World Youth Day 2005 Germany Voice Thread

I really enjoyed this assignment. There was a lot of freedom to do anything you wanted, you just had to explain your pictures. I really liked explaining the pictures in Voice thread and tell my story of my trip to Germany. It's also very interesting to hear yourself talk and then replaying it. I never knew my voice was so high!

I can see myself using this in my classroom one day. I think the students would really enjoy it also. They could get out of hand with the recording if not kept in order, but I think they would really like it. You could use this tool as a presentation for students after they have done a unit on a country. The student could find pictures of the place on the Internet and then they could use voice thread and explain the picture. The teacher could also use this as an instructional tool on teaching the students how to use a computer or how to search for creditable Internet sources.

I feel really confident with this tool and I am excited to use it one day in my own classroom. I think the students would really enjoy it!

Almost done!

These are the last few weeks of class of the semester and it is really getting tough and I am having a lot of busy work. The weather is starting to get nicer outside and finally look more like spring. The end of this semester is kind of bitter sweet for me. This is my last semester at UAF. I am transferring down to UAA and am going to finish my program down there. I am doing this because my family is all down there, it will be cheaper living at home, and Tim got stationed at Palmer and I want to be closer to him and I would eventually love to teach in Eagle River. I have had nothing but a great experience here at UAF. My teachers have all been amazing and I have learned so much. This decision was hard for me. Surprisingly, I didn't have a hard time at all with all my credits transferring. I am still going to be finishing my degree the same time as I would have here.

I am just going to enjoy this last time here and get through all my classes. I am really going to miss all the amazing friends I have met here. They will never be forgotten.

Panraven Story Book

This assignment was a little difficult for me just because the features of this, aren't as developed as comic life or the flickr slide show. I kept trying to zoom in more on my pictures and it wouldn't let me. So then I tried resizing them, that didn't work too well either.

Panraven is a neat site and would be a great tool for the classroom. Students would have fun creating their own story, with the help of the teacher. The students could each create a part of a story and then at the end put every students together in one big book and see how the story goes. That would be a fun idea to do with students. I think panraven would be acceptable for students in the 4th grade and up. The younger students could still write a story, but the teacher could then put it on panraven and show the class what it looks like.

After using panraven, I feel more comfortable with it. I did have some frustrating times with it, but overall it is a good tool and would be beneficial to use in the classroom.

Flickr Slide Show

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I really enjoyed this assignment. I lhave never heard of Flickr before this assignment. I have heard of webshots, but not flickr. This was fun becoming familiar with how to upload pictures, put descriptions with them, and then put them into a slide show. It wasn't that complicated at all, but it does take some practice to get it down.

This would be a really good instructional tool for the classroom. A good assignment would be to have the students research a place, then find pictures that are from that place or show what it looks like. Kind of like what we did. This tool might not be feasible to do with all grade levels, but definitely the upper grades. One concern I would have is if not all the students have access to a computer or only limited access. If that is the case, this assignment would be a bit of a challenge.

Overall, this assignment was fun and I learned another helpful tool. I am learning great new websites to browse and use frequently. Hope you all like the slide show!

Sense of Place Poster

I love doing these assignments and going back and looking at the pictures I took of that trip. I keep learning more and more fun instructional tools everyday in this class. I never knew comic strip existed.

The camping trip me and Tim took was in April 2007 and it was still kind of cold at night. I like a nice warm bed at night, but I was a good sport about it being only 0 degrees outside. I have never been camping in the middle of no where before this trip. It was a great trip and definitely wasn't my last. Since then, we have gone on many camping trips and I am really starting to enjoy being in the middle of no where.

I can see how much fun students could have with comic strip in creating comics for an art project or for a sense of place assignment like ours. I love how you can be so creative with the project too. There are guidelines to follow but the creativity is all up to you. This project is a good way for students to express themselves with pictures they have taken. This assignment would also be good for a photography class. Have the students take a set of pictures and then make a poster of the final pictures. There are so many instructional tools with the comic strip. As I use it more and more I will become more familiar with it. After using it just once, I feel pretty comfortable with it now. I can't wait to see everyones posters!!

Digital video!!!

Horray! my digital video is finally posted! I really enjoyed making this video and looking back at the pictures and seeing how much fun I had. Hope you enjoy it!

Spring Break

I hope everyone's spring break was very nice and enjoyable. I know mine was. I ended up working quite a lot of it though, but it was still really good to spend some quality time with my family. My younger brother will be going off to college next year so I will only be able to see him on breaks so it was a lot of fun getting to spend a lot of time with him.

I am really excited to start the next couple of assignments with our photos. I took some photos of my hometown when I was home for this assignment and am ready to get started.

I know I am a little late on posting my digital video, but for some reason, it won't let me post it on my blog and it's been frustrating me. So hopefully in class tomorrow I will get that done!

Ok back to more studying for me! Spring break is over so let all the work begin again!

Digital Video

To be honest, I have never made a digital video before. I didn't know my computer had a program that can produce videos. I learned something new and I will never forget it. I had so much fun making this video. I choose to make my video about my trip to Boston last summer with my boyfriend. Through making this video, it helped me relive some of the amazing memories that I made.
I think digital videos are a great tool for the classroom and students could really show their creative side through making digital videos. There are so many neat features that go along with the digital video too. Students could make a video instructing others students in the class on how to do something, they could make a video of their family, or just put a video together about an assignment.
This assignment was really enjoyable for me and I look forward to starting the place based assignment after spring break. It will be a way for me to get to know the other students in the class better and show my creative side again.

Power Point as an Instructional Tool

Before doing this assignment, I knew how to make a basic power point presentation, the boring ones that don't have any special effects or neat backgrounds. But this assignment really opened my eyes to all the different features that are in the power point software. I had so much fun making this presentation and playing around with all the different backgrounds and pictures. I think that a power point presentation is a really good tool for teachers and students to learn. It's a great teaching tool also.
Students could use this to present a report that they had to do to the class like we are doing. They will continue to make power point presentations through out their lives. Even kindergartener's could make a power point presentation about a book they are reading and have to write a little summary about the book, with the teachers help of course.
I really enjoyed doing this power point presentation because it was something I have experience with to an extent. All the new things I learned are going to get put to use when I have a power point presentation due in another class in two weeks!!

Oh monday's

Today is just one of those days where I feel very blah. I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend for 4 and a half months while he is at the trooper academy and that was sad. I know he will do very good at the academy and I am so proud of him.

There are so many things going on in my life right now. I am really excited to be going home for spring break really soon. I live in Eagle River, Alaska and it isn't that far but it's always so nice to go home.

If I look like I am zoning out in class I'm not, I am just in a weird blah mood today.

Software Resources

Software Title: Freshwater Habitats
Grade/Age Level: Third Grade
Subject Area: Science
Platform: Both
Purpose: This is a fun way to teach students about habitats and the difference between habitats. The students will also learn which animals live in which habitats and why. The teacher can choose to watch the educational video as a whole class or individual. There are worksheets that go along with the video for the teacher to use to see if the students were paying attention and how much they learned. There are some suggested activities that go along with the video.

Software Title: Multiplication Picture
Grade/ Age Level: Third Grade
Subject Area: Math
Platform: Both
Purpose: A fun and exciting way for students to learn multiplication. The students play the game and as they get answers right, a piece of the picture shows up. It's fun to see what picture is behind the boards. Every picture is different so no matter how many times the student plays, each picture will be different. The multiplication is at a higher level and that is why I suggested third grade. This is a new way for students to have fun while learning their multiplication.

Software Title: Coast to Coast
Grade/Age Level: Fifth Grade
Subject Area: Geography
Platform: Both
Purpose: To test students knowledge and skills of the geography of the United States. Some questions are about the capitals, some are about the shape of a state and some are about geological features that are in that state. This game is fun to play with one player or two. The students would be able to challenge one another.

Excited!

I know this has nothing to do with ED 429.... but I am just so excited that my boyfriend got into the troopers!! He will be leaving to go to the academy for 18 weeks! This has been a long process for him with all the interviews and background checks. Congrats Tim!

One to One

After watching the video in class, I am on the fence with the one to one laptops in the classroom. I have had some experience with observing students in a classroom all having laptops. Last semester I was in a 7th grade classroom where all the students had personal laptops. They weren't allowed to take them home but used them regularly in class. The students used them for power point presentations, writing assignments, research, and some other miscellaneous assignments. The teacher still have the students hand write their assignments with rough drafts and then she had them type the final draft on their laptops. I found this to be a good idea, that way the students don't get rusty with their grammar and English skills.

There are some pros and cons with the one to one laptop program. Some concerns are that the students might not do as well in English and writing if they are dependent on their computer to spell check everything. Like how I mentioned earlier how the teacher I observed had to students hand write their rough drafts and type the final drafts. I really like this idea. It saves on paper and the students still keep up their writing skills. Another concern of mine is that not only the teacher, but the parents have to be educated with the computers in order to help their students or children. Having grown up with all the new technology, I am pretty comfortable with a computer, but some teachers may not be very comfortable. I am also afraid that some students won't be paying attention in class, but then on the video they made a good point that some students won't pay attention if they have a laptop in front of them.

Some pros are that the students will have access to the Internet and educational tools. This is something important. This also helps students become familiar with computers as they grow up in a technology society. Many jobs now use computers and many different programs. Another pro is that the students can submit some of their work electronically therefore cutting down on the unnecessary use of paper. This saves money on printing also.

After listing the pros and cons, I am still on the fence about the one to one program. In the future I believe that most of the school districts will approve and have the one to one program and I will just have to be prepared for it to happen. I really enjoyed the movie we watched and the photography class was really interesting to watch and see how the one to one program worked in that class.

Personal Information

Hello, my name is Katrina, but I go by Trina. I am currently a junior at UAF but I am originally from Eagle River, Alaska and I plan on living there after I am done with school. My major is elementary education and I have wanted to be a teacher for a long time. It started when I coached a U-11 girl's competetive soccer team my junior year of high school. I loved coaching and working with the girl's. I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted to do later on in life. I have been working with this girl's soccer team for about four years now. I am one of four children in my family. I have an older brother and sister and a younger brother. My older brother has three little girls and lives in Nevada. My sister also lives in Nevada and is a nurse. My younger brother is a senior at Eagle River High school. He graduates in May and is going on to college to become an Air Force Pilot. I am excited to soon finish my education and get started on my career being a teacher.