Overview of EDU 506
After Taking undergraduate classes in the Technology Education program At SUNY Oswego I thought I had learned almost everything about Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Powerpoint, and using the internet. After Enrolling in this class I came to the realization of how little I knew about using technology as an educational classroom tool. Throughout this class I found myself learning ways to adapt simple computer programs to work as specialized educational tools. These educational tools can be specifically tailored to meet various needs of my classroom students and meet administrative needs for myself as well. I plan on taking what I have learned in this course and applying it into my everyday classroom needs.
Assignment #1 Word Processing Assignment
Description:
This is a lesson plan which I created for use in grades 9-12 transportation classes. It is an excellent topic which grasps student interest and students are often more than willing to participate. The lesson is meant for one 40 minute period but can easily be extended to two depending on student participation. This is a lesson in which students can learn a great deal of practical knowledge about a topic which greatly affects them.
Reflection:
This project was a helpful way to generate student interest in the unit and generally is a great deal of fun in class. Students are eager to participate and this is a lesson which can be used at almost any point in the class to refocus students, or as an auxiliary plan if something goes wrong and extra time is needed to fill in. When creating this assignment I thought of all the things I have learned from buying cars in the past ten years. I even asked some of my personal friends who work for car dealers for some helpful hints about the topic. I thought this lesson would be a positive experience for my students so that they could be more educated about making money saving decisions and perhaps not make some of the common errors that many people make when purchasing a vehicle.
Assignment #2 Excel Spreadsheet Assignment
Description:
This excel spreadsheet functions as an interactive grade book and attendance record. all that needs to be done is enter the weight or total grade value for an assignment at the top and then next to each student to enter the grade for that particular assignment. This keeps a running tally so that a student’s current progress is available at any time. In addition the attendance records only require the user to establish starting dates for each academic quarter. Then if a student is absent all the teacher needs to do is enter that particular date and the spreadsheet will keep track of the amount of quarterly absences and yearly absences.
Reflection:
This grade book was difficult to create but is an excellent administrative management tool for record keeping. It takes the bulk of the tedious calculation out of recordkeeping. It also allows the teacher to give students updates as to their current grades at any point during the quarter. In addition there is a great deal of flexibility built in so that assignments can be easily added or removed. The attendance portion works well because the only days that are important are the days when students are not in class.
Assignment #3 Powerpoint Slideshow assignment
Description:
This is a powerpoint presentation on a lesson about the various types of finish that can be applied to wood and the purpose for applying these finishes. This lesson is designed to be used in a high school level wood fabrications class.
Reflection:
This activity was a great chance to work in a group with other teachers. This activity needed some refinement in terms of adding multimedia and other minor tweaks to the overall presentation. I learned of an excellent tool to download clips off of streaming websites like youtube called www.kickyoutube.com it is a free service which delivers the user a movie file which can be downloaded and directly embedded in a powerpoint presentation. This is a useful service for any educator if any issues arise with internet access and presentations.
Assignment #4 Webquest Assignment
Description:
This webquest can be used in any DDP class or a general Technology Education class it is designed as an activity that will appeal to both males and females. In this webquest students work in teams to design a shoe. This webquest has students use the visual principles and elements of design when creating their shoe design and focuses more on the process of developing the product rather than the product itself.
Reflection:
Webquests are a great deal of work to execute properly. In addition this assignment is an excellent example of an activity that is free of gender bias. It appeals to female students as well as males which is often a difficult thing to do in Technology Education classes. I found that with a great deal of work went into this webquest and that students will learn presentation skills as well as group learning skills which are transferrable to other academic areas
