Final workday!

Today was the final workday for ED 421. I was fantastic to have the time to focus on our final lesson, and develop it thoroughly. I chose to present my final in a power-point format and it turned out great (in my opinion) It was challenging to try to incorporate technology use that would be directed for first, second, and third graders. I focused my final on the concept of recycling. I had students view my power-point as a starter, then watch a few short Youtube videos on recycling. I then had them color and form books related to recycling that you as a teacher would download off a website. I also had students draw their own concepts of recycling, and promotion and use word to type up a slogan so that it can be posted in the hallways. The final portion of the lesson had student's working through an interactive game website that involved the concepts of recycling in which we have discussed.
It was really fun to create this informal lesson, and play around with how I could incorporate technology into a primary classroom.

Ethiopia Website

I had my first attempt at creating a website over the past few weeks. It did not go without its challenges, but I really like my final product. I picked a broad topic, that I could spend weeks or months developing a website for. Overall though I feel my website turned out really nice. I am excited to share it with my friends and family... as well as my peers for the final.
I had a hard time connecting my links, and through some additional help I made them work. I tried to organize my mess into additional folders which ended up voiding my original links... who would have thought!! It worked out in the end though, and it looks great!
I think that I would totally use the tools I learned through creating a website in my own classroom. I would like to create a "class page" that I can update yearly for my parents and students to look on. It was exciting to learn how the whole process works!

Podcast...

This week we completed our podcast, using garage band. To be honest I had a bit of a technological breakdown. Not on my computer's part, but my own. I couldn't decided what to complete my podcast on, or how to really work my way through the program. Eventually I decided to just relax, and play around with the program until I could figure it out. I presented a podcast for young children on hand washing, and the steps necessary.
I imagine that if I played around with it more I could become more professional in my final product, but it was really challenging for me the first time around. I made it through, and learned more than I had anticipated.

Google "More"

We had an opportunity today to check out Google's "More" section on their site. I had no idea this existed, and I was amazed to see all of the tools readily available. After exploring tools on this site we were to explain and demonstrate what we found to the rest of the class. I found a tool called a "translator". It was not only a standard translator, but also a web-page translator. Meaning that you could enter in a web URL, and choose which language from the list you wanted to translate to, and it would link you to the translated page. We did find that if the computer you are on does not contain characters of the language, it would not work. Another group presented Google Map- this was a really interesting tool. It was similar to Google Earth in the fact that you were looking at a map, but you could move a "little man" onto an area of the map and it would pull a real image (a 3-d picture). It was really interesting to see an image that was not from a top (satellite) view. Once the picture was pulled up, you could move the image around for a 360 degree view.. it was really exciting to see!
I would be able to use so many of these tools in my future classroom. This has been a great opportunity to learn about some of these sites, and have the time and instruction to explore and find more.

Google Earth

Today we had the opportunity to explore Google Earth. It was fun to play around, and discover all the options available through the site.
I decided to choose a place I was familiar with; my old high school. I mapped out a trail that would be beneficial for new students to walk on, and explore the campus. I marked important places, and gave a description on the bottom of my page. It was fun to look into the idea of actually creating something to help make new students feel welcome at the school.
I would definitely use this site again in the future. I took a little bit of time to find the old orphanage that I worked at in Ethiopia on Google Earth. I could see it being beneficial to set up a similar map for new volunteers to get around areas near the compound. I could follow the map more easily than I had anticipated, especially in such an under-developed area of Addis Ababa.
To say the least... I was very excited to learn more about Google Earth!!

iMovie

Today we used our Apple computers to learn how to run, and create an iMovie. This was a very fun in class assignment. We used a product called; Surf Sunscreen. My partners Michelle and Heidi did a fantastic job of acting out our commercial, while I chose to record. We had a very funny plot, so it was hard not to laugh into the microphone while recording. (We had to tape a few scenes over) We stayed on campus for our recording and were able to create some good scenes. We then downloaded, and edited our recordings back in the lab for a publishing.
I am really enjoying the fact that I am able to explore some of these products like iMovie/photoshop in class. I have never attempted it before because I was definitely intimidated by it all. It has been very helpful to have the opportunity to ask questions about the different programs, and apply it to an actual assignment.

Week 2

We learned how to use Apple's (Adobe) Photoshop. This was challenging for me since I am not familiar with Apple computers or photoshop. Through instruction and playing around with the different options, I was able to create a photo with the criteria of our assignment included. I used a picture that I took from a zoo in Abilene, TX, of two Giraffes. I also included an online photo of flamingos on a tropical beach, as well my scanned in photo of a butterfly from a brochure in class. I feel like I did a good job with my first attempt. It will be fun to play around with it now that I know some of the basics. Brittany