Project # 10
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I feel as though I have benefited and grown as a future teachers as a result of taking EDU 314-Teaching with Computers in Elementary and Secondary Schools.  I have learned many new technological tools to use in my future classroom.  I am very comfortable using NVU to and WS_FTP to publish material.  This is an excellent resource because the possibilities are endless of material that can be published.  I also felt comfortable using Photo Story, which I would love to use in my classroom.  I feel as though I could become better familiar with Puzzle Maker because it is a good resource to use.

I have learned that it is important to incorporate technology into the classroom and my teaching.  Technology helps enhance content and takes material beyond just a textbook.  Children now a days are very technologically savvy, they are interested in computers and are familiar with them.  All of the programs, NVU, WS_FTP, Puzzle Maker, Microsoft Publisher, and Photo Story are all programs that I will take with me and use in my teaching.  I mostly enjoyed creating the photo story I feel as creating a photo story is a great way for parents to see what their children are doing in class; this is a good way to get parents involved.  I enjoyed learning how to make a Web Quest as well, although it was a lot of work the outcome is very beneficial.  These both serve as interactive tools for teacher s and students.  The Web quest enhances ideas content beyond a text book.  It also serves as a way to explore a place that students would never be able to explore because of budget or location.  Instead of taking a costly field to see the Erie Canal, the teacher can use a Web quest or Virtual Tour.  It is also a hands on way to involve students.  Creating a Web quest can be very beneficial for teachers because once one teacher creates one another can use it; they can be shared.  Overall creating a Web quest in a classroom is a very beneficial way to enhance content in a visually appealing and informational way.  

Technology is a very useful tool, but it can also be a very time consuming and frustrating tool.  I found out that sometimes technology requires a lot of patience and direction.  For example, when using NVU it's important to link everything together correctly; any errors and it throws the whole project off.  I noticed that when I was using NVU I went through the process very fast, especially when linking pages together.  I also noticed that the result of my fast pass I had broken links, and when that happened I became very frustrated.  It's important to take the time to make sure things are done right the first time.  For example, Creating a joint Web quest was pretty difficult when trying to put it all together.  Using NVU was pretty much the easiest part because it is a familiar program.  The process of getting each person’s page they had created involved them saving their work on their USB drive, using their USB drive to open up their project on each group member’s computer, and then that group member saving their project into their own account or USB drive.  Then once I had all the pages I had to link each one to another, starting with the page titled “Projects”.  Then that page needed to be linked to “Project 4” which included a reflection as well as a link into the Web quest.  I wasn’t difficult to link each page but it was time consuming.  My real difficulty came when publishing the Web quest.  I unfortunately must have had broken links.  I then had to go back in page by page and browse to make sure every link worked and fix the ones that didn’t.   

I feel as though I work well individually as well as in a group.  In terms of my learning with technology it was more beneficial for me to work in groups.  While creating the basis of the E-Portfolio; home page, project page, etc. I did not feel confident in what I was doing.  I was constantly looking at the person next to me and asking them what to do next or how to do something.  Although, once I figured everything out I was able to continue by myself.  Most of the projects involved working with a good such as, the Web Quest. Dividing up the work helped alleviate a lot of stress and helped us manage the spent on the project.  We were all able to contribute and create useful pages that were visually appealing and informational.  I feel as though when working in groups the experience can be powerful, assuming the group works together cooperatively.  While working in groups we did not really have a strategy as far as exchanging ideas, and I feel this is because we all felt comfortable enough to just throw our ideas out there.  Students may feel differently about working in groups.  There are some student's who don't feel comfortable taking risks and expressing their ideas.  I think it is important to get to know each child in the class and see how each child works in a group.  Working in groups is one way to improve communication skills in the students, which is an important skill they will use throughout life.  

There are many ways groups can be created; (1) letting the students decide themselves, (2) teacher decides who works with who, or (3) random grouping strategies.  Either way students should be aware of the project and the objectives before getting into groups.  Once the groups are formed it's important that roles be determined.  For example if a group of students are going to create a power point they might need to first brain storm ideas while someone records, then map out a plan of each slide.  The next step would be to decide who would create the power point, in terms of actually typing it out.  Student's assigning roles as well as making sure each student feels individually responsible is crucial.  Establishing who is doing what aspect of the project is crucial, this way each student knows exactly what is being expected of them.  At the end of the project I feel as though it is important for students to reflect upon their experience; what went well, what didn't go so well, next time what would you do differently, and do you feel as though your best work was displayed.