ILP: "Design" Piktochart

I created an infographic on Piktochart, about languages around the world.  I really enjoyed using this site, and I'm a huge fan of infographics, so I'm glad that I could finally learn how to make them for myself.  I think that they make information more easily presentable and they're visually appealing.

Here's my infographic:

To see a zoomed in version, click here.

ILP 2 "Design" Prezi

I've been talking about wanting to learn Prezi in a few of my other blog posts, so I thought why not try it for an Independent Learning Project?  Because I'm still pretty new to using the program, I tried to keep it simple by going with a template.  Funnily enough, there was a template that perfectly matched the CPALMS standard I chose.

I also went ahead and added background music to my presentation, which I thought was a pretty cool feature.  In fact, I found the majority of Prezi features cool - from the transitions between bubbles to the way that I could search Google images without even leaving the program.  Overall,  I really enjoyed using Prezi, and I can't wait to further develop my skills in the future.

Here's a look at the main portion of my Prezi:

And here's a link to my Prezi project. 

10: I'll take "Our Last Blog Post" for 500, please

This week I learned a lot about PowerPoint that I didn't know before.  I learned how to get rid of linear navigation and add in some of the animations that aren't the traditional "fly-in" or "dissolve" animations between slides.  This will definitely be useful if I want to make games for my students in the future, and I can't wait to be able to make them myself, rather than using a template.  I also would like to try something out of the ordinary instead of "Jeopardy" or "Family Feud".  Below is a picture of one of my questions from my assignment.

I think that I would use a data collection tool similar to qualtrics in order to see how my students feel about certain things with it being anonymous.  For example, they can rank certain aspects of the class anonymously, or tell what they'd like to see more of in the class.  This would be especially helpful if I were teaching a middle school or high school class, so that they know they could give honest opinions without the fear of me knowing who said what.

I think that reviewing my classmates blogs over the past few weeks has been pretty interesting.  Seeing the way that different people react to different ideas, or how we can be in the same class but on completely different wavelengths is really surprising and interesting to me.  I like reading them though, because they change my perspectives a little as well.

I would like to learn Publisher next (which is also something I got from reading someone else's blog.)  I've never used it and have never even thought of using it, but I would just really like to familiarize myself with all of the Microsoft and Adobe products, so that I can develop a fine set of skills.

To keep up with my goals regarding technology, I think I need to stay up to date on all of the up and coming technology.  One easy way to do this will be by visiting the tech sandbox from time to time to test out the new things that they have in there.  I can also do research or follow a blog about technology in education to keep up with it on a larger scale.  They probably have twitters or other social media specific to those topics.

Survey: On-Campus Food Choices

https://fsu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4SWTS9TuGN0DVGJ

9: flipped classrooms and flipping out over powerpoint

The textbook defines the flipped classroom as an alternative way of learning that allows face-to-face learning time to be filled with activities and assignments, while at home time is used for lectures, through videos or podcasts. http://www.teachertube.com is a link to TeacherTube, which contains many vodcasts (video podcasts) as examples.

There is one professional development resources specific to teachers called the ASCD PD Online.  It provides online courses such as "Total Participation Techniques" and "Building Teacher's Capacity for Success: Instructional Coaching Essentials."  It's also a chance for teachers to earn academic or career credit.

I think that this resource is actually a very cool idea, especially since teachers spend so much time in their own classrooms, they need to stay updated on everything and keep learning themselves.  The information that they know will eventually become outdated, so they need to develop their skills even more.  People ranging from teachers to college professors to state, district and school administrators can use it to further their professional development.

I think I learned a lot of skills from this PowerPoint assignment.  I think I did a better job with using effective PowerPoint ideas, such as fewer bullet points, and varieties of graphics, fonts, font sizes and colors.  I really didn't like the Jing app - the idea is cool, but I hate how I sound on recordings, and even after trying a few times, I still didn't like any of them and just had to pick the best one.  The idea is fantastic but actually putting it into practice was a bit frustrating.  Here's a look at my slides.

8: the digital divide

I read through chapter 12, and I think the technology that holds the biggest promise for education is the three-dimensional printer.  After seeing it in person in the tech sandbox, I also think it's pretty cool.  I'm a visual learner myself, so seeing things printed in three-dimensions is super cool to me, and I think it would help me learn better.  It would give students new experiences that they wouldn't be able to have with a standard printer, including dimensions, textures, ratios, etc.  I think it could be developed into an awesome addition to every classroom.

Another technology that I don't believe is currently in classrooms, but definitely could be is Sphero.  We played with the little robot in the tech sandbox as well, and I think it would be a really interesting development, especially for people who are interested in trying their hand at coding.  I know a lot of people that do coding for fun, but it's actually pretty useful information, so Sphero could help get students interested in it in a way that captures their attention.  Check Sphero out here: http://www.sphero.com/sphero.

The digital divide addresses the separation between people who do and don't have access to technology.  Personally, I've never lacked technology - we've always had televisions, computers, iPods, phones, etc.  I obviously only know what it's like to be on the side of the divide that has had access to technology, and because of that, I will never be able to know what it's like to be on the other side of the divide.  As the podcast addresses, however, it's not just an issue between developing and developed countries.  Within America, there are people, especially children who are on the opposite side of the digital divide, and I know I need to keep in mind that my future classroom may contain students that are on that side of the digital divide.  I can't just assume that everyone knows how to use the technology that I'm discussing in class, and I'll have to remember that students without access to technology skills from birth may be less confident using it.

World War P: Attack of the Zombie PowerPoints

This is a pretty lengthy PowerPoint, but it's very helpful at pulling out all of the parts of a slideshow that people don't like.  It also gives a lot of tips on how to fix those common PowerPoint mistakes, and share slides that are aesthetically appealing to the audience, and don't make them feel like zombies.

Zombie PowerPoint by @ericpesik from Eric Pesik