My Movie

Journal #6

I really enjoyed using inspiration software. I felt that it had a fairly natural flow to it for people who use computers offend. I didn't have to read directions or use the help menu which to me says that it is a really intuitive. I liked the way you could easily change the shapes of the objects in the flow chart. I didn't like the way it did the lines that connected the objects. I thought that they were difficult to place and control if you chose not to use straight lines.
I want to teach high school math and i think there are definetly some fun ways to incorporate this program in to my class room. I think possibly with solving equations and there being a definite order to the way do it students could create a flow chart showing the steps we use and that could go on the wall or be a cheat sheet for tests.
I didn't use the atomic learning software because I had no problems using the software.

Imovie is definitly a fun program. I really believe that apple makes the most user friendly software out there and besides a couple glicthes (not being able to ass transtitions with out dragging and droping) it was really simple and interesting to use. Now I know all editting software these days have that bar across the bottom to move clips and adjust sound but that really helped me in using the program. I think that students of this generation who have been using computers pretty much since birth are really going to like imovie because of the ease of use and the way you can just hop right in without much tutorial.
I think this might be a difficult program to incorporate in to a math classroom. If I had to though I would think about creating a semester long project where the students have to make an entertaining and eductional movie about one of the topics we covered that semester and how it might come in handy in real life.
Again I didn't use atomic learning because after the tutorial in class I felt like I had a good handle on the program.

Journal #8

Curtis, Diane (2002, October, 1). A '"fantastic super" use of technology: Closing the digital divide. Edutopia, Retrieved October 11, 2008, from http://www.edutopia.org/fantastic-super-use-technology

This article discusses the uses of technology in Mary Scroggs Elementary School in North Carolina. It talks about the way it uses the internet to both connect with parents and improve communication with in the staff. Done with a grant this school manages not only to supply every classroom with computers but also any families without computers are given "internet access devices" in order to communicate with teachers. Scroggs elementary is designed around the idea of collaboration. Two teachers share any given office and there are spots around the school for gathering and meeting. Upon arriving a new teacher commented on the lack of competition and how great that felt. The most impressive thing about Mary Scroggs Elementary was not any one of those things but the way they planned and build it so that all the parts worked together.

1. How can I incorporate the ideas behind the layout of the school without the actual building?

I think a big thing is making sure that the space I am given is being utilized. Making sure that as a teacher I have a space in my classroom for myself seems important in feeling professional. I also think that if possible the administration should try to group teachers either by teams in middle school or by subject in high school. That way there is more opportunity for collaboration.

2. What technology can I best use in my classroom?

I'd like to definitely incorporate a way to use an online grade program so that my students are always aware of their grades. I think that a class blog would be useful in a high school classroom especially simple things like the daily warm ups or what the homework was that day.