technology insights

what insights have i gained relating to technology during class? all insights. everything we do, i learn. we did powerpoints and animations.....not new but new. i already knew how to create a powerpoint: choose a good background, type some words, throw on a picture or two and your done. creating a powerpoint wasn't new to me, but the techniques we did were. making action buttons, animating certain text, lining things up and such were all new to me. from that project ive learned theres more to powerpoints than the quick, last minute, "it'll only take half a hour", presentation assistance. you can sit down and actually play with it. it might take a few hours maybe even days before youve created the powerpoint toy but once youve finished, its a interactive game world. the brochure and business cards were an eye opener. i didn't know it took that much to make a good business card. yea one can arrange some words on a card, hand it out and call it a business card but to make a good one you have to take the principles of design into account. now when im walking pass the poster boards with the rainbow of flyers, i briefly look at their design. before, it was just glancing to see if anything appealed to my interest. now its, "hmm i wonder who designed that, there is absolutely no alignment." making the cards and experiencing how much thought is put into designing public service announcements, i now walk around with a fine design tooth comb.

being in this class ive come to realize what i dont think i need to know i forget. i was probably taught the basics of animations in powerpoints in middle school computers class...but ask me if i remember. sitting in class learning about the different transitions available went in one ear and out the other. at that point in time, i didn't need that information so i didn't retain it. what i didn't need i conveniently forgot. but now as Winterfeldt teaches me (or reminds me in few cases) i remember. why? because i am in a place in my life where i think i need that information. if i think i need it, ill keep it. if i dont, ill throw it away. sitting in a 6th grade classroom listening to the teacher, i imagine most student's would be thinking, "why is he telling me how to animate text in a powerpoint? that aint gone help me shovel the snow next week so i could get $10 to buy that barbie doll car." but now, on the road to becoming a professional and a teacher, that same student might think different, "okay wait, now what button am i to hit to get that to pop up?" realizing this, i might spend time making topics matter to students. if students dont feel they need what you are teaching them then theyll forget....i know i do.

technology's roles in the classroom

technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our daily lives. as teachers preparing students for a life in the real world, we should teach them how to us technology. when i was in grad school i remember have computer class where we were taught to type with our hands in the proper position. but today that lesson was useless. im an advanced finger-pecker: i dont use one finger to peck every key, i use them all to peck any key i wish. for example it isn't my left hand pinky that types A but its my left index and sometimes, when my left index is tired, its my left middle finger. this is the use of technology im interested in teaching students. i think we should teach them the proper ways of utilizing powerpoints with speeches or how to make flyers and brochures so that when you print them all you have to do is fold them. if i had learned that in grade school i wouldn't be struggling now. im in an organization of about 10 faithful members and of those 10 only 2 people know how to make brochures, and that does not include me. with typing, yea i bet those classes really help some people's wpm typing. but i think that class would have been more beneficial if it taught typing along with excel, powerpoint, and the many other Microsoft programs i have yet to use. oh and i used the word proper because many good things can be inappropriately used in the classroom. for example: a slide should assist the presenter where they further explain what is on the slide, not just be the words of the paper one wrote. so i think that technology should be taught in a more practical sense, things students will remember, need, and use in the world outside of the classroom.

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