Reflections

Looking back to the first week in this class I realize how much I have learned! I have been successful at blogging every week and have learned what kind of programs I can use in my future classroom. Thanks to this class I can now take my students on a virtual field trip or play word exercises with Wordle. I would have to say my favorite program that I have learned about was Picnik. I have used this several times already outside of the classroom and find it exteremly entertaining. I hope that my future students have access to computers so that I may make quizzes with Excel or assign fun projects with Web Quest. I feel that I have gained a vast amount of information about the newest educational programs for teachers and I look forward to using it in my classroom!

Google Site

I have learned so much about the Google program this semester. I would have never known that Google was more than just a search engine. I think Google Sites is an awesome way for teachers to keep information posted about class work, readings, or any other general announcements. This would also be a great way to keep parents involved in what their child is doing at school. I know many parents would like to see pictures of their child at school which is another neat addition that Google Sites provides. Furthermore, Google Sites lets you design your own page in really creative ways. This is also easy to edit to add or change information. By looking at past examples I have been inspired to use this in my classroom!

My iMovie

Storybird and Excel Sheet

Storybird was without a doubt one of my favorite websites that we have learned about this semester. I believe that this website is literally a new literacy tool for a modern generation. I think that this website would be extremely beneficial for reluctant and struggling writers and readers. The creative artwork and graphics will no doubt inspire students to read and write. It is free to make an account and very easy for students to use, allowing more time for teachers to teach! The website's information page suggests that over 45,000 schools from K–12 chose to use storybird as a helpful tool in the classroom. Storybird can also promote imagination, literacy, and self-confidence. Kids who play with words and pictures early in life tend to score higher in cognitive and aptitude tests later on. Plus, they become comfortable with the act of creation: turning nothing into something. I can see myself using this website in my future classroom.


This week we also created an interactive excel spread sheet using Microsoft Excel. I honestly did not know that you could create a quiz by using excel! I though it was cool that you could hide columns/rows and make cells unavailable to write in. I choose to create a quiz on the Earth's Biomes. I believe this would be a great activity for 5th-8th graders. This is just a snap shot of the excel sheet. Mine was a little hard to fit into a snap shot because of the detail of my questions and answers. I also have a few of the answers showing so you can see if your answers are right or not!   

---