Course Reflection

The IT 365 Computer Course at the University of Southern Mississippi taught me several things about the use and application of integrating technology into a classroom. I learned about several methods and resources that will be very helpful to me when I am a teacher. I was taught how to create and find free (that’s the best part) tools and software that will help me be a proficient, flexible, organized teacher. Just a few of the things I learned was: how to create or find worksheets that I can print out, how to create quizzes that can be taken online by students to help them study or printed out to administer to the class, how to design my own blogfolio and my own website that is accessible to the general public or a selected audience, and I also learned how to use the assistive functions that are built into most computers to help students with disabilities. I think the assignment that I did the best on was my website. I tried to make it look professional and informative. It was my favorite assignment from this class. I feel as if I will use the information that I learned from creating this website, as well as the website, or one like it, in the future. The assignment that I had the most difficulty with was actually the Kidsperation assignment. It was mainly because it was hard to maneuver the objects the way I wanted them, because the screen would not would not open into a full-screen so I had a difficult time seeing all of my objects. With continued effort I eventually got the concept map to look (relatively) the way I wanted it to. When I use this software in the future, I will be sure to plan ahead to make sure that I will be able to fit my objects the way I want them on the map.

            This information I learned in this class taught me many useful ways to integrate technology into my future classroom. Not only will the software I learned how to use be beneficial to me, but it will also be beneficial to my students and their parents/guardians. Students can use Kidsperation to create concept maps to brainstorm ideas or learn about different topics, or create their own short movies for projects. Parents will be informed of the necessary information about my class from my easy-to-navigate website. I will be able to quickly create quizzes, worksheets, and rubrics to use for my students to supplement lessons and provide grading timely grading results. This class taught me many ways to use technology in any classroom, and I will certainly use this invaluable information in my teaching career.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is technology that is used to assist someone with a disability, whether it be vision impairment, a hearing disability, or any other disability. I never realized how many free assets where included on Windows computers until I did an assignment for the IT365 class that required me to create a PowerPoint showing most of the different features that are built into Windows to help people with disabilities. It is necessary for me to know how to use these assistance features in my future classroom in order for me to help assist any student that may have a disability. A few of the features I learned how to use were: a high contrast setting and a magnifying setting – to help students with visual impairments, and the Flash feature – to help students with hearing impairments see a flash on the screen when the caps lock key is on. Knowing how to use this assistive technology enables me as a future teacher to be able to use technology to teach all of my students as well as I can. It also helps to ensure that I will be able follow ISTE Standards by designing digital age experiences for all of my students. Here is a link to my PowerPoint:

Assistive Technology

GoogleSites

GoogleSites is a website from Google I used to create my own website that I will be helpful for me when I become a teacher. This website was free and really simple to use. The only issue I encountered while creating my website was the spacing on the text was hard to adjust. Some of the text had gaps in it. However, the more I edited, the better it looked. Other than the text issue, the website was practical and efficient. It offered backgrounds, pre-designed templates, and numerous fonts to choose from. It had easy navigational links and editable boxes to help the user know how and where to paste, type, edit, or create text or pictures. I will use this software in my future classroom to relay information to students, parents, administration, and co-workers. I believe that having a free website that is easy to use will be invaluable to me as a future teacher. I can use this website to post schedules, material and supply lists, grades, rubrics, contact information, classroom news, and other important information. I think this assignment was the most helpful assignment to me, because I never realized how easy it can be to create a professional, simple to use website. Using software like GoogleSites will help teachers to follow ISTE Standards by promoting and modeling how to use digital technology, and using technology to engage in professional growth. Here is a link to my website:

Kelly's Kindergarten Class website

Social Networking Sites

Google sites and social networking sites can be used by students and teachers in the classroom or at home to share information. There are many free websites and resources that can be used by only creating an online account with the website. I used the Google Docs site with several of my classmates to create a story that could be shared among classmates, but only classmates I selected and the instructor in my class. This could be a very useful tool for students to create and share projects among each other. It allows for each person using the Google Docs page to see exactly who is typing what, in real time. Students and teachers can also use Google Slides to create sharable slideshow presentations. Using this free, easy access software can allow for students to meet ISTE Standards by using collaborative tools to work together to create, think of, and plan a project, and using technology to exhibit knowledge and skills of how to use various software and programs. Teachers are also meeting ISTE Standards when they model how to use this software by showing students how to share their work with others. Teachers can also use this software to share information with parents and guardians through the use of blogs and websites. Using this software utilizes and provides multiple resources to implement work in various formats. Here are the projects created with Google sites:

Story created using Google Docs with several of my classmates

Presentation I created using Google Slides

My Movie Maker

My Movie Maker was relatively easy software to use. The main issue I had with this assignment was the most time consuming part of this project - gathering the materials (images and music) for the movie. The software was free, and it comes pre-installed on most Windows computers. This software could be used by students and teachers in an elementary classroom. Students can use this software to make their own movies to display their work that they have done in the class. For example, it could be used as a digital portfolio. Teachers can use it to display projects, topics, etc. Using this software, or software similar to it, can help teachers meet ISTE standards by: designing and developing digital works, inspiring student learning, and promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility. Teachers will have to explain and ensure that students are aware of copyright laws and citing their sources, if they use anything that they didn't create. This software will help students learn and understand how to create digital projects that are meaningful to them. This will also help students learn how to integrate technology into projects that they might not otherwise use technology for. For example, students may want to take pictures of art projects that they have done, and create a movie of all their best work. Below is the project that I created using My Movie Maker: