquest.com and found one that related to music and the topic I wanted to cover “Notes on the Treble Clef” the Web Quest I found had 3 really good links on it that I used as my links in my lesson. I decided to do a “Pirate” theme for my Web Quest. I told students that the better the score they receive for their assignment and quiz the more “gold coins” I will hand out to them in class. They can then redeem these gold coins for a reward in the class treasure chest.
I think that the students will really like this lesson. It is something that is creative and it helps them to understand the lesson in a fun way by using the computer and internet tools rather than just reading from a textbook and taking a quiz in class. The “Shark Game” is a fun way to test their knowledge in a fun environment so they can learn and not feel so much pressure.
I did not know a lot about Web Quest before going into this lesson and afterwards I was able to successfully create my very own Music Web Quest. I think that the Web Quest is a useful tool for the classroom, it is fun for the students and it is not only teaching them the desired lesson, but it is also helping to sharpen their computer skills as well. The Web Quest was a very length process to create so it would not be something I would want to create for every single lesson I teach, but I do think it is a nice change from the everyday lesson, and it is a changeup that students will really have fun learning with.
Below is the Web Quest I created:
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