Post #9

The website I found is called teacher tools and is made by teachers for teachers. It is going through some updating but I really liked what I saw so far. The links include: current news, awards/webrings, message center, submit your stuff!, bulletin boards, curriculum sites, games and puzzles, forms and letters, freebies, lesson plans, software and substitutes. I think that this would be a great tool for any teacher. The website is http://www.teachertools.org/index.html.
Personally I would use the lesson plan link as well as the curriculum and games and puzzles links. These are all very important links to use when teaching and I appreciate that there are websites created by other teachers to make the whole process easier. Teaching is a very noble profession and any way to make it easier is appreciated. I would really like to learn power-point and all of the ins and outs of the program.
I think it would benefit any teacher because it can be used as a teaching tool. You can teach students literally anything and any subject. You can teach mathematics or English or history or science. I can reach my educational goals by practicing using these skills now. The projects I am required to do for this class as well as a few others help me to really learn and understand these programs. I think that the more one is able to practice a skill the easier it is to use the skill. I plan to learn this program and use it to teach my students in a fun way that I know they would learn the information.

Post #8

Chapter 8 focuses on security issues, ethics and emerging technologies in education. In this chapter I learned that people are increasingly forced to rely on computers to create, store, and manage critical information. Because of this it is very important to protect your computer against damage, loss and misuse. Computer security is very important because computers have become an essential part of modern life and for a computer to malfunction would the destruction of many people. An anti-virus protector would be one way to prevent the corruption of a computer and its system.
The programs and technology I plan to use when teaching is power-point and digital photography. I thin k that power-point is a great way to get your idea or point across. I plan to use power-point in my class lectures because it is a great way to incorporate photos, videos as well as just information. I believe that power-point is one of the best teaching tools. Recently I’ve been having problems with the computer my parents bought me for graduating high school, so my dad gave me his older computer to use. The only stipulation was to put on an Anti-virus protector on the computer so that it would not get viruses. I did just that before I connected to any internet, yet as within the first day it started having problems. We have a warranty at Best Buy Geek Squad so I brought it there and they had it sent off and checked out. I was furious, I had just starting using the computer and already it was having problems…that is why sometimes I hate using and relying on technology.

Post #5

In this chapter I learned that curriculum is defined as the knowledge, skills, and performance standards students are expected to acquire in particular grade levels, or through sequences or clusters based on subject matter units of instruction. I also learned that many different countries have departments of education or educational organizations that serve as the governing association for educational regulations and reform. Agencies in the US include the federal Department of Education and each state has its own department of education. I learned that state departments of education are the ones who provide their school districts with policies, directives and updated educational issues.

I really feel that I am able to use PowerPoint efficiently. I like the program and as a teacher I will encourage my students to learn the program and utilize it for assignments. I will make up projects so that my students will be able to acquire skills with this program as well.

This class has taught me a lot about the programs I was already familiar with. I was not as familiar with these programs until I was forced to do practice exams and training programs on SAM3000. I appreciate that I was made to do these assignments because if I hadn’t I wouldn’t be able to do any assignments without a lot of trouble.

Post #4

I learned a lot of interesting terminology from the reading this week. “Interactivity, which is one of the essential features of digital media applications, allows for individualized instruction and exploration, both of which enrich the educational experience.” This chapter also goes over the differences between digital media and multimedia as well as the different uses of digital media applications. Digital Media is defined as those technologies that allow users to create new forms of interaction, expression, communication and entertainment in a digital format.

My new skill this week that will be useful in my educational career would be creating a teacher-student-parent accessible website that students can turn in their homework with. Blackboard for college students is a very useful tool and during the web hunt it was required that we find a site that can be used for students to turn in homework. I would definitely use that site as a teacher.

My dog Mazi turned six months old this week. I really wanted to throw her a puppy party….but it didn’t happen. It would be really cool to find a place that made doggie safe treats and cakes. I would have liked to have taken her to the dog park this weekend as well, but I couldn’t with all the homework I had over the weekend as well as being called into work because other people didn’t show up! Just wanted to share =)

Post #3

I learned the definition of a few terms from the text book and Chapter 4. “A system unit is a boxlike case that houses the electronic components a computer uses to process data.” “A motherboard is where most of the electronic components in a system unit reside on the circuit board.” “Output is data that has been processed into a useful form called information.” Each of these terms is part of a whole having to do with the technology which pertains to educators. Something else which I found interesting was monitor quality which is based on resolution, “or sharpness and clarity, of a monitor is related directly to the number of pixels it can display.”

My article and essay class is going well. I am progressing on my Animal Cruelty essay. I decided I was going to visit MAC in the mall as well as Bed Bath and Beyond in order to ask what these companies do in order to get their products FDA approved. What are the alternative methods to testing the products on animals? I want to find out if they are required to label their products if they are tested on animals. I would also like to visit a drugstore like CVS and ask a customer if they are aware if the cosmetic product they are purchasing has been tested on animals.

This week I have learned how useful the internet really is. Doing the Web Hunt Activity was really informative. I didn’t realize the internet held so many useful tools. I didn’t know there were websites to create calendars or lesson plans or the outline of a map. These are all very important things and its nice to know that there are easier ways of going about getting these things.

Post #2

Reading Chapter 3 I learned a little more about computer technology then I did before. I learned how to explain the role of an operating system and list the main operating systems used on today's computers. I learned that a user interface controls how you enter data or instructions and how information is presented on the screen. A graphical user interface combines texts, graphics, and other visual cues to make software easier to use. The advantages of software suites are that it makes it easier to install programs because you are able to install an entire collection of applications versus one application at a time.

Having recently working with the SAM2000 program I am much more aware of the helpful uses of Microsoft. I use Microsoft very often and for pretty much everything but I hadn’t realized how many tools the program contained. I learned how to change fonts and put them on curves, change colors for things, inserting photographs. So many different extra things that make Microsoft more fun and it also made it so that I didn’t need any other programs.

I would like to share with the class about the essay I am writing for my article and essay workshop. I am writing about animal cruelty. So far I have touched on the cosmetics industry and animal testing. I hope to inform my readers about animal cruelty and I hope that before they purchase a product they will check the label to see if animals had been tested in the making of this product. I would also like to find out if the price of a product has to do with whether or not they test their product on animals.

Blog #1

From chapter one I learned that computer technology is very important to everyone’s everyday life. Computers are used in homes and at businesses. They are used in order to make one’s life more efficiently and effectively. Schools use computers because educators are realizing that without a basic knowledge of computers, students will have a lot of trouble building on the advances on technology. They need to teach their students about computers because computers are a very important part of life and will continue to be more so as time goes on.

I had never created a blog before. I am a member of myspace, but not facebook. My friends created the myspace page for me so I didn’t even know how to go about creating something like that. I like that we were able to personalize our pages and choose which photos to use. Using a blog is like a journal that everyone can read. I think that having students create a blog is definitely something I would do as an educator because it’s a great outlet for them to share what they are thinking or feeling.

I am not sure that I want to be a teacher, I am actually an English major but I am taking this course instead of CGS2060. I like it so far. I don’t like that the book is so expensive, but I just learned that you can in fact purchase the book and CD separately- which makes me very happy.