Classroom Website

Throughout the TPTE 486 course this semester, we have been creating a classroom website. My website includes a welcome page, an about me section, classroom rules, suggested educational websites to visit, examples of technology projects I have completed throughout the course, links to web 2.0 tools, and a link to my classroom blog.

What went well:
I thoroughly enjoyed creating this class website using Google Sites. It allowed me to show my creativity and passion and excitement for becoming a teacher. Google Sites is very easy to use and allows you the ability to design your web page the way you want. The site was very easy to navigate and the project as a whole was very well thought out and leaves us with an excellent artifact to carry on throughout our educational careers. I found editing my website and customizing it to my own desires extremely easy and recommend the use of Google Sites to create websites to anyone.

What did not go well: 
The only problem I ran into with Google Sites and creating my class website was not being able to adjust the size of the font on the sidebar. This caused me to have to pick out a different font to ensure that the viewers of my website can clearly read the different links located on the side bar. It was just confusing to me that Google Sites allows you to customize pretty much every other element of your website other than the sidebar font. However, this problem was easily fixed through finding a different font.

What I would change:
I would not change a lot about this project or Google Sites as a whole. The only thing I would change is being able to adjust the font size of the links on the sidebar. This way, you can use whatever font you would like due to the fact that you can adjust the size so that the links are clearly legible to your viewers. Other than this simple adjustment, I don't think anything needs to be changed about the site.

How I plan to use this in my classroom:
I definitely plan to use the website I have created as my class website when I become a teacher. If Google Sites cannot be used in whichever school I end up teaching at, I plan to use this website as a template for creating another class website. I am so excited to use this in the upcoming future and know that it will provide my students and their parents an abundance of information and resources. In addition, I plan to incorporate Google Sites into possible group projects for my students since the site is very user friendly and easy to navigate.

Below is a screen shot of my classroom homepage and a link to the actual class site.
Click here to visit my class site.

Digital Story

The digital story project using iMovie was a really fun and creative project. I chose to tell a story about going grocery shopping and with the help of my friend photographed a step by step grocery shopping experience from grabbing a cart and shopping to checking out. I really enjoyed this project and recommend it to anybody wanting to create a fun way to tell a story.

What went well:
Deciding on what topic I wanted to do my digital story on was actually really easy to choose. I felt that grocery shopping would be a fun thing to tell a story about. Using the iMovie program was also very easy to do. The program allows a wide variety of creativity to enhance your video project and I had a lot of fun testing out all of the different effects. Putting the story together came naturally to me and figuring out how to navigate the iMovie program was easier said than done.

What didn't go well:
Putting the storyboard together and deciding exactly which pictures I wanted to use was definitely challenging. I had to cut out pictures and make sure that my video flowed so that the viewer understands what my story is trying to tell. This required me to be picky on exactly what I wanted to incorporate in my digital story. In addition, I had trouble with my text saving correctly on my credits slide because I did not realize you had to click outside of the box and press done in order for the program to save your changes. Also, choosing the right music to enhance your video was challenging due to certain copyright laws which prohibited me from using the songs I wanted to put in my digital story. Lastly, I did not like the fact that you could not upload your iMovie project through Dropbox in order to access and edit your digital story on another computer.

What I would change:
There is not very much I would change about the digital story project itself nor the program iMovie. I would really like if iMovie allowed you to upload your project to Dropbox rather than having to put it on a flashdrive. So I would definitely change that aspect. I would also change the fact that in order for your changes made to the captions be saved you have to click outside of the text box and press done. I think it would be much easier if the program just auto-saved whatever changes made like it does for everything else.

How I plan to use in my classroom:
This project and iMovie itself will serve a variety of purposes in my class. I can use this project to have my students create autobiographies, virtual tours, or even videos to teach a concept to the class individually and in groups. I can also use this project and program myself to make fun and creative ways to teach lessons to my students. In addition, I could create a type of welcome video to show the parents at open house. I look forward to using this program and this project specifically to enhance my students' knowledge on using technology and to make teaching different concepts creative and fun.

Below is an example of a digital story I created called "Let's Go Grocery Shopping!".

Animoto

Today's Web 2.0 presentation was over the tool Animoto. This site allows you to create polished video slideshows that feature pictures and short video clips. The site also adds background music and sleek background graphics to accompany your selections. This is a really awesome tool that will be something to carry with me throughout my education career.



Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Google Forms

Today in class the Web 2.0 tool we learned about was Google Forms. This is an easy tool to navigate and can also be used for a variety of things. For instance you can create quizzes, polls, multiple choice questions, parent information forms, etc. Below is an example of the form I made for parents to fill out information about themselves and their students for me to have on file in the classroom.

ActivInspire

This past week we learned about using the Promethean board with the program ActivInspire and through this program we made a flipchart to teach a particular curriculum standard. This program is so amazing and I look forward to using it in my classroom.

What went well:
ActivInspire is an amazing program that offers a wide variety of creativity for all subjects. The program was relatively easy to navigate when making my flipchart. I really enjoyed all the options that this program allows you and how your flipchart can be interactive so that your students can participate. I also really liked the fact that you can lock objects on the different slides so that students won't be able to move them when interacting on the board.

What did not go well: 
Although the program is relatively easy to navigate there were still some things that were hard to find or figure out how to do through the program. For instance, I had a really hard time figuring out how to lock a line so that it could not be moved when out of design mode. Even after searching through the program it still took me a long time to figure out the issue. In addition, I had trouble remembering how to do all of the cool techniques to reveal answers on your slides like the magic inc, erase tool, the reveal effect, etc. These techniques are definitely ones that you have to experiment with.

What I would change:
I would definitely make locking objects easier and make the lock button easier to find on the program. I feel that everything should be able to be locked in design mode no matter what it is. I would also put a tab in the browser section that was strictly dedicated to the creative reveal techniques. These techniques are fun for teachers to use and even more fun for students to watch. Making a tab in the browser would allow for those who do not know about this techniques to learn how to use them making their flipcharts that much more exciting.

How I plan to use this in my classroom:
I personally can't wait to use this program in my classroom. I will be using the ActivInspire program to create flipcharts to teach different lessons to my class while also providing them with an interactive experience. One of the ways I am most excited to use this program in my classroom is to do the daily morning activities with the calendar, date, weather, counting coins, patterns, etc. As a whole the ActivInspire program can be used for so much in my classroom that I do not yet know about and I can't wait to experiment with the program throughout my teaching career. This program will be an awesome asset to my future classroom!

Below is a screen shot of an interactive slide in my flipchart which covers Urban and Rural Communities. On this slide, the students will come up and sort the words under the correct category. To reveal the answer, the student will change the fill color of each box.

Diagram using Inspiration

Using the program Inspiration, I was able to create a diagram displaying the planets and their characteristics, which meets a requirement in both the Tennessee State Curriculum Standards and the NETS•T.

What went well:
The program Inspiration was extremely easy to use and allowed for a wide variety of creativity when creating a diagram. I had no trouble setting up my diagram and inputting my information. In addition, I found it really easy to edit my diagram from another computer. I thoroughly enjoyed using this program to create my diagram on the planets and look forward to using it in the future.


What did not go well:
Although the program proved to be very easy to use, I had a hard time determining the scale for my project and found it confusing to know if my project was completely centered or if the viewer of my diagram would have to scroll vertical or horizontal in order to view the entire diagram. That was one of the only issues I had when using this program. Another issue I faced was being able to select all of the arrows/links at the same time. I could never figure out a way to select all of them at the same time in order to edit their size, color, thickness, etc. Rather, I had to change each individual link/arrow one at a time.


What I would change:
I would definitely change the ability to select all of the arrows/links at the same time in order to edit. This may already be an option and I just could not figure out how to make it happen. However, if it is not an option I would make that possible because having to change each individual one becomes extremely tedious and time consuming. I would also provide the ability to lock in your proportion of your diagram. That way you would not have to worry about scrolling vertical and horizontal in order to view your entire diagram. In addition, this would make organizing your diagram easier because it would not be possible for you to be scrolling all over the place when trying to place different graphics and symbols.


How I plan to use this in my classroom:
I think this program will be an excellent tool to use in my future classroom. Inspiration allows the creation of more than just diagrams. It also provides the ability to make outlines, maps, templates, etc. This diagram project will come in use when providing my class with projects that integrate both the computer and a textbook. I can use the diagram project to allow my students to organize information on all different types of subject matter. The program Inspiration alone will provide me with a variety of ways to integrate the digital world into my classroom and I look forward to using it as a tool for teaching lessons to my students and as a tool for my students to use to complete different projects.

Smilebox

Today's Web 2.0 tool presentation was on the program Smilebox. This is an awesome site which allows you to create slideshows, newsletters, thank you notes, collages, etc. This will be a fun tool to use in my future classroom and will be an easy way to send out a weekly newsletter to the parents about new things taking place in the classroom each week. Below I have created my own newsletter!

Newsletter design personalized with Smilebox