Monday, March 26, 2007
Blog # 9
I thought the midterm was appropriately challenging. I had to really think about question number one because I had not reviewed the extensions before the test. I know I lost a little bit of time on this question but, I think I got remembered them all. Adjusting the document margins was easy for me, as was inserting a header and using WordArt. The ISTE search was a little tricky because when I searched for an article with the word ‘ethics’ in the title, the first two results did not look like journal articles to me. The first two results either did not have an author or did not have a journal issue listed. So, I did not know if # 2 was a trick question or not….not that Erika would do that to us . I decided to go with the third article listed because it showed both a journal issue and an author…I hope that was right! Question # 3 on Excel took me a few minutes until I realized I had to compute the numbers into percentages of the total number of students before I could make an accurate pie chart. The questions about average and sum formulas were fairly easy to me because I reviewed them beforehand. The use of Clipart and wrapping text around a picture was also fairly easy. However, I did not know how to wrap text before we did the Newsletter. Question # 7 on Inspiration got me! I had my Inspiration diagram all done but, because I still do not know how to do a screen shot I lost the notes part of the diagram when I copied and pasted it into my midterm! I can’t believe I forgot to learn how to do a screen shot! It is such a simple thing and since I am not a Mac user, I forgot all about it! I also thought the question about PowerPoint was fairly easy. I am familiar with PowerPoint and I actually remembered the lecture on PowerPoint, so coming up with three things to consider when making a PowerPoint presentation came pretty easily. All in all, I think I did pretty well, but not without effort.
I thought the midterm was appropriately challenging. I had to really think about question number one because I had not reviewed the extensions before the test. I know I lost a little bit of time on this question but, I think I got remembered them all. Adjusting the document margins was easy for me, as was inserting a header and using WordArt. The ISTE search was a little tricky because when I searched for an article with the word ‘ethics’ in the title, the first two results did not look like journal articles to me. The first two results either did not have an author or did not have a journal issue listed. So, I did not know if # 2 was a trick question or not….not that Erika would do that to us . I decided to go with the third article listed because it showed both a journal issue and an author…I hope that was right! Question # 3 on Excel took me a few minutes until I realized I had to compute the numbers into percentages of the total number of students before I could make an accurate pie chart. The questions about average and sum formulas were fairly easy to me because I reviewed them beforehand. The use of Clipart and wrapping text around a picture was also fairly easy. However, I did not know how to wrap text before we did the Newsletter. Question # 7 on Inspiration got me! I had my Inspiration diagram all done but, because I still do not know how to do a screen shot I lost the notes part of the diagram when I copied and pasted it into my midterm! I can’t believe I forgot to learn how to do a screen shot! It is such a simple thing and since I am not a Mac user, I forgot all about it! I also thought the question about PowerPoint was fairly easy. I am familiar with PowerPoint and I actually remembered the lecture on PowerPoint, so coming up with three things to consider when making a PowerPoint presentation came pretty easily. All in all, I think I did pretty well, but not without effort.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Blog # 8
Hello Class,
When I saw we had an assignment on Excel I was far from excited. I used to be terrified of Excel! I thought it was so complicated with all its formulas and split cell commands….Since I began working at my current job, I have been forced to become somewhat familiar with Excel. However, I was still not comfortable with it. After reviewing the Excel tutorial and taking the quiz I realized I was as bad at Excel as I thought and that it is actually a great tool to have knowledge of. With the assignment I played around with Excel formulas and charts and realized once you know the basics, Excel is a necessary tool…especially for teachers! Needless to say, I learned a great deal about Excel with this most recent lesson and I think that from a teacher’s standpoint working knowledge of Excel is mandatory!
With the software evaluation, I learned a great deal about some of the educational software that is out there. For one, I learned that most of the software is available for parents as well as for teachers. Because I am not planning on becoming a teacher, but I am planning on having children, I found this assignment very interesting. Many of the software I reviewed, like Timez Attack and Starfall’s Reading and Writing Journal, I would buy as a parent. If I had a child at home who was learning to read, I would definitely buy Starfall’s software. This software is easy and fun to use and would be very useful when teaching a child to read.
I also enjoyed the articles on WebQuests. Before class the other day, I had absolutely no idea what a WebQuest or Filamentality was. In the first article, “5 rules for writing a Great WebQuest,” I learned the five important points to consider when creating a WebQuest: find great sites, orchestrate you learners and resources, challenge your learners, use the medium, and scaffold high expectations. The last point I find very important because one of the main things WebQuests allow a teacher to do is help the student along. When working with younger grades or even special education children, the teacher is able to give more help in a WebQuest and less help with older students. I like that with WebQuest, a teacher can tailor a lesson or an assignment to meet different needs. WebQuests are a great way to implement Bloom’s Taxonomy because WebQuests require students to understand the material, not just memorize facts. I also enjoyed the fact that WebQuests mostly include real world problems or controversy. This small dose of reality keeps students aware and involved in the world around them.
When I saw we had an assignment on Excel I was far from excited. I used to be terrified of Excel! I thought it was so complicated with all its formulas and split cell commands….Since I began working at my current job, I have been forced to become somewhat familiar with Excel. However, I was still not comfortable with it. After reviewing the Excel tutorial and taking the quiz I realized I was as bad at Excel as I thought and that it is actually a great tool to have knowledge of. With the assignment I played around with Excel formulas and charts and realized once you know the basics, Excel is a necessary tool…especially for teachers! Needless to say, I learned a great deal about Excel with this most recent lesson and I think that from a teacher’s standpoint working knowledge of Excel is mandatory!
With the software evaluation, I learned a great deal about some of the educational software that is out there. For one, I learned that most of the software is available for parents as well as for teachers. Because I am not planning on becoming a teacher, but I am planning on having children, I found this assignment very interesting. Many of the software I reviewed, like Timez Attack and Starfall’s Reading and Writing Journal, I would buy as a parent. If I had a child at home who was learning to read, I would definitely buy Starfall’s software. This software is easy and fun to use and would be very useful when teaching a child to read.
I also enjoyed the articles on WebQuests. Before class the other day, I had absolutely no idea what a WebQuest or Filamentality was. In the first article, “5 rules for writing a Great WebQuest,” I learned the five important points to consider when creating a WebQuest: find great sites, orchestrate you learners and resources, challenge your learners, use the medium, and scaffold high expectations. The last point I find very important because one of the main things WebQuests allow a teacher to do is help the student along. When working with younger grades or even special education children, the teacher is able to give more help in a WebQuest and less help with older students. I like that with WebQuest, a teacher can tailor a lesson or an assignment to meet different needs. WebQuests are a great way to implement Bloom’s Taxonomy because WebQuests require students to understand the material, not just memorize facts. I also enjoyed the fact that WebQuests mostly include real world problems or controversy. This small dose of reality keeps students aware and involved in the world around them.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Blog # 7
Hello Classmates,
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Excel this week. When I first started using Excel, I found it to be a little intimidating. However, after I learned a little about it, I found Excel to be extremely useful! I thought I was very familiar with Excel because I use it for work frequently, but I definitely learned a few new things from this lesson. From the tutorial, I learned some new formulas. For work, I often use the sum and average formulas so I am very familiar with them, but rarely do I use the percentage and division formulas. Besides the percentage and division formulas, the tutorial included all the formulas I could ever think to use as well as how to create graphs within a spreadsheet. I enjoyed learning about graphs because I think it makes the spreadsheet much more visually appealing. Regarding the Excel quiz at the end of the tutorial however, I felt it was a little bit easier than it could have been. I enjoyed the review and the idea of the quiz, but I felt it could have been a little more challenging. Questions such as, “The Advantage of Using a Spreadsheet is:” and, “The Intersection of a Row and a Column is Called:” could have been replaced with questions about types of formulas and the process for entering in those different formulas.
I think, “Teaching Students to Use the Internet as a Research Tool,” is a great article for teachers. Most students use the web for their research anyway so I think it is very important to teach them how to use it correctly. The article gives many good tips for web users regarding valuable sites. For example, the fact that if you have to pay for the information on a website, that information is probably of value. Also, a good way to find a reliable URL is from an article’s bibliography. For example, if a student is doing a project on asteroids and has access to one good article on asteroids already, a good way to find more credible information is to check that article’s bibliography. The article also discusses using search engines properly. For example, it may be a good idea to use search engines that specialize in one subject and do not search the entire web. One example the article give is ‘Argos.’ ‘Argos,’ specializes in medieval worlds. Also, search engines such as Magellan guarantee not to link the student to pornography or hate groups. The article as gives examples and descriptions of websites designed for teachers such as Teachers.Net and many others. Given the broad use of the internet in education today, I think this article is a must read for teachers!
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Excel this week. When I first started using Excel, I found it to be a little intimidating. However, after I learned a little about it, I found Excel to be extremely useful! I thought I was very familiar with Excel because I use it for work frequently, but I definitely learned a few new things from this lesson. From the tutorial, I learned some new formulas. For work, I often use the sum and average formulas so I am very familiar with them, but rarely do I use the percentage and division formulas. Besides the percentage and division formulas, the tutorial included all the formulas I could ever think to use as well as how to create graphs within a spreadsheet. I enjoyed learning about graphs because I think it makes the spreadsheet much more visually appealing. Regarding the Excel quiz at the end of the tutorial however, I felt it was a little bit easier than it could have been. I enjoyed the review and the idea of the quiz, but I felt it could have been a little more challenging. Questions such as, “The Advantage of Using a Spreadsheet is:” and, “The Intersection of a Row and a Column is Called:” could have been replaced with questions about types of formulas and the process for entering in those different formulas.
I think, “Teaching Students to Use the Internet as a Research Tool,” is a great article for teachers. Most students use the web for their research anyway so I think it is very important to teach them how to use it correctly. The article gives many good tips for web users regarding valuable sites. For example, the fact that if you have to pay for the information on a website, that information is probably of value. Also, a good way to find a reliable URL is from an article’s bibliography. For example, if a student is doing a project on asteroids and has access to one good article on asteroids already, a good way to find more credible information is to check that article’s bibliography. The article also discusses using search engines properly. For example, it may be a good idea to use search engines that specialize in one subject and do not search the entire web. One example the article give is ‘Argos.’ ‘Argos,’ specializes in medieval worlds. Also, search engines such as Magellan guarantee not to link the student to pornography or hate groups. The article as gives examples and descriptions of websites designed for teachers such as Teachers.Net and many others. Given the broad use of the internet in education today, I think this article is a must read for teachers!
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