Blog Post 10

The PowerPoint project from this week taught me how to use transitions and make a non-linear presentation. It gave me an idea of how to make a creative game for my students in the future in a very accessible way. I liked that I was able to make the presentation fun and come up with my own creations. I was given an outlet to test my skills and to also make something about a topic I love.

I will use Data Collection Tools in my classroom to do many things. I hope to be teaching second grade someday. It is important to keep up with the progress of my students. I might use a tool such as Class Dojo in order to keep track of points for behaviors and being on task. It would also allow the parents of my students to stay in touch with what their child is up to. I will also use the materials to do things such a take attendance and record grades. In order to tabulate what grade a student has, I must be able to keep a record of their grades on assignments. I've also seen these tools used before in order to keep track of a student's progress overall. It helps give a bigger picture of what subject areas and activities a student might be struggling in. It can also point out to a teacher which areas he or she might not be teaching adequately enough.

My classmates blogs gave me insight not only to what trains of thought other teachers might have, but also some ideas that I might not have thought about before. For some links they posted, I got more acquainted with things like web 2.0 tools or resources I could use when I'm teaching. It also helped me confirm some things that I believed were important or understand that maybe I was not alone in my opinions. It was reassuring to know that I might not be alone in not completely understanding how to use these different forms of technology even though I grew up in the age that technology became popular.

I want to learn how to better use things like smart boards and excel. Mostly, I want to be able to polish up on the techniques I've learned. I want to be able to make a PowerPoint smooth and easy to read. I also want to be able to make a class website that is very interactive. I want to learn how to use resources such as lesson plans that are available to other teachers online. I need to learn how to incorporate all of this into my real life so that I can become more comfortable with it all for when the time comes.

I will achieve my technology related goals by practicing the skills I have. My plan is to be able to use all the things we have been taught and practice with them. Doing some mock assignments and lesson plans would probably be helpful. It would also be nice to be able to explore on my own some new technologies or websites that have not been discussed in class before.