Journal 10

As a teacher, since I'd like to teach 1st or 2nd grade, I'd probably use surveys with their parents. This might be to see how long the students take on their homework at home, to vote on field trips, plan classroom parties, etc. I just foresee using it to communicate with the students parents more than the students themselves. However, I could see maybe using surveys to ask students what things they'd like to learn about. For example, if in science we were learning about insects, I could ask "Which insect would you like to learn more about, butterflies or honeybees?" As for Excel, I'd use this to keep a record of the students grades. I think it'd be important to have a record of the grades outside of the actual school system in case the system glitches or isn't working.

The most interesting topics I've found from reading my classmates' blog has been the different Independent Learning Projects. I like seeing the different topics and technology that caught other people's eye and inspired them to do more research on it. I also liked reading other people's journals because often people would have unique interpretations of the prompts that were different than mine. Prior to this class I'd never blogged before, but now that I have I found it to be an effective way to express individual thoughts on readings and podcasts. I'd love to have another assignment like this.

While touring the Technology Sandbox, I was introduced to really helpful and innovate ways to use SmartBoards. I'm familiar with simple ways to use SmartBoards, but I would really like to learn how to take full advantage of the features that are included in SmartBoards. I think it'd also be helpful because SmartBoards are typically found in every classroom, so I wouldn't have to be concerned with whether or not my school had this hardware. To get familiar with SmartBoard programs I could take online tutorials on them, but before actually teaching I think I would benefit most from practicing with an actual SmartBoard and being taught techniques in person where I can practice the skills.