E-portfolio

http://matthewsola.weebly.com/

Importance of Technology

I think that technology in the classroom is a very important aspect that all teachers should incorporate while teaching.  Children today learn in a very different way than most educators are used to, simply because of the rapid advancements in technology.  Students can highly benefit from using new technology because it's a great way to grab and keep the attention of students.  Although, some teachers may find it difficult to adjust with the times or learn new things, but most of the technology is really easy to learn if you play around with it enough.  The first decade of the 21st century has proven to have a very large impact on how we view technology as a whole, as well as how people are learning.  It is very crucial for us as future educators to get on board and ride this new technology train, otherwise students will be teaching the teachers in the near future. 

Online Presentations

The first thing that I learned was what online presentations were.  I never heard of them prior to this class and it was very interesting to see a few for the first time.  It's really neat to see items that people typically put on paper on a personal website more or less.  Another thing I learned was how people are using them and what they are being used for.  There is a lot of detail in most of the presentations and they all look very professional.  I was surprised by the amount of websites that aid people in creating a professional online presentation.  The benefit for having your own online presentation seems to be priceless.  Instead of dealing with a paper trail, one can simply say all of their important, job information is online.  This leads to my last important thing that I learned from working on the online presentation, and that is the importance of having one.  The future is driving towards all things digital, and my guess is that in the near future employers aren't going to even want a paper resume.  In fact, some places currently don't want paper versions, which leads me to believe that soon, most if not all, employers are going to require a online presentation.  A lot of valuble information was gained again this week through this course, and I am very thankful to have been able to learn this information.

Electronic Portfolios: The Good and The Bad

This e-portfolio is horrible simply because you can't view it!  It was simple to choose this one as the bad example.
http://www.mtabe.k12.vt.us/student_portfolios.htm

This is a really nicely done e-portfolio.  The home page has a very nice quote and nice visual aids to set the mood of the reader.  It is really easy to navigate and has everything that person needs.
http://students.ed.uiuc.edu/ekim7/eport/index.htm

YouTube Presentation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzARr13zjhw

Copyright for teachers

Copyright for teachers can be very interesting.  I feel as though that a teacher somewhere can violate a  copyright everyday and probably doesn't even know it.  Even if a teacher sings the 'happy birthday' song to a student, that teacher is technically violating a copyright.  I have seen murals painted on walls of a certain school that depict the likeness of copyrighted characters.  This is just one example of many that I have seen, including flyers promoting the showing of a movie.  As long as teachers are aware of copyright laws and have the education of students in the forefront, I don't think teachers should sweat too much over this topic.  I'm not too surprised about how 'picky' people can be about their works, considering all the time and effort people put into creating these works.  Additionally, no other person should be able to profit in any way, shape, or form.
I think it somewhat falls on the shoulders of educators to convey the importance of following copyright laws.  It's NOT their job to fully explain them, but to at least keep the students in mind of them.  I would do this in my classsroom just by mentioning what I have done to avoid violating any coopyright, as well as what to look for when discussing copyright violation.

VIDEO IN THE CLASSROOM

I think that video in the classroom can have some real benefits for the students.  Video should be used as a nice change-up to regular classroom activities.  I don't think we should ask WHAT the video teaches, but rather HOW it can teach.  Some students are visual learners, so watching a video could be very helpful to those students.  The attention span for students can often times be very small, so instead of lecturing five days in a row and becoming boring to most students, throw a video in once or twice a week just to mix things up and keep the attention of the students.  Whenever you do something new or a little different in the classroom it automatically becomes fun and exciting.  As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, showing videos in class can have a really high value in my opinion.
As for how I would incorporate video in my class is very easy for me to explain.  When i was at 13th & Green, I taught a Waterford program to kindergarten students in the computer lab.  Everyday,at their scheduled times I picked them up from their classrooms and brought them into the lab and got to work.  It didn't take long in the first year I was there to realize that even repetition of this modern technology became boring to some students.  Then I discovered a Waterford video tape in a closet and was given permission to show the video as a lesson because it was the same program just in a different form of media. 
When I first started showing the 1st of a four video set, I showed it every Friday for a month and then moved on to the 2nd video.  I followed the same pattern for the net three videos.  When I started the second year, I changed that up to only showing the 1st video over and over until I knew the children were 1oo% proficient with the letter names.  I did notice that some students got bored with the same video over and over, however I knew that this particular group started the year much lower in their letter fluency than the first year students.  I compromised with the bored students by offering them a new video when they could name every letter on my board.  This actually drove the students to try harder, even at the young ages of five and six. 
I think the idea of using videos in the classroom is great for many reasons, not only to keep the students attention but to try and appeal to students who have different learning styles.  I feel as though all teachers should be open to trying new ways to reach their students. 

VIDEO PROJECT

My partner was pretty easy to choose for this video project.  It was a natural fit for Shereetha and I since we know each other outside of class and have been sitting next to each other this whole semester.  She was very easy to work with which allowed this project to go rather smoothly.  We didn't have any hick-ups other than the computer freezing up a few times, which didn't turn out to be as bad as originally thought.  This was a fun project that really  brought me back to my undergrad days at the electronic media department at Kutztown University.
After viewing some of the previous projects done for this class, it was pretty obvious we were going to something along the lines of comedy.  Shereetha came up with the hygiene concept and we thought of three great examples that we could make look pretty funny.  Our original plan was to do something with "Hygiene Police" theme, which was going to have me dressed up like a police officer, approaching people who were committing hygiene crimes and helping them solve their problem.  In order to do that idea any justice, props and actors would have been needed, and we just didn't have those resources.  This is what led us to get the point across but in a more simple manner.  I am very satisfied with how it turned out, and I'm really hoping for some genuine laughs. :)
Stay fresh my friends!

Hygiene PSA

http://youtu.be/d-POCQK4bFY

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are being used in the classroom more and more everyday.  I believe these boards can definitely enhance the way the classroom is operated, as well as how the students learn.  Whenever the students are involved with any kind of interaction in the classroom it is a positive thing.  That's why good teachers often stress class participation.  These interactive whiteboards give any teacher a different tool to try and reach students, and also give a student something new and exciting to keep his/her attention.  There is a huge, global craze over modern technology with smart phones, video games, high definition TV's, computers and the Internet, and much more.  When you can combine modern technology with the lesson you want to teach it can enhance how learning and teaching is done by having the students full attention and envolvement from the very start of the lesson.
The best part of any new form of technology is that, with practice, they are easy to use.  The more you use the whiteboards more you learn and the easier it becomes to operate.  I didn't really have too much trouble working this program and I can now start to see what the capabilities are for this new technology in the classroom.  I think the most important pros to this concept are getting the students involved more, and using a source of media that will more easily grab the attention of most students.  The only negative I think goes along with using whiteboards would e if a teacher just simply uses the whiteboard as a modern chalk board.  This would prevent both the teacher and students from experiencing what these whiteboards truly have to offer.
I would incorperate the smartboard with my students by replacing some of the picture card lessons I used for letter sounds.  I'm really happy with my lesson plan I did for class tonight and would like to create more lesson plans like it to cover all of the letters, two at time.  I'm excited about what I still have to learn about interactive whiteboards and look forward to incorporating them in the classroom with my future lessons.

Student Technology Experience

I wasn't really surprised to see that most college don't really use the Internet for much more than communication.  Having the internet in classroom, in the grand scheme of things, is a really new idea.  Ten years ago e-mail was only starting to gain popularity yet alone having a high-speed, 'search anything' search engine right at your fingertips.  With that said, it's only been a short amount of time to allow Internet usage in the classroom to evolve.  Most teachers are not up to a high speed on how to operate many of the new technologies that are available to them.  I personally know of a school that had a few Promethean Boards that went an entire year without even being turned on.  I am well aware that teachers all over the country are taking and have to take Ed. Tech courses, but in most cases no one is an expert on technology at the completion of any one course.  Until the teachers have a better grip on how to operate the machinery, the classroom will be at a technological disadvantage.
I think that many of the issues involving technology in the classroom can have a huge effect on teachers, however, the classroom is forever evolving place and must always keep up, if not be ahead of the times and start to experience the benefits that the Internet has to offer. 

Graphic Organizers

I think that graphic organizers are a great way to get your main points across.  In my eyes, I see these organizers as a fun way to read a summary, as well as a shorter way to write a summary.  A written summary of any of the graphic organizers we had to do in class would take 10x the amount of time to read and write, yet the organizers themselves still cover all the points.  The graphic organizers are very clear and concise, and provide more than enough information to understand what is being discussed.  However, I do feel as though students DO need to know how to write reports and write them well.  I think a great idea for any teacher would be to teach the two styles of writing and give assignments that alternate using both ways.  Using a graphic organizer is a great method for providing information, but writing full length reports, in my opinion, cannot be abandoned.

Social Bookmarking Website

http://www.diigo.com/user/sola9899

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is like having your favorite bookmarks all in one place.  It allows you to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. 
Just like everything concerning the Internet, the more you do something and become comfortable with it the better you become at doing it.  It seems very simple, but sometimes trying new things can seem a little strange or even difficult.  I think the more one uses a social networking site to manage all their favorites, it will become more beneficial for both students and teachers.  There isn't much better than having everything you need on one page whenever you need it.  One can have all their research websites, teacher aiding websites, and/or websites that pertain to any specific subject.  Social bookmarking can be very helpful to both teachers and students.

Switching to Google Docs?

I think the biggest differnce between the Microsoft products and Google docs is the ability to instantly send the information via e-mail with Google docs.  With that being said, I DON'T think that is a great arguement to move away from Microsoft Word and Excel.  Everybody everywhere had to make the shift from typewriters and basic word processors towards Word and Excel, and if I remember correctly, it wasn't an easy transition for everyone.  Everybody would have to learn something new with Google docs and go through more training on something that is generally doing the same thing. Sure, Google docs saves your work automatically, but it also prohibits you from seeing what you type in real time.  People are still learning new and interesting things with the Microsoft products and do the job quite well. The only difference is you must:1)Save your work 2)Write an e-mail 3)Attach a file... It's as easy as 1,2,3. Let's keep Word and Excel.

EXCEL Reflection

I think that Excel is a good program and has a lot of uses.  It is a great way to have things very neat and organized. I used to think that most of the things done on Excel could be done easier just by writing it out.  I guess my hang-up used to be, not really wanting to learn a new program when I could just write it out or do it on Word and space it out how I wanted.  Looking at that now, obviously I feel as though I was quite ignorant because Excel is pretty easy to use and does have a lot of great benefits...
As for the 5 ideas for how to incorporate Excel in a Kindergarten classroom, I would go with the following:
1: Student's bus numbers
2: Birthdays
3: Favorite Activites
4: Favorite Books/Stories
5: Favorite Colors
I think this could help the children see who they have things in common with and could possible help develop their social skills...

Perspectives on Tech Language

First of all, I have rarely ever come across a professor or boss like the one in the intro of Chapter 5. Even starting my college education in the year 2000 technology and especially e-mail was driven home as a necessity.  "You have to check your e-mail, I will send you information that is crucial for you to pass this class", is something that I remember hearing a whole lot more than, "I don't know how to work e-mail." That was 11 years ago, how can anyone be computer illiterate now?  I can understand how a teacher who has been doing something the same for so many years could be frustrated by, what seems to be, an overwhelming overload of new technology.  On the other hand, my belief is that if 'everyone' is doing it, it can't be that hard.  Everything is easier to do, all in one place. You don't have to right checks, or subscribe to newspapers, or even go the mall to buy something.  We as educators must move with the times and faster than the students in some cases.  Nobody wants a student teaching the class how to do something.