CEP 810 Teaching for Understanding with Computers
This course included an exploration of various technologies in education, particularly basic ones like Microsoft Word. We were also put into small groups and assigned to create a presentation on either the pro or con side of integrating technology in schools.
Educational Application of Word
One of our first assignments was to use Microsoft Word to create a document that could be used in our classrooms.
I chose to create a document that included notes and concepts from an Economics lesson I taught on supply. Having something like this that can be easily reproduced and distributed to my students, particularly when they are absent from class and need the work they missed.
It shows the visuals that were done on the board explaining shifts in supply curves and lists the topics we discussed as a group and the assignment that the class did. Also included is the short quiz students took at the end of the hour. Students at my school are notorious for skipping, so when I do notes and interactive activities like this that do not revolve around a typical handout, I need to have something tangible to give to those students who missed class. I can give a copy of this handout to the student and quickly explain what we talked about and what activity they missed and will need to make up. Once they complete the assignment, they can just staple this handout to their make-up work and I can grade them accordingly.
Having this lesson typed up like this helps me to keep track of what I covered that day. I am not one to type formal lesson plans everyday (I mean, really, who has time for that?!) so I usually use post-it notes. For a specific activity like this that uses specific visuals, I need something for my class binder (more than a post-it!) to show what I taught and how I taught it.
I chose to create a document that included notes and concepts from an Economics lesson I taught on supply. Having something like this that can be easily reproduced and distributed to my students, particularly when they are absent from class and need the work they missed.
It shows the visuals that were done on the board explaining shifts in supply curves and lists the topics we discussed as a group and the assignment that the class did. Also included is the short quiz students took at the end of the hour. Students at my school are notorious for skipping, so when I do notes and interactive activities like this that do not revolve around a typical handout, I need to have something tangible to give to those students who missed class. I can give a copy of this handout to the student and quickly explain what we talked about and what activity they missed and will need to make up. Once they complete the assignment, they can just staple this handout to their make-up work and I can grade them accordingly.
Having this lesson typed up like this helps me to keep track of what I covered that day. I am not one to type formal lesson plans everyday (I mean, really, who has time for that?!) so I usually use post-it notes. For a specific activity like this that uses specific visuals, I need something for my class binder (more than a post-it!) to show what I taught and how I taught it.
Educational Application of Excel
Our next assignment was to create an educational application of Microsoft Excel.
This assignment is for my unit on Personal Finance in my Economics class. Students are given situation cards that list a fictional character and financial situation. Characters range from struggling college students to trust fund recipients. The spreadsheet allows students to understand and map out the various expenses one might occur in a given month. They will need to determine fixed vs. variable expenses and how to rank expenses in order of importance. They will learn that sometimes, when finances change, so do budgets, and sometimes certain luxuries have to be sacrificed. The spreadsheet also shows a way to look at deducting expenses to see how much money is left over each month for extras, like vacations, repairs, etc. The graphs allow a visual representation of how much money is going where, so if a person moves, gets a new job, or otherwise has to readjust their finances, they have an idea of what income percentage should go to each bill. Many of my students are clueless in the area of personal finance, so they need to practice with these types of activities.
This assignment is for my unit on Personal Finance in my Economics class. Students are given situation cards that list a fictional character and financial situation. Characters range from struggling college students to trust fund recipients. The spreadsheet allows students to understand and map out the various expenses one might occur in a given month. They will need to determine fixed vs. variable expenses and how to rank expenses in order of importance. They will learn that sometimes, when finances change, so do budgets, and sometimes certain luxuries have to be sacrificed. The spreadsheet also shows a way to look at deducting expenses to see how much money is left over each month for extras, like vacations, repairs, etc. The graphs allow a visual representation of how much money is going where, so if a person moves, gets a new job, or otherwise has to readjust their finances, they have an idea of what income percentage should go to each bill. Many of my students are clueless in the area of personal finance, so they need to practice with these types of activities.
Educational Application of PowerPoint
For our assignment on creating an educational application of PowerPoint, I chose to use my presentation on 9/11. The following is a presentation best shown on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. It can, however, be shown at any time. The main objective of this presentation is to try to bring out the emotion that existed on that day. It is meant to be played with music that has a very soft melodic tune with lyrics that take a listener back to that day and what it means for America.
For teachers, and many students, this is our living history. Unfortunately, as each year passes, the students were younger and younger on that day so it becomes harder for them to remember their own 9/11 story. I have found that this show helps them understand why this was such an important day in history. It is meant to be the intro to a lesson on what 9/11 has meant for our country and our world, what has changed since then, cause/effect, etc. Students who might not have much of a memory of that day can be taken back to the raw emotion that those of us who were older at the time felt.
PowerPoint offers teachers and students alike a venue for presenting information, photos, videos, etc. It has become a rather common program in society today.
For teachers, and many students, this is our living history. Unfortunately, as each year passes, the students were younger and younger on that day so it becomes harder for them to remember their own 9/11 story. I have found that this show helps them understand why this was such an important day in history. It is meant to be the intro to a lesson on what 9/11 has meant for our country and our world, what has changed since then, cause/effect, etc. Students who might not have much of a memory of that day can be taken back to the raw emotion that those of us who were older at the time felt.
PowerPoint offers teachers and students alike a venue for presenting information, photos, videos, etc. It has become a rather common program in society today.
Technology in Education Presentation
Our major assignment in this course was to use PowerPoint to create a presentation that either advocated the use of technology in education or argued against it. My group was assigned to be advocates. We chose to specifically focus on the benefits of using wikis in the classroom.
Create/Maintain a Netvibes Page
To introduce us to the concept of RSS feeds, our assignment was to create and maintain a page using a program like Netvibes (or Pageflakes or iGoogle) that acts as an aggregator of various sites into one source.
Students can use RSS readers/aggregators in a variety of ways. One way to use this technology is for studying current events. Students could each set up their own page with RSS feeds from various news sources (local, state, national, liberal, conservative, etc.). They could consult these pages daily/weekly to spawn a discussion on current events in class. Students could also use a page like this to evaluate bias in the media by comparing different news sources and how they interpret a particular news story.
Students can use RSS readers/aggregators in a variety of ways. One way to use this technology is for studying current events. Students could each set up their own page with RSS feeds from various news sources (local, state, national, liberal, conservative, etc.). They could consult these pages daily/weekly to spawn a discussion on current events in class. Students could also use a page like this to evaluate bias in the media by comparing different news sources and how they interpret a particular news story.