Final Blog

So I guess this it, my last blog for my ICT class.  I survived through all of my assignments and exams and now this is all I have left.  I guess I will use this last blog entry to wrap up the semester of ICT.

We learned all kinds of neat things in ICT.  As I said in the beginning, I went into the course with very little computer skills and knowledge.  I'm still not doing as well as some people but at least I learned some cool things.  We started out with the WordSplash.  Simple enough.  A bunch of words organized artistically on a page.  As simple as that is, it could be very useful in a classroom.  I've seen posters made up of WordSplashes, as well as cover pages of organizers.  Word Splashes can be used for brainstorming, as well as making lists, or even just for jotting down important words.

We also made websites, which can be very useful in a classroom.  Websites can be used for all sorts of things.  Teachers can use websites to stay in contact with students as well as parents.  Homework and class notes can be posted on websites as well as any other videos or materials used in the classroom.  As we learned in class, websites can also be used to make portfolios and organize all of the information an employer might want to look at when hiring a teacher.

Digital stories and photographs could serve as neat projects for students to do in almost any class.   These could be used in math for instance, to demonstrate how to do a math problem.  Students tend to prefer good visuals, especially in the form of videos and photo images, and therefore these things may help in engaging students in the classroom.

On top of those things, we also learned a bit about using SmartBoards, which is pretty much crucial in today's classroom.  The opportunities a SmartBoard allows are almost limitless.  I think the main thing I will remember about using a SmartBoard in my classroom is that it is an interactive learning device, and therefore the students should get opportunities to use it for learning, rather than just using it as an expensive note-giving device. 

When I entered the ICT class, I was pretty skeptical and did not think I would incorporate a lot of internet usage and technology in my classroom.  I thought that it would just offer more distraction to students more than aiding them.  Now I have come to realize, that if done properly, incorporating different types of technology into the classroom can be incredibly useful.  The main thing about it is that it keeps students engaged.  Students, especially high school students, love using devices and programs, and giving them a chance to use it in the classroom puts power in their hands.  Sharing ideas also becomes easier; teachers can help each other out and give each other ideas for projects and assignments. Overall I found my experience in the ICT program to be very rewarding and I hope I don't forget the cool things I learned when I am finally a teacher.

Blog 8

We talked in my ICT class about internet safety and things people put on the internet that they shouldn't and so on.  I'm not a huge social networking fan, because I'm the type of person who enjoys face-to-face interaction with people and eating their food with them rather than talking to them over a wire and looking at their food pictures.  On the contrary, I do have a Facebook account, and I hate myself for the amount of time I waste on it.  On that note, I am going to simply scroll down my news feed, and see if there is anything I think should not be posted on there, or is unsafe, or simply annoys me.

Pictures of babies.  Not a fan of this.  Disagree with me if you want, but I personally don't like the idea of kids basically being born online, with absolutely no choice of whether they want to be shared with the cyber world or not.

Oh, a close up of someone's cat!  No, I secretly love cat pictures. 

Someone's got their new phone number posted.  Not really a big deal, but I have no idea who the person is and I can see it, so I wonder what this person would think if I started texting them....    I'm not actually going to but just a thought.

A picture of two people clearly inebriated.  Can't say much about that, just don't let your boss or mother see it.

Another cat... cute

Someone saying they purchased an item fairly inappropriate for Facebook... assuming this person left his Facebook open.  Always a bad idea.

Someone with a status about being drunk.

Couple drug references.

A bunch of game requests and adds.  There's nothing unsafe about these but THEY DRIVE ME NUTS!  i DON'T PLAY YOUR FACEBOOK GAMES LEAVE ME ALONE!

Spiteful post about someone; probably an ex.  Can't say that to their face.

And then just typical cursing and pictures of Miley Cyrus.

I feel like I failed today, as usually my News Feed is full of a lot more unsafe or annoying posts, but today it was almost entirely adds and people posting pictures from Instagram or whatever that have different sayings and stuff on them.   Oh well, I'm sure my point got across.  Hope you enjoyed!

Blog 7?

It's getting near that time of year again.  Nope, not the time for sleigh bells, eggnogg, and presents.  CRUNCH TIME!  That time of year where exams are coming up and students are shaking from stress or perhaps too much coffee, and professors are at their breaking point from dealing with all the complaining and whining of the over-caffeinated students.  And yes crunch time is taking its toll on me once again as well.  I feel as though I am battling a homework Hydra and every time I cut off one ugly assignment head, three more assignments grow back.  I am neck deep in a sea of projects and presentations and my head won`t stay above much longer.  I hope you enjoyed those sub-par homework metaphors.   In all seriousness though, it is beginning to get stressful with the deadlines and exams quickly approaching.  To be completely honest, the two main assignments I have that are giving me a bit of stress are in ICT.  Building a portfolio is not a very complicated task, but it is very time consuming and requires a lot of gathering and organizing.  Plus I know how I am with computers and I am expecting to have at least one technological ``problem`` while working on it which will slow me down.  The other project is very open.  It is a fifteen minute group presentation and from what I understand it can be on anything ICT related and in any format. Sounds easy right?  In fact, it sounds like it could be downright fun.  The problem I am having with it is just that I have no idea what I want to do.  Once our group gets together and brainstorms it will probably come together quite nicely and a weight will be gone from my shoulders, but in the meantime I am going to chip away at all my other assignments leaving it so I can focus all my energy towards that one.  In the end it will all fall together, it usually does.  

Blog 6

The other day we had a guest speaker come into our ICT class and show us some more neat ideas for incorporating computers into our classrooms.  He gave us a brief overview of Audacity, and we made a recording of everyone in the class saying a quote that someone had said to us that we had held onto for a long time.  I thought this was very neat.  The recording we created was sort of a motivational piece, which is one effective use of the program.  I think this is just one possibility of many that this program could be used for in a classroom.  I think students would love making recordings of different types for pretty much any class.  One idea I thought might be kind of neat is if a class was going to read a novel together, the teacher could record himself or the class reading it and add all kinds of effects making a sort of audiobook that might be more interesting than simply reading the book; especially for something most people find dry like Shakespeare.

We also made a short motivational video using an iPhone.  It was incredibly easy and quick.  I realized that in classroom, a video could be a quick and easy project that students would most likely LOVE to do.  They could make a video in almost any subject and edit it any way they wanted.  Students could produce a documentary or a commercial or pretty much anything really. I think videos are a wonderful piece of media to bring into a classroom to help with the learning process.

Technology While Student Teaching

While I was out student teaching I took note of how "technology" was used.  I only really spent any time in two classrooms and the first thing I noticed was that neither of them had a SmartBoard and one of them did not even have a projector. This struck me as odd because I was under the impression that all schools in this general area had both of those things. On the contrary, both classrooms had televisions and DVD players.  Both had around five desktop computers for student use.  I later found out that most of the other classrooms did in fact have SmartBoards.

I used what "technology" was available to me during my student teaching.  In the one classroom I used the projector screen for slideshows and videos as well as displaying answers for worksheets. In the other classroom I showed youtube videos on the TV (attached to a computer), which we used for class discussions as well as showing helpful videos.  The students used the classroom computers to write essays, poems, and other assignments for English.  This was a self-directed class where all students learned at a different pace, so students also used these computers to individually watch films or do research and so on.  The only problem I had with the classroom technology was when I spent a significant amount of time creating a slideshow and then emailed it to myself so I could open it to teach the lesson.  I didn't realize that the school had all outside emails blocked and so I was unable to open it.  After that I saved my slideshows on a flash drive. 

When I first went out into the field I expected cell phones and other devices to be a large issue,but to my surprise and delight they really weren't.  The only school  rule I noticed was that devices were not allowed in washrooms or changerooms -- which I felt was a logical rule.  Other than that, the teachers seemed to be in control of device rule in the classroom.  For the most part devices weren't much of a problem.  In the one class I was in, students could listen to music as long as it could not be heard by the teacher.  These students also used their phones for research etc.  Sure, sometimes they were probably not using them for educational means, but it did not cause a noticeable problem.  In the other class I worked in, the teacher had a no device policy and it seemed to go without saying.  I rarely saw a device out in that class and again it never caused a problem.

I guess overall I was surprised by the technology at the school I was at.  I thought there would be more of it, both for classroom instruction as well as class disruption.  All in all I thought it was a pretty good system and I never noticed any problems caused by technology. (other than the one)

Blog 5

In our ICT program we learned to use different programs to edit photos and use digital storytelling programs.  I found it really interesting.  I've used Photoshop a lot in the past, but I was amazed at how many other programs there are for editing photos, and even more amazed by how easy and quick some of them are to use.  Digital storytelling programs or different presentation programs could be very useful in a class as well.  They provide useful visuals for students and can also be an interactive way for students to learn.  Most students today enjoy using computers or devices like iPads or tablets, and using programs like these can be a quick way to get students engaged about subjects they typically might not be.

We also went over common Powerpoint errors that people make.  I had a good laugh at this, because I think everyone in the class had seen all of those errors made in the past, especially errors like too many bullet points or too many animations.  Powerpoint is very useful and has been growing in popularity in classrooms a lot over the past few years.  I will probably use it in my classrooms once I start teaching, and I will have to be careful to not make those same mistakes. 

Blog 4

If you're like me and you're computer skills are mediocre at best, it is important to know someone who understands them; especially if you're taking an ICT class. I've had my computer for about two years, and over those two years, I've never taken the time to clean anything out.  It began running very slowly, and for a while I just tried to keep using it like nothing was wrong.  I was trying to work on my website for ICT this weekend.  That became a very hard task as my computer became so slow that I couldn't even work on the website.  After getting so frustrated that I almost threw my lap top across the room, I decided it was probably time to seek help.  Luckily, I had a friend around who said he would take a look at it.  We went through my programs etc. and got rid of a bunch of junk.  The amount of stuff I had clogging up my computer was phenomenal.  Now, since all the stuff I didn't need has been deleted, my lap top works like a dream.  I never would have known what to do.  I guess what I am saying is that my eyes opened a bit over the weekend and I realized how important it is to have a good understanding of computers.  It's kind of like a car; if you get a flat tire, you can pay someone to change it for you, but if you have the knowledge, you can do it yourself.