Speadsheet

Working with excel can sometimes be very difficult. Especially when you get into all the different formulas. This assignment took me a while to do! I did not figure out how to change the cell borders. I looked it up and when I looked for the border button, it was no where to be found on my screen! That's the only part of the assignment I did not do! Here is my completed spreadsheet of grades!

Google Calendar

Google calendar is a nice way to organize your time and share it with others. This would be a great way for students who are away at school share their schedule with their parents so, they know when they are not in class and they can contact them. It's great for people who are online all the time and need to keep track of their schedule of events! You can personalize it with color and sharing options. It allows you to keep track of any appointments you may have.


As a teacher, this would come in handy for lesson plans. You could arrange them at home and still be able to view them at work if you have a computer available in your classroom. Below is my calendar for the next month. Not very exciting, but it at least shows what can be done with the calendar!

Google forms

Today I created a form in Google Docs. The purpose of the form was a survey for a third grade class and their parents to give input on where they would like to go and when. This would give the teacher a better idea before planning the trip. The easiest way to share this form is to email it to the parents. As always, you can publish the form through google docs, but that would not be the best scenario for this case. 


This type of document is separated into two different pieces. One being the form, which is published, and the other being the spreadsheet, which in most cases would be viewed by the creator. You do not have to have a gmail account to view the form or take the survey/quiz because it can be provided via hyperlink in the email. You do however, have to be a gmail user to create a form. It will prompt you to sign into google docs before creating the form. 


The spreadsheet provided after the data has been collected is the way to analyze the information. It comes up in your google docs for you to view. The link it creates for the form is usually a long link so, yesterday's assignment will come in handy. I used tinyurl.com to shorten the url to make it easier for the parents. 

3rd grade trip

Shortening urls

The object of this assignment was as follows:


1) demonstrate you can shorten a URL
2) articulate why it is important? is it important? why are there services that do this? what are the services that do this? which one did you use? link to the service you used
3) relate the activity to the NETS T standards.


Going into this assignment I really did not understand the point of shortening a url. After reading a little excerpt on tiny.cc, I realized there are a few different reasons why you would want to shorten a URL. Shorter is better because people usually type the address in manually. Social interface to the Web relies on email and networking sites. When users recommend web pages to each other, email and bookmarking sites are second only to search engines; so shorter is better. The longer the url, the more likely of it breaking. So, it is important to make the urls shorter if possible, to make them easier for people to get to. Some of the services for this feature are tiny.cc, tinyurl.com, cli.gs, zi.ma, and bit.ly.


As far as the NETS T standards, I believe this activity most demonstrates the third standard of model digital-age work and learning. By shortening urls as a teacher, you are demonstrating you are fluent in technology. It also shows the ability to communicate relevant information and ideas to students, parents, and peers using digital-age media and formats.


Below is an example of how I shortening this long url from my facebook page.
This is the original url: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=194843733899467&set=t
.25810623&type=1&theater

This is the shortened new url using tinyurl.com

http://tinyurl.com/4yh3r76

Pretty handy!

Reading #4

Below is a link to the questions and answers for today's assignment.

Reading #4

Online Graphing Tools

Wow this is the hardest assignment yet! We had to do several different things for this assignment including:

• analyzing data
• write an executive summary
• construct a chart
• publish all of our work

The data we had to analyze were the NAEP averages for the state of West Virginia compared to the national average NAEP. We then had to write two executive summaries (included below) addressing the differences. A chart had to be made to visualize the results. The website we used to construct the charts was Kid's Zone Very simple and handy. You can make several different types of graphs there. Actually looking at the results for our state was interesting. They were pretty close to the national average which looks great for us!

Survey

Surveys are great ways for teachers to evaluate their classes for future students. What needs improvement? What was helpful? Was this class harder than you thought? Below is an example of a survey that could be used for the class I am currently taking, which is Education 2201. The great thing about surveys is they are easy to create with the technology we have. Surveys are also a great thing for students who are conducting research. They could create a survey and gather data from various populations.

Reading #3

Reading number 3 was about different types of memory and the ability to multitask. When you think of multitasking it sounds like a great idea, but when you really think about it, it's not as efficient as people think! Take a look at this reading. Attached also are a set of questions with my answers to them!

Reading #3 

Self Portrait

Well, I am the new Picasso! I created my very own self portrait. It's the abstract version of me! The tool I used can be found at picassohead.com It's pretty simple to use. For each part of the face, all you do is drag the one you want onto your "canvas". You can edit each component as well. I did not realize until after I was almost done that I could change the color of the components such as the hair, eyes, and lips. All you have to do is click on the color icon at the bottom of the screen. Here is my self portrait!

Word Cloud

Word Cloud could be a very useful tool when teaching kindergarten because they like to see visuals. Something that I hope could be used in my classroom would be a word cloud for the Pleadge of Allegiance. Although, I do not know if schools still allow to be said. The children could look at it during the time they are saying the pledge and see the words they are reciting. It's a really fun tool and can be used for anything from speeches to random subjects. Here is mine!

Jing Screencast

Wow! Jing is really neat! You can also create screencasts, which are useful when you are trying to show someone how to do something on the computer. In my screencast, I am teaching how to copy and paste. Seems like a simple task, but there are people who still do not grasp the concept. Hopefully it is helpful! I even used audio to explain with words what I was doing on the screen! 

How to Copy & Paste 

Jing Image

Although I am not a teacher yet, I hope to eventually be! When I do become one, I would like to teach kindergarten. This new tool called Jing can help me be creative, which is the only way to be with that age group! Below you will see an activity I have created that I could use to teach the students about the four seasons. The graphic is one I have found while browsing the internet.
The object of this activity is to match each tree with the right season!

Jess by Jess

Well, I am the new Picasso! I created my very own self portrait. It's the abstract version of me! The tool I used can be found at picassohead.com It's pretty simple to use. For each part of the face, all you do is drag the one you want onto your "canvas". You can edit each component as well. I did not realize until after I was almost done that I could change the color of the components such as the hair, eyes, and lips. All you have to do is click on the color icon at the bottom of the screen. Here is my self portrait!




Jess by Jess: "Picassohead"

Snipping tool

Unfortunately I do not have windows vista to complete the snipping tool activity. I have used the print screen option in the past, which is the next best thing.

Reading 2

After reading the article based on Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience, I answered two questions about it. Very interesting article. Hard to contemplate if it really is a science or nonsense. I have attached a link to the questions below along with a link to the article so you can see what you think! 

Reading #2

Question & Answer

Diigo

Another new experience today. The assignment was to register for Diigo and explore its uses. What are the uses?

• Social Bookmarking Tool

• Manage, share, organize the web pages you view

 The browser I am currently using with Diigo is Mozilla Firefox. Now, I have used other browsers such as Internet explorer and AOL explorer. Of the three, Firefox is my favorite. It is the easiest to use and it seems to load information faster. Diigo allows you to add a Diggolet, which is a book marker that also allows you to create sticky notes about the web pages you are using. Very convenient. 


Diigo also offers a browser add-on in the form of a toolbar, which is the most common add-on. I have had a few different tool bars in other browsers I have used such as AOL. They all have different features though, but the most common are news, email, and weather. I have never had a problem installing any add-ons.


ISTE stands for International Society for Technology in Education. There are several standards that ISTE has created and the one I feel would closely match this activity is:

• model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

The reason being we were presented with an assignment to become familiar with a social bookmarking tool and asked to use the tool to keep track of articles we will find useful in our teaching experiences.  We can now make use of Diigo and share different web pages with our students of the future and also create groups within the classroom for activity purposes.

Philosophy

Everyone has their own philosophy on education. Everyone also has different reasons why they want to teach and what they want to teach. This activity showcases answers to both of those questions! This activity also allowed me to create an avatar! Something fun! My avatar will actually read you the answer to my second question! How cool is that? Oh technology you never cease to amaze me! Attached below is a link to m y answers for the following questions:

1. Why you have chosen to teach, and what attracts you to your field?
2. Teaching is, to some extent, a researched based profession. What you hope to emphasize in your teaching and what do you want to research?
Let me know what you think of my avatar. I think she's pretty cute!

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1V3WW-HatFy0EU0o0--NjuO9DluVBFq_19wG1aYh8168