Author: Sherry Steppel

1. What did you learn about the intersection of technology and instruction? What was your progress on becoming a “tech-savvy” teacher?

In this coursed I learned that there are many applications that are easy to use and available to teachers to make their teaching more engaged and fun for students. Technology expands the resources a teacher has. For example instead of doing a graphic organizer on paper a student could make a mind map to express their ideas. Of course access to technology is key for technology to be incorporated into a a classroom. If a school or classroom has access to computers or tablets, teachers should be using those devices to make their student learning hands-on and student centered.

This course has made me a more tech savvy teacher because now I know simple and complex ways to incorporated technology into the classroom. Also know I know how useful the google apps are. The google apps were easy to use and have many possibilities for assignments or projects. The applications I learned are helpful to make learning fun and engaging, but also the technology can be used for students who need accommodations or differentiated instruction. I would say that I am closer to being a tech savvy teacher and with a little more practice I will be a full tech savvy teacher.

1. This class was driven by mini-projects instead of test and papers. How did you respond? What does that tell you about student motivation?

I really enjoyed the set up of the class. Student centered learning is the best instruction for a student to learn and understand content. The class was more interactive and hands on. Papers and tests do not allow a student to show their creativity or full understanding of a topic, but the mini projects allowed for the students to be creative and show their learning by having to create something by using a specific application. The mini projects is the best way to teach this course.

I respond to the mini projects with enthusiasm and curiosity. I enjoyed how I could personalize my projects and learn how to use the applications at my own pace. This noticed me to go the best work I could and put my full effort in each project that I created. I was also motivated to finish each project within the allotted class time because I did not want to work on the projects outside of class.

Link to create your own protip https://spark.adobe.com/

1. target audience- College Students
2. subject of lesson – Safe drinking and standard drinks.
3. instructional goal- The learner will comprehend what the three different types of standard drinks are. The learner will also creating a protip graphic for safe drinking.
4. technology being used- Edpuzzle, Adobe spark post, Padlet, Imovie
5. how technology supports instructional goal- Technology supports or instructional goals because it allows for the students to be able to learn about safe drinking through interactive activities and makes learning more student centered.

The purpose of our lesson is to educate students on what a standard drink is so that they know how to drink alcohol safely. If this lesson was used in classroom then it could be taught to high school seniors in their homerooms or college students in freshmen workshops. By the end of the lesson the students will have an idea about the three different kinds of standard drinks and the amount of alcohol in each drink.

Lesson execution:

1. Watch Edpuzzle video
2. Show protip example
3. Student work time to make their own protip on adobe spark post
4. Students upload post to padelt
5. Students make one comment on another protip

I choose to make an EDpuzzle. I really liked this site. I think this is a new way the students to be interactive with a video. Also a great way for teachers to assess their students for comprehension. Also having the questions through out the video makes the students pay attention during the video. As for making the video it was simple and easy to use. You all all videos at your fingertips, which is great because then you don’t have to do an extended search for a video you might want to use. 10/10 would say that any teacher could use EDpuzzle and it could use used in almost any grade.

To show a quick informational video we made an informational video about the life cycle of a butterfly. We recorded the process of drawing the life cycle in one take and then uploaded the video into imoive. Through imoive we did a voice over in one take. Finally, we uploaded the video of to youtube.

The process to make this video was very easy and simple. I like the idea of paper casting because students could make their own simple video by creating their own drawing. The videos could be about anything students wanted or based on a specific topic from the teacher. Definitely would be fun project for students to do.

I decided to make a tour that UP could use to show to incoming freshmen you can not travel all the way to campus. The Google tour creator makes it easy to upload information. The process is simple and self explanatory. I do think google was easier to use, but Thinglink has more options and to add interactive options. Overall, both are good ways to show 3D versions of places in the world. 10/10 would use in a classroom.

Sway Story

Spark Story

Alright from using these two similar applications I think that Adobe Spark is the application. In spark you have more variety with themes and format. Also Spark allows your pictures videos and texts to be displayed in different manners. From a viewers standpoint and user standpoint I think that Spark is easier to use and more appealing to the eye.

Sway is still a good application to use, but compared to Spark the application feels limited. From using Sway it was slightly harder to navigate and not as creative with the set up of pictures. Also the template is all the same is is very boxy, not as much flow to it. Sway is still a good application to use for a presentation, but not for a project that needs a lot of creativity or style.

Overall, would recommend Spark!

I gave you all a brief over view of some places I go for fun and places to eat, along with my schooling. I live in Loveland, Colorado, but I am always in Fort Collins and do most things in Fort Collins.

Fort Collins and Colorado was a fun place to grow up and I made some great memories in my child hood living there.

If you ever want to visit Colorado just hit me up!

Today I told you all how I won the lottery! I made my story through adobe spark. Making the video was super fun and really easy to make. I made my video with doing a voice over which allowed me to tell my own story.

In the classroom I think Adobe Spark would be very easy to use with students. The students would be able to make their own stories and make simple video projects. A good way for the teacher to use this program in the classroom is through a read aloud. The teacher can record herself and add videos or pictures and really make the story come to life. 10 out 10 would use this in any classroom and for any subject.

I choose to make a mind map about the characteristics of The Avengers. I personally think that it is easier to make mind maps by hand and it would be less time consuming. To make the actual map was simple, but the bummer part is that the mind map can not be interactive or visual. The mind map is all text based, so not good for visual learners to use. Also to use the full capabilities of the application you are required to sign up and pay, which is not going to be feasible on a teachers salary.

I would not recommend using this application in the classroom. It does not have any fun amenities and it would be easier on the teacher and students just to do the mind map on paper.

https://bubbl.us/015190838919679897

I think that google sites is a great way for teachers to be able to share their lesson or activities that they do for their students. I made a site that has different lessons from different platforms that teachers would be able to use in their classrooms. All the lessons are interactive and fun for the students, so no boring learning going on here. I would hope that teachers would find the site to be helpful.

I created this map to introduce myself to my future students. I thought this would be a more enticing way for students to learn about my past and my life experiences, specially in Australia. As a teacher does this to show something about themselves, they could also have the students make a mymap to do an all about me. The students can make it specific to an event in their life or make it broad and do facts about themselves.

Goals:

Students will be able to discover information about other students in the class through an interactive informational map.

Students will be able to introduce themselves and events from their lives to their classmates.

Year 6

Objectives/goals:

• Students will be able to explore the United States by going on a virtual trip by interacting with different internet platforms.
• Students will gain insight and ideas for their own road trip chapter books.
• Students will observe what a city has to offer, such as food, historical landmarks, or places of entertainment.

For using this in the classroom with students I think I would use this as an introduction to writing a road trip chapter book. The presentation would give the students ideas on what they can do on their road trip and the types of places they can go to. Also the presentation shows them what kind of information they would need to look up in order for their road trip to seem real.