Interactive whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are slowly becoming very popular and more and more common in classrooms. They enhance teaching and learning because you can incorporate the students in the lesson which is very important. Students need to engage in the lesson in order what they have learned. In particular, where I went to high school, interactive white boards just began appearing in classrooms after I graduated. Because of its newness, students are eager to try to use and interact with it. I think they will allow the "boring" subjects to gain some light and become fun again. Interactive whiteboards are great for activities that could involve the entire class. One goal that every teacher has is to gain the attention of the class for the entire period. I hope that the school where I will be teaching will have interactive white boards.

The technology was not hard for me to learn, but there were a couple of things that I kept forgetting. For instance, whenever I created a text box, I was constantly forgetting that I needed to switch back to the arrow tool in order to move the text box. However, interactive whiteboards and the programs used to create lessons are completely new to me. I think that if I will be using them on a daily basis, then I will not have such issues. The pros for having interactive whiteboards installed in my classrooms is that I will no longer have to keep erasing previously written notes or examples. There will less wasted time, and if I want to refer to a previous example, then I can just go back to that page instead of having to rewrite the whole example over again. One con about interactive whiteboards does not have to do with the boards themselves but the software. I think the software will advance to the point that it will everything imaginable on it. One thing in particular that I would like to see on this software is to be able to put more than one shade on a slide. I had two examples that I wanted to do one at a time, but I had only one shade. I had to cover the other example with a black box, so the students will concentrate on the first example and then the second one.

I am currently taking my first methods class, and I have not written any lesson plans yet. However, I can see many different ways in which I can incorporate interactive whiteboards that I will potentially put in my lesson plans. I am definitely excited about this new piece of technology.

Digital Video Project

Content Area: Math - Algebra 1
Instructional Video Project
Grade 8/9
Length of Video: as long as you explain the concept fully ( I am flexible with the length.)
Project: Pick one of the 5 topics below and create a video explaining it. Make sure you explain it correctly and clearly. Your fellow students will be viewing these videos as study guides.
Topics:
--Explain how to solve multi-step linear equations
--Explain how to graph a linear function on a graphing calculator (along with adjusting window and looking at table).
--Explain how to find the equation of a line given two points on the line.
--Explain how to graph an inequality of one variable (BY HAND).
--Explain how to put on an equation in slope-intercept form and how to decipher it.



Preparation: Since they will be making an instructional video, I need to make sure that the students fully understand the topic of their video. Also, I need to make sure they need to know how to use the programs required to compile the video. Even though the students probably will be more knowledgeable in technology, I will have to take them to the computer lab or bring a cart to my classroom to demonstrate how to use programs such as Movie Maker and Smartboard software if they wanted to use it.



Challenges: I would need to make sure that what the students are explaining is correct. If the other students in the class will be viewing these videos as study guides, then it is imperative that they information is accurate. Depending on how many groups there were, it would be difficult to keep track of all the videos. Perhaps, I could require the groups to hand in a script. Another challenge would be how all the groups would film their videos. I could allow the groups to use a Smartboard if I have one. However, not all the groups would be able to use it, and I would need to choose a couple of topics that particularly wouldn't require a Smartboard or blackboard. A different issue would be a matter of finding quiet places for the students to film unless I allow them to film out of class. Then, I would need to acquire enough cameras for all the groups to take home. However, I would have to be able to trust the students enough to allow them to the cameras home with them and be able to trust them to actually complete the assignment.



Materials: laptops/computers, video cameras, microphones, Movie Maker, graphing calculators, Smartboard (optional)



Timeline:
1/2 days - Going over camera-use, Movie Maker and Smartboard technology
1 day - Assigning groups, picking topic, beginning to think of how to present content
3/4 days - Writing up script, teacher approval of script
3/4 days - Filming
2/3 days - Editing
2 days - Finalizing
1 day - Presentations

TOTAL: 13-17 days



Checklist:
__ Choose Topic
__ Write up a script
__ Approve by teacher
__ Film all parts of video
__ Create and complete video
__ Approve by teacher
__ Upload video to Youtube
__ E-mail link to teacher

Software Skills

I thought it was very beneficial to learn the software skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, and Inspiration. I think that Microsoft Word and Publisher will be more useful to me than Inspiration because there is more that you can do with those for middle and high school students. However, I would occasionally use Inspiration for specific things such as order of operations or the order in which a student should consider convergence tests when solving infinite series. Because the math that is taught in high school is so concrete and step-by-step, I feel like my students would not benefit from making their own concept maps or flow charts. If I first gave them out myself, and then used them as quizzes, it would be a great tool. As far as using Publisher for newsletters, I would probably only create one for each class at the beginning of the semester because it would be difficult for me to put out a monthly newsletter for every class I teach. Perhaps I could use Publisher for other things such as calenders, flyers, and signs. The software that I will use the most is Microsoft Word. I will use tables to create quizzed that are neat. I knew how to create a table, but I did not think of using it to line up my questions on a quiz or test. Microsoft Word will allow me to type up my tests and quizzes and have to do them by hand. If I make a mistake, it will be easier to erase it in a document then have to rewrite the whole test. Especially since Microsoft 2007 has reorganized its set-up, I learned how to use more of the features. Using all the features to the fullest extent will let me stay organized.