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Assignment # 4 - Final Project

My Website

I created a website using webs.com. I usually have a very hard time learning new technologies, but this site was very simple and well organized in taking me through the steps to creating a website.

List of features:

-being able to add and/or delete pages

(the site gives you pages to start with, but some of them i did not want to use so i was able to delete them. I wanted to create a history page and a page on tourism, so i was able to create those).

-addons

(such as widgets) .... (i added radio, which gave me the option of creating my own radio station or choosing an already created one)

-links

(Just like we have learned to do in our blogs, we can create links from words).

-video uploads

(i uploaded videos from youtube)

-photo uploads

The main issue that I encountered is that there was not a save button. I lost my information a couple times and it was very frustrating. I eventually learned that the button, "Publish", is how you save it. After you choose to publish, you have the option of continuing to edit or to finalize your website.

Secondary technology: I was able to create a podcast through vocaroo to have as a part of my website. I also have youtube videos and a slideshow of pictures as a part of my site. It was fun to incorporate different technologies all into one website.

This project was extremely useful for me! I realized how simple it is to gather information and resources onto one website in only a few hours! I was able to gather information, photos, and videos on my topic. As a teacher, I would love to use webs.com because the sites are very simple for students to navigate and they have all this information available right at their fingertips.

NETS for teachers:

My website meets the #2 standard for teachers, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. This is defined as "Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS."

As the teacher, I have created a website that makes many resources of information available to them: research information, videos, pictures, etc.

NETS for students:

My website meets the #3 standard for students, Research and Information Fluency. This is defined as "Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information." By being able to use this website and navigate through it, students are locating, organizing, and analyzing information from a variety of resources.

Week 14 - The Future of Education and Technology

Technology shaping the future of higher education

For college students, technology has transformed the learning experience with possibilities such as distance education and collaboration with research partners from around the world. Technology will continue to have a significant impact on education. 63% of college students and faculty, when surveyed, said that technological innovation will have a major influence on teaching methodologies over the next 5 years. Technology is already playing a major role in what attracts people to certain colleges.

Technology in college life is going to continue grow and evolve. Technology is giving rise to globalization, as many schools are wanting to connect with other universities overseas and open up more campuses. 60% of the schools involved in this survey are hoping to spread overseas within the next few years. Education is becoming available to anyone anywhere.

Week 13

Features of Word, Excel & PowerPoint

Word

-my favorite feature on Word is the thesaurus. I am always using that to try and use better words when I am- writing papers.

-I also love clipart for a lot of my education activities. I make a lot of flash cards with pictures and words and so this tool is very helpful

-There is a "Language" tab under the tools bar. Since I study different languages and I am currently studying ESL I find this tool very helpful because I can switch my settings to a different language.

Excel

-I love making charts in excel! So I like to use the simple tool of just creating tables and graphs!

-Also, by typing in formulas in the top bar, excel with automatically do the math for you and create answer columns. This is very helpful when collecting data.

PowerPoint

-The best thing about powerpoint is that you can simply drag anything into it and it will become a part of the power point.

-I also like how easy it is to arrange slides. You can resize and move around anything. It is so simple to work with. You cannot always do things like that in Word or Excel.

For Word, I would assign my students a project where they had to make a brochure. This would get them familiar with the different ways to format, different fonts and sizes, and they could also use clipart.

For Excel, I would have students create their own poll for the class and then create a spreadsheet of their results.

For PowerPoint, I would have the students create a slideshow about themselves. They can bring pictures from home and also write about themselves in the text boxes. I think this would get students engaged in the activity as well as get them used to working with Powerpoint.

Week 12 - k12 online conference

Eracism

Students from all over the world got together to discuss issues in race in the world.

After all the students go back to their homes, they wanted to be able to continue to talk with one another and continue their worldwide work. By using the technology of "voice thread" students are able to set up a debating protocol called stimulus synchronous that is a video, following one image but able to pick up voices. Students are able to post comments onto the voice thread, such as a rebuttal. This tool is like an interactive blog, instead of writing, students are able to actually voice their opinions.

Thinking outside the Box

"Think outside the school", teacher Keith Kelly wants to renew education so that it will spark the interest of students today. He says education is too old and traditional that it is not applicable to student lives today. So he creates a project where students are making their own skateboards and they are learning how to use all these different tools.

This was a fantastic lesson to watch. It really engaged students and brought out their creativity and you could tell the students were working really hard as well as learning to use these complicated tools.

Skype Around the World

This presents ideas of how to use skype in the classroom, which is a great asset because you can video chat with anyone anywhere in the world. Teachers are able to get famous authors on skype to talk with students and the students have the opportunity to ask questions. Skype allows students opportunities that normally would be unavailable. Another example of skype in the classroom is elementary schools in the U.S. communicating with a class in Peru. It is like penpals, but online. The students are able to talk face to face, which is a great cultural experience. It opens up your classroom walls as well as raises cultural and global awareness.