imovie

Final Reflection

My experience with TPTE 486 was a combination of things. It was informational, fun, and engaging. I learned so many things about integrating technology into a curriculum that I would have not known without the guidance of this course. I loved our exploration of the Web 2.0 resources. I will absolutely utilize those resources in my future classroom, thus it was my favorite part of the course. I also enjoyed studying digital images and internet basics. I was under the impression that the little information that I did know was all there was to understand about the web, and I was so very wrong. Understanding technological concepts in more detail will allow me to be a more effective instructor in the classroom. I also found this course challenging and, to be honest, a little bit frustrating. As I mentioned in my introduction, I am not the most technologically savvy person alive. TPTE challenged me to dive into technology head first in order to gain a better understanding of its uses. In most cases,  as I worked with the various TPTE assignments I was able to figure out how to use them and fix my problems by myself. I never thought that I would be able to do that! Conclusively, TPTE introduced me to a world of technology that I would have never explored on my own. I am grateful for my experiences in this course as they changed my attitudes towards technology in the classroom.

iMovie

iMovie was so much fun to use! I'll admit, I was quite intimidated when we were first introduced with the storyboard assignment. Once I started creating my digital storyboard, I realized how user friendly iMovie is.  If users have the pictures and/or music that they would like to incorporate, an iMovie can be created with easy in a matter of minutes. Of course, mine took much longer as it was my first time utilizing the tool, but I quickly became familiar with the tool and was well on my way to movie creation! I love that there are options for voice-overs too! The editing tool and personalization options for iMovie are seemingly endless. I think this is a tool that I will definitely use in the future for various personal and professional projects.

Animoto

I really enjoyed the presentation on Animoto. This is a great resource for personal and classroom use. It seemed very easy to use- a thirty second presentation of photos was completely free. I like that, if you choose, you can join Animoto and pay a fee to obtain different video styles and to extend your video length (I believe you mentioned that this might be free for teachers or with 'edu' addresses which would be wonderful!). I also really liked that website offers personalization of your videos by providing users with video a bunch of backgrounds and music selections. Teachers could use this in the classroom to introduce new content, make a field trip slide show, create an introductory video for the beginning of the year, or to provide students with a resource for 'about me' projects. This would be a fun way for students to introduce themselves and give the class a little show and tell about this likes, families, etc. I will definitely consider using this tool in the classroom.

Spreadsheet

As mentioned in my previous blog, I really like the idea of utilizing Spreadsheets in the classroom. It allows teachers to make interactive quizzes according to their liking that provide students with immediate feedback on responses. The step-by-step sheet provided made creating the actual spreadsheet surprisingly simple. However, I ran into a few problems getting used to the formatting today while finishing up, but I am confident that if were to play around with the tool I would get the hang of it. I think that I will definitely use spreadsheets in my future classrooms.

Google Forms and Spreadsheets

I didn't know about Google forms before Tuesday's class, and I am so glad that it was presented to us! It was really easy to use and, as teachers, it is definitely a practical tool for the classroom. I could see myself using Google forms for quizzes or tests, to gauge my students interests, or to take class polls on preferred activities, field trips, or lunch choices. This is a great tool for teachers to utilize to get to know their students. I had been introduced to spreadsheets before, but I really enjoyed working on our projects last class. The step-by-step instruction allowed me to work through the spread sheet process with ease. I really like that their are templates available that users have made for public use. I will definitely use spread sheets in my adult like for budgeting, etc. and could see practical application in the classroom as well. Like our projects show, teachers can easily create quizzes and tests to their liking that are interactive and provide immediate feedback to students.

Wordle and Tagxido

Shannon and I presented on Wordle last Thursday. It is a tool that I really like and I think that the presentation went well. Wordle is very easy to use and it does not require users to sign up in anyway. The following are a few practical uses in the classroom: about me projects, presentations of new ideas, fun ways to convey material, spelling or vocabulary words, classroom rules, etc. It grants users the opportunity to choose a text and instantly create a 'word cloud' that can be customized by font, orientation, color, and size according to the creator's liking. Tagxido is VERY similar to Wordle-- I honestly liked it a little bit more. Its based around the same idea. Users type in text or URL's for websites, blogs, twitter, etc. and a word cloud is created. The same customization is available to users. The big difference in these web resources is that Tagxido's word clouds can be shaped like animals, cartoons, objects, or even faces. I will definitely use these resource in my own classroom. I believe that it is very important to present information to students in fun and creative ways in order to grab their attention and keep them engaged. Utilizing these tools in the classroom will do just that!