When was the last time you…?
This week I found myself asking this question to many of my colleagues and family. Before this week if you asked me what I felt my comfort level was with productivity software I would have told you I am very comfortable and would refer to myself as somewhat of an expert. Now my answer would be, it depends on the last time I used the program.
For example, when I first moved to Florida to teach middle school math 6 years ago I decided to integrate Math Jeopardy Microsoft powerpoint presentations as a tool to help my students study for an upcoming exam. I created this powerpoint with buttons and hyperlinks and sounds to each question which would link back to the original board of categories and amounts. Once I created the first game all I had to do was change the categories and questions within each category to create a new game for another topic. If you asked me today to create the buttons and hyperlinks again it may take me awhile to figure out what I did to get all the slides linked, or I might suggest one I found online that has more “bells and whistles.”
Also, as I was working on the excel spreadsheet for our activity for my graduate class “Fundamentals of Technology for Educators,” I kept thinking that this would be so much easier if I was just able to use the online grade book our school uses www.mygradebook.com. I continually throughout the week was asking colleagues and family to help me remember how to do many of the functions such as sorting the columns by the students test average and making the names appear on four separate worksheets and be able to make changes to one worksheet and it will automatically change the other three. The online grade book has all the formula’s embedded into the program and all you have to do as a teacher is enter in the grades for the students once you have set up the database of students. A teacher from the high school told me that the grading program that the high schools are piloting this year link the attendance and the grades so that teachers don’t even have to worry about entering in student information into a database because it is set up by the county.
My strengths with productivity software is that if you ask me how to do a particular function in any type of program I know the basic stuff, and if it isn’t basic I can usually figure it out by playing around in the program. My biggest weakness is that I don’t use the programs enough to remember the more complicated functions the programs are capable of doing and a lot of times it is easier to look online for already created lessons that were created in the productivity software I use at school. Just today, I knew I was going to be absent on Friday so I looked on the Promethean Planet website to get already created flipcharts (like powerpoint presentations) by other teachers so that the substitute just has to click through the charts and the students are still getting the notes they need when I am absent.
As a teacher that is planning on getting my master’s in technology, I feel it is necessary for me to start creating more using the productivity software that I have at school like: ActivInspire, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Movie Maker. I also think it is important to take classes/watch tutorials that will broaden my knowledge of this software. Lastly, now that I recently purchased a Mac computer I think it will be a good idea for me to also become more familiar with iMovie, iLife, and Garage Band. The challenge will be to find the time, but it will be worth the effort in the end.
Someone a few years ago sent me a Jeopardy game that has sound and everything. It is awesome, I often think when I am using it "Wow, this must have taken awhile" When we get a new program I spend a few hours (or more) playing with all the buttons. It is also nice that your sub can use the technology, no one is allowed to use any of our technology, beside the teacher. I cannot wait to learn how to use the Smart Boards but I feel like it will be awhile before I have one in the room. You are right, If you don't use it you lose it. I will again have to research to learn how to use it, but you know what, we know how to look these things up. Go US!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way when you say "the need to find the time". Often, I find myself also wanting to learn how to work in a particular program, in this case it was Excel, and really enjoyed playing around with the different functions, but then all of a sudden I am wondering how I lost track of the time, and I need to move on. Often it's a hard thing to balance, going with the simple and already established applications or diving into something new. The great thing about figuring out how to use a new program is that you may not remember many of the details, however, I think you will recall the basics. Just being exposed to the different programs helps us organize our classrooms, as well as our personal lives.
ReplyDeleteAs you mention, there is so much productivity software, that often we don't try these until we are basically forced to. That's what I like about some our courses. The curriculum requires that you explore these programs, that you may have not done, and I find that it is really amazing how much I learn about that I did not even know about in the past.
Loved reading your AR2.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have a similar approach to technology & working on the computer in a K-W-L philosophy. We use it enough but questioned our ability to breeze through a seemingly simple project. I have a high confidence level, but different Microsoft versions and new formulas may throw me off. I do not have colleagues on my campus to bounce off of unless I send an email to my bosses on the main campus. I have my very handy, outdated but savior at times – “Microsoft Office 2003” textbook.
In 2009 I create an elaborate spreadsheet similar to Pinnacle or Gradebook, based on 1000 points, and probably took over two hour and numerous days to apply formulas, but in the end it calculated all the grading criteria and came up with final grades. I am sure there was an easier way to set it up but I kept at it and was moderately happy with the results. The final spreadsheet worked for me, but definitely not the laborious task. Later on, I was given a unilateral grading sheet format to follow.
I have set up a gradebook with Daytona State College during my internship on their D2L Learning Management System and it was easy, considering I was in training and I used only one student in my gradebook.
On my “spare time” I try to work on software at home either on the MAC or PC to play around with as much as I want to. This playtime usually revolves around school breaks. I have some projects on Windows Movie Makers and iMovie. We should put our heads together and collaborate. Thanks for a wonderful read.