Almost done.

With five weeks left in the semester, I am eager to finish! Although the finish line is quickly approaching, I look back on what I've accomplished for this course and I am proud of my efforts. Recently I have enjoyed creating and producing a short video, researching new emergent technologies, and creating a Wiki. The hardest part about starting the movie project was trying to figure out what I was going to do it on. Sometimes my creative juices just don't flow very well. I was going back and forth on some topics but then switched gears completely and tried to imagine how I would want the flow of my video to go. I thought about music and what kind of background noises I could have. I didn't want something unrelated, but something that tied perfectly into my pictures and words. That's when I thought of School House Rock. As I kid, I loved watching their movies and I learned a lot from them. I searched the internet for some of their theme songs and when I found the song for Nouns, I instantly thought that I found the perfect idea. It all came together from there. The only problem I had after that was trying to figure out the new version of Windows Movie Maker. I'm not normally good at figuring out technology. When I completed the assignment, I was pleased with the result! However, it took a while for me to get that song out of my head...

As for researching the emergent technologies, I didn't realize how many resources were out there that I hadn't already heard of. I chose two, one that I had heard of but didn't know much about, and one that I didn't know anything about all together. The Wiki was pretty straightforward as to how it was to be set up and I enjoyed doing that. It became frustrating when I went to search online sources for information on my topics, and resources were limited. I made do with what I could find and did the best that I could. I learned a lot about Podcasting and Dabbleboard and would most likely use both in my future classroom. With the semester coming to a close, I am excited to learn about and finish the last pieces of interactive technologies and end on a good note!

Half way through.

This course has proved to be challenging but very rewarding. I am learning how to do things on the computer that I never knew were even available to me. I am continually learning new ways to use my virtual resources and it's been so mind blowing to me. First, the Kidspiration tool that I used, confused me at first. It took me quite a long time to figure things out on it and get my project started. However, once I explored and figured out the workings of the program, I was amazed at my end result. I was pleased with how I did on that assignment and would definitely incorporate something like this into my future classroom.

Other assignments that I found I really enjoyed working on were the Google spreadsheets and the PowerPoint. I am such an organzied person and already know that when I am a teacher, that my grade book is going to be with me all the time. I find it comforting knowing that I could back up anything that I have on paper, using Google's special document programs. If I had not done this assignment, I would have never known about this wonderful tool. The PowerPoint was another thing that stretched me. Of course, I knew how to make a PowerPoint and make it functional, but I had never known how to use linear and nonlinear links. I would find excitement in the simpleness of linking slides correctly. The hardest part of this assignment was coming up with a theme. Once I had that, however, everything fell into place. The ball got rolling, and I was able to make a game exactly how I had envisioned it.

I am throughly enjoying this course, as it is one that has challenged me in more ways than I thought it could. I am learning new things every week in this class, which is exactly what will help me in my future teaching career!