ILP "Participation"- Lynda.com (2)

For my independent learning project, I participated in a Lynda.com online course on Drawing and creativity. Through this course I was able to flex me "creative muscles" and channel my imagination into my art work. Here is my activity log:

The link below leads to my Prezi presentation. In this presentation you can read about my course and my personal experience and even get a glimpse at my personal artwork :
My Prezi

ILP "participation"- Lynda.com (1)

For my first ILP, I chose to take a creative course on Lynda.com. I took the class "5 Day Drawing Challenge which helped me how to flex my creative muscles and prompted me to think out side of the box and push myself artistically. Here is an activity log:

The link below takes you to my ILP Prezi. In this Prezi you can see some of my (feeble) art from the course and read all about my experience in the class!

My Prezi

I really enjoyed this project and the independent pace I got to set to take the course. 

Post 10

This weeks assignment was to make an interactive presentation in powerpoint. I chose to make a quiz on the first Act of Macbeth. I never really realized until now the amount of effort it takes to create fluid quizzes. Linking each slide to a specific follow up slide got real confusing and hard to follow in the creation of my powerpoint. I do feel like I have fully mastered the art of the hyperlink now. This project enhanced my appreciation for my past  teacher's efforts. As a middle schooler, Jeopardy review days were the most exciting and they really did help me to learn. I do think the interaction forces kids to pay attention and links memorable experiences to facts they need to know. I would totally use interactive presentations in my future class. Next time I make one, I think i'll make it jeopardy style rather than a flow multiple choice style because that means fewer slides to work with and get mixed up because everything is linked to a central page. Here is a glimpse of my quiz:

I am excited to begin working on my Data Collection project and to get to play around on Qualtrics. As an educator, I think I would like to use short surveys at the end of each chapter or particular section of my curriculum to get feedback from students on what they liked and what they didn't like. I think I would also try to take learning style surveys at the beginning and middle of each school year to see if there are any places in my curriculum i can tweak to fit the class's preferred learning style. I think really short quizzes embedded in lessons to get a grasp on what the students are understanding and what they need help on. Common Board Configuration now requires public school teachers to take learning scaled at intervals during each lesson and sometimes students are to humiliated to show their true level of understanding by holding fingers up publicly, so maybe by taking anonymous poles via Qualtrics quizzes during a lesson could fix that problem. The amount of use surveys like those on Qualtrics get is tricky though, because it relies upon the idea of common access to computers in the classroom, so it is much easier in theory than in real life, but not totally unfeasible. 

In reviewing my classmates blogs, the most interesting and helpful point of discussion in my opinion was the section of blog post 7 that talked about assistive technologies. I think I so often forget that teachers have to really work hard to balance the many different disabilities and learning impediments in their classroom at once. As a student, it is easy to forget that not everyone functions in the same way I do. I thought it was the most challenging prompt and I had a difficult time coming up with examples, even after reading the book. It was helpful to see and take note of all the different examples of assistive technologies that don't break the bank my classmates had in mind. 

The biggest skill I would like to gain in technology is Excel literacy. Excel deals with so many functions and equations and i get very lost and stressed out with the extent of it's abilities. I think it is not only helpful and interesting, but also a necessary skill in the life on an independent adult. I am coming to the end of an era where I can still be financially dependent on my parents and I really need to learn how to make my own budgets. Excel computes and organizes and is overall the best tool for making a professional, functioning budget. I believe it will introduce some organization to my life if only I master it.

I plan on gaining skills in Microsoft Excel by taking advantage of the free programing the university provides to it's students. I have also seen multiple adds for Excel tutors around campus and even in the library, I think with a little one on one instruction, i could master it no problem. In the meantime, we are about to tackle Excel in class, which will give me the basics and there are thousands and thousands of instructional videos on websites such as youtube that are very informative and can teach all sorts of skills in Excel that I plan on taking advantage of.

Post 9

A flipped classroom is a newly emerging concept of a learning system that has students watch lectures and take notes and go through lessons on their own via their technology and then do their homework in a dynamic group setting of a classroom. I think the flipped classroom is a brilliant idea, but only if students truly put in the effort it requires. I think younger students still require more of a fully in class presentation of material so that teachers can be there to get a read off of the students in person and check to make sure that they are truly understanding the content and not rushing themselves. Older students would do well with the blended delivery system. Here is a source I found when researching the type of material that can be accessed through the flipped classroom model: flipped classroom

Professional development is the process by which teachers continue to develop their skills in teaching and stay updated on the changing environment that is the classroom by taking courses or attending conferences or lectures that connect them with new information that enhances their classroom performance. Technology has worked to connect teachers with experts no matter their crazy schedules or distance from the experts. One really interesting resource for professional development I stumbled upon is Diigo.

Diigo is an online bookmarking site that allows teachers to flip through hundreds of sources and mark ones that are important to them. Diigo also allows teachers to join groups and share information with each other. You can annotate directly on articles through Diigo and see what other people are saying about work that is circulating the academic world. Diigo has worked to combine the internet, your personal notes, your spur of the moment reactions, and you well though out commentary/ research of your own into one easy to access sight. I like the fact that it removes the middle man and lets teachers have such direct access to each other and to the experts, it narrows down on clutter.

This week's assignment had us testing out out new skills in Microsoft Powerpoint. I really liked some of the information in the Do's/Don'ts informational sheet that instructed us on our

Powerpoints. I have been using powerpoint for years and have formulated my own list of tips and tricks, but a lot of my knowledge about good slides has never been pinned down before. I thought the & words a line and 7 lines a slide rule was very helpful along with the three color limits. Powerpoint is a classroom essential. My teachers have been using it almost daily since I was in kindergarten. If I plan on being an educator, this is a skill I will have to be absolutely fluent in the in's and out's of the programing. I have been lucky enough to have had access to this programing since elementary school and have been well practiced in it. This project was just another opportunity for me to refresh my memory.