Blog 7....I wish it was 11

Here we go again! I know everyone is exhausted from Midterm's but it's time for another look inside the wondeful world of technology. This week we covered alot of information, which I believe will be extremely helpful in the field of education. Within the textbook this week we coered chapter 6, Technology, Digital Media, & Curriculum Integration. Their is one particular aspect that we covered in this chapter, the ASSURE model, which I took a particular liking to.This model is classfied as an instructional model, or systematic guide for planning instruction or a lesson. The ASSURE model, breaks down as follows: Analyze the learner, State objectives, Select methods, media, & materials, Utilize methods, media, & materials, Require learner participation, and Evaluate and Revise. If you follow these steps you are guaranteed to construct a very effective lesson!

If we take a look at our assignment for this week, power point 1, you will find the aspect of this week that I found most helpful and educating. I learned some neat tricks that I did not know about power point. Also this was one of my first attempts putting together an entire presentation. I am familiar with the program, but had never had to utilize it until now. This comes at the perfect time, seeing as in a few weeks I will have to construct a Power Point presentation for another of my classes!

We come yet again to my final paragraph, and my weekly words of wisdom! This week I will divulge a little into the fun of early morning classes. My words of wisdom regarding this subject are if you have an early class, don't go out the night before. I mean if you want to you are all adults, but choose wisely. I understand that their times where you just need to release and get out of your dorm or apartment for a little while. However, the key is to be smart about it. If your class is more active then you should be fine, but I know everyone has that one professor who lectures for hours on end, and when you've been out late the night before that is just plain deadly!

In the Mix with Blog #6!

Alright, I know you missed me but I am back. Coming live at you all in the mix with blog number 6. I will start this week talking about some stuff located in our lovely $100 textbook, i might actually get my money's worth! The main focus of this chapter was on Digital Media. This is a topic that most of us there should be pretty familiar with. Digital Media is defined as "those technologies that allow users to create new forms of interaction, expression, communication, and entertainment in a digital format." The digital media we are most familiar include animation, audio, and video. By using all these files we can make our websites not only educational but entertaining.

For the first time this semester I am walking away from an assignment feeling that I have learned something. This week we teamed up and made a wiki. A wiki is essentially a collaborative site, that allows many users to edit the wiki to make one final project. I feel that once i enter my educational career I would be able to use this newly acquired software to my advantage. This would be an extremely useful tool for group projects, and would make those dreadful group assignments a little more interesting.

By this point everyone knows what to look for in my final paragraph...a little words of wisdom! This week I am going to discuss the fine art of "cramming". Like most students around campus it is midterm time, a time of the school year that is only surpassed, in the fear department by, FINALS! Anyway, this week I had two of those wonderful midterms on Tuesday, one being at 9 A.M. Me being the procrastinator that I am , I put off studying for these tests until Monday night. To make a long story short, I finally fell asleep, or should I say crashed at 5 o'clock Tuesday morning. I awoke 3 hours later and made my way off to midterm land.... Needless to say I have still not recovered from the extreme loss of sleep, and I am really not sure that it was quite worth it.

Blog 1....Yet it is the 2nd Post....Hmmm

Chapter 1 was kind of a repetitive chapter for most of the computer literate, although it does share some good insight into the world of educational technologies. To be more specific it discusses some of the specific methods and standards for teachers to follow and use in their classrooms. The ARCS Motivational Model seems extremely useful and relevant. In fact relevance is one of the keys in the model. John Keeler also stressed 3 other keys in this model: Attention, Challenge, & Satisfaction. I believe that Keeler's model especially applies to technology in education. Like mentioned in the chapter, the students of today are already fluent when it comes to technology, so if you incorporate this into their learning they will not only find it relevant, but it will keep their attention while challenging their technological brains. Now, if you compare that to Keeler's ideas they are absolutely parallel.

Since my last blog I have learned a few things here and there that I think might be beneficial once I move on into my career. The ARCS model that I have already mentioned, I believe will prove to be an affective model to follow once I get into my career. I also did not know that there were standards that a teacher could follow when it comes to technology. Another thing or better yet things that I learned this week was from our Assignment using word. I knew most of the specifics but there were a few key elements that I can know use in Microsoft Works.

For my "Final Thoughts" I decided to share with my classmates a bit of wisdom, that could definitely come in handy. I speak in regards of a time honored tradition here at Florida State, one that many of you will more than likely take place in, that is if you haven't already. The tradition I speak of is the one regarding jumping in the fountain on your 21st. I come to you this week having, since we last spoke, fully participated in this hilarious tradition. I will leave the exact the location of the exact fountain out to protect the innocence of our campus, but just ask around and anyone will tell you! Heed this warning my friends if you are turning 21 in the near future, leave your cell phone at your house. I spent the entire weekend with a blow dryer to my cellphone, but hey that's a different story...

The 1st of Many...

The wondeful world of technology, what is there to say. We fit together there Lindsay Lohan & Rehab. I have been working with technology since I was a kid. Although I didn't get my first computer until I was 16, I liked to think I am pretty good with not only computers but most technology. I am really into music, so I have found ways to incorporate technology into my love for music. There are endless amounts of Music editing and production software out there and I think I have tried them all.
Although I have alot of computer experience I still have alot to learn, especially when it comes to applying my computer literacy to my future career; teaching. Hopefully this class will give me at least a jumpstart into the technological aspects of the education field. I also hope that this class along with my other introduction education class will give me an idea if this is really the career that I want to pursue.
On the flip side of Educating is Learning. Today I discovered just what kind of learning styles that I myself adhere to. First and foremost I found that I am just as much an active learner as I am a reflective learner. When it comes to intuitive and sensing styles of learning I definitely lean towards the intuitive side. I am hands down a visual learner, which I could have already told you that. Finally, when it relates to global or sequential learning I split them down the middle. All this tells me is that I can usually learn in a variety of settings but if you give me a visual it's a lock.
So until we meet again....
-J. Gaddy