Reaction to Stop Motion Animation

It didn’t take long to do the Stop Motion Animation at all. We went outside to film and I was the camera man. Both the girls (Morgan and Danielle S.) were in sun-ware and I directed them on when to stop and when to go. It just got to the point where I would flash the camera and say go. I had tried clicking the camera continuously and allowing it to just flow that way with the flashes catching up to the actual amount of pictures the camera would take. Later on I found out that that wasn’t the best idea because the pictures were distorted, flipped, colored, angled, etc. and we had to film the scene all over again. We didn’t mind filming over again because it didn’t take long at all. I believe we had about two or three hundred frames and it took no time at all to do it. Honestly I feel that it was more of a pain in the neck to do the editing than to do the actual filming itself. It wasn’t hard to actually edit, it just took us a bit of a minute to learn how to navigate the program we were using which I think was iMovie. Over all it was a good experience that I would have never tried on my own essentially meaning I would have never found out that I could do it. Im glad we were forced/given this opportunity! =)
*B.C.*

Chapter 10: Assessing Meaningful Learning with Technology

Chapter ten is about assessing meaningful learning with technology. In reading this chapter I revisited a lot about assessment like authentic assessment along with performance and alternative assessment. Prior to this class I had explored these types of assessment so there wasn’t much that I learned in this chapter. Assessing growth through portfolios is something that we learned in the paper form so this chapter just explained how to transfer them into electronic portfolios. That was one of the forms of technology-based assessments that the book explores. A benefit to doing the E-portfolio is that they are easy to update and show the progression made from the beginning to the end. There are also technology based rubrics and even Clicker assessment tools which we were able to use in class. These are very beneficial, especially since students have the option to submit their answers anonymously. There wasn’t much to learn in this chapter since our previous classes had covered so much on assessment, it was just more on how to convert them into electronic documents.
*B.C.*

Chapter 9: Visualizing W/ Technologies

Chapter nine is about visualizing technologies. One of the major focuses on this chapter is how to use technology as a visual benefit. A lot of the ideas offered in this chapter are beneficial to students that need to visualize problems or work in order to fully understand the message being conveyed. One of the programs discussed is “Visualizing Geography With Geographic Information Systems”, students can use manipulative in order to express a number, compound, or possibly an entire equation. Students can solve just like they would with a pen and paper and writing out numbers and calculate them but with the manipulatives students can get a better understanding and can learn what it is the numbers are representing. Visualizing with technologies can be used in so many more ways than this, however; computers and computer programs can be used for maps, Google Earth, and for more mathematical ideas like on a graphing calculator. On a more contemporary level, this chapter explores visualizing with digital cameras and mobile phones. Cell phones, cameras, and cell phones with cameras are steadily becoming a commonly used item across the board and that includes our elementary school students. Finding ways to use these in a classroom will help to grab the students attention and become interested in more ways they can use their cell phones. Recording students presentations and allowing them to watch them back can be extremely beneficial because students get to see their own work and can help give constructive criticism to themselves. Also, it gives students new areas to learn and possibly specialize in like filming, editing, production, etc. This is beneficial because this is not a commonly explored area in classrooms so some students may actually have a knack for this but they are never really given the opportunity to explore it. This chapter was very informative and helpful, I even saw things that would help me as a teacher like video modeling and feedback.
*B.C.*

Exit Slip 4/6/10

Todays class was information packed and I was able to catch all of it as I conducted the “what we did in class wiki”. There was a lot of interesting information used in each chapter and I learn quite a few things from chapter that may be useful in my classroom. We worked on out Stop Motion Animation that is almost complete and actually was rather simple.
*B.C.*

03/30/10 Exit Slip

Todays class was really cool, quick but cool. The contemporary issue about testing on a computer for FCAT was very eye brow raising. It was something that I had never heard of but especially since I am working to be apart of the Education Field I am glad it has been brought to my attention. I was glad to see the resources from this chapter because I think they will be rather useful in my delicious account.
*B.C.*

Chapter 7: Communicating With Technology

Chapter seven was a rather interesting chapter that had alot of very cool ways to incorporate things like video conferencing. Communicating with technology is a really helpful tool to use that can be beneficial to teacher, students, and even parents. Both synchronous and asynchronous have their advantages and disadvantages and can and should be used interchangeably. The asynchronous communication can be used if both parties are not present at a computer at the same time. I learned how I use asynschornous communication without even knowing through things like Moodle and Black Board. If there is something a little more urgent, interactive, and both parties are available to use a computer with internet access then the synchronous usage would probably be best. I love that we got a chance to learn about these different types of communications through technology because they are becoming more widely and commonly used in todays society. I am also glad that we had been instructed to create a podcast here in the EME class because I not know so many ways I can incorporate them in the classroom and how they can be helpful for so many different things. I learned that there are quiet a few ways you can benefit from having a computer conference as oppose to a regular face to face conversation. Computer conferencing can support discussions, debates, and collaborative efforts among students that may be distant from one another. It also enables learners to reflect on their ideas or responses before making them. One that may even be a little more important is the different kinds of things that can be scaffold in computer conferences. Gradually I can see students becoming more common users of communicating through technology and gaining more out of their conversations.
*B.C.*

End of Class March 23rd, 2010

I thought that todays class was extremely interesting. I was excited about the way the presenters presented Chapter 7. The idea of using video conferencing for absent students or absent teachers seemed very eye catching. I also thought about parents being able to chime in and see how their child is behaving. The presentation was great. After the examples we were given I am once again excited about working on my Scratch project. The contemporary issues section raised ideas that I had never really thought about. For the cool tools I got some really cool sites to add to my delicious account. Todays class was very giving of information.