53302_Hatfield_lesson3_comprehensive assignment

After reading the articles and chapters for lesson 3, I have more knowledge about word processing and desktop programs. I already knew what word processor was used for, but I did not have a clear understanding of desktop programs was or that it could be used in so many different ways. Word processors are programs used in the school, business, or home that offer tools to make typing easier. The tools may include spell checker, thesaurus, or reference creator. These tools help make documents look professional. They also help to create documents needed in a classroom. Some examples of word processing programs are Microsoft Office and Microsoft Word. Not only do word processing programs benefit students, it also benefits teachers. Not only do teachers benefit from word processor programs, but they also benefit from desktop publishing programs. Desktop publishing programs are programs that design flyers, brochures, etc. Teachers use this to make documents and/or posters look more appealing.
There are so many ways that technology can help in the classroom. Technology can be a big help for students with special needs, as well as keeping gifted students engaged in a lesson. With technology in the classroom, it can help students with physical, visual, and auditory disabilities. Teachers use different programs for situations like these such as, text-to-speech programs or talking word-processing programs. Teachers also use programs to aid in education, as well as programs that will help a student who speaks English as a second language. However, teachers use other forms of technology other than programs, and are making their classrooms more technology friendly. They are doing this by adding digital cameras, webcams, computers with touch screens, projectors, etc. By doing this, teachers are not only making learning more fun for students, but also teaching them the basic use of different kinds of technology.
I am a teacher assistant, not a teacher, so I do not get to make all the neat flyers or newsletters. When I do become a teacher, I want to make my documents for my student and/or their parent visually appealing. I will make mine colorful and fun to look at. My reason for doing this is that students and parents are more likely to look at something that is colorful or on colored paper to see what it says than to look at something dull on a white piece of paper. For example, every Friday my son's teacher sends home his graded work and any newsletters or flyers pertaining to the following week. As a parent, I always know when there is something in my son's stack of papers that I need to read because it is always on colored paper. If the newsletters or flyers were on white paper I may overlook them and throw them in the garbage because it did not stick out to me. Also, I know my son likes getting stuff from his teacher on colored paper because he says it is more fun to read.

53302_Hatfield_lesson2_comprehensive assignment

Spreadsheets and databases are becoming more and more popular in the classrooms. Teachers are using them as early as Kindergarden to give the students a head start on how to use them. One of the websites I found that discussed spreadsheets and databases in the classroom was http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Process_Skills/SPS0023.html
A teacher has put together a lesson plan in order to teach her students how to use spreadsheets and databases. Her lesson pertained to science. She either took the students outside and had them collect leaves or had them bring them from home. The teacher had the students use index cards as the database in which the students would write down identifying fields for the database which would include: size, shape, and color. From this lesson the teacher concluded that by teaching the students how to use databases they could use the information further by making spreadsheets. The teacher also discusses other way students can use spreadsheets and/or databases in the classroom.
Spreadsheets and databases can be used in so many different way. The spreadsheet can perform various functions on the data entered. Math formulas, graphs, and charts can all be created or performed in spreadsheets. A database is a way of storing and analyzing varing amounts of information. Even though spreadsheets and databases look similar in format, they are used for very different reasons. They both are used to collect information and that information is arranged in columns and rows.
I never knew spreadsheets or databases could be used in so many different ways. I remember being in elementary and middle school and it seems like the only time we worked with spreadsheets and databases was when we were learning about them in the lesson for the day. After that, I don't remember using them often. Now it seems teachers are using them in every subject in school. I knew you would use them in math, but I would have never thought that you could use them in social studies and science. It makes since to use them in lessons though. From one of the articles I had to read for this lesson a teacher was talking about how she uses spreadsheets in her math lessons and her students love it. It makes learning more fun and enjoyable for the students.
I am not a teacher but I am a special education teacher assistant. I have not done any work using spreadsheets, but I do use datatbases in order to document what my two 6th grade students do during each day so that I can be sure not to go over the same thing twice. I am sure that when I do become an actual teacher I will be using spreadsheets and databases as well as teaching my students lessons involving them.

53302_Hatfield_lesson1_comprehensive assignment

I have learned so much just in this one week, and from what I have learned I know I will be using it in the classroom at the very beginning. For example, I never knew anything about the National Education Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers. After reading about this, I learned that teachers should model and apply this in their classrooms. I now know that I need to learn more about these standards in order to be able to use them in my future classroom. I also learned that technology consists of much more than what I thought, so I plan on learning as much as possible from this course and from others in order to be able to implement different types of technology in my classroom.
I plan on implementing these standards in the very beginning. I plan on learning as much about technology as I can. I thought I knew a lot about technology, but I don't. If I can continue to learn and grow with technology then I will be able to use it in my classroom and teach my student how to as well. For example, plan on using the internet and powerpoint for my students. I want my students to learn how to use the internet if they don't already know how. I will implement this in lessons by having the students pick a certain topic and then researching to find information about that topic. Once they find the information needed, they will put together a powerpoint and present the information to the class.
A challenge I may face when using this in the classroom is that some of the students may not know how to use the internet due to not having access to a computer at home. To overcome this challenge, I will connect the computer to the television in the classroom and proceed to give a step by step overview of how to use the internet. For the students who do not have access to the internet at home, I will take the class to the library so they will be able to find the information they need and print it off. Another challenge may be that some of the students may not know how to use PowerPoint. To over come this challenge, I will again connect my computer to the television and show the students how to use and put together a powerpoing presentation. I will go over the process step by step to help them understand. Also, I will already have a powerpoing saved to my computer so that I can show the students what one looks like when it is finished.