Useful Tool

Since we have learned about google docs, I have used that tool countless times. In particular, I use it at work (where we don't have a Microsoft Word-type program) to get a head start on work that I have to complete at home. I like how it automatically saves every two or so minutes. That cuts one step out of homework, and ensures that I won't lose my work. I would recommend this tool to anyone who needs to work on projects from different computers.

Interactive Spread Sheets

The past few days we have been working on interactive spread sheets, and I think that they are great for the classroom. They can easily be adapted to all subject areas, and students will think they are fun. Interactive exercises make students feel as though they are playing a game. I definitely want to use interactive spread sheets in my future classroom to get students actively involved.

We have started using Inspiration to build content webs. I think that Inspiration is an easy-to-use software that can help teachers organize ideas and create activities for lessons. In our activity, we took a topic from our content area to make a web. Mine was a web of different types of graphs since my subject area is math. Inspiration helps me organize my subtopics in different balloons, and it also allows me to insert graphics for added visual interest. Inspiration will be helpful for several projects in the future.

This past week we worked with digital images. The most exciting part was the digital scavenger hunt where we had to take pictures of things that fit certain examples: hot/cold, tall/short, etc. Usually, I only work with my personal digital camera, but it was good to test out a different one. I think students learn best through guided experimentation. Also, working with different images made me think about all of the sources of images. There is a sea of images. With our activities in class, I also thought about how images add interest in the classroom. Pictures grab the attention of students and show them subject matter in a different format.