Website Evaluation

I evaluated a website with Jennifer Graves in class on a child's concept of weather. The website was a FEMA website and it told kids about what to do in bad weather, different types of weather, and it gave weather games that they could play on the website. The website was very colorful and very inviting to kids. I think that they would spend alot of time on the website and they would really enjoy learning about the different types of weather. I really like how there is a website out there to teach kids about bad weather. Most kids think that bad weather is an excuse to get out of school and this will let them know exactly what is going on while they are out of school.

MovieMaker Project

We are starting the MovieMaker project this week. I am really excited to start this project. I missed class on the first day we discussed the topic because my sister was having her second child. I am going to do my movie on my new nephew and I am really excited about that. I guess I will see how it goes when I am actually working with the software

TURNITIN Assignment

The TURNITIN assignment was pretty cool. I had no idea there was something like that here on campus. I would have really liked to use it for some of my basic classes here such as ENG 102 and GHY 101. I had to write papers in there and I think it is a great tool to see if you wrote the paper legibly. I also think the TURNITIN software is great for teachers to allow their students to submit papers to see if they have plagarized or for the student to submit the paper and then the teacher go back and see if they plagarized.

Assistive Technologies

I like how we were able to work on this together in class. I am taking a special ed class this semester and most of the stuff we do in there is also working in groups. I am so excited that there is so much technology out there for students with disabilities. In our group,we focused on graphic organizers to help a child named Oscar. He was a student with a visual impairment and we thought that he would benefit from graphic organizers because it offers him images instead og text to study. He also had trouble reading small text so we said that offering him what words he would need would be in large text. The other tool we used was WebQuest. Webquest is helpful because it gives the child directions in the website. One of the major problems with the Internet is that there is so much information and it is often difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. Webquest eliminates confusion and lets you find the information in a timely and concise manner. In my own experience, my grandfather has demacular degeneration (I think thats the name of it). Anyway, he cannot see anything and by using ZoomText he is able to make the screen really big so that he can use a computer. Its amazing and I am so happy that they have stuff so that our disabled students can participate in the classroom.

Website Project

I really enjoyed the Website project. I had some problems with it like when I went to add images it would not take up the whole page like I wanted it to and I could not understand the Extra stuff page. I wanted to add a calendar and a countdown clock to summer vacation but I couldn't figure it out so I put a link to a Google calendar. I think the Website is a great tool though for future students and is a great resource for parents to get information on what is going on in classroom.

I am including a link to my website now. I hope that you really enjoy looking at and I think that it will be a great tool for the future. Thanks so much for introducing us to some useful tools in the classroom: http://sites.google.com/site/courtneysit365classproject/

Google Groups

We did not have a good experience with Google Groups. Some of our group members did not participate until after we got our grade back and we are now getting individual grades. I do like some things we found on Google such as the calendars, Google Earth, and Google Documents. These seem very helpful in the classroom and outside of the classroom. In the end, everyone came together mostly and worked on getting the Google Groups done. This is why I do not like to work in groups because other people are not dependable and I know in the work force I will have to work with others, but I am glad that in the end we were able to get individual grades :)

Here is a link to our Google Groups: http://groups.google.com/group/it-365-group-2?hl=en

Google Assignment and Web Pages

I am starting to get the hang of the Google assignment. My group created a grade book on Google Docs plus a calendar. I can see where both of these tools can be very helpful in the classroom. The spreadsheet is a great tool for teachers wanting to keep track of students grades easily. The calendar is good to share with other teachers so that they may not schedule a test or presentation the same day you do.
Web Pages: Well we start today and I hate to admit but I am kinda lost. I do not understand computers but I dont think that many of us have created Web Pages before so maybe I am not the only one. I look forward to learning about it and possibly making one for my actual classroom in the future. I guess I will see how I do the next few class meetings

Google Assignment

The Google assignment seems neat. I dont really understand what we are doing yet.... I liked looking at different applications on Google. I found some neat stuff such as Google Earth where you can find your house.

Web Tools Assignment

I enjoyed doing the Web tools assignment. I focused on the subject of Science as I did the same with my concept. My endorsement is in Science because I changed my major and I already had so many science classes. I think it is interesting though and we can do so so much with the subject of Science. I liked the Quiz Star and TrackStar. Rubistar did not seem challenging enough. Trackstar seems really helpful for students who need resources or teachers who need resources on websites that students would enjoy looking at. Some of the websites I found gave great ideas for science projects and some even told some that failed for other students. Quiz star seems to be a very helpful tool for making quizzes quick and smoothly. The questions I made seemed pretty easy and I think its a great tool to make quizzes very quickly on the computer. I like how it printed off the blank sheets for the students and also printed off a key for the teachers to correct the quizzes :)

Concept Map Assignment

The concept map was very interesting. I think it will help students in the classroom to better learn the materials used in class. I see a concept map as a means of a study guide for the students. It seems to be a great way to organize the materials into a way that can be studied efficiently. I also think it can be used as a great tool for a teacher because it will keep them organized and can give them guidelines as to what to teach their students. I can't really say that I disliked much about the concept map assignment. If anything, it would probably be the web links attached to the assignment. The student would only see the web links online and to me seems to not serve a purpose for the student outside of the classroom.

Inspiration Assignment

I had a good experience with Inspiration today. I finished my concept map. I did it on the skeletal system. I hope I did it right. I had trouble with the text links and the notes. I did not know what I should put. I tried to make it as kind friendly as possible so many of my text links and notes are funny sayings. Hopefully I did the right thing!

First experiences with Inspiration

I liked Inspiration. It seems like alot of fun changing all the colors and pictures. I hope I will be able to do it by myself for our assignment

First thoughts of IT 365

To be completely honest, I was a little scared of this class and I still am to some point. I studied for two weeks to pass the BTLE. My first experiences in the class though seem promising. I like how the teacher is taking time out to help the students and understands that we may not all know very much about technology. :) . I will admit that I do not know all that much but I am excited for this semester and look forward to learning more about technology. I hope yall all have a great semester.