April 3. 2012 ED421 Class Recap

Tuesday was the first time ED 421 met for the Spring '12 term. We were introduced to a couple of new things that were allowed to create, explore, and play with. 

Firstly we create this blog, which I am finding out I just might more than like blogging. The use of a blog is so versatile the possibilities are endless. Besides the fact that you can write about whatever you want with a real live audience to read your work, you can format and manipulate many features helping the user become more computer literate. In the classroom a blog can be powerful. Sometimes teachers plant great ideas or point out some apparent wrong doing and students rise in an uproar with the need to do something. A blog is a great way to share concerns, opinions, and big ideas with a real audience that can produce actual outcomes. This is empowering and has a magnificent effect on students work. In my experience, more time is spent on sentence structure, word choice, grammar, and punctuate. More drafts are made and more people work in collaboration   when there is a real audience outside of the teacher to read your written work.

Secondly we explored BigHugeLabs.com which is a site that lists many other sites that mostly have to do with photos but not entirely. I personally investigated a make-your-own-jigsaw webpage called Jigsaw. It very quickly made any photo into a puzzle but it cost about $30. Most of the sites wanted a username and password and cost money to receive the product. Additionally you could do things like create motivational posters, create color palettes from your photos or check to sunrise/sunset time of any location in the world to name a few. I am sure this website can be used in the classroom considering there are so many options for taking a single photo and create tons of fun stuff.

Lastly we played on the SmartBoard. I haven't had a chance to play around with one yet and I was excited to get my hands on it. I, unfortunately, noticed some issues for easy use. I am so used to a touch screen that I kept trying to scroll by touching a dragging but that only highlighted the text. Because I am right handed I want to stand on the right side of the board so I can write (because it is a white board) but then when you need to scroll down the page you have to walk to the left side and drag the handle down, with cords from the computer in the way, it became tedious and a danger. I imagine there are a thousands other things you can do on the SmartBoard and I am willing to try it for them but the computer can be just as effective when you have it projected on the wall for the purpose we used it for. 

Until Next Week,

Jessica