Reflections of EDU 314
    The first day I walked into our computer class I was not sure what to expect. As I sat and listened to our teacher I began to feel overwhelmed. I have no experience when it comes to computers. The most I have ever used a computer was to e-mail  friends and family. When I started college in 2004 I had to learn how to type up papers using a computer but that is it! Now I am sitting in a computer room with a teacher telling the class that we were going to learn all this technical stuff and my mind just went numb. Then I hear my teacher say that we should ask for help as much as we need to because she knows that we are all learning this for the first time. I was so relieved to hear this I immediately relaxed a little.We were encouraged to play around with the computer programs we would be using and learn what we could about them, so during our next class we could begin making our first page. When I got home I downloaded the two programs, Nvu  & ws_ftp, onto my laptop so I could work on my projects at my own pace, which is usually very slow on a computer.
    Our first assignment was to make a Homepage and a projects page and then eventually our first comment page for our e-portfolio. I did not have too much trouble with the homepage except for linking the picture of myself and my husband. I had a hard time with remembering all the steps that were required to link not only the pages together but also the pictures. I went home after our second class and tried for hours to remember all the steps until finally I was able to get it all done. Once I was able to get all the steps to the process down linking pages became easier.
    The next big step for me was learning how to publish my web pages. This was not too hard for me to do. I think the hardest part about it was remembering to re-publish a page whenever I made a change to it. Once I remembered to do that every time I was fine.Our second project was suppose to be a group project, but I ended up doing it alone. I thought I was a part of a group because I had specifically asked if I could be in their group.  The next time our class met I was told that they did not know I wanted to be in their group, so I had to quickly figure something out on my own. I went home and spent hours retrieving information from our local school so I could put together a school website of my own. I made my own homepage for the school website then I went to the real Johnson City School website to see what the lunch menu looked like. I decided to copy and paste their actual lunch menu onto my new lunch page. I also copied the table format for the menu because I was not sure how to do it on Nuv. I think the whole website turned out pretty good considering I had never done anything like that before and I did it completely on my own. I was very proud of myself.
    The Puzzle Maker project and the Microsoft Project were very easy for me. I was able to follow along with our Professors directions for both projects so I did not have to spend a lot of personal time on these two projects. I did however, go back later in the semester and redo the Puzzle Maker project because I did not like how small the words were on my puzzle and I always like to do my absolute best on a project or homework. I am a member of three different Honor Societies and I try very hard to get the best grade I can on everything I do.
    The web quest project was an interesting project because we were doing this for our EDU 374 science class as well as our EDU 314 computer class. We also worked with the same group of people in both classes. This web quest is also part of a unit plan we were doing for our science class. I enjoyed doing the web quest project but there was a lot of confusion and I think there must be a better way to do it I'm just not sure what that is right now. Our group did our web quest on "Deforestation of the Rainforest". It is for a 5th grade class and I think they should be able to find all the information they need in order to understand the subject.
    I really enjoyed doing the Microsoft Publisher project. I made a b brochure for my oldest son Donald for part of the assignment. The other brochure I made was a basic brochure for Math Day at Parker School. I did not have Microsoft Publisher on my computer at home so I downloaded it for a 30 day free trial in order to fulfill this part of our assignment. I love having this program so I think I might keep it.
    The next project was a labor of love. I made a photo story of my family. Most of the pictures are dated from 2004 to 2008 because that is the time I have been in college. My husband and children have supported me so much while I have been in school I needed to do something to say "Thank You" to all of them. I would not be able to get the good grades I get if they did not do all the house work and extra things they do for me. Now I am working on my last project which is writing this reflection and I have a lot to reflect about.
    I know I have learned many new skills because of this computer class that will help me when I am a teacher. Almost everything I knew how to do on a computer I had either taught myself or my oldest daughter had shown me how to do it. I had very basic skills and that was all. Now I know a few more helpful things that will enhance my teaching skills, hopefully. I will at least be able to make a brochure to send home with my students if I am having a special event at school. I will be able to guided my students through a request or make a puzzle if I need to fill some time for my students.
    There was a day in class when I sat in my chair and cried because I was so frustrated by the amount of work and how fast we were receiving instructions I just could not keep up. I even considered quiting because of the work load at school and all my responsibilities at home. My husband talked me out of it and I am glad he did. I am proud of the work I did in this class and I am glad that I didn't give up!


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