Assignment Reflections

Intro Video

Making an introduction video was intimidating to say the least. I felt extremely unprepared and inexperienced with video. I learned that while it is fast and easy to shoot and post a video, it should take quite a bit of preparation to do it right. I learned that you should probably write down what you plan to say and practice it a few times. You should try filming from different angles in order to look your best. My partner and I tried from several different places because either the light was wrong or the angle gave me a double chin. It also sounds funny because I did not have enough words prepared to fill the time limit. My video would not post correctly and ended up sideways on my website. I do not know how to fix that, so it remains sideways. Even though my video turned out terribly, I think it was very good practice. Most schools today require teachers to have a website on which they post assignments and other important class information. These websites nearly always need an introduction to the teacher, and I think a video is a wonderful way to accomplish that. That being said, thanks to this assignment I will be able to create an impressive and professional introduction video when the time comes for me to have my own students. This assignment aligns with NETS 3 and 5 which are, “Model digital age work and learning” and “Engage in professional growth and leadership.” These goals were fulfilled because making a video with partners and displaying it on the blog constitutes modeling digital age work and introducing myself on film developed my skills as a professional.

Concept Map

I really enjoyed doing the concept map assignment. The software was fun to work with, and this assignment gave me a chance to prepare part of a lesson I could actually use in teaching. I made a concept map about different types of transportation. I designed this lesson for a kindergarten class and filled it with pictures and bright colors. I even color coded the sections so that it would be very easy to understand. Since kindergartners do not read well, each item had a picture of the vehicle as well as the word. Even if I do not end up using this particular lesson, I at least have more experience creating lessons. I had trouble making my links look like fun and relevant pictures on the concept map, but I solved it by placing the pictures on the map and then adding the links onto the pictures. I then deleted the original, boring links. This assignment aligns with NETS 1, 2, and 3 which are “Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity,” “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments,” and “Model digital age work and learning.” They align with these standards because colorful concept maps with lots of pictures can easily help students visualize information and learn in a creative way. This was also a good example of designing and modeling a digital learning experience.

Website

The website assignment was much more difficult than I expected it to be. I made my website as if I was a second grade teacher getting to know my students at the beginning of the year. I had trouble at the beginning trying to figure out the formatting tools of the website maker. Finally I learned that I could insert a horizontal line under the columns so that I could put more information underneath them. I never figured out how to insert a link to my email on the website, so I just put my email address on the bottom of each page. This was a very important assignment for me since I will likely be required to maintain a website for my class when I become a teacher. I will need to be able to produce a website that keeps students and their parents up to date with all assignments and news from my classroom. I feel that now I am able to do that well.  It was very helpful to learn how to insert a Google calendar into a website. This assignment aligns with NETS 2, 4, and 5 which are “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments,” “Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility,” and “Engage in professional growth and leadership.” These goals are accomplished by this assignment because the website is a digital age learning experience, an example of digital citizenship, and a reflection on my professional growth.

Movie

The movie was probably my favorite assignment of the whole semester. The software was easy to work with, and making a movie was really fun. This assignment allowed for more creativity than most of the other assignments since the movie topic did not have to relate directly to teaching. I had never made a movie before, so this was a new experience for me. I learned how to operate the software and share the video on the internet. One problem I encountered was that my pictures took much more time than my music clip. I corrected this by taking out four pictures and making all the other slides much faster. I also removed any fancy transitions that took longer than I wanted. Finally, my credits rolled just as the song ended. It was perfect. This was a great skill for me to learn. I can make interesting videos for my class in the future. For example, after we go on a field trip, I can create a video that will remind them what happened so that they will not forget what they learned. This assignment aligned with NETS 2 and 3 which are “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments” and “Model digital age work and learning.” This assignment fulfilled these standards because making a movie is a prime example of designing a digital age learning experience and modeling digital age work.

Turn It In

The Turn It In Assignment was an unusual experience for me. Even though I knew the purpose of the assignment was to see for myself how Turn It In catches plagiarism, I felt guilty copying and pasting from websites to create a report. I have always been told specifically not to do that, and now it was a requirement! To top it all off, I was not even good at plagiarizing! I had to resubmit my copied report because it did not fulfill the requirement for percent plagiarized. I solved the problem by removing my entire works cited page from the report. I did not have any problems with the original report. My report turned out to be 0% plagiarized. I was very proud of that. Now I know what Turn It In counts as plagiarism and what it does not count. Apparently my copied and pasted report was only about 85% plagiarized because I included the web sites from which the words were stolen. That surprised me. As a teacher, I will have to carefully review each paper’s report that tells which lines were taken from which websites. This assignment aligns with NETS 3 and 4 which are “Model digital age work and learning” and “Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.” This assignment fulfills these standards because writing both plagiarized and original reports on a topic is a good way to model digital age work and learning, and learning more about plagiarism and how to catch it taught me more about digital age citizenship and responsibility.

Web Tools

The web tools assignment was frustrating for me. Trackstar is a good site for teachers to use in their classrooms to allow students to use the internet in a productive and controlled manner. I created a track that students could use if they finished their classwork early. It included educational games from a wide range of subjects and ability levels. I had a little trouble figuring out how to operate the Trackstar website, but I got accustomed to it as I worked more with it. The Rubistar rubric maker is a very helpful tool for teachers. Many times in elementary schools, projects and assignments are graded by rubric. It would be very helpful to be able to create them so easily and quickly online. I am glad that I learned how to do that. The Big Bus Testmaker was not quite such a pleasant experience for me. I created my quiz without a problem, but then I could not figure out how to save it. I had to create it again later and copy and paste it into my blog in order to see if it would work. I may not end up using that particular site in my teaching, but if I decide to, I will know how it works. This assignment aligns with NETS 2 and 3 which are “Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments” and “Model digital age work and learning.” It accomplishes these goals because creating a track of websites is designing, developing, and modeling a digital age learning experience, and making a quiz and a rubric is designing and developing digital age assessments.

Google Group

I was already familiar with Google apps before this assignment, so it was not very difficult. The only problem was that I added someone’s wrong email address to the group, but then I went back and added the correct one. As the group leader, I started the group email, the document, and the presentation. Then we discussed who would do each part, and we completed our tasks together. My group worked well together; there were no slackers among us, which was refreshing. We created a creative and comical story about a man who daydreams about superheroes and villains. We made a presentation about the five senses; it was fun to collaborate about design for that part. I feel like I learned a little more about the Google apps and how to collaborate with people on multiple projects simultaneously.  I think these skills will be useful for collaborating with other teachers on lesson plans. Alternatively, I could have students work together on a presentation and save time in class by allowing them to do so at the same time by using the Google Slides. This assignment aligns with NETS  3 and 5 which are “ Model digital age work and learning” and “Engage in professional growth and leadership.” It fulfills these requirements because we utilized the Google technology to make our story and presentation, and we worked together as a team very professionally.