Archive for April, 2008
Week 8
we continued our look at excel this week, but this time at more complex functions and incorporating them into our grade books.
i learnt how to show and distinguish grades from A to F, based on each students’ total mark/percentage out of 100. this is a useful funtion that saves a lot of time and mental calculations – all the work is being done for me!
we also began to look at Inspiration and Kidspiration – programs used for creating detailed mind maps. the fun with this program is that the mind maps can be created using graphics to make it fun and a better visual representation, rather than just a bunch of words.
Kidspiration especially will be highly valuable for me when teaching primary students, as it is a fun, interactive and hands-on learning experience.
Add comment April 29, 2008
Week 7
this week was all about using Microsoft Excel…a program i’m quite familiar with: i used it throughout my senior maths classes, from years 9 to 12. this week’s workshop was a good opportunity, however, to refresh my memory on the different shortcuts and formulas to use on a spreadsheet to calculate things like averages, highest and lowest scores, and rankings. many of these skills were forgotten when i finished high school – before this week’s workshop i hadnt used excel in quite a long time.
we also looked at the importance and usefullness of excel in keeping ‘grade books’ for students..with portfolio item #5’s task being to create a grade book with data presented using graphs and tables on excel. this will be something i will definitely be utilising as a teacher – keeping track of students’ academic achievement is important in keeping track of their progress, as well as using in reports and to discuss with parents at parent-teacher interviews.
Add comment April 25, 2008
Week 6
this week in tutorial i was introduced to a program i had never heard of before: Microsoft Publisher. i’m so glad i found out about it – i LOVE using it!! i learned that Publisher is a creative way of displaying information and images together to create a ‘publication’, used to make things like posters & brochures.
portfolio item #4 was to create an autobiography using Publisher. this has been my favourite task in ICT so far…i really enjoyed completing my autobiography, and spent alot of my spare time working on it to perfection…it was relaxing and a good break from essay writing and studying! and it was still technically doing ‘work’ – although it didnt feel like it at all!
i really enjoy displaying photos creatively- especially scrapbooking – and using Publisher i found is sort of like that…choosing colour schemes, designs and borders etc for my text and photos was a fun way of expressing myself and the end result was a true reflection of who i am, my passions, my aspirations and what means the most to me.
im certain ill be using Publisher in the future – if not for teaching purposes, for my own leisure and enjoyment!
by far the BEST aspect of ICT so far 
Add comment April 16, 2008
Week 5
webquest. a word id never even heard of before. by the end of week 5, i knew all about what a webquest was, looked at some examples and even evaluated 2 different webquests based on a rubric, assessing their suitability to use as a lesson in teaching.
webquests are a great utilisation of the world wide web – they enable students to use and become familiar with today’s technology of the internet, and are a fun and engaging way of learning. they each contain a ‘quest’ for the students to complete, which makes learning fun and intriguing for students. i hope to use these great resources when i begin teaching, and even make a webquest of my own – something i look forward to doing in the later years of my course.
Add comment April 3, 2008
Portfolio Item #3: webquest evaluation
‘Penguins Student Page’ Webquest Evaluation
Score: 29/50
Its major downfalls were:
- the task and process
- visual appeal of the page
The task & process: it seemed to lack a specific ‘quest’, other than to find out information about penguins. It doesn’t require the students to undertake any higher order thinking skills, such as role-playing, as most successful webquests entail. The tasks weren’t very original and exciting: they simply involved recording information; not presenting it in a creative way.
I believe the task should involve activities that allow students to broaden their horizons and use and develop their imagination, as well as researching a particular topic and improving their skills in researching using technology. The process did, however, include a creative story task – which is the type of activity each should be in the process.
Visual appeal: the page is very basic and boring: consisting of tables and white backgrounds, with occasional colour splashed on headings. The page also lacks images: only 2, small, animated images appear, resembling “Pingu”: one at the top of the page, the other at the bottom.
I feel photographs would have been more appropriate, to provide a true visual representation of what penguins look like, giving students an idea of what they’re researching and further develop their understanding of a penguin’s appearance.
‘Peeping at Penguins’ Webquest Evaluation
Score: 44/50
This webquest was great: its what every good webquest should be. Its strengths were in all of the other webquest’s areas of weakness:
Its best features:
- the task and process
- the introduction
The task and process: the tasks involve group work, with assigned roles to each group member. These roles are creative and fun, motivating the children to take on their role and complete their specified task with enthusiasm and excitement, and then share their information and findings with the rest of the group.
I believe the aspect of role-playing is crucial to a good webquest: it gives students the opportunity to not only use their imagination, but also teaches them to work effectively and constructively as part of a group – an essential skill they will continue to utilise throughout their schooling years.
The introduction: this was the most engaging and best aspect of the webquest. It addresses the individual student directly, giving them a sense of their worth and importance in completing this task well.
Its only minor downfall was a mechanical flaw: a few broken links to resource pages.
apart from this, Peeping at Penguins was seamless.
Add comment April 3, 2008
Week 4
this week’s workshop focused on microsoft word: a program im very well aquainted with: i’ve been using it for many years, typing up assignments and essays.
however this week i learnt some very useful new things about word:
- how to hyperlink an item into my word document
- some handy short cut keys to make editing my word document so much simpler and easier
Add comment April 1, 2008
