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Thursday, September 25, 2008

Powerpoint and Beyond

I liked the chapter we read in using technology in the English classroom because it provides an opportunity to see how what technologies children learn and use in the elementary classroom can be expanded on as they advance throughout their school careers. I agree that multimedia software is a great way for students to gather their main points and thoughts, and then eleborate on these points in a presentation. It eliminates the problem of having to think on the spot, and it gives students the opportunity to use innovative learning techniques. I though having student fill out a flow chart is a good idea, because it is essentially the same as creating an outline. That way students can use their time efficiently. I was unfamiliar with the copyright notice which students can use instead of citing all of their sources. I think this is especially efficient for the younger grades, but I still believe it is important for students to learn about plagarism and how to cite their sources properly. I liked the idea of having student reflect on their projects because it gives them ideas for improvement, etc, without the teachers feedback.

I really enjoyed working with the multimedia software. I had a lot of fun making my project, and there is still so much more I could do with it. There are endless possibilities of what you can do with the software, as we saw today in class. One of the things I find frustrating about software is that I know their are sometimes more efficient ways to do things but I just don't know what they are. Some of the other challenges I had with the project was determining what significant texts to include in the project that would be sufficient in conveying the main idea to the students. I had to decide if the picture was enough of an explanation or if text was needed. I also had trouble navigating the web to find reliable sources and typing in the keywords that would give me the best results for pictures. Despite some of the frustrations that come with learning about technology, I do get excited when I master something and I will be a more competant teacher because of it. I am glad I am taking this class and learning so much!