TPTE 486

I am glad I took this class. It opened my eyes to many FREE programs and websites that teachers can utilize in the classroom. These programs can even be used as assistive technology for some students with disabilities. I think technology is the "new" way of teaching education. People today are so involved with their twitter, Facebook, blackberries, and other social networks and communication tools that regular ways of teaching do not seem to be effective anymore. I feel that students will be able learn while utilizing these tools with out distracting them from their education. I look forward to using some of these techniques in my classroom and hope to find out more.

Scavenger

Scavenger hunts is a great idea to involve children with the introduction of a lesson. Students can take a digital camera and search for items around the classroom, school, or even at home. I believe students will have fun with this and become more interested in the subject. My group had a great time working on the scavenger hunt! check it out!

Lesson Plans

Lesson plans are designed to help teachers plan a lesson to the fullest extent. I really enjoyed planning our lesson plan. Writing theme with such detail allows a teacher to minimize the amount of idle time in the classroom. I feel lesson plans are very helpful to teachers and will definitely be used in the class!

Website

We are now working on our website projects through Google sites. This is very exciting. Google has made it very simple to create a webpage.I actually enjoy working on it, trying to make it better each time. I feel that this is a great idea to incorporate in my classroom along with the blogs. Parents and students will be able to log on to the inter net, visit the webpage, and be able to keep up with what is going on in class. There is contact information, supply list, and resources that the parents may utilize. here is a link to Mr. Franklin's Class

iMovie

iMovie was by far the most frustrating yet rewarding assignment we have done. Some programs are very time consuming when you do not understand what is going on. I found this exciting to work with though. It was great making a story about something that I was interested in. The most difficult part was making sure the pictures transitioned well. I doubt I would use this program in my class or make students do this assignment.

Here is my iMovie:

Update

Blogging has been great this semester. I feel I am more involved with what I am doing. The blogs help me reflect on the assignments that we complete. It makes me wonder if I would use these in the classroom. How would it help my students? What type of assignment would be best for the topic I am covering? How would students benefit from this? Overall Blogs are a good idea to get your ideas out.

Interactive Spreadsheet

I feel that the interactive spreadsheet was a good idea to use in the classroom. Students love interactive things. I feel that students learn better by doing assignments that are set up like that. The only problem I had with the spreadsheet is that a student may have the right answer but may have abbreviated it. The solution to that is to create a word bank for the students to use. I know I would definitely use this in my classroom.