. . . Vici!" tpte 486

I must say, I was extremely hesitant to take this class. As I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of computers because I often tend to accidentally mess things up. I have had set-backs in this class that have affirmed this unease as well. However, and this is a great "however", what I have learned in this class has given me the confidence and skill appropriate to entering my internship year. I have shown what I have done to several people in my family and they have been shocked at what I have learned to accomplish. I cannot wait to show my skills to my mentor teacher and possibly spice up the instruction in the classroom.

My favorite activity has by far been the webpage. I think it is the perfect culmination of this class showcasing everything we have learned prior to this assignment. I am extremely proud of my webpage and will use it in my classroom continuously adding to it. I especially love the quote I found that appears on the home page, and the pictures that were taken at a visit to a Shaker Village in Kentucky found throughout the webpage. Even these pictures I can use to model how history exists all around us, one major theme I want the students to take away from my class. I love photography, especially if it has a story.

My least favorite activity was the iMovie, because it was so complicated when it appeared it should not be. I saw a friend creating an iMovie the other day though, and was surprised to see that her program was simpler and allowed much more creativity without glitches and headaches. Hers came with a Macbook pro though, which explained the better program. I was happy with my completed iMovie, but felt extremely amateurish next to what she was creating. Her version made me like the program better, but I am sure it is an outrageously expensive piece of software for a PC.

Overall, I have enjoyed this class immensely. I feel like I have learned so much that is applicable to classroom instruction and assessment. I would like to thank Joey, Tucker, and Jeniffer Lubke for putting up with my frustration and confusion throughout the course.

The Softer Side of Germany

Using iMovie was extremely frustrating at first. This program at first appears like it should be easy and fool proof. However, I soon learned that you cannot simply try using a feature, then delete it or change it. Actually, you can, but it leaves a hidden little booger that gets in the way when trying to do something later. It keeps a copy of what was deleted and hides it underneath the new slides inhibiting future creations. This probably makes no sense, unless you have used iMovie.

In the end, I must say I am happy with the end result of my iMovie. The pictures are not too clear, but the sound match up with the pictures is pretty good in my opinion. I would love to use this iMovie in my ninth grade Geography class during the unit on Europe. I think kids have a hard time enjoying Social Studies, but if different instructional methods, like the iMovie, are used in class, it can be more interesting and enjoyable.

The Five Themes of Geograhy via Inspiration

I absolutely love using Inspiration! I had so much fun developing this diagram, selecting the images, making notes, adding hyperlinks, choosing colors, and of course, researching the content. In the simplest form, this tool can be easily used in all content areas to create great visuals for visual learners. On a level in which students can in fact have access to a computer, these diagrams can provide a higher level of understanding for every type of learner. This can also be used for assessment to encourage higher order thinking, but only if the tools are equally available to all students.

I always thought it was unfair when a teacher would assign extra-credit for creative ways to demonstrate interpretations of content and suggest making a movie, or something that involved expensive technology. For example, in Senior English during the lesson on "Beowulf", a group of boys who had been hand-fed by a golden spoon their whiole life, had access to movie making programs and equipment. They created a mini-movie interpretation of "Beowulf" to show to the class. I was so jealous, and felt as though nothing I could do was worthy of even turning in for extra-credit. Thus, I find it extremely important to make sure that if a tool like inspiration be used as a form of assessment, it be equally available to each student. Scheduling class periods in a computer lab for instance would ensure its fair use.

Overall though, I find this tool extremely useful and incredible. The knowledge of how to use this program will aid greatly in providing my lessons with interesting and fun activities. I cannot wait to apply using this to the actual classroom.