Internet-based Instructional Activity- Option 2

#2 Educational Resource

In Dr. Ferdig's class I created a Professional Development Workshop on using the Internet in the classroom. I also made an online version. For this assignment, I decided to take what I previously made and improve upon it as well as share it with some other teachers and the teachers who originally attended my workshop. So far the new teachers have really enjoyed it, and the teachers who already attended my workshop found it very helpful as review for what we went over and liked the little additions I've made from what I've learned in this class as well as EME6205 my digital photography class.

The online workshop is available here:
http://plaza.ufl.edu/knewhous/PD/internet.html

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

As I said in the last post, I was first introduced to Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences (although the existential one is new since then) during my sophomore year of college. My professor Dr. Daniels thought that Gardner was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and as it was a technology in education class along with the short biography that we wrote on Gardner we were given an activity to incorporate technology into a lesson plan using a few of the MI's. My group consisting of my friends Logan and Christine decided to create a lesson plan for history on the 60's decade. In our lesson we used clips from the movie The 60's with Julia Stiles, had the students create a Powerpoint of the 60's along with either writing a story about three icons from the 60's or performing a short skit.

Curriculum Links on Weather

Linguistic: Read about tropical cyclones
Logical Mathematical: Our Town- Thermometer Math
Spatial: Make Weather maps for bulletin boards
Bodily-kinesthetic: The Rain Game
Musical: Sing along with the weather dude!
Interpersonal: Each group presents a skit about the effects of weather on events such as picnics.
Intrapersonal: Create a science journal on the weather
Naturalist: Create a weather controlled environment such as aquarium or terrarium
Existential: Adopt a city and view weather there.

Culminating Activity

For my culminating activity, I've chosen to do the book review on the book Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century by Howard Gardner. I've been interested in Howard Gardner since my sophomore year of college when we had to write a short biography about him for one of my education classes, but we were never able to get really in depth, especially regarding the use of technology in the MI's. As a teacher, it was always very important for me to give my students alternate assignments using the MI's, sometimes that included using technology, and other times it may not have. I've found that I learn using nearly all of the MI's, and I hope that by reading this book, I can learn how to help my students learn more effectively and how I can relate the MI's to technology more effectively.

Week 2 Assignments

Had a lot of fun taking picture this week to demonstrate my mastery of various functions of the digital camera. I got some great pictures of friends, as well as my apartment building, and I even learned a little more about my camera. ^_^ So check it out: http://plaza.ufl.edu/knewhous/digimastery

I also created an account on bloglines.com Up until now I've been using MyYahoo but this is so much easier and had much better features. Once I have a little time for playing with it I'll try to jazz it up and turn it into a page to call home! http://www.bloglines.com/public/actsoup

Still working on my Teaching Tool for the photography class, as well as the website review. Also did a whole lot of work on a Social Studies Essay Test book that I've been doing layouts for.

Other than that just getting ready for my face to face class starting on Tuesday on Media in Literacy. I'll update when I have the teaching tool and website review complete.

Introductions Part Two

For my EME6205 Digital Photography class the first assignment was to create an introduction using at least five pictures. I decided to take a project that I had worked on in my undergrad where I made an introduction in the form of a Playbill Biography, and update it as well as fine tune it. The finished product can be seen here. http://plaza.ufl.edu/knewhous/intro/ Enjoy! ^_^

Thoughts on Social Software (based on Wikipedia)

It's interesting, but until reading the Wikipedia Article on Social Software during Chris Cessums' Presentation on Social Software last semester in Dr. Ferdig's class, I'd thought the term "Social Software" was fairly new. I'd only heard of it referring to blogs, wikis, and maybe Facebook and Myspace. After reading the article however I realized that I've been using Social Software since I started using the Internet. Even back when the Internet was just white text on a black background, free for use from my local public library, the first program I downloaded was ICQ to talk to my best friend Sara, as well as my brother's ex girlfriend who'd moved to Australia. After that I'd subscribed to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer newsgroup on Usenet, followed by emailing forwards (and receiving many more) to and from anyone who would let me send them.

Since then of course email has had many more uses, I've uninstalled ICQ only to become addicted to Aol Instant Messenger, and I must check Myspace and Facebook at least ten times a day. I've had three different personal blogs including two with Livejournal and one with Aol.

I love how much Social Software has developed and where it seems to be heading. Myspace has become such a valuable tool for me. Recently it's helped me get in contact with people I haven't heard from in close to ten years (including one friend who's now on Broadway and told me that he can get me free tickets to his show if I can make it up to NY, as well as another friend who is now a famous author on Long Island and is sending me an autographed copy of her book!) Actually this weekend I plan on getting my webcam working so that I can make my Social Software experience even more fun as my best friend from childhood has just created his first Aol Instant Messenger screen name and bought a webcam. We haven't seen each other in over ten years other than in pictures, and I can't wait to see and hear him!

Introduction

I'm a 22 year old graduate student at the University of Florida going for my Masters, (and maybe eventually Doctorate) in Educational Technology. I am currently enrolled in EME6205 Digital Photography as well as EME5405 Using the Internet in K-12 Classroom.

I currently use the Internet for everything from email to getting my news headlines, keeping up on current technology, keeping in touch with friends, downloading music (legally), and I also enjoy a good Yahoo Crossword Puzzle once in a while. ^_^ I should also mention that I'm addicted to Aol Instant Messenger, Facebook and Myspace and can be found on at least two of the three twenty four hours a day even if it's just an away message!

I'm very excited to be a part of this class and am thrilled to be starting the road to my Masters. I hope to get out of this course new and interesting ways to help students learn as well as helpful ideas on how to get other teachers to integrate the Internet into their classrooms.