Website Evals

Using a website evaluation opens my eyes to notice some things wouldn't take into consideration without using one. Obviously, I notice things such as spelling errors, user-friendliness of the page, and pictures. The evaluations asked a lot about credibility as well as noticing things such as advertisements on the side of the page. I am so used to seeing advertisements and links that lead you elsewhere that I ignore them. However, providing a site like that to children could cause a lot of problems.

I would definitely use a formal evaluation when choosing websites to implement in the classroom or if the school or a committee asked me to evaluate one. For my own use and on my own time, I would use my own judgment. My favorite form to use out of the four provided in class today was MidLink Magazine, because it let you rate different attributes of the site on a scale from 0-4. I find that there are a lot of things that may not be applicable for certain sites on a lot of the evaluations. Every form was useful because it asked detailed questions whether you were to answer with a rating or a "yes" or "no."

Instructional Architect

I am very proud to say I attend at USU when things like IA come from the great minds here. I enjoyed exploring and playing with the so many things you can use IA for. I am excited to use this in my future classroom because I can create my own interactive lessons for students to do on the computer, which they love to use! It is similar to WebQuest, however what I like more about IA is that it allows you to browse for resources directly from the site. There are many lessons by other teachers to help you as well. You can simply copy and paste URL's and they become so simple to insert into your lesson! This will benefit my classroom greatly by allowing me to narrow down the material I want my students to use.

Using WebQuest.org can be a great resource in the classroom. I enjoyed that they are something the students can do independently that keeps them actively involved. A lot of the ones presented in class took the students through a process and had them elaborating on subject matter rather than creating a final product without exploring. Another benefit to WebQuest is that it requires students to work in groups. Group work is so important in education. I have also learned of it's importance especially when working with computers.

Some WebQuests required prior preparation and a lot of materials such as one I explored on the 5 senses. I wouldn't have the students go through this process on the computer, but this is a great source for lesson planning on the teacher's behalf. I will definitely remember this site in my future lesson planning.

I am my own avatar now..

Science Sim was very interesting. There are definitely pluses and minuses. First, this could be applied in the classroom as a chat room with others. The main reason I like it is that students can role play and experience things they couldn't in real life. You could take them on a tour of different places or show them architecture and cultures. I didn't like how long it took to set up. Once we all had our own avatars it took even longer to try and get everyone logged in. This could really hinder the classroom, knowing that a child's attention span is even shorter than mine. I would have to spend time to set it up beforehand and experiment before bringing it into the classroom.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEFiYlNEemdnNTNlVU9WOFB5Y2hLT0E6MA

Using google forms to create a poll is something that can be very useful in my future classroom. First, it is a fun way to take a quiz. I think students would enjoy taking quizzes online. It is also very useful to get anonymous feedback for a poll from students and parents. A classroom runs smoothly when parents are involved in the child's education and it would only take a few minutes to fill out a simple survey online. It was also very easy for me to see the results. I can view them as a summary with percentages or specifically see each person's answers.

My online poll

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEFiYlNEemdnNTNlVU9WOFB5Y2hLT0E6MA

March 1st!

I really enjoyed learning some cool formulas in excel today. I have never understood how to weight grades. Normally I would have just done a simple percentage. I will definitely be able to use this grade book in my future classroom. I also went on to the course wiki and looked at some different formulas such as inserting a letter grade.

Polleverywhere.com is a really fun and useful site that I have never heard of before. The instant results make it very practical and easy to use in a classroom setting. Students would enjoy seeing instant results. The only thing that sets me back is knowing that not all young elementary children have cell phones. In fact I think it's ridiculous that more and more do, however I am ready and willing to integrate them into the classroom.