Goodbye, TPTE ):

The last class starts in about 15 minutes. So I guess now is a good of time as any to write my reflection of this class. On the first day I said that technology breaks as soon as I even think about going near it. I am not entirely convinced this is not true, but this class has made me so much more confident in my abilities with technology. I have always known technology integration was crucial in a classroom, but this class showed me that there are so many fun, creative ways to do that. From Pixlr to Glogster or iMovie to Google Sites, I learned that there are infinitely many ways to immerse students in technology that will not just help them learn, but that will also keep them engaged. I am personally proud of myself for figuring out as much as I have in this class. I always go home and talk about my projects and things like that. 

So it's been a good class as far as that is concerned.

Thanks for everything you've taught me!

Making a Google Site

Working on our classroom Google Site through this entire semester taught me something really important. I am capable of using a computer. Ha. But really, I found it to be an incredibly easy website to use. There are a ton of ways to personalize it and I think it is a good medium to use. You can make websites for anything! It's pretty awesome. I am a big fan. Here's a screenshot of my site. 

The Alphabet According to Tinkerbell Penelope Cherry

This is the iMovie I created for this project. I did an A-Z guide. I think using a dog for alphabet content is beneficial because it can be relatable to students. It is fun and will keep students interested. This was my first time using iMovie. I think it was pretty successful.

Using iMovie

I have always been intimidated by iMovie, but it was much simpler than I expected it to be. I liked that I was able to just drag my photos into the program and add transitions and subtitles with no issues. iMovie could be a very helpful classroom tool. You can use it to check understanding. It could be a new, fun way to present a book report. I think that this, along with everything else I've learned this semester, has shown me really modern, creative ways to bring technology into the classroom. Stay tuned for a post containing my video as soon as I figure out how in the world to upload it.

Inspiration Diagram

 

This is a screen shot of my inspiration diagram. It is from a Tennessee first grade science textbook. I chose weather because it was an easy topic to break up into subtopics and examples. I like this tool for a classroom because it displays information in a more dynamic way for students. Instead of reading paragraphs and mentally grouping things, the student can look at the diagram and get the information they need. I also like the idea of putting one together as a class. You could let the students pick the subtopics and sort through them. You could also have an activity where you place all the pictures of examples to the side and have students come up and choose where to link it. Inspiration is a really cool classroom tool that can have several uses!