Looking Back

Looking back on my TPTE 486 Experience I am pleased that I took this class! I learned about so many useful tools that I never even knew existed. Even the tools that I did know about like Wikis and Google Docs I feel like I have a much greater grasp on how to use these tools. There were a couple tools that I feel will not be used by me in the classroom such as Glogster.

There were questions I had throughout the year that I placed on my blog that I wished had been answered. However, I didn't answer anyone else's questions on their blogs so I suppose it serves me right!

I am very pleased with this class and felt it was useful even in the situation where I already knew how to use the tool being taught. I felt the class was very organized and allowed us to truly work at our own pace. I cannot wait to implement what I have learned into my own classroom!!

Geometry Outside of the Classroom: A Digital Story

My Digital Story was on seeing geometry in places other than in the classroom. I used the program iMovie to create this story and found the program incredibly easy to use. Trying to get everything to zoom where I wanted and the transitions to be just right did take practice. I was however overall pleased with this tool and would use it again for personal use and even consider using it in my classroom. 

One question I have was how do you get a video imported into iMovie that was taken from your camera rather than created through your computer's webcam?

Excel Spreadsheet- Factoring

This spreadsheet seemed a little too difficult compared to other tools we have access too for practicing on the web. I like that it is problems I am creating and that way I know exactly what is happening on this quiz rather than using someone else's examples. However there has to be an easier way! Maybe it all comes with practice but this was a little too much for me.
Also I see how it works in excel but I don't think I quite understand how students are supposed to access it and use it. Also, how are these grades reported that they are getting? Do they have to be printed out or is there a certain code that sends their scores back to me?

FUNctions

Inspiration

Inspiration is a great tool for teachers! I feel that when I actually become a teacher I would consider purchasing this tool to map out unit plans for the students and that sort of thing. Right now though it is not something I would want to buy simply because I do not use enough graphic organizers. This tool could easily be used in a secondary class as a way for students to show me they understand the material and how it relates to one another by creating their own. My main question though is, is this a well known tool? Do most high schools have this application purchased and available for campus use or is this something that I would have to purchase on my own. I guess I would like to know, how popular is this is the education world?

Picture Scavenger Hunt- Opposites

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

This scavenger hunt was a very fun experience. Even better, I enjoyed creating a video using animoto because I have never used it before. I like that we had ideas given to us for what to hunt rather than thinking of our own theme. This was a fun exciting project!

Musical Photo Collection

This project was a probably my least favorite exercise only because I felt it was a little boring. I think we could have maybe used a cooler or new tool to present the project. It was good to see how to embed a slideshow from picasa but the gathering of photos was a tad boring..

Delicious

Delicious was interesting to me. I had never heard of an online bookmarking resource until class. I love the idea of not having to be at your computer to see your bookmarks. Since I am a bookmarking queen that would come in handy. I constantly find myself bookmarking stuff though and having no idea why I did in a couple weeks or I will find that it is no longer useful. Whitney and Alex did not show us if there was a way to maybe annotate your bookmarks or delete them when you don't want them anymore.
Also, when we began working on our lesson plans Katy and I found delicious useful in WebQuests and other online activities.

Wordle and Twitter

Though I don't think the two compare, as far as applications in the classroom go, I feel that Twitter has more. Wordle seemed to have very little purpose but to look cool. They had a good idea of using it as an icebreaker of some type by putting all the students names in it. I also liked the front page of a binder idea. However, I would teach high school so I feel like this is something they can do on their own.

Twitter seemed more useful for a secondary classroom setting. It would be a great discussion tool as well as a way to communicate with my students in a manner that they are interested in. I will likely use twitter in my classroom as a discussion bored, a place to post homework questions, as well as possible bonus point opportunities.

I thought both tools were very fun and interesting. As far as application in the classroom though, I found Twitter to be more useful for my age level.

Webquest

Today in class we explored the uses of a WebQuest and the way they are structured. I could see how this could be used in classrooms especially for group projects. A possible WebQuest could be to teach them how to use functions on their calculators to graph a picture. We could set up the instructions and steps for the project by using a WebQuest with possible links to pictures on the internet. Projects such as these would get the students on a computer where they are typically most comfortable.
The WebQuest I found today would be more for a geometry class. Still, I loved how it pulled the students everyday lives into the classroom. When you make math applicable to the student I feel that is when it becomes more interesting to the students.
There are very useful sites out there that can be used to find WebQuests for all grades. I never knew these were available. I will definitely be interested in bringing WebQuest projects into my classroom!

Birthday Weekend

This weekend I am going home to celebrate three different birthdays! They all happen to fall on February 9th. One of the birthdays is my aunt and the other is her son. The last birthday is for my boyfriends dad. For him we are having a huge surprise birthday this Sunday! It is going to be very exciting. For my two family members we will probably all go to their house and have a big lunch with cake and ice cream. Since my cousin is only turning 5 it will be mostly about him. I am exciting to get home and celebrate the birth of so many people I love!

Evaluating Websites in the Future

The evaluation of sites is very important. Until today I honestly never considered it's importance. You are always told by certain teachers which sites to stay away from and which to use. I never thought about the research they put into figuring out which sites were appropriate and which weren't. I now that feel that I have a good idea of key indicators to look for when deciding the validity of a site.
This will of course be helpful in my classroom. It is something that shouldn't be kept secret from students. If I am using a site in class I will let them know how I decided it was appropriate for class and which sites I found that were not. It was interesting to see the number of sites today that were not valid sites but looked like they could be. It takes a small amount of knowledge and even smaller amount of digging to realize whether a site is worth trusting or not. Why not share this knowledge with other students?

Evaluating Websites

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html

This is a good website for evaluating. Kathy Schrock added PDF files that include checklists for different classroom settings. She also broke down the evaluation process into easy terms like "The 5 W's of Website Evaluation" or "The ABCs of Website Evaluation". Her site is easy to use and understand for people of different ages as well as the different levels of understanding when it comes to the internet. Check it out!

Wiki Reflection

The wikis are much easier to use than I originally expected. I had the most trouble with adding photographs and making that look the way I wanted it to. I have it all figured out now though after going over it in class.   I wish that there was a way to change the background to make it a little more interesting. I am pleased with it so far though!

I think that this could be very useful in the classroom. I see myself using it more as a homework tool. I would post homework and notes or examples on this. That way when the students get home and work on their homework they have a recourse to jog their memories if they have forgotten or don't have good note taking skills. There could also be some form of a discussion board so that they can have homework issue discussions through that. This way I can see that they are trying to access all recourses before they give up. It also adds fun to homework. My only worry is working with the fact that not everyone will have internet access.

Expectations

My expectations for this course before coming in were that I would learn to use technology and how to integrate that into my future classroom. It seems to be more about the computer and ways of using the internet than what I thought it would be. My expectations for this class are simply to learn what there is to know about computers, the internet, and the way it all works. (More than just google and iChat) I feel that this will be a great learning experience for me even though I feel I already have to ability to pick up on new technology fairly easy. I have been too scared to try blogs because I am a math person and hate to write. However, look at me! I am writing my second blog post of the day on our second day of class! I have much interest in this class and not many hesitations or fears.

Bio

I am from Chattanooga, TN. I went to a small private school in Chattanooga; where I graduated from a class of 22. I grew up in a small church as well. That made coming to UT an adjustment for me! After a year of being up here I got used to it and my one and only sibling (sister) came to UT. She is the one I consider my best friend. I am a very big family person. After I finish at UT I plan to teach math in a private school in Chattanooga. I love the outdoors. In my free time I like to hike in the summer and ski in the winter. I am also addicted to Starbucks. :)