My first week in EDUC 422 was a bit overwhelming. I was a bit concerned that I had never blogged before and I certainly had never used I Movies or some of the software that the class will be using later in the course. However, I passed the CCR last semester and I am confident that I can use at least the basic programs. This class should be a great learning experience for me. It will be a lot of hard work, but I am confident that it will be worth it.
One bit of information that I found helpful was TinyURL. That website is excellent when you want to provide a link in an e-mail but the web address is too long. I tried using it for a website today, but it linked to the wrong site. My guess is that since the address I entered was so long, I must have left something out or typed a wrong letter somewhere. I will try TinyURL again even though my first attempt wasn't a success.
After reading the Turner article, I picked out some sites that I found helpful. Under section four I went to a site on incorporating spreadsheets into lesson plans. Since I am going to be an English teacher, I found this particular site interesting because it showed how you could teach Green Eggs and Ham using a spreadsheet. The lesson detailed how the instructor should read the book, then set up an activity using a spreadsheet wherein students could enter the different ingredients used to make green eggs and ham with their item costs. They also had price listings for the items from different grocery stores in the area. This allowed the students to learn how to budget for their planned meal, use a spreadsheet, and also learn about the book they read.
I also visited a site under section five which featured a PowerPoint tutorial. I don't often use the program, so it was an excellent review tool for me. I will likely visit it again. I also visited a tutorial on Hyperstack Studio, because I've never used the program and I wanted to see what it was. I wrapped up my exploration by visiting a page under section eight detailing the creation of web pages. I had never considered creating my own page; maybe I will as a resource for my future students. I also would like to learn how to use a digital camera. I visited a listed site under section nine but it was only a comparison of different digital cameras that could be bought.
Overall, I learned a lot from my online explorations. I will visit some of those sites again as a resource.
