Prezi Presentation Assessment (Nets T-2)

This quick questionaire was created through Google Forms as a way to get feed back from classmates after I presented my Prezi to them. It is a really useful tool because you get all of the feedback sent to you in an organized Excel format. You can even choose to share the information with others which makes collaboration on assignments much easier.

Journal # 5 : Twitter for Learning, 55 Great Articles (Nets-5)

Hopkins, D. (2009, May 9). Twitter tips: for teachers & educators [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/twitter/twitter-tips-for-teachers-educators-2/

This article gave many helpful tips that will help anyone that plans on using twitter. You first need to work out what you want to get out of twitter. Without a purpose twitter will be confusing and useless. You also need to find and follow people that have the same interests. That is one of the reasons it’s important to put relevant and interesting information on your profile so that you find like minded people. When you pass on information it’s important to re-tweet so that you give credit to the originator. It will also be helpful to use a URL shortening service so that you don’t use too many of your 140 available characters. A good way to find good contacts is by looking at the people that follow someone you are already following. Also don’t be afraid to block people you feel won’t be helpful to your purpose on twitter. Another helpful tool twitter offers is Hashtags, they are great for getting people together for a specific topic. If you use twitter to tweet about yourself and you don’t send valuable information to your followers you will quickly lose your network of people. Twitter has the capabilities to enhance your classrooms experience and add value to the contents of your teaching. Twitter allows you to follow people throughout the world which will help you get different ideas and techniques in teaching.
Q 1. What was the most useful tip from this article?
A. I think the most useful tip was to establish a purpose for using twitter. You need to know what you want to get out of it in order for it to have a purpose. I think it might be a good idea to create separate accounts for your professional and social life.
Q 2. How do you think you can use twitter to benefit your classroom?
A. I think I will use twitter to follow other educators so that I can get useful information I can incorporate in my lesson plans and assignments. By following other teachers the tips they offer can be instrumental in becoming a more effective teacher. I think I can also use it with my students by creating a Hashtag so that we can all communicate through twitter.

Nets-S Presentation Assignmnet (Nets-2)

I used a presenation tool called Prezi for this assignment. The Prezi tool helped me organize my description of teaching indicators for grades 9-12. This tool was fun to work with because it is much different than other presentation tools such as Power Point and Google Present. Once my Prezi was complete I presented it to several classmates which later gave me great feed back.

Journal #4:Computing in the Clouds (NETS-T 5)

Johnson, D. (2009). Computing in the clouds. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://iste.org

This article was about all the benefits that come with using the cloud. The cloud is basically tools on the Internet that let you store your information there instead of on your hard drive. If schools start using these tools they can save a lot of money by not having to purchase expensive programs. Working on the cloud allows you to do many of the same things you could do on other programs but it is free. Another benefit is that you can access your work from any computer that has Internet access. It is much more efficient because you don’t have to carry a flash drive or a laptop. On the cloud you can also have work that co-workers or students can all access and work on together which makes it much more efficient than other programs that you need to purchase. There are some concerns about the clouds security and privacy but from what is known it is secure and private. There are a few things that you cant do on the cloud but for the purpose of school it is more efficient that what is being used now and it will save schools lots of money.
Q 1. How long will it be before most schools start implementing this technology?
A. I think in the near future you will see school adopt these tools. They are cheaper and more efficient; it’s just a matter of training teachers to use them so they can implement it into the classroom.
Q 2. Who will benefit most from this technology in schools?
A. I think everyone will benefit; teachers, students, and administrations. The teacher and students will learn to use tools they can use in the future and the school will be saving lots of money they can hopefully invest elsewhere to improve the overall quality of education.

Test Survey (Nets-3)

Journal #3 - Bring the World into Your Classroom (Nets-T 1)

McDermon, L. (2010). Bring the world into your classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved from http://iste.org

This article was about the advantages of video-conferencing. Some schools around the country from K-12 are using this technology to do interactive projects with students across the country and in some instances across the world. Video-conferencing also allows classes to take a field trip without leaving the class. It is a much cheaper alternative that allows for more class time while at the same time getting valuable information. For example, the class can have a presentation from an expert such as a scientist or a historian from a museum or university. Some teachers have started programs that allow classrooms from all over the world share what they have been reading which makes the presentation more exciting for the students. With the technology available today there are several different ways you can set up your video-conferencing. This technology now available allows students to learn how to collaborate and share information with others. These are essential skills they will need to be successful in the future.

Q.1 How could I use this technology in my future classroom?

A. I think this tool could be really helpful in a history class. You can collaborate with a teacher in another country and both work on the same project and then share with one another. The students can see how one historical event can have several different perspectives and how people in different countries view things.

Q.2 How expensive would it be to get access to this technology?

A. I don’t know exactly how much it would cost but I know it is quite affordable. It is realistic to think that the school budget can afford to provide these tools and if not I think as a teacher I would spend the money necessary to have this technology in my classroom.