Final blog - A reflection of IT365

            This computer class has been quite a journey for me. I started this class not knowing very much about computers, and I am leaving this class knowing much more than I did at first. I was scared at the beginning of the first class because of my limited knowledge of computers, but now I am more at ease when I am working on a computer which is every day. The first assignment to create a folder on a jump drive was a learning experience because I had never used a jump drive. I was glad that I already had a Google account because that kept me ahead of the others in the class, but only for like 2 minutes. I had success getting my Blog account opened, and I will definitely use a blog in my classroom because it is easy for people that have all levels of computer experience. I really enjoyed making my concept map, and I learned many things about the Kidspiration website just by searching with the very useful navigation keys. I think using the Kidspiration or Inspiration software would be a great way for teachers to show their students about using a concept map for their school work. The assignment about Gender Bias taught me that everyone should be aware of plagiarism and how the Turnitin website can detect plagiarism, which can cause someone to get failed or even expelled from school. I did learn that there is a large gender bias and a large gender gap in the technology world. I learned about some very useful tools for a teacher during the web tools assignment. I created a rubric on the website Rubistar, and I have used this site many times during this semester for my thematic unit lesson plans. I love how easy this website is for making online rubrics, definitely a winner! Quizlet is another great website to use in the field of education by providing teachers with many ways to create study sets of vocabulary words. I really like the ABCTeach site where I learned how to choose a worksheet and how to save it as a PDF document and then print it. I love to do crossword puzzles, and I loved going to the Eclipsecrossword website and creating a crossword puzzle. This will be another favorite website to use in my future classroom. The movie assignment was one of the most interesting things I have ever done on a computer. After receiving this assignment, I knew immediately that I wanted to make my movie about me and Tony, the love of my life. I will use this in my future class to make a video blog starting at the beginning of the year, during the year, and at the end of the year to show my students how much they have changed over the course of the school term. A movie can also be an alternate way to present material to the class. The Google functions assignment taught me how to start a GoogleGroup that enables the members of the group to communicate, which is a great way for teachers and students to communicate. I love our group story, and I enjoyed reading the stories that were posted by the other groups. I learned how to make a presentation using Google Documents, which is very similar to Microsoft Power Point. The Google Site assignment taught me how to make a website, and this will be very beneficial to me when I start teaching. In the assistive technology assignment, I learned how to change the settings on a computer to make adjustments for students with a physical or developmental disability. Teachers need to know this because their lesson plans must be adapted for students with disabilities so they can participate in the class just like everyone else.

           These were not the only things I learned in this class. I learned many things that I will use in my future profession as a teacher, such as adapting for special learners, using assistive software, making a portfolio, and using word processing programs. These are things that I will refer back to many times during my career, and I am so glad this class was included in our curriculum. I still have some weaknesses in my computer skills, such as understanding the operations and commands for using and controlling a computer. In the future, I would like to take an adult community education course when I get the time and money.

Assistive Technology

         
          This past week in my IT class, I have been learning about assistive technology, which is anything that helps increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. In this class, I learned how to take pictures from a website and place them in a PowerPoint presentation by resizing the picture to fit the slide. Since there might be a child in my classroom that is using a low vision computer, I learned how to change the display to a high contrast extra large scheme that would be more readable for this student. I also learned how to use the magnifier, and I placed a magnified picture in my power point. I learned how to set the Toggle Keys in the Window Accessibility Features in case I have a student in my classroom that has a physical disability that causes them to engage a computer key setting. If I have a student with a mild hearing impairment, I can use the Windows Accessibility Features to set the options so a visual alert flashes in the active window when the computer sounds an alert. If there is a student in my class that has a physical impairment and as a result needs to use a pointer to access the computer, I can set the options so the keyboard is displayed on the screen. The most fun thing I learned was how to place a picture in the power point and add a sound to it. I learned how to make adjustments to the mouse that may be useful for people with certain needs. These kind of things were not easy for me to do, but with the help of my classmates and my instructor, I was able to get it all accomplished.
          These lessons all tie to the ISTE standards to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, to design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments, to model digital age work and learning, to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility, and to engage in professional growth and leadership. This lesson ties to the common core standards of integration of knowledge and ideas, production and distribution of writing, research to build and present knowledge, comprehension and collaboration, and presentation of knowledge and ideas.
Link to my presentation: Assistive Technology

Google Site

For the past couple of weeks, our class has been working on our Google Site assignment. This is teaching us to make a website using GoogleSite. I have really learned a lot from this assignment. One of the things I learned is that it is easier than I thought it would be. I will use Google Site to make my future website. This is the URL to my website:  https://sites.google.com/a/eagles.usm.edu/ms-jeffrey-s-1st-grade-classroom/

This is the first page of my website:

Home

Ms. Jeffrey's email address: robin.jeffrey@eagles.usm.edu

Things you will find in this website:

1. Information about Ms. Jeffrey
2. Course information
• Classroom calendar
3. Web resources 

This assignment ties in with the ISTE Standard to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. It ties in with ISTE Standard to design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. It ties in with ISTE Standard to model digital age work and learning. It ties in with ISTE Standard to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility. It ties in with ISTE Standard to engage in professional growth and leadership. This ties in to the common core standards of integration of knowledge and ideas, production and distribution of writing, research to build and present knowledge, comprehension and collaboration, and presentation of knowledge and ideas.

Google Groups and Functions

          For the past couple of weeks in computer class, we have been working with Google Functions by using Google Groups, Google Docs and Google Slides. The Google Group assignment allowed our group to communicate and share ideas with each other. The Google Document was an assignment that our Google Group participated in writing an imaginary story. Each member in the group had to write a section of the story. I love the story we wrote because we all used our imaginations to put our own personal spin on it. This was a great way for the four of us to collaborate, and I believe this would be a very useful tool for classrooms in all grades. Even young children would enjoy writing a story on a computer, and with this tool they would be able to co-write a story with their peers in a classroom. Older children could also use this to write stories by themselves or with a group.
          I really enjoyed making my Google Slides. I like to express myself artistically, and this was real enjoyment. I will definitely use this is my future classroom. It would also be beneficial to teach this to students.
          Teaching Google Functions to students ties with the ISTE standard to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, the ISTE standard to design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments, the ISTE standard to model digital age work and learning, the ISTE standard to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility, and the ISTE standard  to engage in professional growth and leadership. This assignment also ties to the common core standards of integration of knowledge and ideas, production and distribution of writing, research to build and present knowledge, comprehension and collaboration, and presentation of knowledge and ideas.

Link to my Google slides:Visual Arts