Course Reflection

This is my final reflection. I have truly enjoyed learning how to incorporate technology in the classroom. I have learned so many new and useful tools to make learning exciting and more interesting for students. I never knew there were so many ways to integrate technology across the curriculum. I never thought of taking an online technology class, I have always had technology courses inside the classroom. This was a unique learning experience for me and I enjoyed having this class as a online class.

Reflection Assignment
In taking this online class, I have really increased my knowledge of technology. When I first began this class I did not know what to expect but I was comfortable because I felt as if I knew enough to manage the required assignments. Once the course began and assignments were approaching I learned that I did not know half as much as I thought I knew. I work in the computer lab everyday so to be honest I was kind of shame. As time went by I began to learn new and exciting things that I could implement within my classroom. Now I am not shame anymore but more so ready for school to start so that I can show off all the new tools I learned how to use through this course.
As I reflect back over this semester, I realized that my strong points were time management, and determination. In order to meet deadlines for this class as well as any other online class you have to be a well organized person. I learned that the assignments really required time to complete therefore time management became one of my strong points. Although there were technical difficulties that slowed me down a couple of time I always made sure I had enough time to complete the assignment on time. I also learned that determination was one of my strong points especially in this class because there were times when I could not figure out how to do some of the small things and it became very aggravating but I was determine to overcome and defeat the problems I experienced. It’s funny because after figuring out the problem they were all very simple things. As far as the assignments my strong points were displayed when I completed the turnitin assignment. I love to write because I have learned how to take an idea and just write how you feel about it. Although the internet is full of tools to assist you with what you write, its best to write how you feel other than how someone else felt. Completing the turninit assignment clarified my strong points in writing. I realized that I had a weakness was in using inspiration. I really did not like that assignment because I had the most trouble in it. I learned that inspiration can be used in many ways so therefore I plan to increase my knowledge in this area in order to use this tool in my classroom. Most interaction between my peers and I were through email and discussion board. I love these two tools because it is a quick and easy way to communicate with your peers especially when you need assistance. I enjoyed the blog but I did not communicate much with my peers in this manner.
In conclusion I must say that I really enjoyed this online class, there were a lot of useful material provided through assignments and the textbook that will truly make me a better teacher. I am also glad I had the opportunity to learn new tools because technology is growing rapidly and in order to provide students with the necessary tools to be productive in their lives we as teachers have to stay up to date on new and changing information.

Assistive Technology Assignment

I was truly amazed at the different tools that are available to accommodate all students. This was my first time actually using the help and support option on my computer. I think that this is great because it gives you options for all your students who need assistance. I will surely try this tools this school year with my students. Completing this assignment was fairly easy, the only thing I disliked was that I could not get my text large enough on some of my print screen slides. I really enjoyed this assignment.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B4Pdj3GpCD7aZThlYTFmYTItMjJhNC00ODY1LTlhOGEtZTE5YmMzMTVjM2Uz&hl=en&authkey=CIeX0-0B

Teacher Website

I enjoyed creating my teacher website. It took me a while to get my sidebar formatted correctly but I managed to work it out. I think that having a teacher website is very important because it helps to keep parents and guardians informed on what is happening with their child. Often times students forget to share information with their parent or guardian so this gives them the opportunity to stay up to date.
http://sites.google.com/site/mrsmcnairs2ndgradeclass/

TurnItIn

I really enjoyed seeing how this website works. The first paper was very easy I ended up with 96%. Revising the information was not as bad as I thought it would be although I was very unsure of what my percent was going to be. I managed to get 0%, in which I was shocked because I was expecting to have to revise it again. I think this is a good tool to use because it gives you an opportunity to check your work to make sure you don't plagiarize. Often times we don't pay attention to what we are typing because we already have our thoughts set in our minds. This is a great tool that I will use again in the future.

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1fk_YHbT8M9tzP5WhnG-SfpDWv16VJ5IoJrVbIOMf9so&authkey=CPP1z5oG&hl=en##

Web Tools

Using the web tools was great, I enjoyed making the rubric and the test using these tools. I think they are very useful when it comes down to needing these things especially knowing how busy teachers are. These tools would definately take away some of the time used to create these in a different manner. This assignment was rather easy and I did not encounter any major problems.

Rubric:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoPdj3GpCD7adC1kM1kwRmphMTNnR2luWUg5Rl9sdWc&authkey=CKiP5ZIM&hl=en#gid=0

Test:
mhtml:https://doc-0s-10-docs.googleusercontent.com/docs/secure/r825nca20s1d90j30ndsajicqrsa601g/4uuads9r7v2bo0nio6k6rg2ogg4spcbs/1280448000000/07330340141391460289/07330340141391460289/0B4Pdj3GpCD7aMDhiMmY5MmMtZDQ0Zi00NTc0LTk3MTYtYWI0YzZlNmE3NzAx?authkey=CPK39rwB&nonce=vp88jek3ntnqc&user=07330340141391460289&hash=npqd9j97agn0l27tefia7ipf0ujl548a

Bookmark:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B4Pdj3GpCD7aMzBhYzM0ZmMtNGU1MS00Mzk2LTg0ODUtMWMxNjY3Y2RjOGVm&hl=en&authkey=CL6oyLYI

Google Group Assignment

I truly enjoyed the group assignment, online group assignments can be difficult. I must say that I had the most supportive group members who were willing and ready to get the job done. It started off kind of rocky because I had trouble finding the group. My group members and I managed to get things worked out and the assignment completed and turned in ontime. I must say it is great when you have members on your team who actually care. Thanks a bunch Rhonda and Christian! I learned a lot in doing this assignment and plan on using it in the future.


http://groups.google.com/group/it465google/topics

Group Email
mailto:it465google@googlegroups.com

My Movie

I really enjoyed this assignment, it was fun telling a story about pictures. The only problem I encountered was towards the end when I could not seem to keep the music from drowning out my voice. I managed to get it to work although my voice sounds rather low. If anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this problem please let me know. I would love to use this in my classroom as a project for students. At the end of each year we sell dvds that contain pictures of all the events that occurred. I think it would be a great idea to narrate the dvd to make it more interesting. This was a great assignment.