EDIT 6150 Summer 2006 |
||
|
|
Productivity Tools I really enjoyed completing this assignment because I was able to use some of the skills I had already acquired through being a yearbook adviser. The First Day powerpoint presentation and the brochure were very beneficial to create and I plan to use them both to get the new school year off to a great start. The calendar will be a nice touch for my senior students to help them keep up with their many deadlines and the seating chart will help keep substitute teachers organized. The certificate and nametags will also be used for my upcoming yearbook students. The gradebook and attendance assignments were the only things that I will not be able to use in my classroom. My school system has a county-wide computer program for grades and attendance. It was still useful to see how to create them if the need ever arises. Cognitive Tools I had a difficult time with this assignment. Being an English teacher, I had trouble thinking of an assignment that my students could use involving an Excel spreadsheet. After much worry, I decided to create a lesson around the occupations of the Middle Ages and how those occupations fit into the fuedal system as illustrated in The Canterbury Tales. I am not entirely pleased with the lesson and I hope to improve on it soon. WebQuest I had a great time creating the WebQuest. I wanted to make sure I created something that I could use in my classroom so I decided to make a WebQuest about the Middle Ages and The Canterbury Tales. I am pleased with the end results because the web task is complicated enough that students must work in groups to complete the assignment. I also like that the task caters to students' different interests and abilities. Another great part of the WebQuest is that it can be used in conjunction with the cognitive tool listed above. Open-ended Project My open-ended project was a PowerPoint game to introduce students to Shakespeare. Students often have the impression that Shakespeare is dull and boring, and I wanted to challenge that idea by exposing them to some fascinating aspects of his life and his plays. The game is designed for high school students and serves as a foundation for further Shakespeare study (see lesson plan). I can not wait to implement this game and hopefully change some students' opinions about Shakespeare. Literature Review As I read the assigned articles for this class, I noticed how technology can improve differentiation in the classroom, which is a big buzzword in education right now. I also noticed how easily technology fit in with Gardner's multiple intelligences. My focus for the literature review was on how technology can be used in the classroom to reach all students of all levels and abilities, and thus appeal to different intelligences and allow for differentiation among students. |
|