E-Portfolio/Final Blog

I learned a great deal from taking Educational Technology. While I am from the net generation, I still acquired many skills from taking this course. This course helped me review both excel and PowerPoint and how I can use these effectively in the classroom. I learned how to use the Smartboard software, and I think this is a great way to provide students with interactive lessons and truly get them involved in the learning process. I also learned how to make a movie which taught me programs like Movie Maker and audacity. These tools will be helpful if I want to have students do a similar project. I also learned how to social bookmark and the importance of it. Social bookmarking is a great way to store websites, and it would be an interesting way for students to keep track of their online sources for research papers and projects.

Creating my digital portfolio also taught me a lot. It was a lot of fun to make even though I got frustrated a few times when things did not format the way I wanted them to, but I got it straightened out. My digital portfolio can be found at www.jbilello.weebly.com. Since I am going to be a secondary English teacher, I think having students create their own digital portfolio would be a great idea especially as they prepare for high school or college. It is a helpful and a creative way to monitor progress and reflect on growth especially on writing assignments.

I will definitely make a conscious effort to integrate technology in my classroom because I do feel it is valuable and important. Nowadays, students are familiar with different types of technology, and they would appreciate it if teachers used it in the classroom. If technology is used effectively, students can be engaged in the lesson, and they can be active learners. There are many forms of technology that can be used in the classroom, and these are wonderful tools for teachers to have and use at their own discretion. It is not imperative that teachers use technology every single day; it should be included in the classroom, and I will try my hardest to incorporate all the tools I have learned from this class in my classroom.

Interactive Whiteboards

I think that interactive whiteboards make learning interactive and fun. I think being able to use an interactive whiteboard is a necessary tool for teachers since many classrooms have one. I like how the SmartBoard software has some templates for teachers to use. I think this makes using the Smartboard easier and more convenient.

I do not think that interactive whiteboards can be used for every lesson because that will make the lessons boring and repetitive; however, there are many advantages to using an interactive whiteboard. Using an interactive whiteboard brings something different into the classroom instead of always using a chalkboard or a regular whiteboard. Also, it gets students engaged as they are asked to come up and complete some exercises.

I would love to have an interactive whiteboard in my classroom. It is a convenient way to incorporate technology into the classroom from both the teacher perspective as well as the student perspective. I think students will enjoy using the whiteboard. I had a lot of fun making the SmartBoard slides. Each of my slides had an interactive component, and they each dealt with a different topic covered in English/language arts classes. When I was making my SmartBoard slides, I kept forgetting to click the arrow, so I kept making additional shapes and text boxes instead of moving mine around; this is the only problem that I encountered. Interactive whiteboards allow teachers to be creative, and it allows students to be active learners as it gets them up and out of their seats.

PSA project

My group decided to do our PSA project on procrastination. We thought this was a good idea because everyone suffers from procrastination at some point or another. Throughout our video, Shea and Josh are the procrastinators, and I am the anti-procrastinator. I remind them about the work that is due or the upcoming work that they have to do or begin. We decided to have grades on the screen as the statistic is read to illustrate how procrastination can truly affect a student's success.

It did not take us a long time to film our scenes which I was surprised about. After uploading our footage onto the computer, we learned that the audio did not pick up as we taped our scenes. This frustrated our entire group because now we would have to dub over the audio. We edited all our scenes, and then we began to record our audio. Shea recorded his audio the quickest, but it was easier for him because during his scene the audience does not see his lips. Therefore, he didn't have to match anything up. Josh and I on the other hand, had a harder time dubbing over our scenes. We did the paper scene in two takes, but the book scene took us a while. It was really frustrating to have to match everything up and make sure it looks alright. After adding the audio, we created the title, credits, added music while the credits scroll. Also, we used the fade in and fade out technique in between the scenes.

Overall, I think my group is satisfied with our video project. We were able to finish it in class and upload it to YouTube. This project allowed me to learn how to use movie maker and audacity. These programs are a lot easier to use than I originally thought, so I am glad that I had a chance to use them.

Video in the Classroom

Video is definitely a powerful tool that both teachers and students can use. As a student, I used video for some projects. In middle school, I created a weather broadcast when we were conducting our unit on meteorology. I was the meteorologist, and I reported on the weather in different parts of the nation. I also made my video creative by including some funny commercials in between the weather reports. For my high school Spanish class, I created a Spanish fashion show. I had my sister and her friends model, as I announced what they were wearing in Spanish. Each student had to make a creative video in Spanish as a project, and toward the end of the semester we watched the videos in class. In social studies and language arts classes, we used video by watching different films in class. In social studies class, we would watch documentaries. In language arts, we would watch film adaptations of the literature we were reading at that time.

As a teacher, I can use video in my English classes like my teachers did and show film adaptations of the literature. However, I can also be more creative and have students use video. I can have students work in groups and act out scenes from a play we are reading; this will be done outside of school. We can watch and critique the videos in class. I can have students write their own screenplays, and then they have to act as director and create the video. It English classes it also interesting to watch videos about the author or the time period in which a piece of literature was written. This allows students to feel a connection to the literature, and it might provide them with a better understanding.

"Video is engaging, can be edited or segmented for appropriateness, and is familiar to students, but more than any other reason, the content can be managed and entertaining," said Lisa Salmonson, a teacher at Florin High School in California's Elk Grove Unified School District.

Working with the Net Generation

Chapter 8 of EduCause discusses closing the gap between members and non-members of the Net Generation. The beginning of the chapter states that not all students would classify themselves as members of the Net Generation. I think this is true because I do not classify myself as belonging to the Net Generation. It truly does come down to accessibility. Not all students go home to computers and Internet access, and it is unrealistic for teachers to think that this is the case.

"Although technology-enabled interactive instruction may be highly engaging, many students, teachers, and faculty have no experience with it. One study found that in spite of the fact that 99 percent of K–12 schools have Internet access, as do most classrooms (87 percent), these resources are rarely used effectively." I thought this quote was interesting because in school I always found it funny when teachers tried to use technology, but it never went the way it intended. They pretended to know what they were doing, but they always needed a student or two to help them out.

There is definitely a gap between current students and faculty, but teachers can try to close that gap. Teachers have to be flexible, they have to take educational issues seriously and most importantly they have to be willing to approach interactive technologies because students will benefit from this type of instruction. Teachers also need to try to make their curriculum relevant to the students' experiences because this will make learning more exciting and worthwhile for the student. If I try to do implement all these things into my classroom, I will be successful with the Net Generation.

I really liked the idea of WeBWork because it provides students with interactive feedback. I think this is a neat way to assign homework, and this method will keep students engaged. I also like the idea of the Molecular Workbench because students will enjoy conducting their lab experiments by using this approach. This tool also allows students to be in control of their experiments.

The tips listed at the end of the chapter will also help teachers be successful with the Net Generation. Revisit assumptions--this will help teachers understand technology better, and it will help them implement it into their classroom. Engage learners--engaging students will lead to discovery and understanding. Relax control--there are no time constraints, the learning process is ongoing. Return to core values--even when technology is in use, teachers can still be the experts. Reflect on the true meaning of learning and model the highest standards--even when teachers are using technology, they have to set good examples for their students.

Social Bookmarking/Excel Ideas

Social bookmarking can be extremely helpful to both students and teachers. Teachers can use social bookmarks to organize readings for students by creating different lists. This would allow students to retrieve their assignments in an organized fashion. Teachers could also use their social bookmarks to help other teachers. Social bookmarks allow people to share their links which helps share ideas. Teachers can have students create different social bookmarks depending on the unit they are learning in class. This would be an interesting way to gather classroom resources.

Social bookmarking will help me organize the sites that I visit frequently. It will also allow me to find new sites regarding teaching and the English curriculum by visiting social bookmarks that others have created. Social bookmarking makes finding a site that you know you saved somewhere easier to find. I am all about organization! I created by social bookmark by using diigo. Visit my social bookmarking site http://www.diigo.com/user/jmb091.

There are many creative lesson plans that teachers can use involving Excel. One of these lesson plans includes students creating a hypothesis using independent and dependent variables. Then students have to write a questionnaire in order to prove or disprove their hypothesis. Students will use Excel to organize their results and analyze them. Students will input all their data into Excel in order to create charts to view their results. This lesson is designed for grades 9 through 12.

A science lesson plan that involves using Excel has students visiting a website about acid rain and putting in their current location. The students will have to create a database in Excel using the information the website provides. This lesson plan is designed for grades 7 through 12.

Another science lesson plan for secondary students involves learning about earthquakes. Simulating earthquakes is a template that teachers can use for Excel to have their students to keep track of data. Once the data is put into an Excel database, students can simulate the earthquakes using their data.

Excel can also be used in math class. A lesson plan for math might include having students use Excel to keep track of probability. Students can receive a bag of candy, and they will have to guess as to what color candy they are going to select. The students will use Excel to organize their guesses as well as their findings. Students can also use Excel to calculate the average color per bag. This lesson works best for grades 7 and 8.

Another math lesson, more for elementary school, could have students create patterns of different shapes by using the program Rectangle Patterns Grid, which is a program for Excel. Then students can learn how to shade the shapes by using different tools in Excel. The students can then quiz each other about what shape comes next in their sequence.

Google Apps

The Google App videos were really interesting; I had no idea that Google Apps does some really neat things. I wish I knew about this sooner because I would have definitely used some of the Google Apps. I am a huge organizational freak, and would have used the Google calendar that is connected the gmail. Albright's email is through gmail which I absolutely love because it allows me to sort my emails and keep everything organized. I created many filters for my email, so that new mail goes into pre-made folders. I sometimes see on the right hand side, add this event to your calendar, but I wasn't sure what exactly that would do. I definitely want to start using the Google calendar. I never leave home without my planner, and having one on the computer would make life a lot easier.

Another thing I like about Google Apps is Google Docs. I think this would have be nice to use in group projects since members of a group can work together in real time on a document, spreadsheet or presentation. There were times when I got partnered with people who were always so busy, and they never had any time to meet in order to complete our project. Google Docs can alleviate this stress, and the group can work on the project together but during different times. I think many Language Arts/English teachers should use Google Docs in their classroom. I think students would definitely like the idea of using technology, and it allows them to collaborate with other students in real-time even if they cannot meet outside of school. I would definitely consider using Google Docs in my classroom.

One of the lesson plans I found was called "Class Collection of Book Reviews." This lesson plan is designed for grades 7-9 in a Language Arts classroom. Students read many pieces of literature throughout the year, so this allows them to write book reviews on books they liked or disliked. The reviews will be kept online in Google Docs, they can be edited anytime, and additional reviews can be submitted. Teachers can use these book reviews to see what pieces of literature were favored, and it can help teachers make decisions when deciding what material to include next year. In order for all the book reviews to look similar, the teacher will have to create a book review template for the students to use. Teachers can also take this one step further and make a list of their favorite books for a suggested summer reading list.

The other lesson I liked was called "Writing for Context, Audience and Purpose." This lesson plan is for grades 10-12 in a Language Arts Classroom. Students often need help deciding who there audience is when writing. This lesson plan allows students to write a weekly classroom newsletter; their audience will be their classmates, the school community and the community as a whole. These newsletters will be published via Google Docs. Each week a student or two will be named the editor, and they will have to evaluate the newsletter paying close attention to the context, audience and purpose. Each student will have a chance to be editor. Once the editors edit the classroom newsletter using Google Docs, the newsletter will be available to the community. This is also a way for parents to stay informed on what is happening in the classroom; they may enjoy this more since it is written from the students' point of view.