Podcast!

:)

Blog Journal #3

A lesson I could create using technology could be a review game, resulting in extra credit for the test. Using MS Powerpoint, I would create a slide show that had questions/answers for useful information for a test. The class would be divided into groups and each group would write down their answer on a piece of paper and turn them in. The team with the most correct answers gets a few extra points on their test.

The main concern I would have in a technology based classroom would be that students would take advantage of the internet. I know when I was in grade school, if I had internet access I would usually use it for things other than what was assigned. For middle school aged kids, I believe a lab assistant would be especially helpful to watch over the students. Also internet website blockers are pretty important.

http://www.thekidzpage.com/learninggames/learningonline.htm
The kidz page is a great website for kids. It has online games for math/numbers, word games, and sudoku games. This website would be good for print out's or for homework.

Blog Journal #2

As a student, I've used MS Word to write essays, papers, and outlines, and to create portfolios. I haven't really had to use the special features (i.e; picture/word graphics) yet, just used Word in a basic, almost beginner, way. I have seen teachers use MS Word to create their syllabus on or to demonstrate something to the class on. Sometimes, if the teacher did not want to or was not able to print out something important for the class, they would put it in word and either put the file on Blackboard or pull it up on the screen in class for the students to copy down.

In middle school I was required to make a portfolio of poems for an English class, using MS Word. Besides the obvious of typing the poems, we were allowed to pick the font, font color, font size and insert as many pictures as we wanted. I enjoyed this because it allowed us to use color and make it completely unique for ourselves. This is the most creative thing I can think of using Word.

New skills I've learned that I think could be useful in an educational career would be quiz making and short cuts in using Word that make typing, presenting and completing documents easier. These short cuts will save time on the actual computer and allow for more time actually teaching.