Back to School Reflection

The back to school powerpoint allowed me to demonstrate my excellence in technology in many ways. The first of those ways would be the design layouts of my slides. I was successful in changing the background from a plain white setting, this enhances the visual my audience will be recieving. In turn they will be more apt to pay attention to something which is visually appealing than that which is not. I was also able to add in word art which I could manipulate in a way to not make it run the traditional horizontal pattern.

The second way I was able to demonstrate good usage of technology, would be my additions of pictures into the slides. I added a few pictures of me which were pulled from a seperate website. I was able to arrange them in a order which is reflective of what I prefer to do in my spare time. This allows the audience to gain a better understanding of who I am as a person. It allows them to think of me not only as their instructor, but as a normal human being.

The third thing I chose to do was to add transitions in my slides as well as a few sounds. The tranistions keep it fresh for the audience and allow them a different change of scenery each time I change a slide. The sounds keep the audience on their toes. If they happen to be napping a car screech or a drum roll is sure to snap them out of it. By throwing in the class highlight section it allowed a preview of things which are going to come to pass in the near future. This should create some buzz among the students and allow them to become more excited and interested in the course as a whole.

Internet Safety and Classroom Rules Reflection

Creating an Internet safety form allowed me to show my skills in creating a document future students can take home and return to me. By identifying the dangers of the internet I can show my knowledge of the internet, and what are places to avoid. Incorporating color and various clipart into the form also made it more interesting, and less formal. The use of adding text boxes and tables makes the form appear more organized and collected rather than straight forward information. Adding the links for parents to delve into more research themselves shows my ability as a teacher to successfully search the web.

The classroom rules allowed me to get a better understanding as to what type of teacher I plan to be. I don't want to be to harsh, but I also don't want to be walked all over. By laying these rules out in slides it allows me to adequately discuss what exactly I mean behind each of them. The transistions and visual aids should allow the students to pay more attention while I go over them rather than glazing over like most youth do. I think adding sound could be something I would like to add in the future as a way to keep my students on their toes. I never much cared for it when I was in school, but now that the table are turned I can see it's benefits.

Both of these assignments allowed me to show how I could use technology in the class room. It may be two of the simplest forms of technology, but it still is. As the semester progresses more exciting and intricate technology will be added to both my lesson plans as well as adding them into everyday assignments.

Back to School Newsletter Reflection

The back to school newsletter reflection allowed me to demonstrate how to use word is ways I haven't before. In the past I have used clip-art and word-art in a newsletter before, but rarely would I combine the two. By combining all aspects of visually appealing stimuli it allows the reader to not get caught up in information overload. Pictures also allows breaks in the information which keeps the writer from becoming too wordy. Using the technology that word provided allowed me create something which otherwise could have been quite dull.

Not only was my newsletter visually appealing, but it also helped me learn more about myself as a teacher. I do want to be the teacher who kids want to have, not the one they have to have. Technology is something I feel will set me apart from other teachers of older ages. Knowing the knowledge my students know will allow me to better understand their needs as a class and answer any questions they may pose. Technology is something which I do plan on incorporating into every lesson plan, and before this assignment I wasn't sure if it would be something useful to me. Now I know it is going to be an important key to having success in my future classroom.

I have always wondered about the class I am going to have someday, but this assignment made it more of a reality. Having the freedom to think about a future class allowed me to reflect on great teachers of my past. I remember assignments I found interesting with them, and plan on incorporating them into my own future lesson plans. I also was able to look up books which have challenged and influenced my writing which I will one day be able to teach from. This newsletter assignment really made my future class seem like a reality rather than something which is a few years away.