Oh so Easy Excel

I love Microsoft Excel. It is interesting, organized and very simplistic to use. The problem with Excel is that it is expensive. When I found out that I can do the same stuff on Google Spreadsheets I was thrilled. All of the same features are there that I would normally use from Excel but more importantly I can access it from anywhere as I can my Google Docs. This is a great tool for me to use personally and in the classroom. It would be nice for my students to not only share their ideas but their data from labs as well.

Search Engine Hell

Let me be the first to say that I am terrible at searching the internet. What takes me hours can take others only minutes. Yes, I know the standard tricks to the trade such as using quotations and the word "AND" however, this is not always the answer. While researching the search engines I learned rather quickly that the "advanced search" is a very useful tool.

I am an avid Googler. I Google everything. Most of the time I do not even type the URL into the address bar because for me it is easier to go to Google, type the name of what I am searching for, and then click the link. I always assumed that the same websites that show up on Google will show up and all of the other search engines. This is not the case. While playing around I found that there are a lot of difference among search engines and that the top 20 site that show up while searching are also different. I have learned that I need to used at least a couple of search engines while researching in the future.

Call me Mrs. Stick Man o->-<

If there is one thing in this world that I cannot do besides pee while standing, it is drawing. I am not good at it which makes the task impossible. I am actually so bad at it that even my graphic is a stick man. It is really sad when my two year old makes better creations than I do.

The graphics programs that I researched this weekend now supply me with a handicap for my lack of artistic creations. With these programs I can create creatures that look terrible but professional all at the same time. Even my students who fear pencils would not object to this form of technology.

The presentation programs are a great way for my students to share information with classmates in a way that does not involve passing notes. Not only can they present information they can also share it which is a benefit during group work. These programs allow my students to be creative in the classroom instead of on the bathroom stalls. :)

The text on the other hand is not to my liking. I think that it is uneventful and repetitive. Some of the information is useful, however I prefer to learn by doing as we have been the last few weeks.

Round Two

No matter how hard we try there is no escaping technology. No matter where we look there it is staring us in the face, in the forms of computers, cell phones, pda's, i pods, mp3 players, and of course video games. Now I love all of these devises just as much as much as my students love theirs. I own the new Blackberry storm, a laptop, an i pod, an XBox 360, a Nintendo DS, and a PSP among others. Technology operates me better than I can operate it.

That said, technology is something that is applicable in my classroom and out. Because technology has obviously captured the attention of my students (and is not letting up), it can be my best friend when it comes to teaching...

Blogs are a great way for students to read each others work and to communicate in ways other than passing notes in my class and talking to each other in some form of sign language that I am apparently oblivious to...

Skype could be used to communicate with important figures in the community. This way the studnents will have a way to interact with an imperative adult instead of torturing them as they are doing our X - Mayor of Racine by playing ding dong ditch at hi house because the community just found out that he was a pediphile.

Google Docs is an excellent way to post papers and messages to classmates and others in the school. Perhaps this will eliminate the need to write on bathroom stalls (or not).

Not only can technology improve the learning of my students it might actually improve behavior.

It's all a pipe dream I know... wishful thinking. :)

Square One

My long journey to achieving a masters degree is just beginning. I feel a sense of excitement followed by a sense of being overwhelmed. This path so far has started off a bit bumpy for my liking. However, the funny thing is that this would not be a technology degree if it ran smoothly! Despite a few bumps and bruises along the way, I am sure that this degree will be beneficial to the way that I teach everyday. In today's world I am being "out-smartted" by my students when it comes to technology. On one hand I am trilled at the amount of intelligence that they possess and on the other it worries me that I will not be able to teach effectively with times moving so quickly. My hope is that this degree will allow me to teach using methods other than PowerPoint. I love to teach science and my students enjoy it even more when technology is part of class. I would like to learn to pass the keyboard into their hands.