Tuesday, June 26th Reflection

The class today was one of surprises and aspects of very common applications that I did not fully understand their potential for the classroom. There are five aspects in particular that I will reflect upon in the following post.

Notepad

Allows before today, I would wonder why Microsoft would go to the trouble of putting this little application on a computer. I thought it was wasted space and never really used it much. Boy, I was wrong. The idea of filtering the text and eliminating the formatting of a document is very beneficial. This will be very useful for the classroom when trying to create new sources for students.

Word

The outlining features and the text styling were very impressive. Again, I thought I "knew" this program inside and out. This will not only be helpful for my classroom but of course for my future dissertation.

Promethean

After watching the presentation today on SmartBoard and discussing other devices similar to it, I will now have to visit Promethean Planet more and experiment with what is available to make my classroom more interesting. More importantly, to inquire new tools to help student achievement is the true goal. There is untapped potential with the machine I have at school that I need and must explore to benefit my students.

Dropbox

I am signing up tonight for this service. Using a small netbook, the usability and practicality of this service goes without question. This will be very beneficial for saving my files.

PowerPoint

Another surprise! Where have I been with this program? The features that I learned today will make assisting students with digital storyboards easier and essential for my Civics classroom. I look forward to creating and having my students create presentations that will force the to critically think about what they are doing.

I look forward to tomorrow and continue to learn about what God has allowed man to create and then use it for His glory in the classroom.