Tuesday, June 7, 2011
What did I learn?
I am really grateful that I have gotten to take this technologies skills class. I have never felt very confident with anything other than "copy and paste" before this class. Now I feel like I can include a lot of technology in my future classroom. This will be very helpful in my goal of not being the boring history teacher that just lectures with a PowerPoint sides the whole time. Now I can incorporate videos, podcasts, recordings, google maps, etc. Hopefully it will help me as a teacher to better reach out to all my students. Everyone learns differently and so having various mediums through which they can study and learn history will benefit everyone. I was really excited about learning how to make videos and podcasts. I had actually had a history class previously in which the professor gave us the option of doing a podcast instead of writing a paper. I had no idea how to do a podcast and he didn't explain it to us, which made me so bummed that I was stuck writing a paper. But now, thanks to the mini projects I can do it. Plus, I have realized that I can figure out how to do other such projects as well. Now I will be able to give assignments where students get to do videos, websites, blogs, podcasts, etc because I will be able to explain to them how to do it. Reading is great and so important, but sometimes doing, creating, and seeing things makes the material a lot more memorable and real. I'm glad that I now know a little bit more about how to effectively and safely use technology in the classroom.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Video Reflection
I am really glad I have gotten to do this video assignment. I have never made a video or uploaded anything onto youtube before. In high school I use to love to make slideshows of pictures from different events and activities but that's about as advanced as I could get until now. I now know that making videos is really easy, though time consuming. I am a perfectionist and so I spent hours making things look good and lining up the music to the pictures and stiff like that. Though I did take a long time finishing this project, I didn't mind because I found I was enjoying it. Now I hope to continue making videos so that I might be able to create really high quality stuff. Then maybe when I load them on Youtube, people will love them so much that I will quickly become famous and rich. Maybe.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Internet Safety
The internet is such an amazing tool when used correctly. Unfortunately, you don't have to have bad intentions to come across something horrible and dangerous on the net. Viruses that destroy your computer and pornography are two very scary things to me because these two things are irreversable. Once an image enters your mind, its there forever. For this reason, I am very grateful that we have taken the time to discuss internet safety. I have learned more of what to watch out for and how to proctect my students in the future when using the computer.
The coolest thing that I liked learning about was the net nanny site that makes it possible for you to limit the amount of time your kids are on the computer. I know that when I was a kid my parents tried setting a 30 minute computer limit on us but if they were around, and even if they were, it was never followed. This program will make it so that there is less parent/child comflict while still allowing for the time limit to be followed.
I will also use virus protection/scanning systems such as Norton Anti-virus and become more aware of the scams that are out there so that I can warn my students of what to avoid. Another thing I wiould like to warn my students about are the social networks online that allow people to make a cartoon character of themselves and live a fake "dream life" through that. This is actually really dangerous and not healthy psychologically. Plus, I just think its creepy.
Elder Bednar has said something profound on the subject of the bad affects of being lost in the internet: "Sadly, some young men and young women in the church today ignore 'things as they really are' and neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value." Its a really great talk called "Things as They Really Are" and it can be found on lds.org: http://lds.org/liahona/2010/06/things-as-they-really-are?lang=eng&query=%e2%80%9cThings+They+Really+Are,%e2%80%9d .
The coolest thing that I liked learning about was the net nanny site that makes it possible for you to limit the amount of time your kids are on the computer. I know that when I was a kid my parents tried setting a 30 minute computer limit on us but if they were around, and even if they were, it was never followed. This program will make it so that there is less parent/child comflict while still allowing for the time limit to be followed.
I will also use virus protection/scanning systems such as Norton Anti-virus and become more aware of the scams that are out there so that I can warn my students of what to avoid. Another thing I wiould like to warn my students about are the social networks online that allow people to make a cartoon character of themselves and live a fake "dream life" through that. This is actually really dangerous and not healthy psychologically. Plus, I just think its creepy.
Elder Bednar has said something profound on the subject of the bad affects of being lost in the internet: "Sadly, some young men and young women in the church today ignore 'things as they really are' and neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value." Its a really great talk called "Things as They Really Are" and it can be found on lds.org: http://lds.org/liahona/2010/06/things-as-they-really-are?lang=eng&query=%e2%80%9cThings+They+Really+Are,%e2%80%9d .
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Website Creation Reflection
I am so grateful that I have gotten to learn how to make a website/blog for myself. I have never done any of this before and I think it is fun and will be very useful to me in the future. I was especially excited to learn how to embed things like videos into my website because before, all I knew how to do was copy and past an ugly link onto the page. Having the video right there is a lot cooler. I would have to say that embedding the map into my website so that it would look how I wanted was the most tricky part of the assignment. It was the most complicated step I think for all of us, but I got my map up there so I guess that's the most important thing. All the time I spent messing with the size of it and all that was just the nit picky, perfectionist stuff.
I really do think that I will use a website when I am a teacher. I think it will be useful to me, my students, and the parents in many ways. I think it will be useful for parents to know what their kids are doing in class and to find quick information about how to contact me. I also think that it creates even more opportunities for the students to continue their learning outside of class. Maybe not all students will use it, but maybe some will and that's good enough for me. I hope that through a website I will be able to show my students how to access valuable, fun, and interesting information on the Internet. Also, I would like to have the website available to post assignments and things so that my students will never have an excuse for not knowing a due date or for losing a paper. I will not let this replace my actual assigning and handing out of assignments in class, however, because not all students may have easy access to a computer or the Internet at home. I don't want that to hurt their learning abilities or grades in anyway when its not their fault if they don't have a computer.
I really do think that I will use a website when I am a teacher. I think it will be useful to me, my students, and the parents in many ways. I think it will be useful for parents to know what their kids are doing in class and to find quick information about how to contact me. I also think that it creates even more opportunities for the students to continue their learning outside of class. Maybe not all students will use it, but maybe some will and that's good enough for me. I hope that through a website I will be able to show my students how to access valuable, fun, and interesting information on the Internet. Also, I would like to have the website available to post assignments and things so that my students will never have an excuse for not knowing a due date or for losing a paper. I will not let this replace my actual assigning and handing out of assignments in class, however, because not all students may have easy access to a computer or the Internet at home. I don't want that to hurt their learning abilities or grades in anyway when its not their fault if they don't have a computer.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Allow me to introduce myself...
Because I feel awkward writing about myself, I have decided to turn this into 10 facts about me:
1. My name is Stacy Talbot. I'm not named after anyone. My mom just liked the name Stacy. Everyone usually spells my name wrong, including my own grandma, but I love her anyway.
2. I am 23 years old. I do feel kind of old. My birthday is April Fool's Day which means I get really weird gifts every year.
3. I was born in Utah, I graduated high school in Utah, and I currently live in Utah, but I do not consider myself a Utahn. I was raised in Virginia, Wisconsin, and California.
4. I am majoring in Secondary Education in Social Sciences at BYU. Until college, I never thought I would want to be a teacher, but I did always have the goal of going to BYU. Go Cougars! For this major I have to take IP&T 286 which is a technology class that requires me to make this blog. I'm actually kind of excited to learn how to do this kind of stuff.
5. I served a mission in the Chile Santiago East mission. Therefore, I speak Chilean Spanish which is kind of like English in Boston. Not the easiest people to understand, but I loved every second of it. Fun fact: my mission is the smallest mission in the world: only 20 square miles!
6. I have 2 older brothers and a younger sister. My older brothers went to college in CA and still live there. My sister is a piano major at Weber State. I am the only BYU-ite in the family.
7. My dad is a program manager who mostly works from home but also travels a lot -mostly to NYC. I try to convince him to take me with him on his business trips. I have succeeded twice. I love New York. I love Broadway.
8. My mom was a stay at home mom my whole life until just a few years ago when she decided to take a job as an assistant to a physical therapist.
9. I love music, though I have no musical abilities or talents myself. I love everything from pop music to show tunes (not a huge country or screamo fan though). I listen to music almost constantly, and jamming out in my car is a must.
10. I have recently taken up pilates. I use to be a hater, now I am a lover. Unfortunately, I also love to bake cookies and other such treats. True, these two hobbies kind of cancel each other out, but they both help me to de-stress.
1. My name is Stacy Talbot. I'm not named after anyone. My mom just liked the name Stacy. Everyone usually spells my name wrong, including my own grandma, but I love her anyway.
2. I am 23 years old. I do feel kind of old. My birthday is April Fool's Day which means I get really weird gifts every year.
3. I was born in Utah, I graduated high school in Utah, and I currently live in Utah, but I do not consider myself a Utahn. I was raised in Virginia, Wisconsin, and California.
4. I am majoring in Secondary Education in Social Sciences at BYU. Until college, I never thought I would want to be a teacher, but I did always have the goal of going to BYU. Go Cougars! For this major I have to take IP&T 286 which is a technology class that requires me to make this blog. I'm actually kind of excited to learn how to do this kind of stuff.
5. I served a mission in the Chile Santiago East mission. Therefore, I speak Chilean Spanish which is kind of like English in Boston. Not the easiest people to understand, but I loved every second of it. Fun fact: my mission is the smallest mission in the world: only 20 square miles!
6. I have 2 older brothers and a younger sister. My older brothers went to college in CA and still live there. My sister is a piano major at Weber State. I am the only BYU-ite in the family.
7. My dad is a program manager who mostly works from home but also travels a lot -mostly to NYC. I try to convince him to take me with him on his business trips. I have succeeded twice. I love New York. I love Broadway.
8. My mom was a stay at home mom my whole life until just a few years ago when she decided to take a job as an assistant to a physical therapist.
9. I love music, though I have no musical abilities or talents myself. I love everything from pop music to show tunes (not a huge country or screamo fan though). I listen to music almost constantly, and jamming out in my car is a must.
10. I have recently taken up pilates. I use to be a hater, now I am a lover. Unfortunately, I also love to bake cookies and other such treats. True, these two hobbies kind of cancel each other out, but they both help me to de-stress.
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