Tech Task #6

Throughout this tech task we were asked to create a short video in commercial length and edit it. Our group consisted of Tara Straker, Megan Beisel and Tawna Bartley and we chose to edit our video using the Mac computers and iMovie, seeings as how none of us had a lot of experience with Mac computers. We chose to make our video on the current CUPE strike that is affecting many of us students around campus. Enjoy!

Tech Task #8

We were asked to create a slideshow or scrapbook of four pages to depict our lives. I have chosen the scrapbook method and I hope you understand where I am coming from.

I really enjoyed this project and I hope you can enjoy it as well!

My Life

Tech Task #7

a) A wiki allows people to easily create a website with exactly what they want on it. It allows users to easily edit and link web pages. They are usually used to create a collaboration of websites. It is really simple to use and really simple to create.

b) Wikis could be used within the classroom to connect the world to your class and your class to the world. I would use a wiki to post a variety of websites that my classes could use to aid them with their math homework. I would have practice tests and quizes set up so that my students could practice on their math skills before a test or exam. I would make sure I posted the homework for each class, we have all forgotten to write down the assignment at some point. I would even keep a calendar with a list of important dates and reminders for each class. I would even have an area on my wiki for blogging. The students could ask their questions on the wiki and other students could respond to it and answer them. Students would also have a mark comprised of answering their peers on the wiki so that no question goes unanswered. When I am finished school I will be a secondary math teacher and I feel that a wiki would be very helpful for my students. And when my students are succeeding and learning, so am I, its a win-win situation.

Of the tools outlined in the wiki I choose voicethread.com as a very helpful classroom tool.

a)  Voicethread is a tool to create presentations using pictures, videos, and your own voice.  Basically you use your own voice clips to tell and explain a stroy based on the photo that is seen on the screen.  Students can upload photos from Flickr, Facebook or straight from your computer.  Then you can add your voice clips to each image and upload them to the site.  It is very quick and easy.

b)  Voicethread is a very helpful tool to be used within the classroom.  It can be used within each subject and grade level in some way.  For instance a grade three Language Arts class could each create their own story and bring it to life, where as a grade twelve biology class might use it to explain the process of mitosis.  This tool can also be used by the teacher as an aide to his or her lessons which would help explain the concept at hand to the class.  Without this tool students would only be able to create regular stories and this allows them to narrate and pause their own creations that they can eventually share with the world on the internet.  This goes beyond regular story telling because it allows students to also use their kinestetic and visual style of learning as well.  As a teacher I will surely use this tool within my classroom.

The Power of PowerPoint

Check out the PowerPoint that Megan, Tara and I made. It is pretty rocker!

once-upon-a-new-york-day.pps

My First Commercial

Check out the sweetest MaterCard commercial ever:

I am so proud of myself!

Tech Task #1

a) My name is Tawna. I come from a “medium” sized town with about twenty-five hundred people. In my graduating class there was forty-five people so not too small but not too big. I do not have any hobbies, except that I like my cat, Simba, and I like to hang out with him. In my family I have a little brother who is not that little, rather tall and three stepsisters.

b) I like computers and feel somewhat familiar with them, however I like to learn new things as well that will help me out with whatever I am trying to do. I basically only use computers for school use and for connecting with friends and family.

c) I feel that computers could potentially take education to new levels, especially since we watched those videos of other schools using technology today, I know its possible. However, I do feel there are limits towards students privacy and well being that needs to be protected and become first priority. I feel that in the younger grades such as K-6 it is important that their family members as well as friends and relatives can potentially see what they are doing at school. I think that there is a way to use computers in the classroom for the older students and I am willing to learn these methods. I think the technology should be used to help the students and families connect and learn with each other. I do not feel that such things as Facebook are helping students learn in anyway, but more of a distraction keeping them from things that they should be doing.

d) I hope that this class teaches me things that I can use within the classroom to help me teach students. I hope that Alec can teach us things that he has learned that would benefit us within our teaching proffession as well. My experience with technology is not outstanding but I have always been able to acomplish what I needed to with what I already know.