MOVIE MAKER

      

    The movie assignment was a little challenging for me. I have a Mac and I could not download the Windows Movie Maker so I decided to just work with iPhoto. I was not too upset about having to use iMovie because I am really not familiar with either. However, I was very confused. I looked at a few tutorials and I think I have it figured out. I just wish I had been able to do mine in the same program as everyone else. I would have felt more comfortable with it. With that being said, although iMovie was confusing, it was fun to work with. The easiest part for me was adding the pictures. The hard part for me was trying to add a title page and credits. For some reason every time I did it, I could not get it to save. I eventually figured it out but it just took some time.

            I can see how this could be a fun and beneficial tool in the classroom. I do feel like it would be geared more toward high school students. I think it would be good for specifically a computer class. I think younger students would like the idea of making their own movie but I think it would be harder for them to do. I may be underestimating young students of the 21^st Century, but I just feel like this would be an assignment for high school students.

            I think this assignment meets the NETS-T Standard #1. This assignment truly inspires learning about a computer program and creativity. Students would be required to choose a topic just as I did and create their own movie with their own creative spin on it.

***Here is the video I created!*** 

Exploring Web Tools

            The Web Tools assignment required a lot of time and effort. Looking back, it wasn’t that hard to complete but while I was working on the assignment, I was a bit confused. Making the rubric was fairly easy. I had troubles with the point system not printing right, but that was because I was making it more complicated than it really was. I think this tool is great and I will be using it in my classroom.

            The next part of the assignment that I worked on was the wordle. The wordle was fun and could be very easy. However, I made it more complicated that it should be which is nothing new. I used the advance version as requested in the instructions, so I was dealing directly with font sizes and colors. Once I played around with it for a minute and got more familiar with it, I realized how simple it really was. I loved the end product of my wordle! I really like this tool and think students will too.

            The next part I worked on was my favorite of the four: the storyboard. I love the idea of creating your own story. You could make it fiction or non-fiction or you could request for your students to write poems. The possibilities with this tool are endless. The only problem or confusion I had with this tool was even when you save the story you are working on, when you open it back up, it looks like it isn’t there. Once you click on each page, it all shows up again, but that definitely caused me a few scares because I thought I lost my work. Other than that, this tool is fun and I think students will like the idea of “publishing” their very own story.

            The last part of the assignment I worked on was Track Star. I can see why this tool could possibly beneficial but for me, it was a headache. Doing this part of the assignment, I was very confused. I think I finished it correctly but I was still lost when I turned it in.  

            I think all four of these assignments meet the NETS-T standard 3.  If I were to use all of these, I think it would demonstrate my knowledge of digital age technology. 

***CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY STORYBIRD STORY***

***CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY WORDLE***

HERE IS MY TRACK STAR INFORMATION:

Created Track #451493, 'Biomes

Track Star

http://bogglesworldesl.com/kids_worksheets/BiomeWordSearch.doc

This worksheet will be an introductory assignment to Biomes. The students will match each biome with a picture. The students will also search for those same words in the word search. This will help the students visualize what each biome looks like and the spelling of each one.

http://www.worldbiomes.com/

This website gives an over view of each biome. The students can easily navigate on the world biomes page. They can see images of each biome as well as read descriptions. This offers an out-of-textbook reference for the students.

http://www.science-class.net/Lessons/Ecology/Ecosystems_Biomes/biomes_brochure.htm

This URL gives basic instructions for a biome brochure.  The student will use this website to find information and use it in their brochure. This is an easy way for the children to use hands on activities as well as technology to do a project and to learn. The students will design a brochure with information about the weather, landforms, plants and animals for their specific biome.

https://sites.google.com/a/pennridge.us/mr-j/teacher/biomes-webquest

This assignment is a fun way for students to use the computer. The students get to navigate on a website. They use the website to find information about biomes. The students research where the biomes are, what the climate is and what animals live there. They use all of this information to create a scrap book.

http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/116225636.png

This worksheet allows students to graphically organize their knowledge of each biome. The students will work in groups on this worksheet. The students can either use their textbook or the internet to find the information. They will fill out the diagram and color it.





HERE IS THE RUBRIC I CREATED USING RUBISTAR:

Making A Poster : Biomes
Teacher Name: Rebecca Caraway
Student Name:     ________________________________________
CATEGORY	20	15	10	5
Title	Title can be read from 6 ft. away and is quite creative.	Title can be read from 6 ft. away and describes content well.	Title can be read from 4 ft. away and describes the content well.	The title is too small and/or does not describe the content of the poster well.
Labels	All items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Almost all items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Several items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled.
Required Elements	The poster includes all required elements as well as additional information.	All required elements are included on the poster.	All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster.	Several required elements were missing.
Use of color	The poster diplays at least 6 or more different colors.	The poster displays 4-5 differnt colors.	The poster displays 2-3 differnt colors.	The poster diplays only one color.
Organization	The poster is very neat and well organized.	The poster is not very clear.	The poster is hard to follow and unclear.	The poster is unorganized and confusing.

INSPIRATION: Bringing Technology to the Classroom

Using Inspiration was fun and definitely a learning experience. Inspiration is pretty user friendly. I was a little lost in the beginning mainly because I was new to the program, but I caught on quickly. I really like how easy it was to connect the bubbles to each other. On Inspiration 9, when you were adding a bubble you had the option to choose which direction it went. I liked that feature because I did not have to do much work rearranging and positioning the bubbles. I also liked that you had the option to snap to grid or just put the bubbles wherever. I think that feature helps people have the option to be more organized if they needed to.  I found it very helpful that it was very easy to add hyperlinks and text notes.

I think that this assignment coincides with NETS-T number 2 very well. I think that young students could use Inspiration to design a concept map that would help them study or remember whatever the topic is while using the computer at the same time. This assignment also follows NETS-T number one as far as allowing the children to be creative and inspires them to be inventive.

             I really enjoyed the concept map assignment. It allowed me as a student to be creative and work with technology. I feel like this assignment or even just Inspiration could be easily added to my elementary classroom. Kids love having the freedom to get on a computer and maneuver around. If I could offer this program for them to work on, I feel they would learn while being creative and on the computer all in one.  I think there are several subjects that this program could be added to and become very useful.

New to Blogger!

      

  I am completely new to Blogger. In fact, I am completely new to blogging all together. I think that blogging will be a good way for students, myself included, to get everything off of their chest about certain assignments. On here, we can talk about what we have learned, what we find helpful and even what we find ridiculously confusing.  

        The second night in IT 365 class, we were taught what a blog or blog folio is and how to use it. I learned in class how to get to the website and how to log in to my personal blog. There are several ways you can personalize your blog. I navigated a little to see how to change the layout and the templates. I like how you can include an about me little blurb off to the side along with a profile picture. I also really like that you can create your own URL or blog address for your blog. All of that was fairly easy to do. This is just a whole new experience to me, so I am still getting used to it. 

        I think this would be a great tool to incorporate into the everyday classroom. Maybe not so much with younger children, but it would be easy to add a blogging experience to the classroom for older students. I think that using a blog could be following the NETS-T standard Number 1. By using a blog, students could record their thoughts and problems with the assignments. I think that by having students write a blog, it encourages them to be creative in the midst of using technology.