Module 4 - Multimedia

Sorry I am a few days late...that's what happens when you have out of town guests staying at your house and it's the crazy last week of school :)

I use powerpoint a lot, however since I teach 3rd grade, I don't generally use it as a teaching tool. I use it more to create presentations that highlight the students' work, picture slideshows to post on the web for parents to see, and make presentations for school assemblies. I have also used it for Jeopardy games that I have found on the internet, I have not created my own yet either! My students just learned PowerPoint a couple months ago, so they are excited and ready to utilize this program in 4th and 5th grade for reports and other work.

For other types of multimedia, I use UnitedStreaming a lot to show videos relating to my lessons. It helps the younger kids get a better understanding of the topic when they can see it presented in a different way. On another note, I went to a presentation about the Promethean board, same idea as a Smartboard, but way way cooler! I was in awe of how many different functions and multimedia you can use it for. It puts the Smartboard to shame, and just has amazing capabilities. I'd be curious to know if any of you have seen/heard/used one before!! I heard a rumor that our district is looking into them for our classrooms, so I am pretty excited about that! It would just be a great way to distribute all of this multimedia at once!

I don't really use a scanner, I haven't found too many reasons to. I use the digital camera a TON, we are lucky and have one per grade level, and I work at a small school, so I basically can get my hands on one whenever I need it. I just enjoy taking pictures of the kids working, especially in groups or partners, since collaborative work is so important. We use the pictures for our scrapbooks, my slideshows, and to glue onto our work. I also put them up in the hall next to their work if it is applicable.

Module 3 - Databases and Spreadsheets

I am excited to have learned something new this week! I have never used a database software before. I have seen the programs on the computer, opened them, and gave up after a few seconds of not having a clue of where to start or what it was. In elementary school, I think that the uses of a database are more limited in terms of student use. It would have to be very simple, because entering all of the data is labor intensive, even for some of the older students. I think as a teacher, I could use it more for lesson planning, picture book titles that I use for lessons, or storing other information. The biggest example we read about was personal records, and since our office has all of that, I just want to know how I might be able to import it without redoing the whole thing! I hate re-inventing the wheel :)

I use Excel a lot, but not for a grade book. I don't grade with percentages and weights in 3rd grade, so I feel like it would not be necessary to keep my grades in a spreadsheet. I use Excel to make organized lists and tables, because I love the sorting feature that I can't use on Word (at least I don't think there is a sorting feature on Word!) I would love to be more comfortable in the equations and calculations that Excel can do, because when I try it for my personal use, it is hard to get it to work. I have my own business, so I attempt to do my bookkeeping on Excel.