Andrea's Thoughts on IT 648

IT 648 was one of the coolest courses I have taken throughout my educational career, both undergraduate and graduate. I have learned so many ways to integrate technology into my lessons as a school teacher. The best part is that so many of these technologies do not require the purchasing of any software; the majority of the work can be completed via the Internet. The assignments that were required for completion in this course were all easy to complete. The technologies need to complete the assignment were user-friendly and required little effort to complete professional looking material. Most of the time used for completing these projects resulted from preparation of the content. I am so greatful for the opportunities afforded to my by the IT program. My students love the programs that we use and they truly love the outcome of their creations. I look forward to what other courses in this program have to offer. It's been a great semester.

Andrea's Online Presentation

This was a great assignment. It felt like I was writing a paper without all of the daunting typing. It was informative and interactive. The best part about the assignment is that using Slideshare was basically one step to publishing my academic work. The only problem that many students may experience with trying to publish a slideshow of academic work is that they may not have access to using software to create a slideshow, such as PowerPoint. If I could suggest any changes to using SlideShare, I would suggest that the creators implement a program to create a slide show with a publishing aspect. My presentation topic was appropriate for the assignment in that I discussed Web 2.0 in education. Slideshare is considered a social network that allows people to share all sorts of uploads and communicate with others. Social Networks are one of Web 2.0 tools that can be used effectively in a learning environment as an alternative means of providing instruction and conducting class.

Here is the link to my slideshare presentation.

Andrea's Video Message on Eyejot

I would have to say that this assignment was the most challenging assignment I had to complete this semester. Reason being is that I just had difficulty speaking into a camera. Most of my anxiety came from sheer vanity because I really didn't want to see myself on film, and the other anxiety derived from the fear that I knew that I would probably have to record myself saying the same thing over and over again. I was right. It took me several hours to "perfect" an imperfect video message. Needless to say, I completed the assignment and I survived!!! I was truly an experience.
Now, using eyejot was great. It was user-friendly and there really wasn't much to the program. The only thing that causes difficulty with completing your video messages is the use of a pop-up blocker. Once you disable it, you're good to go.

Here is the link to my video message.

Andrea's Webquest

When I first became certified as a Computer Discovery teacher, I had to create a webquest as a requirement of my certification. At that time, I thought that webquests were clever ways to get students actively engaged in learning to use the computer to conduct research to complete lessons in specific subject areas. The great thing about webquests is that they can be created for any subject area and can also be created for entertainment uses as well.
I learned a great deal about properly creating a webquest for students so that they have an effective purpose. There were several different aspects required in this assignmet that I had not taken into account when I created my first webquest several years ago. I especially liked how the students and teachers would have access to a rubric and teachers notes.

Here is the link to my webquest on the European Union.

Andrea's Interactive Timeline with CircaVie

When we were told to create an interactive timeline of an event in our lives, I had many ideas of events in my life that I wanted to share with the class. I then realized that I many of the pictures that I wanted to share in my timeline were lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina. So, I had to be creative. I decided to share the course of my teaching career over the past six years. Completing this assignment caused me to analyze aspects of my career that did not occur to me before now. Using CircaVie is a wonderful way to preserve special events in our lives and the lives of others. There is not threat of losing the timeline(s) because they are posted to the World Wide Web and can be access and updated at anytime. CircaVie is a wonderful resource for teachers to use should the want to incorporate technology into their lessons by having students create a timeline. This will work especially well for history classes.

Here is the link to my timeline.

Andrea's Personal Website

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed creating my personal website. In doing so, I had the opportunity to develop my webpage development skills and add a personal touch to the site. Creating the site was easier than I imagined. After trying out different aspects of googlepages.com, I was able to be a bit more creative with the design and format of the site. The most difficulty I experienced with creating the site was that I could not figure out how to change the color of the links ( and get the color to stay) to match the color scheme of my website. Another problem I faced was getting the links to open up in a new window. Other than those minor problems, I found the site to be beneficial. In the future, I will be able to create a site that will complement my forms of communication with the parents of my students, as well as with the students.

Here is the link to my personal website.

Andrea's Blogfolio

As a requirement of the course I am taking at The University of Southern Mississippi, IT 648: Telecommunications in Education, I will be completing a blogfolio of all of my academic experiences in this online course. The blogfolio is a compilation of blog reflections and linked access to all of my assignments in the course. It is a fantastic way to submit and reflect upon your assignments and allows for immediate feedback from my classmates and my instructor.

I think the concept of a blogs in education is wonderful. Blogs allow for instant anytime, anywhere communication between the instructor and students. It provides a voice to students who wouldn't ordinarily be vocal in a traditional classroom setting. Blogging eliminates the daunting task of writing reflections by hand and provides interactivity to otherwise monotonous educational tasks. The students also have the freedom to personalize their own blog sites to reflect individualism.