If I were to teach a lesson using technology, I would use Inspiration to help my third graders outline an English paper before they wrote it. Inspiration would be used to help them organize ideas before writing their paper based on a topic of their choice. The program would not only encourage children to organize their ideas, but it will provide a fun, creative outlet to do so.

I've decided to critique blackboard (www.campus.fsu.edu). Nothing flashes and there is no stacked text, so it's easier to read. Also there's a nice mix of uppercase and lowercase letters so it's not confusing or hard to read. The navigation buttons are easy to locate, and aren't placed in many places. There is many colors on the page, but they all compliment each other so it's nice to look at and doesn't hurt your eyes. I think it's a pretty well organized site to look at visually.

Copyright has always been a difficult concept for me to understand, even to this day. Clearly, copying a large portion of some body's work is illegal, but if you cite it is it legal? And if you just read something, and like a concept, is that illegal if you don't cite it? When writing papers for my AP English class, I just cited everything and hoped for the best. If I were to become a teacher, I would definitely learn and understand every rule of copy writing and then make a handout using Word so my students can easily understand what's legal and what isn't. Because I want to teach elementary school, I will make sure my lesson on copy writing is easily understood and not too detailed as to confuse them.

Inspiration

Blog Post 2

I've used Microsoft Word as a student for as long as I can remember. I've used it since elementary school to type of assignments and essays. My teachers have used it for multiple purposes. The newsletter they sent out each week were created using Word, as were the assignment sheets they passed out. Many of my teachers used Word to type of grading rubrics that they gave to each student. I feel like my teachers used Word often, I just never realized that Word was the program they were using.

Chapter 9 has given me some new ideas to use Word in the classroom. I like the idea of using Word to create a newspaper. I think, if I teach a classroom full of older students, I can encourage them to create a newspaper for the entire school to tell other students about important events from the students' perspective. Creating and using tables can be used to organize data when my students do science experiments, or take surveys for math activities.

I've definitely acquired a lot of new skills in using Word. I used it just to primarily type essays, but now I know I can create a lot of really cool things with it. I've learned how to create page borders, new shapes besides rectangles, columns, and tables. I knew how to do most of it before, but now I feel confident that I can create whatever graphic I need. I think these skills will be useful because I can teach my students the skills I learned in order to help them complete any type of assignment.

MS Word Creates a Blog Posting

This is unusual

Blog Post 1

I think computers, especially in this day and age, are a fundamental aspect of the educational experience. Many children have at least some experience using computers, and know, to an extent, the value of the Internet and common programs (such as Word). Computers allow a large variety of information to be conveyed easily to students and will be beneficial to use in the classroom. The days of using projectors and transparencies, along with whiteboards, are over, or at least will be relied on less to teach students. I think there is a chance that students or teachers could misuse computers. We've all heard about people who send naughty emails from their work computers, or who are so absorbed in their emails that they ignore their students. Students could spend their time on Facebook or Myspace instead of doing their intended work. But many schools have securities on their computer to prevent certain websites from being accessed, and I think this will help prevent students AND teachers from using computers for the wrong purposes. I agree with the issues raised in Chapter 1. Computers are extremely important in the education field, but must be monitored to ensure proper use.

I will use computers in a variety of ways. I'll allow my students to learn and explore different ways to find the information they need on the Internet. I'll teach them how to use Word and PowerPoint to complete various assignments, and also use these programs in my own lessons. I'll teach my students how to create spreadsheets to present data. When students behave or do well on assignments, I'll allow them to play educational games on the computer (such as Oregon Trail) for an allotted amount of time. I hope to learn how to use Excel in this class, because it is the program I am least familiar with. I also look forwarder to learning new ways to convey information that I didn't know before.

I've been thinking about double majoring. I'm not completely sure which other major I would select, but I'm thinking either Psychology or Business. Psychology really interests me, but I know just having a Bachelor's degree in Psychology won't really help in getting a job. I would major in business because it's been my life goal to open and own a bakery.