May 3, 2011: Portfolio Conti.

Today in class we are wrapping up the semester.  We are entering content into Standard 4 and descibing the processes we have learned in this class.  If you would like to see my explanation and reflection of this class, click on the link below which will take you to my online professional portfolio. 
Click Here To See My Online Professional Portfolio

April 28, 2011: Online Professional Portfolio

Today in class we are continuing to work on our online portfolio by adding the five standards.  We began by creating 6 new pages for each of the 5 standards and also a video page.  After creating the pages, we edited the sidebar so that the pages would show under the introduction page.  We discussed how to include content in each standard and what else we may want to put on our site.  I added the link to each Content Standard on my portfolio.
Here is the link to my Professional Portfolio

April 26, 2011: Windows Live Movie Maker

Today in class we opened out Photostory project up in Windows Live Movie Maker.  We looked and discussed how Photostory and Movie Maker differ.  Instead of uploading each picture individually like we did in Photostory, we were able to upload our completed photostory video as a whole on Movie Maker.  After uploading the video, we added a title and credits.  We then saved our project as a .wmv file like photostory, and put it on the desktop.  Mr. Pierce told us it would be wiser to use photostory as opposed to Windows Live Movie Maker because my video is 5.72 MB on photostiry, and 126 MB on Movie Maker.  As you can see, it would make much more sense to use Photostory. 

We then opened up the website, BenderConverter and learned how to change videos from youtube and other websites and save them on the desktop or anywhere wlse on your computer so that you will have it for future use.  This concluded our video portion.

For the remainder of class we discussed creating our online portfolio. 
      1. Edit Pages
      2. Integrate GDocs
      3. Navigation Bar
This portfolio basically sums everything up we have learned this semester and also, included things we have learned in all of our education classes.
We began this project today by creating a site on google. 
Here is the link to my Profession Teaching Portfolio before being started.

April 21, 2011: Photostory

Tuesday and Thursday in class, we designed and created a digital movie without a digital movie program!  We used the program Photostory 3 to create a video composed of pictures and powerpoint slides.  The transitions were changed on each picture so that the most appropriate information is shown in the delivery of the movie.  After completing the movie, we saved our wideo as a wmv file, created a youtube account, and uploaded the video onto youtube. 
Here is a link to my youtube video entitled The First Man on the Moon.
The embedded version of my video is included below.

April 7, 2011: Powerpoint 2

I made my powerpoint on positive and negative numbers.  It is not an original powerpoint, yet I did create it and make it my own. I uploaded the powerpoint onto GoogleDocs and included the link below.
Positive and Negative Powerpoint

April 14, 2011: Prezi

We did not meet in class today, instead we created a Prezi presentation using the information from our powerpoint.  Prezi is a website where you can create a different type of presentation/movie on one big spreadsheet.  You can use frames, zoom in and out, and make a path for your presentation.  The finished project will be just like a movie.
Here is the link to my Prezi presentation

April 5, 2011: Powerpoint 1

Today in class we discussed powerpoints and the right and wrong way to make one.  We watched an example powerpoint about water that was very effective and a good example of what a powerpoint should look like.  At the end of class we had a few minutes to pick a topic for our own powerpoint and then we each said what our topics were going to be.  The subject I chose to do my powerpoint on was positive and negative numbers. We are not meeting in class on Thursday so that we can work on our powerpoint and upload it onto the internet.

April 5, 2011: Converting PDF File to Edit Document.

Today in class we learned how to edit a PDF file.  Initially, when you open a PDF file you can not edit it, but if you convert it into a Word document, you are able to do editing.  This is a new process that is available to people, but sometimes it will not work.  When I went to convert my file, after opening microsoft word, it would not bring the correct conversion tool up.  Sometimes this may happen and other times you will be able to convert your document, but some charts or tables may be messed up and not look the same as they did when you originially created them.  Still other times the conversion may work perfectly and you will be able to edit your document in Microsoft Word with no problem.  Although my computer would not allow this process to take place, I have still included the video I made that shows the steps up to opening it in Microsoft Word.  In order to make this video, I used the Jing tool. 

Here is how to convert PDF files (to an extent).

March 31, 2011: Pop Quiz!

Today in class we are having a Pop Quiz.  Included in this quiz are 3 Parts I will need to do and answer in this blog post. 
     Part 1: I have saved my APA paper from Microsoft Word as a PDF file and uploaded it to GoogleDocs.  I then shared my paper with the professor and set it as public so that anyone can see it. 

• Click here to see my final APA paper using GoogleDocs.

Important things to know about Google Documents

• Save your document as a PDF file
• If you don't, changes will be made to the paper whiole formatting it to GoogleDocs such as charts disappearing, tables being changed, and the paper structure being changed
•  By uploading the paper as a PDF, you can bypass all of these unexpected changes

     Part 2 on our pop quiz is to simply write this blog post.  I have already explained what I learned about uploading to GoogleDocs, and now I will explain about APA formatting.  When you are writing a paper in APA style, you must first begin with stating the question you wish to answer and then explain the question and the tests you have done to come up with your solution.  After you do this, you should include a piece of evidence that shows the test you are doing such as a graph or a pie chart.  After explaining this chart and stating your answer to your previously stated question, you must then include a table and the TTest results proving your answer is correct.
     Part 3 of our test involves using the Jing tool and creating two videos: one demonstating how to install the analysis tool pack in in Microsoft Excel, and the second demonstating how to do a TTest.  My videos are included below.   

• Click here to se how to install the analysis took pack in Excel.
• Click here to see how to perform a TTest in Excel.

After doing a TTest, you need to look at the P(T<=t) two-tail row to determine whether or not there was a significant difference in your objective, in this case it is the difference between pre-test and post-test scores.  To determine the significance you must use this rule, If the answer is aboce 0.5 there is no significant difference, and if the answer is below 0.5 there is a significant difference.  In this test, the answer was well below 0.5, so the result I have came up with is a significant difference in the two test scores.

March 29, 2011: Action Research Paper

During the past few class periods we have been working on our Action Research Project.  Before we started writing our paper, we edited a spreadsheet and found the averages for both the pretest scores and post test scores between gender, male and female, and class distribution, traditional and non-traditional students.  While using this spreadsheet we used many functions including the average function, standard deviation function, ttest function, countif function, and the averageif function as well as basic subtraction addition and division.  After our spreadsheet was finished we created graphs and tables using our data. 

After completing all of the necessary tasks on  the excel spreadsheet, we then because writing our Action Research Paper in APA formatting.  We answered our first question about gender distribution and included a chart and a table to accompany our findings.  We then used the ttest to determine whether there was a significant difference between the scores of males and females.  After answering the first question we then moved on to our second question which was about class distribution and whther there was a difference in traditional and non traditional test scores.  We also included the chart, table and ttest for this test.  Included below is the link to my Action Research Paper which I made public on GoogleDocs.

Here is the link to my Action Reasearch Paper.

March 8,2011: Spreadsheet Activity 3

Today in class we did our third spreadsheet assignment.  We used basic formulas such as addition and division then also used more complex formulas such as COUNTIF and AVERAGEIF.  In this activity we used accumulated data to determine what gender had the greatest improvement and also what type of student(traditional or non-traditional) had the greastest improvement.  We came to the commclusion based on the Pretest and Posttest scores that females and traditional students had the highest Pretest scores, while males and non-traditional students had the highest post-test scores.  This being known, males and non-traditional students had the greatest difference between the Pretest and the Post Test. We also learned how to insert a chart by using data on our spreadsheet and place them on a seperate page.  The charts we made included gender distribution, class distribution, average gender gain, and average class distribution gain.
Certain formulas and functions are not available in google docs so in order to use the document next class, I have mailed the file to myself.

March 3, 2011: Using Spreadsheets, Part 2

In the beginning of class, we all logged on to Diigo and joined a group.  The groups that I joined were Math Links, Cool Tools for Educators, and Classroom 2.0.  All of these groups share resources to use in the classroom.
Today we used Microsoft Excel to do our second spreadsheet practice.  In this spreadsheet we used formulas and functions to solve for the average grade, turn the numeric grade into a letter grade, find the number of each letter grade, and find the min, max, range, and average grade of each individual assignment.  We started out by using the MIN, MAX, and AVERAGE function to determine the lowest grade, highest grade, and the average percentage of each assignment.  We then subtracted the minimum value from the maximum value to determine the range of the scores.  After that, we used a weighted equation to determine the average grade for each student.  We learned how to use the IF function to come up with a formula to convert the percentage grades into letter grades.  After we found all grades pertaining to the assignment, we calculated the number of each letter grade by using the COUNTIF function.  Finally, we highlighted the area on the spreadsheet that was used and changed the background color then used the border tool to create a border around each cell used.  After the assignment was completed, I uploaded my document to Google Docs and published it to the web.  I have included my link below.
Spreadsheet Assignment # 2 

March 1, 2011: Using Spreadsheets

Today in class we reviewed our assignment from the previous class and compared good examples to not so good examples.  We then started our assignment for the day which we are completing using Microsoft Excel.  During this assignment we learned how to enter formulas into a spreadsheet and find the average of a series of numbers.  We then learned how to make a new spreadsheet and find the semester average using a formula that included numbers from our three term spreadsheets.  After we found the semester average on our new spreadsheet, we sorted the names and grades from highest semester grade, to lowest semester grade.  Other tools we used during this assignment were the handle tool, copy & paste, and renaming spreadsheets.  After the assignment was completed, I uploaded my finished assignment to Google Docs and included the link to my published document below. 
Spreadsheet 1: Grades 1

February 24, 2011: Online Graphing Tools

Today in class we learned how to use the online graphing tool Kids Zone to create a graph using the information we gathered of average test scores over 3 years from the NAEP website.  I made two documents using these tools and I have included them below.  In my first document, I compared data from 4th grade mathematics scores in the state of West Virginia compared to the rest of the United States.  In the second document, I did the same thing only I used the data from 8th grade Reading scores.  In both experiments, I compared the data from the years 2005, 2007, and 2009.  My two online documents that I created using Googe Docs are linked below and include a chart and summery of my findings.
4th Grade Mathematics Scores: WV vs. US
8th Grade Reading Scores: WV vs. US

February 22, 2011: Word Clouds

Today we also learned how to make a word cloud using the tool Wordle.  Our word cloud has to be about something in our field, mine being education.  My world cloud is going to be the song Fifty Nifty United States.  I've included a link to the lyrics as well as added my word cloud onto my blog. 

Click Here to See My Word Cloud.

February 22, 2011: Diigo/Adding links to blog

Today in class we set up a Diigo account which can be used to organize links. You can add bookmarks, photos, and notes to this site and create different folders to seperate into different tabs.  I added this link to my blog under the Links tab. Included in my diigo account, i have bookmarked the ISTE Teaching Standards which I have also included a link to on my home page.  After we felt comfortable adding links, we then added a poll gadget to our blog as well.
Here are the Diigo accounts I belong to.
Classroom 2.0
Cool Tools for Educators

February 17, 2011: Jing Video

Today we are learning how to capture a video using the Jing tool.  With this tool, you can video capture as well as take picture.  In the video capture mode, which I will be using today, you can record up to 5 minutes of video and also include audio as well. For my video, I chose to show how to edit a picture using the various tools on Picnik.com.  Here is the link to my video capture online.

February 15, 2011: Jing Image

For the second part of class today, we learned how to use the new tool Jing.  We created a screenshot account so that it is easier to take a picture of a screen and edit it without going through a lot of complicated steps.  Below is the link to my example using Jing and also an embedded version of my example.
Click for my example using Jing.

February 15, 2011: PicassoHead

Today, we used took a self assessment in the beginning of class that reflected on the assignments we had to complete when we did not meet in class last week.  We then used Picassohead to create a self portrait.  I have included the picture of my self portrait below by using the snipping tool.  It is also possible to share your self portrait directly with blogger through the share button on the website.  Here is my self portrait in the gallery. 





February 10, 2011: Personality Quiz

After I took the personality quiz, I got the result of guardian.  Although guardian was not my number 1 choice, it was still up there.  I think it is important to be a guardian when teaching children and by using the qualities I possess, I will surely be able to lead students in the right direction of their education and life.   In the teacher environment, I would be a valuable leader because I am hard working and dependent.

February 8, 2011: Personality Traits

My experience with personality traits relates to the perceptual learning styles quiz.  In high school, I had to take this test 2 times in order to become a leader for my band section.  In order to better understand each other, we took the test then discussed the different traits.  I also had to take this same personality test for my elementary health online class this year.  In order to meet each other in an online atmosphere, the teacher had us write about our personality style and whether we agreed or disagreed as our introductory assignment.

I think my rank of personality styles would be idealist, artisan, guardian, and then rational based on the descriptions.

The reason I chose idealist is because the description seemed to fit me to a T. I'm almost always enthusiastic and  I love romance and deep friendships.  I would rather have a few good friends, than many "friends".  I am giving, trusting , and spiritual.  I go to church often and I love helping other people. That is why I want to be a teacher.

February 3, 2011: Snipping Tool

Today we discussed implementing research projects using Google Docs.  The whole class then took a Survey and submitted it for the results to be uploaded onto a Spreadsheet using Google Apps.  The spreadsheet was then used to compare each question and create a summery of responses using graphs and/or pie charts to show the comparison of the answers given by the class.  We learned that in order to post one part of the data on our blog, we must use the snipping tool.  Mr. Pierce shared the document with the class and we used the snipping tool to copy part of the summary to include in this blog post. 

January 30, 2011: Voki Avatar

Today I created my educational philosophy and used the readability statistics to make my writing the highest reading level I could. 
I also signed up for a Voki account and created an avatar who recites the answer to the second question in my philosophy.  You can view it through the embedded version below.

January 25, 2011: Embedding

This calander is a part of Google.  Today we learned how to use the calander included in out gmail account.  We edited the calander by adding important information and changing the settings.  This will prove to be a very useful tool. My calander is available through a hyper-link as well as embedded below.


Click here to see my calander

January 20, 2011: Using Google Docs

Today we created a new document in Google Docs from a template.  We then edited the document and published it to the web.  Then we logged onto blogger and created an online blog to use in this class to show the things we have learned through google documents throughout the semester. My resume link is below.
Resume