Technology Article #2: Mapping Our World

On the class website I found a link to a website called "Mapping Our World". This is a great geography activity for studying different types of maps. This website uses three different lessons to introduce different types of maps to students. The website for this activity is: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping_our_world/mapping_our_world/l/home/index.htm

Lesson 1: In this lesson, students see different views of the globe (Asia, Europe/Africa, Australasia, and North America). Students can tilt the globe to see how many continents can be seen from different angles for each view of the world. The students can also flatten the globes to see the different maps.

Lesson 2: Students learn the difference between the Mercator and Peters maps. This activity allows students to hear positive and negative aspects of both maps. Students even get to vote on which map they think is most accurate! This lesson also provides map statistics. Students can merge different maps to compare the sizes of continents using different map views. Students listen to characters from around the world who want to travel to different countries, then they choose which map would work best for each person.

Lesson 3: Students place country flags on maps using different views of the world. They can also compare land sizes (how many times will some countries fit into others) based on the Mercator and Peters projections. It also has an activity for students to look at a number of different maps and pirates ask five yes or no questions about each map. After all five questions have been answers, another pirate who is on the plank uses the students' answers to determine the type of map. If all five questions are answered correctly, the pirate is fine. However, if any question is answered wrong, then the pirate must "walk the plank".

This is definitely a great educational website. I would highly recommend this activity to any elementary geography teacher!

Technology Article #1: LunaPic Online Photo Editor

While I was researching tools to become an "expert" on, I came across an absolutely INCREDIBLE photo editing tool. The Google search engine found the website http://www.lunapic.com/editor/. The website is a great resource for editing photos and slideshows, and creating collages. Perhaps one of the best aspects about this tool is that there are ample tutorials and it is 100% user-friendly.

The most difficult process this tool requires is uploading a photo (which is fast and easy). Once the photo is uploaded to the page, all the user has to do is click on any effects or animations they would like to add. It is also easy to undo any changes.

When it comes to photo editing, this website can not only do the basic tasks such as changing the size and color (sepia and black and white) of pictures, but it also provides users with a choice of over 31 photo effects, at least 28 animations, and the addition of a border. Some of the effects include: color or black and white pencil sketch, implode/explode, blend two images, coloring book, and many more options. Some of the animations include: the Andy Warhol effect, sparkle, glitterize, floating hearts, scanning, snowfall, zoom in/out, and numerous other fantastic animations.

Here is an example of what I created using the LunaPic Online Photo Editor:

After experimenting with this website, I have decided that I would be very interested in using this tool to edit more photos in the future. I feel very comfortable with using it and I believe it provides quality editing techniques. This tool would also be a great resource for my future class to use for art projects. The students would love it!

My Beliefs

I have always thought it is good to use technology in the classroom, although it can be frustrating to learn how it works. During my field, I learned that students absolutely love hands on learning, and technology is a great way to accomplish this task. The students absolutely loved doing a webquest. I think it is a great way to get them excited to learn new material.

Although I am all for using technology, I do not think it is necessary to use it all the time. Some people seem to believe that technology is the best way to learn just about everything. While technology is definitely a great resource, I believe that there are other great methods to teach students new concepts that are also beneficial. My field experience also taught me that technology rich lessons take a lot of time to prepare, which is another reason I do not believe in using it in the majority of lessons. When I become a teacher, I will not have a lot of extra time on my hands, and it is important to prepare good lessons in a decent time frame. I will use technology in my classroom, but not to teach every concept.

Lessons Learned

After reading the articles and watching the movies, I learned that technology is growing exponentially these days. Within the last few years, we have gotten to the point where we can use whatever, whenever, and wherever (WWW). Technology has improved leaps and bounds over the years which is both beneficial and worrisome.

Most of the world uses technology on a daily basis whether it be the internet, cell phone, or other hand held devices. We now have the ability to access any type of information at any given point throughout the day. This can be great for both school and business purposes. Many teenagers use the internet to do research for papers or complete online assignments. The concern with this WWW technology is that it also creates distractions. One example of a distraction is Social Networking. Because many teens have access to the internet through phones, they can access social networks such as Facebook or MySpace during class. They can also chat online. In the "Teens Disconnect" article, it states that most teens use abbreviations when they have online conversations and the majority of them believe that this does not influence their formal handwriting. However, research shows that sometimes the words or abbreviations used in these online conversations tend to slip in with their formal writing. It is important for today's parents and teachers to help young people use technology wisely and not let it consume their lives.

Strengths and Weaknesses

After reading the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), I have learned that my strengths include: a basic understanding of technology, finding age appropriate uses for technology in the classroom, and using technology to collaborate with peers. Although this website has been beneficial in pointing out my strengths, it also shows areas that need improvement. The UNI surveys showed me that I have A LOT to learn about technology. For most of my answers, I marked that I was at the "Novice" level, which means I have a basic understanding of technology usage. According to UNI, I am good at communicating electronically (example: e-mail or chat), finding useful web resources for research, and I can use informational and reference sources such as CD-Roms. The area that stuck out to me most that I would like to improve in is Audio/Visual usage. I would like to gain a better understanding of how to use Windows Moviemaker so that I can make short, educational, videoclips for my students. I would also like to become more familiar with the 2007 version of Microsoft Powerpoint.

After reviewing the NETS and taking both UNI surveys, I would say that I have an okay knowledge of technology. On a scale from 1-10, 1 being no knowledge of basic technology and 10 being complete mastery of complex technology, I would mark myself as a 5. To me this means I either know how to use basic technology or I could figure out how to use the basic functions of simple to moderate technologies with minimal problems.

For my first year of teaching I have two goals: Develop a basic understanding of Windows Moviemaker and become very familiar with Microsoft Office Powerpoint 2007. The following tutorials will help me develop a better understanding of both of these programs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DOmXMAuIE (Microsoft Office Powerpoint 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DHFKVzG8Zw&feature=related (Windows Moviemaker)

The reason I chose these two programs is because they are widely used in schools. I would like to use them every now and then in my own classroom, but I definitely need to improve my limited skills with these programs.

Journal #13

Last Monday we met with our groups again to continue working on our Webquest. Originally my group chose to focus on how immigrants affected the post-Civil War economy. However, we met again today to complete our Webquest and realized that we were not accomplishing much with that standard so we chose to focus on Ancient Egypt instead.

It was kind of hard to change our Webquest so close to the deadline, but we did not have much of a choice. We came a long way today. Hopefully we can finish the project tomorrow!

Just like I said in my last post, when I have my own class, I will not create my own webquest. I will use other people's webquests to help my students further their education. Teachers do not have time to create webquests!

Journal #12

During class last Monday I was able to check my grade with Dr. Waters and work with my group on our webquest assignment. After talking with Dr. Waters, I was relieved to learn that I currently have an "A" in the class.

As far as the group project goes, it is coming slowly but surely. We're still trying to find websites we would like to use for the webquest. We did that the previous week, but we would like to find better websites to match our standard and objective.

After working on this project, I have come to realize that instead of creating a webquest for my own students, I would like to use one of the following options:

1) Provide students with a short list of websites to go to for information

2) Find a webquest that someone else has already created

The reason I would choose one of those options over creating my own webquest is that it takes too much time that I won't have when I am a teacher. It would be so much easier just to tell students which websites to visit or direct them to another teacher's webquest.