Excel for Teachers!!!

I viewed a couple of different activities on Microsoft Excel for Teachers: (http://www.mediaworkshop.org/humanities/workshop01/excel_partone.html) It was neat to see how helpful Excel can be for teachers. I took a computer class my junior year of high school and I learned all about Excel, so it is definitely not new to me; although I have not used it since that class in high school. Mainly, it was only used for budgeting purposes. Last week in our technology class here at ABC, we had the chance to use the Excel program as if we were entering in grades for our students. Excel really makes it easy for teachers to enter grades, averages, means, and modes. I love how you can enter the average in one cell and then drag the mouse and the rest of the averages appear. It save so much time, and as teachers, you don't always have all of the time that you would like to have. The other activity I viewed had basically the same concept. If you enter into one cell a day, like Monday, you are able to click and drag the mouse from the corner of the cell and the rest of the days appear in order across the page. It really does save lots of time! You don't have to type out every single letter by hand. Excel is a great program and very helpful, especially for teachers!

Content Standards

Honestly, I think that the idea of integrating technology standards with content standards is a good one. From what I have read, integrating CSO's with technology standards seems to make sense. I think it would be very helpful for the elementary teachers. There is already so much technology being used in the classroom by both the student and the teacher, that it would naturally make perfect sense to go ahead and integrate the two. Our world is quickly moving more and more towards technology...everything seems to be run by computers these days. The more you know about technology, the better off you are in life, whether it be at work or at home, etc. People will automatically have more job opportunities the more they know about and how to use technology. In my opinion, it is a very wise decision to set technology standards within the content standards for the students to meet.

Using Digital Cameras

I really enjoyed reading about the many ways to use a digital camera in the classroom. My first impression at the thought of digital cameras was that not much else can be done than what I have already heard or seen...which honestly isn't much. As I was reading through different articles about it, there was much that had never crossed my mind. I am not the type of person who is easily able to think outside the box, so even more obvious uses were new to me. It was kind of exciting. For example, it probably would have taken me forever to come up with the idea of purchasing a camera for the classroom that the students were able to use for different projects and assignments. With the way I tend to think, I was not surprised with making class newsletters with pictures of my students on them, and other things that involve teachers using the camera. So, the ideas that I read about allowing the students to get involved with the digital camera were probably the most interesting to me. Here are some ways that I personally think would be a great way to integrate the digital camera in the classroom:
1. Allowing the students to create a webpage with pictures from a field trip and their thoughts
2. Take pictures of students and activities for a class newsletter
3. Allow the students in the class to take turns taking pictures around the school to create a student newletter
4. For projects on a certain topic, allow students to take pictures of what they are studying for project
5. Transfer pictures onto computer to make a slideshow of the class and class activities
6. One article mentioned this for younger elementary students: If they class is studying shapes, for example, allow the students to take as many pictures of the shape that is assigned to them
7. Have a career day, and take pictures of all the students in their costumes of what they want to be when they grow up; The photos can be used for a number of different things
8. Photograph community landmarks and have the students create a brochure about your community
9. Creat a seating chart with pictures of each students for a substitute
10. Take pictures of plants or animals in your community and use them to create a field guide of local wildlife

The Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom

The learner-active, technology-infused classroom was very interesting. I liked the ideas a lot. It seems as though these types of learning environments would be very efficient. The articles on this type of classroom were intriguing and new to me. It's true that using the computer is not as difficult as it used to be. To me, it appeared that it was more of a hassel to try to incorporate technology into the classroom; now, I see technology and all the ways it can be used as a very helpful tool to both teachers and students. I like the point that was addressed in the second article we read about parents being viewed as partners in the learning process. It seems like more and more, especially in our age, parents are being taken out of the education process, when really, parents are the most important part of it. In Foundations of Education, I have been learning a lot about the philosophy of Christian education, and it's just nice to see that parents are being recognized as a part of the education process. (That was for free) :) Anyways, the mini-lessons to small groups was one of the most interesting things to me. I think a lot of times, I get stuck in the rut of traditional education so much, that I fail to realize that in today's day and age, there could possibly be more affective ways to teach a class. I really enjoyed reading about the various options to not only include technology in a teaching style, but really using it as a tool to better teach affectively.

About me :)

My name is Brittany Coburn and I am a sophomore at Appalachian Bible College studying Elementary Education...which was the last thing that I ever wanted to get myself into. I was actually studying Spanish secondary education at a college in Florida. I wasn't so much concerned about the education part as I was about learning Spanish because I am planning to one day move to Belize to be a missionary. Through a series of events...some unfortunate :) ...I transfered to Appalachian Bible College where I originally planned to study missions/piano and to take some extra Spanish classes. About two weeks before the semester began, God began to pull more and more of my thoughts towards elementary education. I wasn't happy about this. Like I said, it was the last thing I wanted to get myself into. Before I knew it I was sitting in a Testing and Curriculum class in Bradley, West Virginia, enjoying ALMOST every minute of it. :) It's funny how often I see something at the store that gives me a great bulletin board idea! Since I have been in the elementary education program, I have slowly been growing to love the idea of working with children, especially in another country. I was able to visit Belize last August on a missions trip, and I found out that many of the children cannot read and write their own language. This broke my heart. I know God wants me in Belize. And I know, for now, He wants me at Appalachian Bible College learning how to teach children. Education is such a vital part of every child's life. I want to be a teacher that can make a difference in the lives of my students.