Reflection Journal Entry #13: Final Reflection

I really enjoyed this course because it helped me to realize a lot about different software and programs that I had not known before. The course was very laid back and not too difficult which I liked. Although, the assignments were not very challenging I thought that the basic concept of understanding how to use the programs was important. Also, having class time to explore the programs and the different tools helped a lot as well. I feel as though this class is an essential to take for teachers of all levels because technology and the way teachers teach are changing drastically. It is very important for teachers to be up to date with the newest technology because this is what we will need to use in the future. Students these days are so progressed in their knowledge and computers are used for so many things. Therefore, I feel like learning these programs will really help teachers to connect to their students. Also, so many of these programs have many different tools that can be used not just for teaching but also for the students and for parents. I learned how to make newsletters, scrapbooks, calendars, etc. that can be so helpful especially in the younger grades to stay connected with parents. Most of the software and programs we explored I had never taken the time to really go in depth with them. However, through this class I was able to really find other ways to use the programs. I think the difficulty of this class was just right because it helped to focus on learning how to use the program rather than trying to figure out how to create a challenging project. I thought knowing the fundamentals was key because with that we can explore on our own. I also enjoyed the open endedness of the projects because we were able to test out what we wanted and what would be beneficial to us in the future rather than doing something that was meaningless. I think in this way we were also able to fully look at everything in the software to figure out what would work best for us. The reflection journals were a great idea to show and express what we learned, what was difficult, and how our projects could be used later on. I thought having the reflection journals and the feedback about them and our projects was very good. Overall, the class was very beneficial and I am excited to use what I learned and what I will continue learning in the future as a teacher :)

Reflection Journal Entry # 12: Video Software #3

I had never used iMovie in the past, but I have used Windows Movie Maker. Although there are some similarities I wasn't used to all the different elements and procedures on iMovie so it was a bit difficult at first. However, I thought the whole process was good and I'm glad that I learned because now I can use two different kinds of video softwares. I think the video software could be used not just for educational videos but also to record my students to show parents what we are doing in class. Also, I could use it to record students for certain projects and have them watch themselves to see what they did good or bad. Overall, video software seems like a very good program to have and can be used for many different things. I always thought iMovie was much more complex and difficult than Windows Movie Maker but after this project I found it to be almost easier. Although we didn't get to explore too much with it I think it would be good to use in the future for other projects that I may have to do. I had a lot of fun making the video and editing it.

Reflection Journal #11: Video Software #2

Strengths:

• I found a good experiment that would be easy for the students in an elementary level to learn about and have fun watching.
• I used easier words for the students to understand and defined my terms such as 'density'.
• We added effects to the video to make it seem more interesting and to keep the kids more focused by having something fun for them to focus on (such as music or sound effects)

Weaknesses:

• After watching the part of the video where I was teaching my experiment I think I could have explained it better. I think I just told the basics of the experiment without really explaining to the students what the purpose of the project was.
• I think I could have been more clear with the steps of the experiment. I realized that to me and people my age it may make sense but to younger children it may not be as clear.
• I could try to engage the children more into the video by being more enthusiastic or vcen having them do their own experiment afterwards.

Overall, I think there were parts of our video that were both good and that could have been improved. As "the expert" I still have to realize that I'm trying to teach younger students who don't really have any concept of certain topics such as gravity or density and therefore I need to be careful of the way I explain things. I learned that I should be more engaging and enthusiastic in order for students to stay focused on the video.

Reflection Journal #10: Video Software #1

My favorite movies have a lot of my favorite actors and actresses. They really captivate me and makes me feel as though I am in the movie. I know, sounds corny but I like movies that really bring a lot of emotion. I think the emotions in the acting (enthusiasm, anger, sadness, etc.) bring a movie to life. In addition, the music (soundtrack) of the movie also really draws me. I think when the right type of music is played to fit the specific scene of a movie, it really enhances the scene. Also, when movies have good scenery, are shot at different locations, and have cool effects, it just makes the movie that much better.
On the other hand, educational videos don't really have much of this. I mean there are really cool videos, such as Planet Earth or The Magic School Bus that can keep viewers entertained and educate them. However educational videos shot in a classroom or with just some professor speaking can get extremely boring. Usually, the speaker will have no emotion and the whole lesson just sounds like a huge monotonous lecture. Also, there aren't really any effects or music because that would take away from the main message trying to be presented. The scenery is usually a chalkboard or white board in the background, and the most action you get is the speaker writing things on them. Unless the lecture is REALLY interesting, most times viewers have a hard time paying attention.
In comparing these two types of videos, I think it will help us in making our own videos. I can't say that our video will be anything like those in the movie theaters, that cost billions of dollars to create. However, we will try our best not to make it into some boring lecture educational video. I think by adding music, having enthusiasm, and showing interesting things, kids will both enjoy it and learn from it.

Reflection Journal #9: Gaming Project

I am not much of a gamer, but every once in awhile I do find them entertaining. I never really thought of games as being very educational or mind stimulating, but doing this project really changed my perspective. While experimenting and testing out different games I realized that they really make you think and the animations or the content makes you want to keep playing. Although addiction could be a very dangerous thing, I think when it comes to educational games, being addicted for a little while couldn't be too harmful. I still don't think violent war games or violent car games are very educational but when actual math or science is involved, I believe students can learn a lot. I do feel as though teachers and parents should be very cautious of the age level and content presented in the games. In my future teaching career I think using video games to teach math could be very fun and entertaining for the students. I know that when growing up do the normal worksheets did not catch my attention for very long and even made me dread doing math. However, playing this games was very mind stimulating and grabbed my attention even as a college student. I think depending on the material and the content in the games, video games are a great way to help students learn.

Gaming Project

In our math time, we have been practicing various addition problems. As a way of using different methods to learn how to add, we will be using a computer game called Save the Apples! In this game, students must correctly answer the addition problem given in order to help the monkey cross the river with his basket of apples. If the answer is incorrect, the monkey's apples fall into the river and are eaten by a crocodile. While both entertaining to watch the animations, students should also find the challenge of saving the monkey and apples to be compelling and fun.

In a BBC News article titled, Video games 'good for you', it said that video games help to stimulate the mind and also improve vision. Researchers Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier said, "Video game playing enhances the capacity of visual attention and its spatial distribution." Studies were done by the researchers that compared gamers versus non-gamers and the results showed that gamers had much better results in tasks that involved attention and vision. Therefore, researchers also say, "Although video game playing may seem to be rather mindless, it is capable of radically altering visual attentional processing."

5 Questions Parents May Have

1. Is there any inappropriate content?
No, the game is completely child-friendly. The content on the game directly addresses the math we have been learning in the classroom. Also, the animations on the screen are fun cartoon animations that are not at all violent or explicit. The children are helping the monkey to cross the river without getting its apples eaten by the crocodile. Even with this, the monkey and crocodile never come in contact and therefore the game does not show any violence.

2. Why does my child need to practice math using a computer game?
As studies show, when children are engaged in a game type setting and are being interactive they are able to focus better. Also, through the animations their attentions will be grabbed and thus help them to want to actually practice math. In trying to help the monkey across the river will encourage them to work through the problems and solve them correctly. This is both a fun and educational way to learn.

3. What if my child wants to play at home? Won't this get addicting?
If they want to play at home, that's great! Yes, the game could get addicting but because it's educational and they will be learning it's not a bad thing. There are tons of other educational games online, that include topics in science, reading, spelling, etc. Although they may be playing games, there is a lot of learning and brain power incorporated into them. Therefore, you shouldn't have to worry about their knowledge going to waste, because they will be using it throughout these games.

4. How much time will this take during the school day?
The good thing about this specific game we are using is that students can play for however long or short they want. We will be using this game only during our scheduled math time. However, many times we will also be doing other activities and using other ways of teaching math, not just computer games. Computer games are just one of the various methods to help students learn and to give them a different way of learning.

5. Is the content suitable for my child?
The game we will be using, along with many other games, have settings that can be altered. There are many different levels, such as easy, medium, hard, etc. that can be chosen to the student's best interest. Also, some games have timers in order to stimulate a student's mind even more. Therefore, no matter where the child may be, just beginning or a little more advanced, the game will have content suitable for each individual.

Reflection Journal Entry #8: Audio Software

I never had any past experience using GarageBand no Audacity so this whole project was a new experience for me. For the project, I recorded a tune on GarageBand and decided to just have my students open this pre-made tune and sing a song about seasons (lyrics given to them) along with it. I think this would be a great way for the students to be able to learn different topics (numbers, shapes, math, reading, etc.) through songs. I could create my own tunes and my own songs about certain topics and use this as a fun way for them to learn. Also, I could use this program so the students can create and record their own songs or poems for certain holidays or even for their parents. This way the parents can see what the kids are learning in class and also can involved with it. I think it would be difficult to get the students to create their own songs unless it's just with the piano, but even then it wouldn't be very easy for them. Therefore, I think for a second grade class it would be easier to give them a choice of pre-made tunes by me (the teacher) and then just have them record their voices over it. For the tutorial I used Audacity which was a lot simpler because this program is only used for voice recording. I think I could have students recite their assigments (poems, readings, etc.) on this so that I can hear them and then maybe even let other people (classmates, other teachers, parents, etc.) listen to them. This way people will know what is going on in my class and all the things we are doing. I think in order to use these programs, I would need to clearly explain to my students, step by step, the procedures and directions. Even for me, the programs were a bit confusing but for a second grader, it would be much harder. Overall, I'm glad I got to explore these two programs because I think they would be very useful and fun to use in my classroom and teaching. They are a fun way for students to get interactive and to let others listen to their works as well.