I am working on becoming more familiar with ActivStudio so I can build better lesson materials that engage my students. I signed up to take the Level 1 Foundation course from PrometheanLearning.com, best of all the foundation course is free. I might sign up for more courses depending on the price. The tutorials are short and interactive with assessments to chart my progress. I even get a little diploma when I complete the course, which should look nice for my personal development plan. So far I am finding the ActivStudio software easier than programming with Adobe Flash and it actually looks like I might be able to use both programs together which would be a great combination. I feel like I am going through withdrawal of flash programming as it has been four weeks since my last program.
Outside of the classroom I find myself very tired when I get home lately, which is weird since I am getting way more sleep than I ever got in college. I averaged 3-4 hours of sleep per night and I feel more tired now with 7-8 hours of sleep. I am hoping it is only temporary as I feel like I am a lot less productive lately. I am constantly playing catch up rather than getting ahead like I want to. It could be worse, right now I am breaking even rather than falling behind or racing ahead.
October 6, 2008
October 4, 2008
Friday the Half Day
Friday was a great day and not just because we got paid, but also due to the fact that it was a half day with parent teacher conferences. I looked forward to meeting parents and was hoping to get some visitors, though I only received one and that was because the student wanted to show her mom the computer lab.
The day was easy, only three classes and two were shortened to 15 minutes so they could get to lunch before dismissal. The best part about Friday was when one of the first grade teachers told me that a student started to cry when their parent came to pick them up. When they asked the student why they were so upset he simply said "It's not fair, I am going to miss technology!" So the parent left the student and came back to pick them up after my class. I thought that was cool, I try to make the lessons engaging for my students but I am not always successful. The headphones have served as a great way to pull my students into our lessons. They enjoy hearing my voice more through those tiny speakers than in real life, maybe I sound better through wireless transmission? What they really enjoy is when I play music from my iPod whenever they can work respectfully at their stations.
I would like to develop a group project for my students to work on but I am not sure which idea to try, I hate when a lesson flops after so much preparation. I have already made two lessons that I spent many hours developing the materials and when it came time to execute the plan with my students...well...it didn't go nearly as planned. I tend to get ahead of myself and have to remember that we are still developing our core skills. My students are getting much better at using the mouse and the keyboard, even my little Kindergartners are starting to get the hang of how to hold the mouse. This year is going by so quickly I fear that I will not cover all of the material that I want before school ends.
The day was easy, only three classes and two were shortened to 15 minutes so they could get to lunch before dismissal. The best part about Friday was when one of the first grade teachers told me that a student started to cry when their parent came to pick them up. When they asked the student why they were so upset he simply said "It's not fair, I am going to miss technology!" So the parent left the student and came back to pick them up after my class. I thought that was cool, I try to make the lessons engaging for my students but I am not always successful. The headphones have served as a great way to pull my students into our lessons. They enjoy hearing my voice more through those tiny speakers than in real life, maybe I sound better through wireless transmission? What they really enjoy is when I play music from my iPod whenever they can work respectfully at their stations.
I would like to develop a group project for my students to work on but I am not sure which idea to try, I hate when a lesson flops after so much preparation. I have already made two lessons that I spent many hours developing the materials and when it came time to execute the plan with my students...well...it didn't go nearly as planned. I tend to get ahead of myself and have to remember that we are still developing our core skills. My students are getting much better at using the mouse and the keyboard, even my little Kindergartners are starting to get the hang of how to hold the mouse. This year is going by so quickly I fear that I will not cover all of the material that I want before school ends.
October 1, 2008
All quiet on the Technology Lab front...
My first post using my new computer! I have finally bought my new computer after several months using a loaner from a generous family member. Between setting up all of my software and trying to implement some new material into my classroom I have not managed to post in quite a while. I have to find a way to make it part of my normal routine.
I have been given access to United Streaming(Discovery Channel Video Archive) and can't wait to use some of those. I plan on showing a short video clip tomorrow to introduce the next lesson material about computers, where they came from and where they are at now.
I have also found a way to use a Bluetooth headset to talk to my students so they can hear me using their headphones. This is turning into a great classroom management technique, my students are so excited to hear me in their headphones they are following directions faster and with less mistakes and best of all I do not have to shout over the class or repeat myself a million times. When they are working well and following directions I play music to each computer from my iPod, they really enjoy this feature and even my most rowdy classes are working hard to follow directions and procedures.
Overall, I would have to say I am becoming more comfortable in my classroom and in working with other teachers/aids. I am developing a positive and professional relationship with my co-workers. I have become the "go-to" guy for technical support in the building, it feels good to be needed!
I have been given access to United Streaming(Discovery Channel Video Archive) and can't wait to use some of those. I plan on showing a short video clip tomorrow to introduce the next lesson material about computers, where they came from and where they are at now.
I have also found a way to use a Bluetooth headset to talk to my students so they can hear me using their headphones. This is turning into a great classroom management technique, my students are so excited to hear me in their headphones they are following directions faster and with less mistakes and best of all I do not have to shout over the class or repeat myself a million times. When they are working well and following directions I play music to each computer from my iPod, they really enjoy this feature and even my most rowdy classes are working hard to follow directions and procedures.
Overall, I would have to say I am becoming more comfortable in my classroom and in working with other teachers/aids. I am developing a positive and professional relationship with my co-workers. I have become the "go-to" guy for technical support in the building, it feels good to be needed!
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