Week 11 "Open Source Software"

Open Source Software programs allow access to word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and much more. One of the great things about open source software is that anyone can report issues, ask for new features and enhancements wanted to make the software more efficient. You can find great software that is easy to navigate and that is free to use.

I navigated the openoffice.org software and it is extremely easy to use. I personally have other tools that I am more comfortable with and I am not sure how often I will use open source software being a teacher.

As you can see in the picture above the best thing about open source software is that it is FREE! When it comes to software nowadays it is so expensive so when there are programs that are free people really should take advantage of them.

Week 10 "Tech Tools for Critical Thinking"

Webspirtation is a great tool that can be used for students note taking or as a web to begin writing their paper. I really enjoyed using webspiration because I am a visual learner and by seeing the bubbles that came off of the one central bubble it made more sense and I was able to how everything was interconnected. I plan on using webspiration in the future for group projects and writing papers that way I know what needs to be done and what steps will need to be done in order to get there.

I think I will use this as a teacher on a pretty frequent basis because it will add more color to note taking. The students won't have to always copy notes. I think if I incorporate mind mapping tools, powerpoint presentation, skeleton notes as well as other methods the students will stay more interested in the lesson that I will be teaching. Students will also be able to take home their mind mapping creations that way they can study at home.

http://resource220.com/2009/11/19/webspiration-mind-mapping-tool/

It was really neat to see how a special education teacher is using webspiration because I am thinking about teaching special education. This tool allowed students to memorize the information more easily. By the time I start teaching I am sure that there will be other mind mapping tools that will improve the way special education as well as other students learn better.

Concept Map

I really enjoyed creating a concept map because it was extremely simple and shows how everything comes together.

I can see myself using this when I become a teacher. I will be using it both inside and outside of the classroom. I like how you can create different shapes and can pick different colors in font and also in the colors of the shaped bubbles.

My webspiration Concept Map:

http://mywebspiration.com/view/373603a36fb0

week 9 "Social Tools & Cloud Computing"

Cloud computing is something that was new to me but it is very easy to do and is a great way to stay organized. Google Docs is a great tool that I never knew existed but I found very beneficial because I am constantly making lists to make sure that I get all the tasks I need to get done in a timely fashion.

Social tools are constantly changing the way people do things. Instead of meeting people in person people meet others online and instead of phone conversations people choose to text others. I feel that social tools can be both beneficial and distracting depending on how much someone uses them. I believe that they are good in moderation and depends on the individual. As long as a person learns social skills and doesn't become dependent on the social tools to interact with others then social tools are okay.

I think that as a teacher I will be able to teach my students how to use cloud computing but I don't think that my class will be using social tools that often. The only time I can see using social tools inside my classroom is YouTube if I want to show my class a video that relates to the topic of discussion.

http://blogs.gartner.com/thomas_bittman/2008/11/26/cloud-computing-and-k-12-education/

Week 8 "Podcasting"

Pod casting is something that you can use alone to get a message across or something that can be a sound file that you create to help make a presentation become more interesting. During the pod casting lecture I learned how to create a musical piece with just a few clicks of a button. I created a song by using Garage band. I have never used any kinds of pod casting or garage band programs before this class.

By becoming a teacher it will be up to me to create lessons that keeps my class excited about the topics that make up our curriculum. I will need to incorporate different types of music and pod casts that keep my students interested. I don't think this is something that I will be using on a daily basis but it will definitely be something that I will use occasionally.

http://storynory.com/

Week 6 " Visual Literacy"

I never really thought about how important visual literacy is. Before learning about visual literacy I always thought of the only time visual literacy was used was in projects that used Photoshop. Now that I know more information about what visual literacy is I will be able to use it in group projects or presentations as well as throughout my career.

Visual literacy can help make a boring presentation more lively and colorful. Some ways that visual literacy can be used to tie the curriculum into everyday lesson plans. Drawing information, as a diagram, map or table, helps children to see how facts are connected, whereas "making notes" often provides only a collection of isolated pieces of data. Visual texts do some things better than verbal texts; verbal texts do some things better than visual texts. Since I want to become a Kindergarten teacher it will be up to me to keep in mind my students different learning styles. Visual literacy will be more beneficial to those students that need to see things in order to learn. Visual literacy can be found all over a classroom.

http://k-8visual.info/

Week 7 "Digital Story Telling"

This is where Blog check two begins:

Digital story telling is a tool that can be used in various ways. I thought that making a digital story would be something that would take a lot of time but with GoAnimate I was able to make a story very easily and didn't take that much time. You can create a digital story with still pictures, animated or even video. I also found it fun that I could add music to the video that I created.

Digital story telling is a very interesting tool that I would be able to use inside my classroom. As a teacher I will be able to let the kids be creative and see what they can create on their own. It will love the students to show their perspective on a specific topic. This will be something that I will incorporate into my lesson plans depending on what we are discussing during that time.

http://www.techlearning.com/article/8030

I found this website to be very helpful! It is an article that was created by an educator and really laid everything out for the reader. It will be a tool that will help digital story telling to become a success.