What I have learned from this class.....

Honestly, I was very intimidated at the start of this class. I knew almost nothing about how my computer worked, and opening the case was daunting at first. I was worried that I would mess something up, and my computer would never work again!

The main thing that I have learned from this course is that I now have the ability to discuss how a computer works with people who know more than I. I spent the weekend with my brother, and he started talking about his computer. I was able to ask intelligent-sounding questions, and he did not laugh at me! He did not want my input, but it was nice that I could actually talk to him about different computer components, and I knew their functions!! And, then we started to talk about the importance (or lack thereof) of an operating system, and I felt like I knew what I was talking about!

I also found the Triumph of the Nerds series to be very informative. I knew very, very little about how computers came into being, and it was great to learn more about how they started. It will be interesting to see how the future of computing progresses.

I doubt that I will be building an actual computer any time soon, but I think that I will be a more informed consumer when I go to buy my next computer!

What I would lose.......

If my personal computer were to fail, I think that I would be quite frustrated.

I know that computers fail, so I try to back up some things. Most of my pictures are backed up on Google's picassa. And, I have started using Google Docs for my word processing, but I do have many Microsoft Word files that are only stored on my old desktop.

Then, there are the little things that I would lose, that would really annoy me. I would lose all of my bookmarks. Yes, I have a delicious account. No, I do not use it. I would also lose the passwords that I actually store online, like the one for my library account. I have a list of "important" passwords, but the bar code for my library card never made the cut.

I do not store much music on my computer, but if I did, I could see that also being a problem.

I do think that day to day, I would have issues with not being able to communicate with my friends and family. Not having a computer at my disposal would cause me far more disappointment than the items I mentioned above. A day without email and facebook does not occur very frequently in my little world. And, I might have to actually pull out the phone book to call Barnes and Noble to find out their hours, or if they have the book that I would like to purchase in stock.

Cloud Computing and Operating Systems

I think that the idea of cloud computing, and using more web-based applications, rather than software that is tied to a specific computer is the wave of the future. As a teacher, I see so many benefits to using a program like GoogleDocs over the Microsoft Office Suite. The fact that information can be stored online, and is thus accessible from any number of locations is tremendous progress. I think that some will be reluctant to switch to completely online storage, but the benefits for collaboration will hopefully outweigh this fear for some.

I was talking to my brother, an engineer for a very large company, about the wikis that I was having my seventh graders create. He said that he was on a team of 10 people who were providing training on wikis and other forms of collaboration to the top 250 partners in his firm. I told him that he should mention my wiki, he politely said that he would skip that detail!

One of our assignments was to use Linux this week, and I have been using a very small laptop that runs Linux. Honestly, I have not noticed a difference in operating systems. I am really only using the computer as a vehicle to get to the internet, therefore the operating system has not affected me. I could use its open office suite, but I already use GoogleDocs, and, I have not had the need to use any other functions in the last handful of days that I have been using the Linux laptop.

However, I do see operating systems changing to meet the improved Web 2.0 tools, and other such programs. I do think that operating sytems will change with the thin clients that are out there. As the server begins to do more and more, the operating system will continue to be more and more simplified.

Computer History for Erika

I was born in 1979, and it is difficult for me to remember a time when we did not have a home computer. I remember my mother typing her master's thesis on WordPerfect. It was a blue screen, with a white font. I thought it was odd that there was so much blue on the screen. Looking back on it, it reminds me of the "blue screen of death" that we often find on one or two computers in the school's computer labs.

I also remember that my seventh grade social studies teacher was scared of computers. He wrote a short story, that he wanted typed. It was too difficult for him to type it on his electric typewriter. So, as the teacher's pet, I volunteered to take it home and type it. I remember being so proud of it, but then I completely messed up the french phrases that he had written. So, he was not nearly as happy with my final product as I was!

I also remember going to school and using Apple II's. We used to have this program where there was a "turtle" (really a triangle) that we could move and manipulate around the screen. Additionally, my mom would also use a work computer to make crossword puzzles as reviews for her students. That also intrigued me.

By the time I was in high school in the early 1990's, I felt that we used computers quite a bit. I took a class on "computer applications," where we learned about word processors, spreadsheets, etc.

Looking back on it, I find it difficult to imagine how college students before my time went to school without using computers. My parents would tell stories about how difficult it was to write papers and find information for their papers. I use my computer nearly every day to communicate with friends and find information. It has made life so much easier; I am very thankful that technology has evolved as it has! I need to remember that the next time I am frustrated by technology!

Technology Tools has come to an end.......

I was not paying attention to the number of times we met for this class, and then I realized we were on our last week. This class has taught me what it is like to be a student again. I have been teaching for five years, and I think that I forgot what it is like to not be in charge of the assignments and assessments. Due to the nature of this course, it was hard for me at the beginning to know if I was having trouble with an assignment because I did not know how to do it, or because what I was trying to do was actually impossible. Did you know that it is impossible to embed a Google Docs presentation into the Ning? I did not know that, until I had already wasted an hour of time trying to figure it out!

I really liked the early classes of this course. The web browser and search engine assignments took me out of my comfort zone, and it was good to see what else was out there. I currently use delicious with my seventh graders, but I am considering switching social bookmarking sites, to better meet their needs. I also realized that I could still use a spreadsheet, even though I have not used one in many years. The database was new to me, but it also seemed quite easy to figure out. I think that the graphics programs have potential uses in my classroom, but I am still working on trying to figure out how to integrate them.

I also enjoyed getting ideas from the textbook about how to encourage creativity and explain collaboration. As an adult, I forgot that I would need to teach twelve year olds how to collaborate and communicate with each other!!

This class has definitely opened my eyes to ideas that I have heard about before, and now I feel that I am at a point in my teaching career where I can implement more of these ideas!

Using technology with my students......

I know that I use technology in my classroom, but taking the screener caused me to rethink the amount of control I give to my students. I let them pick topics, and partners. And, they can write creative assignments. But, I do not give them control over certain aspects.

I do not let them set the rubric, or the timeline for projects. They do not get to decide how much time they will need to work on the project, or how they will be graded.

Could I relinquish some of that control over to them? Can I let them think of what needs to be included in their final grade, and the deviations of the expectations?

Chapter 9 also reminded me that I need to keep parents informed with large projects. It caused me to write a letter home, explaining the current wiki project and its expectations.

InTime: European Vacation Assignment

The first two years that I taught seventh grade German, I had students make a travel brochure about sights they could see in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. Then, I morphed my project into a report on a specific aspect of German culture. My current project is a RAFT assignment, where the students can write a journal entry as though they were a prisoner in a concentration camp, or a travel log of their visit to Berlin, or an advertisement for BMW.

I watched videos from Jerry Robinson's classroom in Michigan. He has his 9th grade World Geography students plan a two week trip for three people in different European cities. The students are given a budget of $15,000 to complete the trip, which needs to include airfare, hotels, car rental, train fares, etc. They are required to visit historic sights in different countries, and then present their trip to their classmates.

Mr. Robinson had to teach many things along the way:
1. He taught them how to take and save pictures to the correct folder.
2. Then, he showed them how to chart their mileage and expenses in Excel, creating charts.
3. The third thing he showed them was how to find pictures of tourist/historic sights on the web. The students would then need to photoshop themselves into the picture.
4. Finally, he taught them how to compile all of this information into a powerpoint presentation.

He had a website set up for them as a springboard. It included links to real flights, train information, and currency and distance conversions.

I think that if I had seen this video before drastically changing my seventh grade project, I would have tweaked, rather than changed the project. However, I think it could be a great project for my eighth graders to work on, depending on how long it takes them to complete their literature circle. (I have never done a lit circle in German class, so I am curious as to how accurate my timeframe is!)

I also enjoyed all of the little nuainces in the video. For example, a student who was getting his picture taken so that it could be photoshoped, was chomping on his gum! And, the digital cameral took a 3.5 inch disk!

Here is a link to the videos: http://www.intime.uni.edu/video/021mihs/8/