Independent Learning Project

1. For this project I spent some time in the Tech Sandbox. They have a lot of wonderful resources to use and I was able to try them all out. They have smart boards, ipads, virtual reality sets, and many other gadgets. But the one that stuck out to me was the 3d printer. To have that in a classroom or a school would provide infinite opportunities for learning and enhancing education. You make three dimensional models for a wide range of subjects. For STEM programs you can create cubes, chemical compounds, any type of structure, and many more things. You can create figures and signs for your classroom as well. It is a great tool for incorporating technology into the classroom and I love how it can be used for a very long time in the classroom and still provide endless possibilities.

Blog #10

1. I believe surveys and excel can be very important as a teacher. Using surveys can help you as a teacher get an idea about how students feel about a subject they are learning. It can also use data to see information they have gathered from each lesson. Then by using Excel, you can analyze quantitative data gathered from your students. You can look at their average, median, and mode test grades. This can be done at an individual level or as a class whole.  This would work for any grade, especially smaller kids. You can use excel to see where they are struggling the most based on test scores. I think middle or high school would benefit the most out of surveys.

2. I found the blogs to be pretty interesting to read throughout the semester. I really enjoyed reading about the responses from Blog #6. I found it interesting to see everyone views on school websites and how to incorporate technology in the classroom. These are relevant topics to consider when going into teaching and seeing how it would impact everyone as a teacher was very interesting. Also, I was unable to visit the tech sandbox with everyone, so I liked seeing everyone's experience.

3. Diigo was something I have never worked with or even heard of before this class. I think it is a great tool to use when filtering through information. You can highlight and bookmark important information and when revisiting the site, you can go straight to those highlighted portions. Also when working with other teachers you can share important information with each other. Although, a great tool, I do not think I would use this as a daily tool.

Blog #9

1. Flipped classrooms are an innovative way to incorporate a blended classroom of online and in person. It is unique by having the children in your class read and/or watch online instructional material or information for a lesson, then the next day the class does an activity with the given information they learned the night before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIEwAztv9w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p63W_2F_4

2. Open source software is one of the most common terms used. It is an amazing resource for people to be able to use, edit, and share freely. It has licenses that makes it available and to fall under the open source definition.

3. I was able to learn how to do things PowerPoint that I did not know how to do. One being non-linear presentations. I always wanted to acquire that skill, but did not learn until this course. Also having action buttons were a very helpful tool to have incorporated in my PowerPoint.