Movie Maker Assignment

Movie Maker is another one of the many programs that I have had some previous experience with. I have never had to narrate a video before, so that is a first, but hopefully it will work alright. It took me awhile to get it working on my computer, so we'll just have to see. Anyway, I think this assignment was probably the most fun. We have told our life stories many times, but we don't often get to do it in this way, and this leaves a lot of room for individuality and creativity. I don't always feel like I possess a great deal of creativity, but something like this has endless possibilities, and even someone like me can feel good about what they have created. I can definitely imagine using this in the classroom, especially after taking CIR 411 last semester. We did a project using the FLIP digital cameras that was basically a digital story. We transferred the video to moviemaker and we were free to do what we wanted with it. Movie Maker is fairly simple to use, so I feel that even younger students would be able to do it with little instruction, and I think they would enjoy this much better than simply writing a story with pen and paper. Students are more creative than we give them credit for, so this is a great way to bring that out.
This assignment address many of the NETS-T standards including all of standard one, which is facilitation and inspiring student learning and creativity. It also addresses all of standard number 2, which is designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments, and number 3, which is modeling digital age work and learning. This particular program has an endless number of uses both for students and teachers in the classroom and can be adapted to technologically enhance almost any lesson.

IT 365 Class overview

Before I started this class, I really had no idea what to expect from it. I really had no clue. I was definitely hoping for an easy class that I could just breeze through, but it did not turn out to be that at all. Not that I regret it now, even though it was really tough with four other summer classes, because it turns out that I actually learned some things that I can use when I am a teacher. Some of what we did, like blogger, google groups, rubistar, moviemaker and Inspiration, I had done before, but this class really gave me more practice that I found very valuable. We also did more with each of these than what I had done before, and it was probably easier for me since I was building on knowledge that I already had. I am not the kind of person who can use something once and then remember it forever, so by working with some of these things again, I was able to solidify my knowledge to a point where I do really think I will be able to find ways to use these in my class. Of course I still have more to learn about some of these, especially inspiration, and blogger too. On blogger, I still don't know how to attach a document. I feel like there must be a way, but I have yet to figure it out. And with Inspiration, there is simply so much you can do with it that using it over and over and playing with it would be the only way to learn it all. Fortunately, from the experiences I have had so far, I feel less intimidated to go in and figure it out.
While there were a lot of things I had done before, there were several things I hadn't either. I had never designed a web page before, and maybe that is why it was so difficult for me. I still don't feel confident about my ability to do it, and I kind of don't want to try again because it was so frustrating. I had also never used quizstar, trackstar, or the puzzle making site, or Turnitin. These things were new, but not particularly difficult, so I intend to take it upon myself to learn a little more about these and get more used to using them in the future.
Upon entering the class, I feel like my strongest area was my ability to figure things out quickly. I have had a great deal of experience browsing web pages, so I usually know where to look to find what I need. Also, as mentioned before, I had previous experience using many of the programs we used in class, so I consider that a strenght as well. As far as my weaknesses, I would say my overall lack of confidences using technology would be the biggest. When I haven't done something before, I feel like the task is too daunting to accomplish. I can learn quickly with most things, but I know I have limitations and that always made me feel a little nervous.
In the future I definitely plan to use technology in my classroom. I can really see myself using blogger with my students the way we are using it now. Self-reflection and expression is important, and I think this is a great way to accomplish that. I could also see myself using the concept mapping software in my classroom, because I know for a fact that many children enjoy doing these, and it provides them with an outlet for creativity as well. I also plan to use things that were not discussed in our class, such as the SMARTboards so students can interact, and maybe some digital video camera for digital storytelling. And most important of all, I plan to keep myself educated on the latest technologies so hopefully my students will never be shortchanged on technology.

Turnitin Plagiarism Assignment

I don't want to say this assignment was fun by any means, but it was nice to learn about a tool that I as a teacher can use with my future students to detect possible plagiarism. I am not a fan of writing reports, but I understand that the main purpose of the assignment overall was for us to see how this site detects plagiarism. I must say this program is effective. The first document we submitted was completely plagiarized, and turnitin caught all of it and labeled it as 100% plagiarized. The second document we were to type in our own words. I was very careful to word everything differently than the sources that I used, and my second paper came back still at 16% plagiarized. Of course the goal was to be under 25%, so I did well with that. I did notice that part of the percentage that was being counted as plagiarized were phrases and words that my other classmates used. So, while I obviously didn't copy someone else's paper, Turnitin would catch situations where more than one student turn in the same paper. It's a great way to make sure everyone is doing their own work. My only concern is that Turnitin catches everything. A person could unknowingly say something in their paper that is stated in an online source that they didnt' even look at, and it would be counted as plagiarism. I guess I would just hope that teachers who use this are careful in punishing or failing a student who gets a plagiarism percentage that is a little higher than usual. I would definitely investigate, but I wouldn't immediately give a bad grade.
I feel that the standard this assignment best meets is 4c, which is to promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information. Basically, I feel that it is important to let students know that it is not ok for them to steal another author's work, and that there are correct ways to borrow information.

Here is a link to my documents:
http://turnitin.com/paper_frameset.asp?r=57.6925198870029&svr=2&lang=en_us&oid=10164965

Assistive Technologies

Ok, so this assignment was also a little weird for me. It wasn't difficult by any means, but I don't feel like it was really very relevant to using assistive technologies. There were some mentions of certain technologies in the reading passages, but I feel like this assignment would have been better if we had read scenarios about students, and then decided what type of assistive technology we might use for that students. Fortunately for me, I have taken SPE 430 which does have us doing an assignment very similar to what I mentioned, so I have the knowledge about assistive technology to help me in the future, but my concern for the rest of the class who are not dual majors, and who will not take that class, is that they will still really not know what to use for their students with special needs in the future. I just feel like the opportunity was there to really go into assistive technology, but it wasn't taken advantage of. With all that said, I did enjoy the fact that this assignment got us thinking about what things can be done in a classroom to acommodate diverse learners, and also how more than one teacher can collaborate to make a very well-round lesson that can include everyone fully.
The standards that I feel this assignment does meet is 2c, customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles and needs, and 4b, addressing the diverse needs of students by using learner centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.

Google Groups Assignment

Of all the assignments we have had, this one was probably my favorite. There several features that the group offers such as discussions, file sharing, and the ability to create pages. I feel like this is something I would be most likely to actually use with my students, at least about third grade or so, because posting discussions as a teacher and having students respond is a great way to gain and track participation for every students. It could even be used for the parents. The teacher can post discussions about what is happening in class, and parents can be encouraged to respond with their thoughts, and maybe add some ideas of their own. With the ability to upload files onto the group, it would also be a great way to send communication to parents and students, such as a class newsletter or a calendar of events. Teachers can also share resources that they would like for their students or parents to see or use by creating a page. Or, teachers can allow students to create a page within the group that is their own, and they can show their creativity this way.
Once again, I feel that this assignment does well with covering most of the NETS-T standards. It certainly facilitates and inspires student learning and creativity due to all the possible uses, it is definitely a way to create a technology enriched learning environment, and it is a wonderful medium to collaborate with student, parents, and peers. I feel that all the assignments in this class engage us in professional growth and leadership because we are learning new ways to incorporate technology into our classrooms. That is the main purpose of the course, so it should go without saying from here on out that we are growing professionally from these assignments.

Web Tools Assignment

For the web tools assignment, we were required to use Rubistar to create a rubric, quizstar to create a quiz, Trackstar to create a list of websites, and puzzle.apte.com to create a puzzle. The only one of these I had ever used before was Rubistar, and of all the sites, that one is still my favorite. It is really an amazing tool that can produce a perfect rubric in minutes flat, and for a teacher who is short on time, it is priceless. I still can't give an opinion on quizstar, because I was never able to use it. The site requires you to confirm your membership via e-mail, however, if you never recieve the e-mail, you will never be able to sign on. That was my issue, so I ended up using a website called ClassMarker.com. This site allows you to make online quizzes with multiple choice, short answer or fill in the blank questions. It seems to be the same as quizstar in most ways, so I think this would definitely be an acceptable choice for teachers to use when making quizzes. This site will allow you to adjust settings to where students get immediate feedback, or they find out at the end. You can let them try multiple times, or one time only. Trackstar seemed a little wierd to me. I don't fully understand what it's purpose is or how I am supposed to use it, but I guess if you want students to do a research project and you want to pre-select the websites, this would be good for that. I did like the puzzle making program. You can make crossword puzzles, word searches, and others. I think it is great for giving students something fun to do that is relevant to what you have been teaching.
I feel that this assignment do a pretty good job of addressing most all the NETS-T standards. It definitely covers any standard about digital age learning and assessments, and I think parts of it promote creative and innovating thinking, especially the puzzle making. By having us explore and use these tools, we are actively engaging in professional growth and leadership as well.

Concept Map Assignment

The first actual assignment we have had for this class is the concept map. We used the program Inspiration, which I have used before, but not to the point that I am familiar with all of the features. I personally felt a little intimidated by the assignment since I am not well versed in the use of this mapping software, but I did manage to pull it together. I still feel like I could improve my skills, and looking back now at the concept map that I created, I wish I could find a way to make it look more streamlined and less cluttered. My style is definitely neat and organized, and I feel like my product, while meeting the assignment requirements, looks a little sloppy and chaotic. I did learn a little about this software from doing the assignment, but I know I still have a great deal more that I need to learn, and I hope that I will be motivated to try and figure it out on my own, or seek out online tutorials to better myself.
Overall, I feel the assignment was valuable and relevant to the purpose of this class. I feel that it addresses many of the NETS-T standards because concept mapping definitely promotes creative and innovative thinking, and a teacher who knows how to model using this software is an asset to her students. I also feel that the assignment has helped me to customize and personalize learning activities to address diverse learning styles.