Diigo Learning Reflection

I had never heard of Diigo before this assignment.  At first I thought it was just a site to bookmark my favorite websites.  It took a bit before I realized that I could actually search for websites.  I have always been a huge Google fan, but his is even better.   I love that I can narrow my search to math. In the past, I have been terrible about bookmarking pages and not remembering why I did, or knowing I bookmarked a page and not being able to find it.  This solves that problem.  I had bookmarked my 5 pages for my assignment before I downloaded the toolbar and figured out the highlight tool.  That is probably my favorite part.  It is especially good for articles found online.  This way I can highlight the important information instead of having to search for it later. 

This has been my favorite assignment thus far.  It is the easiest to incorporate into my classroom.  I had no frustration, only excitement.  This is a great resource to share with colleagues and parents.  I plan to create a group for the math department at my school.  With all of the constant changes with testing today, it is difficult to stay abreast of all the resource and practice material out there.  This is a great way to share these things as we find them. 

Prezi Learning Reflection

This was my first experience at creating a Prezi presentation.  I had never heard of Prezi before and was somewhat apprehensive.  The first step was to create an account, which was quick and simple.  Next, I had to choose a template, which as usual was the most difficult task for me because I am very indecisive.  There were quite a few templates to choose from.  The only major roadblock I came to was when trying to type mathematical text such as x squared.  When unsuccessful, I tried to type in MathType and copy and paste, but this too was a failure.  So I resigned to finding the formulas I wanted in Google images, using Snagit to copy into Paint and save as a jpeg file.  I was then able to upload to Prezi with no problem.  This process was the most time consuming part of my presentation.  Once I overcame this obstacle, the design process was relatively simple.  I learned how to fade in and out and how to add more slides to my template.  Overall the process was easy and fun.

I found the final product of the Prezi presentation to be a refreshing alternative to the typical powerpoint presentation.  The animation and movement is beneficial for keeping student attention.  The ability to fade information in adds to this effect.  While I wish it were more user friendly in terms of typing in mathematical symbols, the final product would be worth the extra time spent transferring data.  I found this to be an awesome way to incorporate technology in the classroom while providing information in a  new way. 

Video Learning Reflection

Well apparently I'm the only person that experienced real problems with this assignment.  Unfortunately technology worked against me on this one.  My first idea was to do a video on my promethean using promethean software.  I created my flipcharts for a project on quadratics and went back to make the movie.  When I tried to record myself talking, no luck.  Turns out my laptop has no microphone.  After searching high and low at my school, I finally found one.  I created my video and hit roadblock number 2.  The sound was terrible and on top of that, I could not open my video on any other computer.  After much frustration, I gave up and decided to use movie maker to make my video.

The basic setup for movie maker was simple.  Again my problems were technology related.  My desktop also has no microphone.  I get my movie all set up and go to save as movie and my computer freezes.  I try to no avail and end up having to shut down and restart entirely.  At this point, I am ready to cry.  But with perseverance, I ended up with a video on quadratics.  This video is meant to be a review at the end of the unit.

Overall, I can see where making my own video can be beneficial.  Yet with time constraints, it is so very tempting to use one of the many videos on YouTube and Khan Academy.  I believe this experience would have been much more enjoyable without all of the issues I encountered.

Reflections

Reflections

The process of designing this blog started out a little bumpy.  When I first went onto blogger, I ran into my first question immediately.  I was unsure if I was supposed to choose Google profile or Blogger profile.  After determining that I was supposed to choose Blogger profile, I was on my way.  I had trouble watching the video explaining the step-by-step process.  I could hear, but could not see the video of the computer screen.  I was reminded that I am definitely a visual learner!  So I thought I would see what I could accomplish on my own.  I found the initial setup of the blog to be very simple, but making modifications was a little more troublesome.  I decided that the video was a must, and determined that I could successfully watch the video at school.  After watching the video, the real fun began.  I felt some frustration in trying to convert my pages to tabs, but eventually I discovered the secret and my page began to take shape.  Being your typical female, the most enjoyable part for me was changing fonts, backgrounds, and layouts.  The hardest part was deciding what I liked best!

I learned a lot through this experience.  I always thought that a webpage was something I would never have.  I believed it was beyond my technological capabilities.  Yet, with my first blog site behind me, I found that it was much simpler than I could have imagined.  There are little things that I am still figuring out, but I always feel so proud when I discover the right path.  I look forward to not only using this blog for my classroom, but also teaching my students how easy it is to use and encouraging them to do so also.  In the future, I would like to have assignments, my pacing guide, and all relevant class information included on my blog.  In this technological age, I believe having the blog will help me be more accessible to my students and my parents.

url:  ktootle.blogspot.com

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.  I am creating this blog as a requirement for my college class, but I am hopeful that I will learn enough to create a page that is informative for my students and their parents.  I am so excited to get this process started.  I welcome you all to enjoy this journey with me.