ILP Participation Lynda Tutorial

For my second independent learning project I decide to do a video tutorial from the website Lynda.com. I chose to do Enhancing Images with Photos for OS X with Richard Harrington. In this tutorial Richard teaches how to fix photos using the photos app that comes on Apple computers. He teaches us how to correct colors, enhance images, fix exposure and tonality, fix color and cast, and how to make black an white images. For this tutorial I took a picture of my nephew and with the help of the video I cropped and enhanced it. I also fixed the lighting by reducing shadows and highlight, and increasing contrast and brightness. The last thing I did was make it black and white. When watching this video I already knew some about the editing feature on Photos but Richard explained in great detail the use of each of the features on it.
Link to the video: http://www.lynda.com/Photos-OS-X-tutorials/Enhancing-Images-Photos-OS-X/408241-2.html
Product:

ILP Design Prezi

I made a Prezi explaining the three main components of the water cycle with graphics.
https://prezi.com/pzr3rytdug9v/the-water-cycle/

Blog Post 10

For the PowerPoint Interaction assignment I chose to do a Jeopardy game. This is the first time I've ever done something like this on PowerPoint. I found that the templates were pretty easy to maneuver and that even without a template it would still be fairly easy to make. The only thing I didn't enjoy was that there were so many slide so adding all of the buttons and changing the areas on the templates were cumbersome. That being said, it could have been a lot worse. Know how to do an Interaction PowerPoint will be a useful tool to have in hand when it comes to doing reviews in class.

Data collection tools are very useful for teachers to keep track of how theirs students are progressing, or digressing.  I want to be a French teacher to 10th or 11th graders in high school. Keeping track of their average homework and tests grades will allow me to better understand where they are struggling so that I know what to spend more time on in the future. If I were to be a math teacher, any kind of math teacher, data collection tools would be useful to both teacher and student in which they can collect real life data and use it to solve math problems. It's very practical in its application in a math classroom.
In my classmates blogs I found interesting the ways in which they would use certain technologies in their classrooms. They came up with many new ideas that I had not thought of and that I'll be sure to think about when I have my own classroom. Some of the things I read were related to the use of non-computer technologies and the use of different tools that we've learned and used in class. Something else that I saw that was interesting was how they reviewed the assignments that we've done in class.
A technological skill that I would like to learn is image editing tools like photoshop and video editing tools like iMovie or something like that. I find those tools incredibly interesting. Ive worked with iMovie before and I had a lot of fun with them. I think that once I learn how to fully master these tools that I'll be able to teach them to my students and could possibly make it as a fun project they can do.
At this point there is not a lot I can do to reach my technology goals. All I can do now is continue to use the tools that I've learned in class so that I'm constantly up to date with it and not having to relearn it. It all depends on what school I end up in. If I'm in a school with little technology there isn't much that I would have to learn but I would need to learn how to take initiative with programs that would allow more technology in my school. If my school has all windows systems I would need to learn how to maneuver that better because I'm very used to the interface of Apple computers.

Blog Post 9

There are many ways I can integrate peripherals and non-computer audio-visual technologies in my classroom. One of these ways includes using cameras in the classroom, preferably one that records. The main use of this would be to records my lectures in class. I can combine the use of cameras to computer based technologies by uploading the videos to the computer and allowing my students access to them either through a youtube account or a class website. Some peripherals that I can use in the classroom include all of the components of a computer so they can function properly. I can also add printers so I can always have the opportunity to give paper copies to the students that prefer them.
The website for the Goethe Institute, https://www.goethe.de/en/index.html offers many resources for both teacher and student. The Goethe Institute offers all kinds of information on Germany; the language, its culture, articles related to it, and opportunities for both teachers and students. Overall the website is credible. The Goethe Institute has many recognized locations in Europe. The articles are current and have listed authors with their contact information. With an evaluation like the one from one of our previous assignments it would get a good rating.
As someone looking forward to being a foreign language teacher for upper-level students I found this website to be very useful. There are many resources for current events that I can present to my students to keep them up to date with relevant information. There are e-learning resources that students can use and that I can as well. There are also exams that students can use as a study resource.
I enjoyed the assignment PowerPoint for Information Dissemination because it was the first time I had ever built any kind of lesson plan and I did it in my favorite subject. It really made me feel like a teacher and reassured me that education is still the track that I want to pursue. I have used PowerPoint so I already knew most of the basic skills that were required to make this. Something new that I learned was the use of sound and the background lecture that I was given. Learning these new skills will be useful for when I post powerpoints and additional lecture material on class website so my students always have access to this material.

Blog Post 8

Some of the advantages of using presentation software in K-12 classrooms are that they are easy to use, make, and follow by students and teachers alike. This can also be a disadvantage because easiness makes it easier for teaches to fall into the pattern of using them everyday which gets boring. The monotony of these presentations may actually hinder the development of students as students need constant variety to be interested in a subject.
In terms of the digital divide I would be on the side that has been constantly surrounded by technology. From a very young age I've had computer and internet access. As I got older and technology advanced so did my technological equipment. I've always had the latest phones and laptops for academic and personal use. Even without these things I went to a school that had a sufficient open access system with the many computer labs they had available. Because I want to be a French teacher I don't think it'll be too big of a problem having a classroom in which the students are part of the digital divide in which they don't have internet readily accessible to them. I feel as long I have proper technology for myself in my classroom then I can accommodate the kind of work I give out to not hinder the less fortunate students. I can do this by focusing on more book work when it comes to homework and focusing classroom time to the things that might enhance their knowledge from online resources.  
One of the main issues concerning educational technology today is the problem of funding. While there has been much research and innovation concerning technology in classrooms there has not been an equal fervor for implementation. While some states like Illinois dump tons of money into making sure all their schools have the proper technology other states have not been concerned with the importance and benefits that technology brings to the classroom. One of the questions I ask myself is why these states aren't on the same page when it comes to funding technology and why there isn't a nation standard for the required amount of technology in each school and classroom?

Blog Post 7

   PowerPoint can be used in multiple ways to support student learning, especially in each step of Bloom's Taxonomy, these steps (from easy to difficult) include: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. At the level of remembering a fast-paced game can be created on PowerPoint to recall the basic parts of a concept. At the level of understanding a more in depth lecture can be created to go over the meaning and the connotative aspects that apply to these meanings. At the level of application a choose-your-own-story interactivity can be used to to apply the concepts to a real life situation. At the level of analyzation a teacher can create a concept map or flow chart from slide to slide in which a teacher will take a big concept and break it down with the following slides. At the level of evaluation PowerPoint can be used as an interactive test in which students are able take the concepts and judge them in front of the class. And lastly at the level of creation students can create their own PowerPoint covering one of the concepts gone over in class.
   Assistive and adaptive technologies are mostly used to aid and improve students that have a tougher time learning the traditional way. These technologies can be very broad in their aid or very specific. For example audio player can help students that have a tough time paying attention to books. I have never known or encountered someone that has used this kind of technology. Some of the challenges that come with assistive technologies include catering to the specific needs of every student and some of the technology might be disruptive to the other students in the class.
   In the web page design assignment I learned how to use a new kind of interface. Because it was done in class I felt a little rushed like I couldn't really explore all the features that were included. Next time I feel like Ill be able to improve on a project because Ill be able to truly work with all of the features.

Blog Post 6

No matter what age or grade level teachers maintaining a class website is always useful. During a students younger years parents are very interested in what their child is learning and how they're progressing and maintaining a website is avery good way to keep parents updated even if the students won't get any use out of it. In the later years of public education teachers should maintain a website specifically for their students. It is a good way to keep students on track by providing resources and keeping them updated on homework, tests, and events. Maintaining a course website is worth the effort because that way students and parents can never say they "didn't know".
As a future teacher I feel like I would constantly want visuals for my students. Using technology in the classroom allows me to have that consistent flow of information available to my students. I can use a course website as I said before to keep my students updated and on track. I can also use them to upload external resources and any material that I use in class such as PowerPoints and videos. In class I can use Elmo's to display a worksheet that we're doing in class or I can use it to display a bigger concept something that can't be shown on a board. Smart boards are also useful in class because it can be used interactively between teachers and student.
The Web Evaluation Wiki was an easy assignment but the formatting of the Wiki interface on google was hard to use. Ive used wikis before that are not on google that were easier to use because everything was easily changeable whereas in the google wiki it was hard to get rid of the things I didn't want on the template. The web evaluation itself was easy to use and understand and it gave me a greater understanding of how I will pick and choose the websites I present in class in the future.

Blog Post 5

Prezi is a Web 2.0 presentation software much like PowerPoint that allows someone to create slides with information for any kind of purpose. The difference between Prezi and PowerPoint is the artistic and more imaginative features of Prezi. Prezi allows you to to pick one of the many themes in their selection that can be related or not related to your subject and make your Presentation look more fun and inviting. The Prezi website https://prezi.com/ is easy to sign up, use, and maneuver. With easy and convenient to use features Prezi can easily replace PowerPoint as the future's most used presentation software.
Prezi, although easy to use, isn't the most appropriate of tools to use in a K-12 setting. Younger students that are quickly adapting to new technologies probably wont have much use of it. It is very useful for the latter years of high school in which students are often asked to do presentations, because it is free.
As I said in the paragraph before Web 2.0 tools like Prezi and others are useful in certain grades of the K-12 education system. Younger students are inclined to being more hands on visual learners and with shorter attentions spans they probably wont have much of an appreciation or use for these tools. Getting into the middle school and high school years students have more access and knowledge of the internet and its uses and are able to use and appreciate these tools in and outside of the classroom. Presentation tools like Prezi and mobile apps like Edmodo are often used in upper-level classrooms so students can make their own learning tools and are able to communicate this with other students in class of their ideas.
Ive never used a Web 2.0 tool like imagination so while doing the concept mapping it was a whole new experience using that tool in particular. I like that there were pre-made templates. It made it much easier to input information without constantly having to add or fix how I wanted the map to look. I can use concept mapping in my future career when I cant to show connections between certain concepts, especially while explaining french grammar which sometimes has several steps.

Teaching a foreign language is difficult because of the limited exposure students get to the language. More than likely a student will never get the opportunity to speak or practice it outside of the class which is why it is important to engage these students in web based sources so they have that extra exposure outside the classroom that they don't have in their everyday lives. For example finding videos and online worksheets can improve a students listening and oral skills. 

Using the internet to support student research is useful on the circumstances and on the method of research. Using internet databases to find scholarly articles for an academic paper is useful; using wikipedia to do last minute brush research on presentation, not so much. As long the research is credible and being used to better understand or come to a complete understanding of a subject then internet research is useful. 

When I initiate a search on a subject or topic I usually start with typing in the topic in a search engine, usually google. From then I evaluate websites much like the podcast mentioned. I check the credibility, if the content is related, and I make sure to be wary of sites that look unstable or have off looking advertisements. This has helped me to sift through many sites which saves me time and makes my academic work better. 

The web hunt assignment was pretty straight forward one of the main things I learned was that a website is not all that it seems and that sometimes content on a website can be hidden. So, I had to search past the search engines into the website and click through several links to sometimes find what I was looking for. 

Web Hunt Challenges: 

Find a website for free online textbooks. 

Find a picture of Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat

blog post 3

To do a visual critique of tumblr.com is special because one has to consider the two different types of people that go on tumblr. Overall tumblr has useful features like the search bar at the top which is always available, the post are in linear order, and the useful feature of the recommended blogs on the left hand side which is catered to specific people. All of these elements are visually pleasing and have a purpose. At the top right corner there is a line of symbols which look really cool but for a inexperienced tumblr user is somewhat confusing like the lightning symbol, it does really give much of a clue as to what it's for. On the right hand side there is also the Radar section which is kind of like an ad. Most people agree that ads are useless clutter and that is correct in this situation. Overall tumblr is not too overcrowded and has a great general layout where everything can be found on the main page.

In my career as a teacher I can use infographics and videos in many ways. I can use videos primarily to show outside content in French. A major struggle that students have when using their linguistics skills outside of the classroom is they understand accents other than their teacher so exposure to accents in the form of videos enhances a students listening skills. They're also fun to watch and good break form regular classwork. The use of infographics is a good way to show the class and the administrators progress. The information presented on them can also be useful to show information regarding different french countries.
The newsletter design assignment was an interesting one because it wasn't the first time I had to create a document with different elements other than a basic academic essay but it was the most elaborate one that I have done. One of the new things I learned was how to use template. I am used to creating works with a blank document but for this assignment I decided to use a template so I learned how to manipulate the elements already provided for me. A challenge that I had in this assignment was the way my textbox and pictures were layering. Because of this I figured out how to use the reorder feature which I thought was really interesting and helped my newsletter look more together.

Blog Post 2

MS word has been mostly beneficial to me in my academic writing. The formatting, spelling, and grammar check make it easy for me to only worry about the contents of my paper. I have occasionally  used it in my technology classes or my computer literacy classes to show proficiency in MS word with features other than that of writing. My teachers did not use MS word much unless they used it to create a document that they later printed out for us to have. In my intro to education class when I would go observe teachers I noticed that teachers will use MS word and project it onto their smart board so they are able to post directions and change things on the board without having to go to the computer. It seems like a convenient method to present things and is something that I would use in my classroom.
I took English Comp 2 last fall semester and the main issue that we discussed was originality and if anything was truly original. We came consensus that nothing was original but then that brought up the issue of copyright and whether or not it was even valid if we take everything from something. Regardless everything that we as students write should have citations or bibliographies but there has  never been much of an emphasis on citing graphics or pictures. As a teacher I plan on explaining to my students plagiarism and the importance of not taking credit for another persons work. I also plan to emphasize citations in all academic work.
I have always been an avid Twitter user but what some people don't appreciate about it is the aspect of communication. Most people just go on Twitter to follow celebrities and their friends but outside of that there is a real network of people putting themselves out there, communicating their ambition to the world and making connections with others that can make this happen. I plan to be a French teacher and I still haven't decided whether I want to do public school or some kind of private tutoring but a way in which I can use Twitter in either aspect is using it as a communication base with my students. They will be getting constant updates on things involving the classroom and assignment. Its a good way to keep everyone up to date.

Blog Post 1

In an age where almost everything can be done with the single click of a button on a computer it is of the utmost importance to include computer and other kinds of technology to the educational experience. As much as some try to disconnect students from technology it is almost impossible to do so these days and it's only going to get harder later on; so including computer science education in a curriculum is a great way to facilitate the benefits of technology toward learning. Teachers and students now have a way to monitor progress inside and outside of the classroom, and they have a myriad of resources now available at all times of the day that help with the advancement and enhancement of subjects. Of course there are concerns that come with including technology in the classroom. One of the main ones is cyber safety. Luckily this is an easily correctable problem where teachers can explain and model the correct ways to navigate the internet and how to avoid problems like cyberbullying and viruses. Although we are heading toward a time where everything is digital we are not there yet so it is important for teachers to have a balance in their lesson where they can teach their students to solve situational problems even without the help of technology.
I very much want to be a french teacher and a lot of the things involved with teaching a foreign language has to do with listening which means my classroom will not have a big focus on technology. But opportunities in which I can use technology would be for simulations. For example a major problem with teaching french in a classroom is that students don't get to here all the different kinds of voices and accents that one would in encounter in a french speaking country like France. Having computer programs which allow for that kind of exposure would be a great help for a complete comprehension of spoke french. There are also programs that allow for audio recorded assessments which would be great for me as a teacher so I can listen to my students progress. In this class that I'm taking I'm hoping to learn good research methods to provide my students with an optimal range of audio and visual resources.
To be a digital native is to be a person who has never known a time without technology, or someone who considers technology an extension of themselves. This is an accurate label to describe today's youth because now very young children can be seen holding the newest iPad, or having the newest gaming system and even now app developers continue to throw out apps directly for children. One of the main differences between a digital native and a digital immigrant is how dependent they are on technology. I personally don't leave my house without my phone or my laptop at any given time because I feel weird without it but my mother consistently forgets her phone in the house because she's not used having it as a part of herself. For the most part my teachers have a pretty good grasp of the technology used in classrooms but some of my older teachers if they encounter a problem during the lecture they sometimes have great difficulty trying to fix them whereas my younger teachers can easily resolve them. I feel as if when I'm a teacher I will struggle with the new technology because I constantly get frustrated at the ones here and now but I'm hoping I have tech savvy students that can help me out.

I have owned my own laptop for over 5 years now. I'm a loyal Mac/apple user so I am not too familiar with windows software. I took a computer fluency class a little over a year ago so I am familiarized with with most aspects of Microsoft including word, powerpoint, excel, and outlook. I regularly use safari for class research but I am also familiar with google chrome.
In this class I hope to learn how to use technology in a classroom setting since I do plan to be a teacher. I am hoping these assignments will further my knowledge on how to prepare myself and my future students for the future.
According to the questionnaire I am a reflective, sensing, verbal, and global learner. Which is for the most part accurate. Reflecting helps me a lot to understand things that I didn't necessarily get in class or it helps me prepare for the next day. For sensing I do prefer facts because they're easier but I enjoy talking about concepts and theories in an abstract kind of way. I do prefer listening because even if I am not paying attention I somehow still seem to pick up on things. And being a global learner really just depends on the subject; for some I like to be sequential for others I am more global.