Final Words

What I've Learned:
I learned quite a bit in this class this semester. I was able to learn about many different technologies that I didn't know how to use beforehand. Some of these included Snipping Tool, Windows Movie Maker, TeacherTube, and video chat. I also learned that pretty much there is freeware for almost anything that I would need to use as a teacher. (That will come in handy.)

Something that I thought was very important was the Copyright rules. As a teacher, I feel it is important to not infringe on copyright laws. Mostly, because it's illegal, but also to set an example for students that obeying the law is important. I also learned that teachers can usually find a legal loophole in almost all the copyright laws if it is for educational purposes.

Suggestions:
To be completely honest, I don't think there is much to change or alter for this class. It's only once a week for an hour. (That's really nice.) Also, many times class was canceled and we were allowed to work on our projects at our own pace. (That was really nice too.) The projects were useful. Some of the technologies shown in class, I already knew; however, I realize that this class is to introduce technology to students of all levels of "computer-savviness." Therefore, the class has to cover some of the basics. Ben was a great teacher and was always willing to help students whenever possible. All around...a great and fun class!

Food Hunger Fight

Directions:
Click on the healthy foods (fruit and vegetable).
Avoid the unhealthy foods (candy bar and soda).

Rules:
Click on the healthy food = +25 points
Click on the unhealthy food = -50 points
Don't click on the healthy food = -1 life
Once all your lives are gone = Game over

Additional Information:
If you would like your high score to be posted on the high score list, then you must create a Sharendipity account. However, this is not required and you can play just for fun without having your high score recorded.

New Technology

Well, I have come down to two options for my project:

Option 1: Create a type of educational game.
(or)
Option 2: Use a type of "Blackboard" grading system.

I am still continuing to research which one I would prefer to do; however, I am leaning more towards an educational game.

I am majoring in School Health Education, so I plan on using the option that I choose to be focused on an aspect of Health Education.

Marvel: My Anti-Drug

Synchronous Video

I enjoyed doing this activity. I haven't ever used synchronous video before, so it definitely was a learning experience. However, I can see how this could be useful for academics. One benefit could be for students to be able to talk with us (their teachers) in private about problems they are having in the classroom, away from other students overhearing.

Right: Screenshot of me chatting with our teacher, Ben.

What's Your Anti-Drug?

Reflection: I have never actually created a movie using a movie maker program. Hence, it took some time for me to figure out how I was going to get movie clips into a video that I'm making. But, after fiddling around a bit and looking for instructions on-line, I was able to figure it out. Now that I kind of know what I'm doing, it is really enjoyable to create these movies. I have always wanted to create my own videos for different things, but now I'm glad I get the excuse to figure it for an assignment for class. Therefore, I don't feel like I'm wasting time figuring it out. Thanks. :-)

Idea: The idea for my project is for my Health students to create their own "What's Your Anti-Drug?" commercial. This topics would obviously be used during the substance-abuse prevention part of the Health Education curriculum. I have decided to create my own commercial that would be an example of a commercial a student may make for this assignment.

Storyboard: I have used Marvel superheroes as my "Anti-Drug." Therefore, I will have multiple clips from different Marvel superhero movies (e.g. X-Men, Spider-man, Iron Man) showing the superheroes making a type of "entrance" and then a close-up on them. After all the movie clips have been shown, I will then add my part where I'm saying, "Marvel...my anti-drug" at the end.

Collaborative Tools

I would like to talk briefly about Google Sidewiki. I think that this could be a very beneficial tool in teaching/learning. I had never heard of this program before I attended class on Monday. However, I can definitely see how it could help schools, teachers, and students. Teachers could create a class website and students could make comments about certain areas, or assignments, on that site. Or, they could report a problem on the school's website that could later be fixed. Google Sidewiki could also be beneificial if students could leave feedback on certain websites throughout the internet; therefore, other students could see if certain sites will be helpful or not when they visit and see the comment of another student (e.g. research projects, current events, and/or a certain subject matter).

iSafe Certification

The iSafe certification was a very interesting training program. I enjoyed learning about all the different topics that I could teach my students about internet use. Some of the topics that I could teach my students include Personal Safety, Cyber Community Issues, Cyber Security, Intellectual Property, and Cyber Predator Identification.

The iSafe curriculum could be taught in any classroom, for any subject. Almost every subject requires students to use the internet for research or for an assignment. Also, the average student is on-line almost everyday using email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and/or Instant Messaging. Because students are on-line, they need to know about the many different safety concerns that could encounter: viruses, identify theft, stalkers, copyright issues, etc.

As teachers, we want to keep our students safe. We want our students to have the best opportunities that they can get. The iSafe curriculum effectively trains and provides materials for teachers to be able to talk about these subjects with their students. They have different programs for teachers, parents, elderly people, law enforcement, and students. I learned much more about the internet, and I would recommend this training for anyone.

About Twitter

At first, I thought Twittter was just a way that people could follow what famous people are doing. However, I learned that along with that, Twitter can actually be very beneficial to people and businesses. If people have questions/concerns about a certain company, product, or anything in life, they can type in a word on Twitter and see what people are saying about it. They can see the positive and negative comments made about a certain topic.

Twitter can also be very beneficial to businesses. Companies can send out promos, updates, questions, etc. about a product or their company. They can receive quick feedback within minutes, hours, or days concerning the topic. Buisnesses can also use it to get to know what their cosutmers want and need. I have also learned the many buisnesses are already using Twitter and it is helping their company grow.

As teachers, we could use Twitter, or other types of social networks, to keep our students informed on assignment changes, new information, school events, etc. I don't know for sure, but I would bet many high schools are already using these types of communications. Also, just like companies, schools/teachers can use these social networks to receive quick feedback from students concerning certain topics and ideas about school.

Copyright Reflection

Cory's Intro