The internet is a very helpful tool, and can provide very useful information to make any lesson more interesting and understandable. There are many websites that are useful and have very accurate information, although you have to be careful which website visit because many have false information. The world wide web is a very useful tool, but there is plenty of incorrect information so you have to be careful when you search the internet. A search engine is a website that you can go to in order to look up information on the internet, and there are certain search techniques that are helpful to get better search results. Search Tools help you to locate information anywhere on the web.
Since the last class I have perfected my skills on making lessons fun and interesting for students. No longer is it necessary for a teacher to stand in front of the classroom and just lecture. There are many resources today, such as the internet, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Inspiration, Microsoft Excel, and many more. One of my favorite ways to improve a lesson is to find interesting videos, games, or pictures on the internet. There are thousands of websites, such as timekids.com, that has information and resources.
This does not necessarily have to do with technology, but most people in Educational Techonology are Education majors and I just found out about a scholarship/grant that is given to minority education students and thought some people may be interested. It is called Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, ffmt.org, and you must be a minority student to qualify. They give you $2000 a semester, and you do not have to pay it back. What you have to do in order to recieve the money is write an essay on the specified topic, attend a conference once a year for however many years you receive the money, and work in a public school once you graduate for however many years you receive the money. If you decided to work in a private school once you graduate then all you have to do is pay back the money, with interest. It is a great opportunity for minority students, and if anyone has any questions you should contact the department of education here at Florida State and they will have more specific instructions for you.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Blog Journal #3
Hardware of a computer can be categorized into three different categories: input devices, output devices, and storage media. An input device is anything that allows you, the computer user, to put information into the computer. All input devices are controlled by the human and allows you to communicate certain commands. A few examples of input devices are a keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, etc. An output device is a piece of hardware that allows you to view information that is being processed on the computer. A monitor and a printer are examples of output devices. These communicate the information being processed in the computer and allows the outside world to see it. Finally there is storage media, which is an outside piece of equipment, such as a USB or a floppy disk, that allows you to save information on a piece of equipment outside of the computer.
Technology is advancing everyday and with the proper instruction it can help to enhance any lesson. Just in a few years the technology in storage devices has increased drastically. Floppy disks use to be the primary source of storing information, but today we use USB memory sticks. They hold more information than floppy disks, and they are more reliable. In addition input devices have advanced in technology as well. For example now there are wireless keyboards and mice that are just as effective and eliminates a lot of the tangles wires. Output devices, such as monitors, have drastically decreased in size and the quality of the picture has increased. Also the clip art and photos available on Microsoft word have increased in quality.
Some skills that I have acquired since the last class was how to use the program Inspiration. Inspiration is a program that allows you to make outlines, webs, and charts in order for you to organize information and understand it better. I have never used this program before until this class, and I find that it will be very useful to teach certain lessons. In class I learned how to create a web to teach someone "How To" do a certain thing, and we also learned how to create a basic web. When creating the web I learned how to change the shape of the bubbles, change the colors, insert clip are, and more features in order to make it more child-friendly. This is a program that will definitely help to organize information, especially when organizing information from a story or a history lesson among many other subjects.
Technology is advancing everyday and with the proper instruction it can help to enhance any lesson. Just in a few years the technology in storage devices has increased drastically. Floppy disks use to be the primary source of storing information, but today we use USB memory sticks. They hold more information than floppy disks, and they are more reliable. In addition input devices have advanced in technology as well. For example now there are wireless keyboards and mice that are just as effective and eliminates a lot of the tangles wires. Output devices, such as monitors, have drastically decreased in size and the quality of the picture has increased. Also the clip art and photos available on Microsoft word have increased in quality.
Some skills that I have acquired since the last class was how to use the program Inspiration. Inspiration is a program that allows you to make outlines, webs, and charts in order for you to organize information and understand it better. I have never used this program before until this class, and I find that it will be very useful to teach certain lessons. In class I learned how to create a web to teach someone "How To" do a certain thing, and we also learned how to create a basic web. When creating the web I learned how to change the shape of the bubbles, change the colors, insert clip are, and more features in order to make it more child-friendly. This is a program that will definitely help to organize information, especially when organizing information from a story or a history lesson among many other subjects.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Blog Journal #2
Three topics from chapter three that I believe will be very useful to me as a teacher are word processing software, software for school and professional use, and presentation graphics software. Word processing software is the most widely used software, and it is used to create, edit, and format documents primarily consisting of text. As a future teacher I will be using this particular type of software to prepare many documents for my students such as tests, quizzes, worksheets, study guides, etc and therefore it is important that I learn how to properly use it so I can use it to my full advantage. The second type of software is software for school and professional use. This software is mainly used in schools as a grade book. It allows teachers to save all the student's grades on the computer, and makes it easier to produce progress reports and final grades for all the quarters. The final software is a presentation graphics software such as Microsoft power point. This allows you to create presentations to share with your class. Technology is advancing a great deal, and it is no longer necessary to use overhead projectors. There are many programs on a computer that are quicker, easier, and a more effective way to present information.
A skill that I last acquired since my last blog was how to create a newsletter, and how to place all the articles on the sheet so it looks appropriate. I perfected different skills on Microsoft Word such as how to put columns on a paper, how to put in word art, how to highlight certain text, how to insert clip art without ruining the layout of the newsletter, and much more. These are features that I will be using alot as a teacher. Although I may not necessarily be making newsletters all the time, the skills that i have learned individually are very important.
Technology is advancing everyday. When I was in grade school we did not have nearly as much access to computer softwares like today or the internet; it was not as prevalent. Now that it has become such a part of our everyday lives it is important to learn the proper way to use the software on the computer. Children today associate with technology and they are stimulated by it. The use of tchnology in the classroom can significantly improve a lesson, and help the children to learn.
A skill that I last acquired since my last blog was how to create a newsletter, and how to place all the articles on the sheet so it looks appropriate. I perfected different skills on Microsoft Word such as how to put columns on a paper, how to put in word art, how to highlight certain text, how to insert clip art without ruining the layout of the newsletter, and much more. These are features that I will be using alot as a teacher. Although I may not necessarily be making newsletters all the time, the skills that i have learned individually are very important.
Technology is advancing everyday. When I was in grade school we did not have nearly as much access to computer softwares like today or the internet; it was not as prevalent. Now that it has become such a part of our everyday lives it is important to learn the proper way to use the software on the computer. Children today associate with technology and they are stimulated by it. The use of tchnology in the classroom can significantly improve a lesson, and help the children to learn.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Blog Journal #1
A PC, personal computer, is a type of computer that is designed for a person to use mainly in a home or office setting. There are two main types of PCs: personal computers and Macintosh computers. Macintosh computers are created by the Apple Company, while PCs are made by the many other computer manufacturers in the business. Because of the technological advance of computers over the last few years, they have become a vital part of learning in the classroom. As a future teacher I must learn how to successfully integrate computers into the curriculum so my students can benefit from it and absorb as much information. Although all the technology out there will not help a student to learn if they are not motivated. Computers today have multiple different softwares, or computer programs, that can help a teacher get the message across to his or her students. In a school setting usually computers are networked which means all the computers in the school are connected together and therefore share information. In addition to programs, the internet is a huge tool that, if used in the correct way, can significantly improve a lesson. With all the programs, internet, and shared information due to networking, the computer is a huge tool at any teachers disposal if they properly know how to use it.
In class since the last posting we worked on learning our way around Windows XP and Microsoft word. On Microsoft Word we had to create a short test on any topic we desired. One thing I perfected while working on the test was how to apply automatic sequential numbering. I already knew it could be done but it took me a little longer to remember how I can do it, but after working on this exercise it made it a lot easier. In addition i refreshed some basic tools from Windows XP, such as how to use the help option if I do not know how to do something.
I believe that this class will be a tremendous help in teaching us how we can make proper use out of the computer. We will learn to use it to its full potential so that our future students can also get all they can from our lessons. One advantage I think that we have in this generation is we have great resources and technology that were not available when even we were in elementary school. For example now there are computers in every classroom for the students to use that can really help enhance a lesson. In addition they are improving old ways of presenting information. No longer are teachers using projectors that are bulky and taking up too much space, they have smart boards or LCD monitors that are directly hooked up to the computers so the computer screen appears on the giant screen in the front of the classroom. Learning how to use all the details in a computer to their full advantage will truly help us to create interesting lessons for students that will engage them and make them want to learn.
In class since the last posting we worked on learning our way around Windows XP and Microsoft word. On Microsoft Word we had to create a short test on any topic we desired. One thing I perfected while working on the test was how to apply automatic sequential numbering. I already knew it could be done but it took me a little longer to remember how I can do it, but after working on this exercise it made it a lot easier. In addition i refreshed some basic tools from Windows XP, such as how to use the help option if I do not know how to do something.
I believe that this class will be a tremendous help in teaching us how we can make proper use out of the computer. We will learn to use it to its full potential so that our future students can also get all they can from our lessons. One advantage I think that we have in this generation is we have great resources and technology that were not available when even we were in elementary school. For example now there are computers in every classroom for the students to use that can really help enhance a lesson. In addition they are improving old ways of presenting information. No longer are teachers using projectors that are bulky and taking up too much space, they have smart boards or LCD monitors that are directly hooked up to the computers so the computer screen appears on the giant screen in the front of the classroom. Learning how to use all the details in a computer to their full advantage will truly help us to create interesting lessons for students that will engage them and make them want to learn.
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