Earnest - Week Four Blog

This week we focused on presentation software. I found an old PowerPoint® that I had prepared for a class several years ago and looking at it now, I am shocked. It looks so immature and definitely is at the novice level! Although, I must say, it did serve its purpose at the time.

Since I do not currently teach in a classroom, for this week’s lesson I developed a presentation for our new live@edu e-mail system. This is a system that will be utilized not only by staff but also by students so I felt it was an appropriate presentation to prepare, especially since I will be training different groups of people on this new system as part of my job this year. Here are my answers to the questions we were assigned this week:

What was the presentation about and to whom did you present it?
My presentation was about the new live@edu e-mail system. I have yet to present it to a full audience but did send it to my Director of Technology for review. She has two school-age daughters, so I suppose you could say I presented it to three people so far.

Of which item in your presentation are you the most proud?
I like the fact that I utilized the Notes portion of the software this time. I had never done that, but felt like by the time I actually presented this training to an audience, I would have forgotten the specific items I wanted to mention. So I decided to use the notes so they would trigger me as to what I had in mind when I created the presentation.

What might you do differently if you could create the presentation again?
I would take the time to add some creative elements, such as adding arrows that would appear to point out certain portions of the presentation. I have one slide where I emphasize the four different choices a user has for the Instant Messaging portion. Even though I have screenshots of the actual differences, it would be nice to add some kind of arrow or circle effect as I ask the audience the questions associated with those different choices.

How did your students respond to the presentation?
Since I have not utilized this as a full presentation as yet to staff or students, I can only report that my Director of Technology was pleased with what I had produced and it did make sense to her and her daughters. I try to make my presentations straightforward so that a person could actually go back and use the training presentation as a guide or refresher if needed. Overall, I was pleased with the limited response that I received and I’m looking forward to using it with staff and students in the future.

I appreciate the fact I could create something for this class that I can actually use in my current position with our school district. I will definitely be tweaking it over the next few weeks in order to be ready to use it when school starts in three weeks. It won’t be long now!

Earnest - Week Three Blog

This week we focused on word processing and desktop publishing. I had to define the two in my own words and I found that a little difficult since I believe they are getting more and more alike. However, in my mind, I still think of word processing as being more a home/small office program while desktop publishing is used in business and industry for professional purposes. I must state, though, that word processing, while easier perhaps to learn, does give you the ability to produce very professional-looking documents, so we should never discount its usefulness.

I reviewed some of the documents I've produced for our school district over the years and found that I use more graphics now and have a more professional look to my documents, such as using columns that are fully justified with a header piece. My daughter is a professional graphic artist working for a university, so I have learned a great deal from her about making even the simplest of documents look inviting to the reader. The thing we have to watch is not to place too many elements on the page so that it becomes cluttered and unreadable. I have seen some truly dysfunctional documents and web pages just because someone tried to be cute or fancy and in the process, put way too many elements on the page.

Another thing to remember when producing documents is that we should always target a 7th or 8th grade reading level (or even lower). Especially for families whose primary language may not be English, this is important. We don't ever want a parent/guardian or a student or a community member not to be able to have access to information just because they cannot read and understand what we are producing.

As far as what makes items visually appealing, I think the use of color is important. Again, though, remember that you may have some users who are colorblind, so be mindful of that as you design your product. I would not use more than 25% of the page for pictures, graphs, clipart, etc. I think more than that begins to distract from your message. I have learned in the past few months that using the font Century Gothic is best since it is a larger font than most (even in size 12) and it uses less ink to print. Use of a strong font is also important when producing documents - it needs to be easily readable. Some of the fancier fonts are nice, but they are just not conducive to readability.

I chose as my project to recreate a business card. I had designed a business card before just putting in a few elements and no graphics at all. It just wasn't very appealing and really did not give all of the contact information that should be available to my "customers". So I redesigned the card, utilizing a simple two-color idea with my name and e-mail address in a color that matched the tiger graphic that I selected. I think even with all the information on there, it is readable and the tiger catches your eye. This is something that I can use to give co-workers, parents/guardians, community members, or even colleagues across the state and those I meet at conferences and such. I think having a professional style business card, even one that is quickly made using word processing or desktop publishing, is a step in the right direction with what I've learned this week.

Earnest - Week Two Blog

Everything is going by so fast! There was so much material to read, research, and review on databases and spreadsheets. I have a history of using these two software pieces for a long time. I first encountered the use of an educational database when I began working for the Caldwell County school district in 1989, setting up their scheduling, grades and report cards, etc. through a program on an older model Mac computer. I also began teaching as an adjunct professor for the Hopkinsville Community College in the computer science department so I had to know about spreadsheets and databases in the Microsoft world so I could teach them to the students. Being no stranger to these two components of computer science, I tried to focus my attention on how they could best be used in the classrooms of K-12 educators. As I posted my idea on the discussion board and responded to other postings, I realized that a lot of teachers and pre-service teachers do not know a lot about how these tools can be used in a classroom and as a result, I learned a great deal as well.

I have used a large database in my position as the SIS Coordinator for my school district, namely Infinite Campus. I have to keep up-to-date the household information for our students, watch the scheduling, grading and attendance issues that might arise, help train new teachers and staff members on the product, etc. I also use spreadsheets quite often in my work and in my personal life, creating a "to do" list and keeping up with statistics as needed.

As I was looking for new ways to implement databases and spreadsheets in a classroom, I was surprised to find that there were lots of subject areas that were using them, not just math and science classes. For example, I found this site, http://learngen.org/resources/leobjects/lg0006ta.html, which instructs you how to make a crossword puzzle using Excel. This could be utilized in any class setting - social studies, reading, arts and humanities, etc. The possibilities are endless. Another one I found was at this link, http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow4/may99/ss-procedure.html. This web page contains instructions for making a simple graph with a spreadsheet that is suitable for 2nd graders (or maybe even younger). I was surprised that we really should be introducing these concepts to children as young as primary school.

Overall, reviewing and researching the use of databases and spreadsheets renewed my enthusiasm for these tools. We really should be utilizing them at a much younger age in our classrooms and giving our students the tools that they can build upon for the future. After all, if any of us have ordered from an online catalog or researched statistics online, we have utilized these technologies. They do have real-world applications.

Earnest - Week One Blog

The first week of lessons was really more of a review for me. I have been in the computer science field since 1977 and in education since 1989, so much of what the first assignments were focused on were things I already knew. However, it never hurts to be reminded of those skills and knowledge! Since I do not currently hold a teaching position in my school district, I am answering the required questions as applicable to my current job. Something that I learned that I immediately put to use is the information on learning styles and multiple-intelligences. As I teach teachers and other staff members, I have to remember that they are in the role of the student and that I must engage them and provide multiple ways of learning for them as they encounter new technologies in our district. As I plan for professional development in technology for our staff, I will try to keep in focus the different ways I can present information so that all the staff members will learn and feel comfortable. The challenges that I will have are much like any normal classroom of today. Some of the staff members will have great amounts of background knowledge that they'll bring to the table, while others will have none. If I can utilize those who have the basic knowledge in the role as coaches, then we should all learn more quickly. The other obstacle that usually faces us when planning technology professional development it time. Sometimes we are given bits of time within the initial PD sessions for the new school year and sometimes we are not. If the latter is the case, then I have to find other ways to provide training for our staff. Sometimes that means after-school sessions of one to two hours. Sometimes that means meeting during their planning periods during the school day. Sometimes that means developing an online method of communicating the material. Whatever is needed is what I have to do. I want the teachers and other staff members to feel comfortable with the technologies available to them and ultimately, I want them to use the technologies each and every time it is appropriate for them. The ultimate goal is to give them the tools and the skills they need to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. If I can do that, then my year will be a success!

Initial Post to Establish the Blog

Here is my initial blog post for the UC course I'm taking this term. We are using the text Teaching and Learning with Technology. I will be posting blog entries as required for the course.