Group Work

This past week the entire class split into groups, (different from the group we were in for out "grade" powerpoint). The goal was to create two powerpoints out of our powerpoint book, one of our powerpoints was about the solar system, the other about idioms. This was an interesting week. I got a feel for the people that I was working with, I learned more about my classmates. Some I found out are a little more power hungry then others. And also there are some people who are content not to give any feedback regarding the project at all.
It is aways interesting to meet new people and try to figure out how to change ones personality to better work in a group. Some people don't change at all, which can be good and bad. It is important when working in a group for EVERYONE to be involved. I know, for me it is sometimes easier to work in a group. But it does depend on the project. When people are together working there are more possibilities that a greater project will come to be. But also there is the possibilty of people not getting along. This is when the people in the group need to grow up and just get the project done.
I'm excited to be a teacher, and I think that it will be benificial for my students to work in groups. There is a greater understanding when there is more than one person. Some of my students may understand half of the project and some may understand the other half. Then during group projects the whole class then can get together and better understand everything! It will be interesting to see how certain people do in different groups, but all together I feel that group work is very benificial.

This Weeks Events

Well... this week we went over PowerPoint.
I LOVE powerpoint, but I'm also excited to learn new things.... This week we got into group, (different from our grade group) the groups were random. But we were able to make two powerpoints for our powerpoint books... There are SOOO many different ideas in there that is was really fun to see what all I could present with powerpoint.
My favorite one that we did was "Idioms." It was super fun looking for different idioms and finding pictures to go along with it! Also there are so many different things that you can do with each slide that the presentations never get boring. I was able to put entrance transitions on each of the slides so that they all come onto the page into different ways!! Also when I was doing the template I could choose different ways to lay the page out and also I had the option to put different colors as well.
I'm really excited to be a teacher, and taking this class will be so so so benificial because it is helping me learn how to play with different technologies to better teach my (soon to be) students. I look forward to teaching and also being an active teacher and think that powerpoints and everything that we've gove over will help me be a better teacher.

5 Uses for a Digital Camera in MY classroom

This week in class we were able to work on our power point that we will be presenting to the class. Sandy took us into Picasa and we were able to modify and alter our images that we took last week. It was super fun adding different effect to the images to make them look completely different. We also were able to start putting out power point together; it was pretty fun to see our work coming together! Not quite finished yet.... But it will be!!
Now for the main reason of this week’s blog: 5 uses for digital cameras in my classroom...

1. Take pictures throughout the year, and then create a year book for each student.
2. I can use photos for seating, and attendance charts.
3. Take photos of the child and also have the child bring in photos for a book about them self.
4. Create step by step instructions using images.
5. As a class take pictures of all different things to help prompt my students to write about certain things in the pictures.

This will be so exciting for the students. With the pictures throughout the year it won’t just be pictures of them in the classroom, but it will picture of them at all of the field trips we go on… Anything special that we do!
Now with the seating chart this will be super helpful to anyone who comes into my classroom! I will not only be able to learn their names quicker but also those who come into my class will be able to match a name to the students face!
I can take pictures of the student, and also have the student bring in some of their younger pictures. This way we can create a book that they could narrate along with the pictures of the student’s life.
Step by step instructions are especially helpful if someone can actually SEE what is going to be done next. In the younger grades the students may not be able to read complete instructions on how to do something. So having pictures to illustrate what needs to be done would be super nice!
I know how hard it is to think of something to write about. So if I were to take my class outside, through our class, and around the school we could then take pictures of all sorts of objects and places. This could then be part of a daily rotation. Look through the different images and find one that inspires the student, then they would write about the object or place. It would be very interesting as a teacher to see what the students write about!

Digital Cameras

This week we were able to get into groups according to which grade we want to teach. I was in the third grade group. Sandie asked us to go out and take pictures of certain things which could be used in a third grade curriculum. Once we had taken the pictures she asked each of us to get the pictures. Because we used a digital camera we were able to transfer them to the computer then onto everyone in our groups thumb drive. This was so convenient. With a regular disposable camera we would not have been able to do this. Also a great thing with digital cameras is that you can view the image before it is printed. This saves so much time and also a lot of embarrassment.
In the articles we were able to see how digital cameras can be used. The "100 ways to use a digital camera" was very interesting. I know that I have used a camera in some of those ways such as taking in the changes of the weather. But I would have never thought about using a camera to take pictures for a seating chat. That would be so nice!! It would help me learn the students’ names quicker! And also it would be fun for the students. Also photos for step by step instructions would be very convenient for the students. Because some students learn visually better than just reading something. It would be a way to actively engage the students.
Then the article about 10 tips when buying a digital camera was very useful because I didn't know that if I wanted to be able to print a 8x10 I’d need at least 3 mega pixels it was very informational.
Then finally the digital snap shot article was very neat to read. I would one day like to do a similar activity with my own class. It would be an easy way to engage the student and also make it fun. This also would be especially nice because they could look back through the book we would make and SEE exactly what they did. It is sometimes much more fun to actually see and view what you once did instead of just read about it.

PowerPoint

This week we learned all sorts of stuff in power point. I was taught how to go through and put links on images or text, and not just to sites on the internet but also how to link to other pages within the PowerPoint. So when I create my PowerPoint for my assignment next week I will be able to link between slides and this will help me be more organized.
Also in PowerPoint there are plenty of ways to do graphs. The options are way more than just line graphs or pie charts. It has so many different graphics that I can't wait to explore all of the different options that PowerPoint offers.
Also all of the slides don't have to look the same. I can change the layout and the color and put different Word Art on every page. This is a great tool so that my PowerPoint wont be boring. I know that grade school kids can get distracted very easily, so if I have viberant colors and difference between slides it will help them stay more alert to what I will be teaching. Also a major plus to using a slide show to present information is that it actively ingages the students, for example pictures help students who are visual learners.