Lesson 2

Lesson 2

1.  Provide a URL of one Web site that discusses spreadsheet and/or database use in the classroom. http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/how-to/Pages/index.aspx - This site is fantastic! It shows a variety of ways to use spreadsheets and databases in the classroom with tutorial videos! It also contains lesson plans on how to incorporate them in different content areas.

2.  Describe something you found that surprised you about how databases or spreadsheets can be utilized in the classroom. On the Microsoft website I found that by using Excel you can create pictographs. I knew the capabilities of graph making on Excel but not pictographs. In elementary we see a lot of pictographs across all contents. The pictures help give the students a better visual of the data and help some understand what is being presented. This would be great to use in the classroom because students could then create their own pictograph, which they would find fun and interesting.

3.  Discuss how you have used spreadsheets and databases in the past. Include ways you have used them with your students or ways you have used them as an educator. I have used spreadsheets in the past to organize MAP data. I put the data into Excel so I can manipulate it in a variety of ways. This allows me to see the kids by RIT ranges or subject areas, Spring scores to Fall, etc. I also like putting the data into Excel because it will calculate growth and typical growth by setting up equations in the cells. I have only used Excel for myself in the past but after reading all of the benefits of using it in the classroom I am eager to implement in the upcoming year. I think one of the first places I will implement it is in our Economics Unit. We do an Entrepreneur Fair each year and the students are supposed to keep track of their supply costs and profits of their product that they make. Students could use Excel to make a spreadsheet that calculated their profit for them and they could update throughout the unit as needed. This is a perfect real life example that students could explore and learn how to use and manipulate data.

     I am not 100% sure what a database is, I have Googled it and read about it but I am still unclear. However, based on the reading I have not used Microsoft Office Access, Google Database, or FileMaker Pro in the classroom in any way. I have used Excel though, if that is considered a database.

4.  Wiki’s – I have heard the word Wiki before but other than that I didn’t know what it was until I read through this lessons readings and explored the websites. The Lamb article was a great way to introduce someone to what a Wiki was and it provided some great examples. I think The Home of Sylvie is a great way that I can implement a wiki into my room. It seemed simple, but informative. I think it would work best in Social Studies when students study the state of Kentucky. I loved the Greek Mythology Wiki! It was full of creativity and had some great student products. I love the idea that you can collaborate with students at your school, but what is even better is that you can collaborate with students at other schools, in other states, or even across the globe. It is a great tool that I am looking forward to using in the classroom.

    The Sheely article was very interesting because I was able to relate with the environment in my building. I feel that it is difficult to share ideas or concerns in our building. We are more reserved when administration is present just like the article mentioned. I also liked the efforts made by the author when establishing a workplace Wiki. It was a great idea but feel as if my building would have the same outcome. Most of us feel as if having to upload ideas to a Wiki would be one more thing on our plate. It would be more of a burden than a blessing.

EDOL 53301 – Lesson 2

Technology Explorations #4-6

Student Name: Samantha Norman                                             Date: 7/8/13

#4 Mapping Programs: Bubbl.us /iMindMap

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.   I explored two of the mapping programs Bubbl.us and iMindMap. Both were very neat in what they were able to accomplish. The programs were developed to help with brainstorming or linking ideas. Bubbl.us allowed you to have a main idea box and from the main idea box you could branch out and develop more boxes from the main box. You could also link ideas from box to box by dragging an arrow and dropping it on the desired box. It was free to use and internet based, so easily accessible. I liked iMindMap much better than Bubble.us. It had a great template guide to choose from when you began, which gave you the main idea box. From that box you could make some connecting lines and more boxes, very similar to Bubbl.us, but the visual elements for iMindMap were awesome! I think students would enjoy iMindMap much better because of the graphics. I think the best feature from iMindMap was that you could instantly create a presentation based on what you just developed. It was super cool to see it bounce from idea to idea.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  This resource would be great in the classroom to connect ideas from multiple books. Students would use the resource to find common ideas, themes, characters, etc. and connect it using one of the programs. Using this visual would allow students to see their thought process on paper. They then could present it to the class and cover some of the listening and speaking standards by presenting to their classmates. Another way this program could be used is for organizing writing pieces. Students could use the mapping tool to brainstorms their ideas and see what idea would be the best to create a writing piece. There are many different ways this tool could be used in the classroom, such as creating food chains for Science, or family trees for Social Studies. The students would really enjoy using it and it would create a wonderful student product. Having iPads in the classroom is great because there are several idea mapping apps, such as Popplet, which is also computer accessible, that the students could use. Having the iPads available could allow students to create idea maps quickly for small group work or individual work.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I would recommend these two sites for teachers. I prefer iMindMaps, but they only have a free 7-day trial before having to pay for the program. Bubbl.us is nice because it accomplishes the same result and is free. There are several idea mapping programs out there so they are definitely worth exploring. They would be great to use in the classroom because the students find it more interesting to use technology than a pencil and paper.

#5 Animoto –  http://animoto.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource. THIS IS THE COOLEST THING!!!! Who knew there was all this amazing software out in the world! This site gives you the ability to create mini movies that are created with little video clips and pictures. There are several themes to choose from that contain their own animation, so when you input your pictures they combine together to make a fantastic visual piece. You have the ability to create a 30 second video for free but if you want it to be longer you have to purchase the software from the internet. I want to use it as soon as possible for my own personal family photos!
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  This resource could be used to document the year, a special event like a project, or a field trip. I think it would be great if students created their own videos at the beginning of the year to show who they are to their teacher and to their classmates. This would be a neat end of a novel project, where students could pretend to be a character and create a video that represents the character in the book. This would require a lot of brainstorming and creativity and would be a great way to assess the students on their reading in a very unique and creative way. So many opportunities!
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I would not only recommend this site to educators but for everyone! I instantly posted it to my Facebook to share with all my friends because it is such a creative tool. It is super easy to use and a great way to track memories. This is a website you must explore! The downfall to the website is that you can only make a 30 second video; if you wish to make a longer video you have to pay for the service.

#6 Google Docs & PhotoPeach

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource. I have used Google Docs in the past for several different things. I used it in a college class where we had to each do a piece of a report. Using Google Docs allowed us to do our part and insert it into the final document. Since we all had access to the same document we could just copy and paste our section into the document and edit margins, spacing, etc. to make it into a fluid piece. This allowed us to work independently instead of having to meet as a group, which is great when you have different schedules. Google Docs is basically word processing online. It is very easy to use and a great collaboration tool. PhotoPeach was a very neat site. It is an easy way to create a digital photo album. You can easily upload pictures, arrange them as desired, and then attach music to them. Once finished it is able to present the “show” and the pictures are shown, similar to a slideshow. Very easy to use!
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  I would use Google Docs in a Middle school or higher education setting. I would use it for students to submit their papers so I could make comments and send it back digitally for them to edit. This would save a lot of paper by submitting and editing papers on the computer. Another way I would use Google Docs would be for group collaboration. If a group needs to write a paper they could collaborate on Google Docs, so they could work on their part independently and submit it online to one document. It would really help with time conflicts when groups try to plan a time and meet, because they could “meet” online. I would use PhotoPeach in the same was I would use Animoto, to document events in the school year or for a creative project that was linked to a book or specific topic. I like PhotoPeach, especially because it is free, but I would much rather use Animoto because of its extra creative elements.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I would recommend Google Docs tool for educators, especially for high school teachers. The site is easy to use and similar to word processing. I think it would interest high school teachers the most because it is a little more advanced for independent work. It would be a great way for English teachers to take paper writing paperless and for groups of students to collaborate on a project. I would also recommend PhotoPeach to not only educators, but to anyone wanting to document an event through pictures. It is a very easy way to organize pictures into a slide show. It has the capabilities of playing music, which results in a very nice final product. This product is similar to PowerPoint, in the way it displays pictures, however PhotoPeach is much easier to input pictures, attach music, and it has a better end result. PhotoPeach is also similar to Animoto, but Animoto has a lot more to offer. The negative side to Animoto is that you can only crenate a 30 second video before you have to upgrade and pay for the service.