Unit III Reflection - Productivity Tools

Before this class, I had little experience with Excel. I have used Excel in several simple applications, but generally use Microsoft Word when creating a simple table. I was aware of how to use Excel to create tables, but I had no idea how to use formulas and calculations in an Excel spreadsheet. 

I think it is very important to introduce students to productivity software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint early. Students are expected to be proficient with these programs now with no formal training, so it is important for us as their regular classroom teachers to expose students to these programs in various applications.

I found a site online from the Sabine Parish School System in Louisiana that lists several resources for teachers using Microsoft Excel at different grade levels. Among the many useful websites listed was this website from the Franklin Institute detailing some different ways to integrate Excel into the classroom. According to the Franklin Institute, "the instant creation of graphs and charts from spreadsheets in various styles reduces the tedium of drawing and coloring and lets us get right to the exercise of selecting, interpreting and querying data". Although I think it's necessary for students to learn to graph by hand, it is helpful for them to learn how to apply these mathematical concepts on paper as well as using software.

Another of the ideas I found on the Sabine Parish School System website was a lesson plan using a virtual lemonade stand. The children collect all the data needed to sell their lemonade and then plug it into excel. This idea would be cool to use for a class fundraiser. The students could organize a bake sale and use excel to track all their expenses and profits.

The use of software in the classroom results in basically endless possibilities and is now not only a way to add fun and variety to the classroom but is necessary to prepare students for the real world.

Unit II Reflection - Blogs as an Educational Asset

I am very excited to have learned in this unit about blogging and some of the things I can do with blogging in the classroom. As I mentioned in my discussion post this week, I have tons of ideas for technology in my classroom.

I plan to use blogs to communicate with parents and other educators. I hope to use e-mail for important things such as newsletters, calendars, and updates. This will reserve my blog for fun things we are doing in the classroom. I hope to include lots and lots of pictures, and update at least weekly.

Depending on the technology available in my school and the age/grade level of my students, I want to use blogging as a weekly supplement to daily journal entries. This will introduce students to some of the technology available to them on the internet, and will make their musings available 24/7 to parents. If given the opportunity to post to the blog once weekly, each student would have approximately 50 blog posts by the end of the year.

As I learn more and more about education and accumulate good ideas, I hope to start a blog to share ideas with other teachers. This is not necessarily directly related to my classroom, but if there is any chance it could have a positive effect on other teachers' classrooms, I feel it's worthwhile. I love to read teachers' blogs and actually have a board on Pinterest dedicated to great teaching/classroom blogs!

The more I learn about new and different things I will be able to incorporate into my classroom, the more excited I get about teaching. I can't wait to start using my new knowledge of technology to improve my classroom.

Unit I Reflection - Technology in the Classroom

Technology is more important now than ever before. It's a huge part of the everyday lives of not only adults, but also children. It is my goal to provide an environment where technology can be used as a learning tool rather than a distraction. Technology can be used in so many awesome ways in the classroom and I want to learn more about that in this course.

Although I consider myself technologically savvy, but I do need guidance in the are of classroom technology. I can't wait to help students use technology to demonstrate ideas, graph data, or research topics. I hope to come away from this class with a better understanding of classroom technology and what I can do with it.