There was an abundance of technology that I learned or revisited this semester. Microsoft Office, Google Earth, SMART Board, Notebook, and other technologies were very fun to use in this class; more than that though I can see myself using them in the class room.
Microsoft Office holds the well known Word, Powerpoint, Excel, as well as many others. Word, Powerpoint, and Excel would be the most useful for the students in my class, and I can see my students using them in many different ways. Word, of course would be for essays and papers but more than that Word could be used to create things such as newsletters with the publishing tools. Powerpoint would lend to notes for myself, but also as presentations for the students. They would be able to show me how they understood the information through sounds, pictures, and animations. In Excel their interpretation of the data would allow them to understand it with out having to read it out of a text book.
SMART Board would be for interacting with the students. The hands on learning that comes from a SMART Board presentation would be very beneficial for going over what the students had learned in class rather than just using homework.
Notebook would be a fantastic way to keep myself organized. Taking a central topic and branching off to what I want and need to cover would make the actual development of the Lesson Plan easier. Each branch would be for a separate class period and all the multimedia I planned to go over would be there, along with the worksheet or what ever homework there was.
And finally Google Earth is a great way to show the students where the places are that we talk about in class. Talking about how the Danube River runs through Europe means nothing to students unless they can actually see it. Experience which cities the Danube runs through and powers. Experiencing is understanding in a lot of cases, especially when paired with the text book.
Google Earth really is a great tool to use in class allowing the students to visualize what they are learning about. They could even use Google Earth as a way to explore those areas on their own.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about many of the same programs in my blog. However, you mentioned Notebook and I completely forgot about that one. I agree that this would be very helpful in teaching. I loved being able to organize my thoughts with this program.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote about some very great programs! I as well loved the smart board as well as the notebook! You made some great points such as the notebook helping keep everything organized for lesson plans!
ReplyDeleteWell written. You provided some good examples of how the technologies we learned about could be used in the classroom. I had not thought I could really use Google Earth, but after reading your ideas on it I realize I could use it to further their understanding of setting, especially when the setting changes often.
ReplyDeleteThe SMART Board is my favorite! I forgot about all the cool tools Microsoft Office offers.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you talked about the notebook being something very helpful for yourself is a great point. I agree with you completely. It really gives you a chance to see the whole unit in one place. Also, it gives you an opportunity to see that you reach all of the standards that you are required to. I agree that SMART Board was the most fun to learn about and use in class
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