Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Lab Workout #15: Making Windows Easier to Work With
The first tool I explored is the Magnifying Tool. This tool pulls up a small box that the user can make bigger or smaller to cover certain parts of the screen. The box follows wherever the mouse goes. By cursing over certain material, the magnifying box shows whatever the mouse is over. The magnifying box also follows the cursor when typing. In the screen shot above, you can see the magnifying box at the top of the screen, highlighting text or images wherever the cursor goes. This tool would be very useful for a visually impaired student who can work on the computer with a bit of help seeing the text.
Microsoft Narrator voices what is happening on the computer screen as you navigate the keyboard. It echos the user's keystrokes, announces system messages, announces scroll notifications, and narrates. Visually impaired students can benefit from this added help to digest information on the screen. ADD students could also benefit. The narration constantly reminds students what they are doing and will hopefully keep them on track.
In the Microsoft Ease of Access center there are controls to remove background images from the desktop and minimize animations when possible. Darkening the screen can keep an ADD student from being distracted by an interesting desktop picture. Animations that pop up while students are in the midst of concentration will be gone if the box is checked, keeping students on track.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Lab Workout #12 : My PLN (Personal Learning Network)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Lab Workout 11: My Future Classroom Blog (Example)
The leaves are changing, the air is turning cold - - the classroom is festively decorated! Students came to school today greeted by our newly embellished reading corner, perfect for snuggling up against the cold weather. Since today is Tuesday, we had our weekly Independent Reading time. There was quite a rush to the "leaf" corner! Most students are halfway through their latest chapter book by now. We are all looking forward to starting our book reports in two weeks, with class presentations shortly following. Guidelines for your children's oral and written reports will be going out next week....Get excited!
Our "Lovely Leaves" reading corner:
This Thursday marks our yearly "Family Thanksgiving Get-together." Here is the link to the Reservation Slip if you have yet to send this in.
DEADLINE TO RSVP IS TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11TH!!
Looking forward to see all families and relatives at the meal this Thursday!
Lab Workout 10: Station 2 Measuring Ourselves - Height and Foot Size in InspireData (Elementary/Early Childhood/TAL - Required, option 2)
The first step was to put the data into a table:
The next step was to turn this table into an axis plot:
- Questions:
1. Is there a relationship between height and wingspan?
Yes, the axis plot shows that as height increases, wingspan also increases directly.
2. How can you tell from the graphs?
The green dots increase along the x and y axes as the height and wingspan increase.
3. Is there a relationship between height and foot length?
Yes, as height increases foot length increases.
4. How can you tell from the graphs?
The green dots shift increasingly along the x and y axes, showing an increasing and direct relationship.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Educational Technology Tools: Communication
In addition, Skype has an instant messaging feature where users can chat while connected. You can also share your screen with the person you are Skyping with. This is beneficial for sharing powerpoints, websites, pictures...whatever is on your computer screen you can share with your Skype partner. When Skyping in on a group discussion or project, screen sharing is a means of communicating data, spread sheets, or whatever document the group is working with.
Skype can be a useful communication tool for video conferencing with other groups or businesses, or to participate in a group discussion while you are home at sick and away from your small group. Teachers can lecture to their classes while away from school, or students can video conference in to a teacher's lesson when the student is sick.
This tool could be used to expose students to a virtual penpal who lives far away or in a different culture. A foreign language class could practice conversational skills and learn more about the language they study through a student from that culture by video conferencing. Elementary students could Skype other elementary students from around the country, or even from different countries. In daily life, my experience with Skype has been through seeing my friends use it to communicate with family, friends, or significant others who live far away. Talking conversationally, like on a telephone, is made even better with the addition of video, so you can see the people you miss.
Some cons could be if students took advantage of the ability to Skype into a lecture by calling in sick too often. Video conferencing should never replace classroom lecture and experience.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Lab Workout 10: Station 1: KidPix Pictographs (Elementary/Early Childhood/TAL - Required, option 1)
I first created a Tally Sheet in Microsoft Word to give to each kindergarten student. They can take this around the class and collect data from other students about what their favorite sport is.
The next section was to create a Pictograph using KidPix of the class' favorite sports. I drew a picture of a playground with 22 students, the number of kids in "Mrs. Martin's kindergarten class", on it. A stick figure with a basketball for a head represents one student who said their favorite sport is basketball. The same goes for baseball, volleyball, football, and soccer.
Next, I created a Snowman glyph in KidPix. A glyph is a picture that you make by following a list of choices. For each question, you choose yes or no. If yes you add one thing to your picture, if no you add a different thing. The resulting image will be unique to the student who made it, depending on their choices. A glyph is a good way to represent the unique differences among students.
To wrap up these activities, I created a list of discussion questions for the whole class to talk about. A class discussion is a good way to bring the whole class together at the end of a lesson and review the key topics they were meant to grasp. In these discussions, students will talk about what they see in each picture, what the things they see mean, and what they can do with that information.