DTP and Word Processing

DTP and Word Processing

Wow! There was a lot of information to take in this week.  I have let myself get behind, so I’m still trying to absorb it all.  The desktop publishing and word processing aspect of this week’s lesson was pretty straightforward and easy to follow.  Most of us have been using these types of software for years and are pretty familiar with what both of them can do.  I believe that it is true that word processing software is becoming so sophisticated that the two things are relatively the same these days.  The go-to desktop publishing software for me is PowerPoint.  That’s also the case for most of the teachers at my school and the students are given assignments involving the creating and presentation of a PowerPoint on a pretty regular basis. I would say most of them are better at it the teachers at this point because they have been playing around on it since their middle school days.  I did enjoy reading the tips for making sure their DTP documents are the best that they can be, such as encouraging them to make a copy to play around with and giving them samples.  I also think that this type of interaction and creativity makes learning personal and meaningful for them.  Many times they take a great deal of pride in what they have produced.  I hadn’t thought of this until I read it on the Technokids website, but it does build decision making skills.  Since they are responsible for the design, colors, layout etc., it makes them think through different  options until they decide on what they think looks best.  One thing that stands out from reading about DTP this week is that when I am around students who are creating something, I need to remind them to think about their intended audience.  I don’t know if that is an aspect they are considering and I don’t believe I’ve done a good job of reminding them of that.  That’s something I will definitely take away from the lesson this week. 

The next thing I looked at was the Bloom’s Technology Taxonomy pyramid.  I hate to admit it, but I’ve never heard of this.  I have not had a class in which this has been discussed.  It seems like a complicated concept to grasp when you first look at it, but after thinking about it and looking at it for a while, it did make sense.  .  I studied it and did see some correlation between it and the ISTE standards for teachers, however.  I think the whole thing fits easily into the first standard of facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity. 

Then the websites! Wow! So much information to take in and things I didn’t know.  The one I thought was the most overwhelming was the webquest site.  The description on the website is that it’s an “inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.”  I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that means.  I looked around on the website and really was not able to make heads or tails of what it is or exactly how this is used in the classroom.  I will have to investigate this further when I am not pressed for time.  My favorite website that we looked at this week was the 4teachers.org site.  Such a great resource and so many different ideas!  If I were already teaching, I would use this one a lot. 

I also found the websites containing information technological assisted devices useful in terms of finding out what all is available to special needs students.  Many of the things I saw seemed very specific to a certain type of learner and I’m not sure could be implemented on a wide scale but it’s nice to know that there are so many new and creative things to help with different types of learners. 

Going back to the topic of using desktop publishing and word processing in the classroom, there are many ways to get creative and keep the students interested in the topic at hand.  One of the things that I personally do not like to see when looking at a PP or other DTP document, is for it to be crowded with too much text.  If I am sitting in a classroom and an instructor puts on a slide show that is crammed with monotonous words, I immediately lose interest.  I like to see simplified texts with interesting visuals accompanying them.  I like seeing big headlines, differences in font and lots of color.  I think there is a fine line though. You don’t want to overdo it and make the presentation itself a distraction from the message you are trying to convey. 

 

 

 

Technology Exploration Resource Explored: 7.  Assistive Technologies

 

1.            Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.

                I was aware that there are many assisted technological devices being used in the classroom today as I see many on a daily basis at our school.  The students in our FMD and some of our LBD students use many devices, such as augmented communicators, specialized seating and positioning, living devices, and academic and learning aids.  I found the GPAT website to be very informative about other devices that I have not seen being used, such as environmental controls. 

2.            How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.

                I’m not sure if all states provide the resources that were listed on the GPAT website, but I would like to see what is offered in our state and how I could apply for funding if I am in charge of a classroom for my students.  As a future LBP teacher, I need to be aware of the different products and services that are available and how to obtain them.  I would like to see more academic and learning aids given to our LBD students.  Many of them learn more effectively if they are given visual aids or can use a computer for an alternative assignment.

3.            Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?

                I would recommend this for every teacher that has special needs students in their classroom.  If it can be funded by the state, there is no reason to not take advantage of this resource to offer each student the best chance at success through whatever devices they may need to assist them. 

 

 

 

Technology Exploration Resource Explored: 8.  Online Tools for Teachers

 

1.            Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.

                I learned that Dimio offers a text to speech device with automatic speech recognition, which could be extremely useful in the classroom with special needs students.  I found it especially interesting that it can create interactive dialogues with the user.  I loved looking at the 4teachers.org website and spent a lot of time exploring what all that site has to offer.  I had no idea there was such a vast database of different educational resources available on one website.  My favorite ones were trackstar, which provides online lessons and activities; persuadestar, which can help students develop essays by offering instruction and feedback, and the academic skill builders site, which is educational games.

2.            How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.

                I would definitely use the 4teachers website probably on a daily basis if I were a teacher.  There is so much creative and interesting things on there.  I would let the students use the game site as a reward for meeting academic or behavioral goals because I think the games would provide a fun way for them to learn without them even realizing they were learning something.  Also, Dimio or other text to speech software could be useful in certain environments, but I’m not sure how likely our school system would be to put this into place.  I don’t believe it would be used enough to warrant it’s purchase.   

3.            Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?

                I would recommend the 4teacher website but I’m still not clear on exactly the benefit to cost ratio would be on the dimio or other text to speech software.  I didn’t see a price on their website but I would bet that it is probably an expensive software that a small, rural school system like mine would not be able to afford.  Without knowing really how many students would benefit from it or in exactly what way it would help them, I would hold off of recommending that particular resource. 

 

Technology Exploration Resource Explored: 9.  Powertalk

 

1.            Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.

                This software seems similar to Dimio.  However, it will read off any presentation or slide show that is presented in PowerPoint, and is able to speak the text as it appears.  It was created especially for people with Asphasia.  It can aid people who have trouble speaking or if you have an audience with visual disabilities.

2.            How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.

                I would think this would have to be a very specific classroom setting to use this resource.  It seems designed to fill a particular need that may not be present in most classrooms.  I can see how it would be very useful for people who are visually impaired or who benefit from having a presentation read aloud to them as it is presented, but many times the teacher reads the presentation to the class.   

3.            Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?

                I don’t believe that I would unless it was a situation where the teacher had trouble speaking or there were several visually impaired students in the classroom.  Again, I don’t think that the cost to benefit ratio would warrant the application of this software in most classrooms.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Week 4 - Presentation Programs

I really liked the lesson this week, which focused on one of my favorite classroom tools – presentation programs.  Of course, by now most people working in education are very familiar with PowerPoint.  That is what is used most often in the classrooms I aide in at my school.  It may be used a little bit too much, to be honest.  After seeing some of the other online tools, I’m starting to realize that PowerPoint doesn’t have to be the go-to tool for every lesson.  However, they are extremely useful for teaching.  I learned this week that they started off in the business world and that they eventually worked their way into the classroom after it was seen how beneficial they are in communicating to an audience.  There is so much you can do with them and I especially like having students create their own.  They are get creative and seem to enjoy making them.  It’s a great way to engage the students who have difficulty in reading and writing.  Allowing them to express themselves with the use of graphics, colors and video, will really help them to learn the subject being taught. 

I also learned some tips this week about making a presentation more effective.  The information presented needs to have variety and relevant.  The slides presented much be concise and visually appealing.  The “What’s All the Hype,” says that a PP has the potential to either enlighten or confuse the audience, depending how it is arranged and presented.  This article recommended the use of PP because it is fun, user friendly and can accommodate a variety of learning styles.  However,  they warn that it should not be overused and to watch out for “PP paralysis,” which is when the content is disregarded and too much emphasis is placed on the presentation itself.   In the article, “Using Presentation Programs Effectively,”  the author  says that it should not be used as a crutch and not to rely on it for all of the creativity of the presentation.  Basically, if you’re going to incorporate this into a lesson plan, use common sense when preparing the slides. Don’t make them too boring, but don’t put too much information on one slide.  Also, it’s important to know the material before presenting.  This is a mistake I have made before and I’m sure it really bored my audience for me to just read off the slides. 

Since I do not have a class of my own, I chose to make a PP for my children.  They are ages 13, 12, and 9.  I thought for several days on what I should present to them.  I wanted it to be relevant information that they could use and at the same time I wanted it to be something that I needed to communicate to them.  In the end, I decided what I needed them to know was much work it takes to have a job, take college classes, and manage a household and that I needed some help from them.  I started my PP by showing them how much of my time is spent at work, doing homework, and then the household management duties such as laundry, dinner, and basic cleaning.  I put graphics on the page showing a cartoon woman trying to juggle all these responsibilities and getting stressed out.  I then showed them how valuable it would be to me if they could contribute to some of these duties and take some pressure off of me.  I showed slides that showed all of the benefits that are felt by the entire family when each child does things to help keep the house running.   I effectively showed how all of us have more time together when everyone contributes.  The initial reaction from my older children (both girls) was not particularly encouraging to me, but after they watched the PP ,  I think they had a better understanding of where I was coming from.  My youngest, a boy, loved it! But he is always eager to help, so I fully anticipated him to.  I am proud of my entire presentation actually.  I think I’m most proud of the subject I chose.  I chose it because there has been a communication problem about who is supposed to do what, in terms of chores and I felt that it was important to lay things out in a manner that didn’t leave any ambiguity about what mine and my husband’s expectations.  I laid out in my PP which child is responsible for which chore and when I expected them to be done.  I also like that I have this now and can go over it again if needed.  If any of you have teenage girls, I’m sure you will agree that the probability of needing a refresher is quite high!

Technology Exploration Assignment Forms

Technology Exploration Resource Explored:  11. Comic Life and ISpeech

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	I absolutely loved the Comic Life website! I have never seen anything like that and I am excited to tell the teachers I know about it.  It’s a website where you can make your own comics.  Looks like there is a lot of fun graphics, colors and fonts to really make something creative.  Ispeech.org is a text-to-speech website that I’m fully sure I understand. I know that it can be used to speak the words on the computer screen or in a presentation, but I’m not sure how I would ever use it.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	The Comic Life website could be used as a way for students to develop a presentation on a particular subject. As the website shows, it can be used for many subjects, including science and history.  I think it would work very well in a history class.  They could create comics based on some event that happened and I think just having that creativity and having to think about how the comic should be laid off, would really engage the students and they would be having a good time and probably have a better chance of remembering the information.  ISpeech could be used in a classroom setting where the students have difficulty with speech or writing.  I am thinking it would be primarily used in an FMD room.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I would recommend Comic Life for teachers of virtually any age group.  I can see the potential for unleashing some real creativity there.  There are many students I know who would really love to get into a project like this.  Others who aren’t as artistically thinking may not like it, but this could be given as an alternative assignment.  The website says they have special prices for educators and I would think it would be well worth it.  I don’t know if I would recommend ISpeech.  I didn’t see any advantage to it over the software we already use that reads to our students.  It claims to talk in a less robotic voice, but I couldn’t really tell a difference.

 

Technology Exploration Resource Explored:  12. Voicethread

 

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	I liked the voicethread website.  This is an online collaboration tool in which you can upload documents, images and audio files. It’s cloud-based, so there isn’t any software to upload, which I found appealing. It allows users to add voice to uploaded documents, photos or videos. For a single educator, the fee is $15 per month or $79 a year.  This website seemed really vague to me and I didn’t felt like I really had to do some outside investigating to even understand what voicethread does.  I guess I have a hard time understanding the language of applications like this.  Trying to figure it out though!
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	Students could post media and teachers/peers can comment on the website.  It could used in oral presentations on history or books.   A teacher can upload a lesson and then have students leave comments on the lesson.  It could also be used as a way for students to collaborate together on a project.  What’s nice about this application is that it can be viewed over and over so that if a student isn’t clear about something, they can re-watch it.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or why not?
	Yes, I would recommend it.  It doesn’t seem very user-friendly to me but it may not be bad after you get used to it.  I’m sure students would adapt well.  There is a fee involved, but schools are discounted. School districts can get a yearly subscription, you have to call for a quote.  A single educator’s license is $79 a year.

Technology Exploration Resource Explored:  13. Scibblar

 

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This is a collaboration tool that can be used for online training.  It features an online whiteboard, real time audio, text-chat, document upload.  The website says that it is used at Harvard and Berkley, which I found impressive.  In effect, it’s a way to have an online class.  I watched some samples videos in which the teacher was writing on a whiteboard and the students were able to make comments and ask questions in real time.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	I see this being used more at a college level for online classes.  It can also be used for tutoring. I don’t see that it would be utilized in a public k-12 classroom setting.  There are a few students who are on homebound, but not enough to warrant using this particular application. College online classes are great though and I really like how the teacher can write on the virtual whiteboard to explain the lesson.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or why not?
	Yes, I would recommend for colleges but not for elementary, middle or high schools.  The cost depends on how many users will be in the “room.”  It can be anywhere from $9-$39 per month. It’s a really great way to manage a virtual classroom.

Technology Exploration Resource Explored:  14.Kidblog

 

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This website allows students a way to safely publish online.  Whatever is put on there is monitored by teachers.    It provides students with a way to have their own blog and gets them writing.  It seems primarily aimed at elementary and middle school students.  There is an emphasis on privacy and teachers have to approve what goes live. Teachers have administrative control over all student blogs and student accounts. Students' blogs are private by default, which means they are only viewable by classmates and the teacher.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	I read some reviews by teachers and the consensus seems to be that this is a great tool in the classroom. One teacher said that she can make individualized lesson plans for the students after reading their blogs and seeing what they think about certain things.  It seems like a great way to get the students to engage in some creative writing.  I also liked the idea of active in the global network and getting them into “digital citizenship.”  If this was used in my classroom, I would encourage the global pen pal idea to get connected with students from other countries.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or why not?
	Yes, I would recommend this for teachers of elementary and middle schools.  You can set up a class for free with no ads, but there are options to upgrade for a fee.  It seems like a user-friendly site and I think could be very well utilized in class.