PowerPoint (UNGH)

I'm a little unsure how I feel about making my powerpoint.

In my Teaching with Technology class, I was assigned to make a PowerPoint presentation explicating a lesson plan. Since I am a Middle School Education major, I decided it would be appropriate to use a fifth grade level curriculum, that of which included Reading Comprehension. I used my powerpoint to express the difference between synonyms and antonyms, and how to correctly decipher suffixes and affixes for certain words. I enjoyed the whole creativity aspect of the project. I liked choosing backgrounds and picking pictures appropriate for each slide. I used photobucket to find these particular pictures and backgrounds; I have always considered the website to be a useful tool in finding pictures for any project because they have such a wide variety. As far as the actual material, I used a website called FLOCABULARY, which included a list of fifth grade vocabulary words, which I chose for my synonyms and antonyms to include in the powerpoint. Part of the criteria for the project was to use hyperlinks throughout the powerpoint. I thought I would make a quiz/game out of it and use hyperlinks to direct the students to different slides if they answered questions correctly. However, I ran into a major obstruction while doing this. Half of my hyperlinks wouldn't work. I stressed out a little over it. I figured it was just that my laptop was 'goofed' up and for some reason wouldn't allow me to open them. I found out, though, that I couldn't put the blame on my laptop because, after putting the powerpoint on a flashdrive and trying it on my roommate's laptop, the links also wouldn't open on her computer. I tried re-hyperlinking on her laptop, but I still had no luck. I also tried opening the hyperlinks in the library, and on the classroom computers, but the stubborn links refused to open. My professor ended up being able to get the first serious of question's, in this case my synonyms, hyperlinks to work, but I couldn't help but be super bummed out that my links refused to cooperate. The whole hyperlink fiasco kind of made me skeptical about powerpoint. Like I've said, I did enjoy the creation aspect of the project, but the hyperlink thing really pissed me off. I'm sure, with practice, I'll enjoy creating powerpoints more, but in the future I will try to stay away from too much hyperlinking.

JUST FOR LAUGHS

Two More for the Roll

A Few Sites I Really Like

I very much enjoyed Lauren Conrad's website/blog. The once reality television star (Laguna Beach and The Hills), is now a best-selling author and a 'fashionista'. Her web page contains a little bit of everything, she explains how to do hair styles and make-up styles, she gives out fashion tips, and basically any other essentials a girl needs to know. Basically, her site includes everything pinterest would. The site is lay-outed very well, I would use the adjectives "fun" and "pretty" to describe the site. She includes videos and snap-shots in her blogs/articles to make the site even more interesting. I was very impressed with her site and chances are I'll visit it a lot. CHECK IT OUT!!! 

The other Blog I very much enjoyed was a site called Design*Sponge. The layout of this site was also very cool. There are more than one creators/authors of the blogs/site, but each creator has awesome ideas. I also really liked the posts, which included miscellaneous things such as home interior, decorations, different kinds of delectable treats, and much, much more. It's definitely really cool and worth checking out.  

My Beliefs about Technology and Learning

I think that as we progress into the Educational Society we will come across more advance technology. It's obvious that technology is rapidly getting more and more convenient. Take the Apple iPhone for example. Newer versions seem to come out quicker than I can even follow. I do believe it is important for students to learn how to navigate certain aspects WITHOUT technology, such as doing math without a calculator or finding the definition of a word using a dictionary. We, as human beings, can catch certain things that computers cannot. With that being said, if we are not taught to navigate without technology, we are better off in the long run. However, as I've mentioned, technology is advancing faster than we can say PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY as we enter into the future. It's very important to know how to navigate technology inside and outside of learning facilities to keep our knowledge up-to-date. I also believe that new technology really can help us learn. A prime example is my laptop; it's been a godsend as far as learnings concerned. It facilitates research and writing etc. CONCLUDING THIS SUBJECT MATTER: I believe Technology goes a long way with Learning. Technology is important for learning. And learning about technology is ideal for the years to come.