Google Groups and Google Drive

     I learned how to create a google group and how to create a power point presentation using 

my gmail account. With the google group, I learned how to connect with a group of my peers. 

We connected by everyone in the group picking out a favorite chapter and writing about it, 

responding to each other’s posts about our favorite chapters, writing one story all together, and 

creating a power point to share with the group. I really did not have any trouble with this 

assignment.

      I really enjoyed creating the power point. I was unaware that I could create one
 
 through my gmail account. As a teacher, I think that all the gmail features will come in
 
handy for group projects. The reason I would have my students use gmail for group
 
projects is so that they could connect with one another and not have to be together to
 
do so. The gmail power point would be very convenient because some students may not
 
have access to Microsoft Office Power Point. All they would have to do is get an gmail
 
account.
 
     The NETS-T standards these assignments met are facilitating and inspiring student
 
learning and creativity, designing and developing digital age learning experiences and
 
assessments, promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility, and engaging
 
in professional growth and leadership. Students are able to express their creativity
 
through doing the power point because they can pick out themes, pictures, colors, and
 
fonts. Number 4 c of NETS- T standards states promoting and modeling digital etiquette
 
and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
 
The features of gmail allows for educational interactions between the students.

To view my presentation click here

Web Tools

     By doing the web tools assignment, I learned how to create an online rubric, an online wordle, an online story, and an online track.  The online rubric assignment taught me how to create a rubric using free templates that are available online at rubistar.com.  Wordle was a fun activity that was basically a way that created a summary of my concept map.  Creating the online story using wordle was a neat way to be creative and design my own story.  The online track was a website that helped me create a list of websites to find more information on my concept map. 

     The only assignment I had trouble with was wordle.  I was trying to make some of the words bigger and some smaller.  I found that the bigger I wanted the word the more times I should write it, and the smaller I wanted the word the less times I should write it on the template.  All four of these assignments I will definitely use in my teaching career.  The rubric and track will be for me, but the wordle and story will be for the students.  The story will be great for my students because they can be creative and make up their own story.

     The NETS-T standards these assignments met are facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity and designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments.  Wordle and the story were mainly based on being creative because I was able to design everything how I wanted.  The rubric was like an assessment because that is a tool a teacher can use to assess students.

To view my Wordle I created click here 
To view my Storybird click here  
To view my Trackstar click here 
To view my Rubric click here                        

Movie Story

      I learned how to create a movie story using the program called Windows Movie Maker. I 

used pictures I had and placed them in this program to create a picture slideshow. The main 

problem I encountered during this assignment was getting trying to pick out thirty seconds from 

each of the songs and placing them into the order that sounded best. I solved this problem by 

listening to all the songs I wanted in the slideshow and deciding which thirty seconds I would 

like. Then I placed all the songs into the movie story at the same time. Another problem I 

encountered was on some of my slides there were a lot of words and I was not able to read 

them in the amount of time allotted on that slide. I figured out how to make those slides long 

enough to be able to read them, which simply consisted of adding more seconds to the slides.


      I will integrate this knowledge into my future teaching by having my students create their 

own movie on whatever topic is being discussed. This would be a great project to allow the 

students to do, and they can present the movie to the rest of the class. The NETS-T standards 

these assignments met are facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity and 

designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments. 2 c of NETS-T 

says “customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning 

styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources”. The standard 2 c 

describes the movie story because this assignment allows students to create their very own 

movie using their diverse learning skills.

    

Concept Mapping

     I learned how to create a concept map by using the Inspiration software.  I learned how to 

create a visual representation of a certain lesson topic.  This helped me by organizing the 

information in a way that is easier to understand.  With designing the concept map I created 

text notes, subtopics, and web hyperlinks.  One of the problems I encountered was the creation 

of the web hyperlinks.  I got a little confused on how exactly to design them but I asked one of 

my peers for assistance.  Also I did not do the right amount of hyperlinks so I got counted off for 

that.

     
     I plan to use the Inspiration software in my classroom when I become a teacher.  I will have 

my students make a concept map with any assignment that could help them.  Concept maps 

are a very handy tool when it comes to writing a paper or even just organizing thoughts.  I plan 

to be an English teacher, and that requires having my students write papers.  Concept maps 

are always a helpful tool in regards to brainstorming when writing a paper. 

     
     The NETS-T standards this assignment met are facilitating and inspiring student learning 

and creativity, designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments, 

and modeling digital age work and learning.  Children are able to be creative by designing a 

concept map of their choice.  They can use color of their choice as well as different fonts and 

pictures.  Teachers are also able to assess children with the completion of their concept map.