Technology Assessment #2

https://www.icloud.com/

I'm more of a Microsoft person but after I got an iPhone, I realized that iCloud is an amazing tool. I didn't know anything about except that it was cloud storage from Apple. One day I decided to do a presentation but my phone was acting up. I Googled up how to come up with a presentation on the iPhone and Keynote popped up! I made my presentation on Keynote and uploaded it to iCloud
and I was amazed! It was so simple and easy and it didn't require a storage device or an adapter to transfer it over. It made things that much simpler. It is easy to access and navigate and access all your files as long as you have internet connection. Rating: 5

https://moodle.org

Moodle! Moodle is a great tool to use for college. If you wanted to communicate with your professor, upload assignments, check the class calendar, or any assignments, Moodle is the place to be! You can check your grades and chat with classmates in the chat room. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but it is a very useful tool. Rating: 4.5




https://www.google.com/chrome/

When it comes to web browsers, I am more of a Firefox user. I like the customization options of the browser. I've been told a lot of good things about Chrome so I decided to try it out. I do not really like it. I love the simpleness of the browser but I feel that sometimes it's simpleness makes it frustrating for me to use. I love having the toolbars and many other things on my Firefox browser that allows me easy access and makes things easier for me. I guess chrome can do the same and I just haven't reached that point yet, but I would prefer using Firefox over it. Rating: 4

https://apps.google.com/

GOOGLE APPS! My absolute favorite tool! Googles Apps is everything in one. The best part about it is that everything is on one account. Easy to access your files and is very mobile. It also comes with a blog so if you go on trips and want to write or document your trip, you can blog about it. Accessing emails is cool too. By mobile I mean it goes with you everywhere! Since it is on the internet, all you have to do is sign in to your account and bam, there are your files and apps. Easy as 1, 2, 3! Rating: 5







http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home

Have you ever wondered if there was a way to carry your binder around without having to carry it? Well livebinders is your answer. Livebinders allows you to create a portfolio online that can be set as public if you wanted to share with others or private if you want to keep your portfolio to yourself. It allows you to create tabs and organize them. Rating: 5

www.voki.com

Voki is an amazing text to speech avatar tool. You can customize your character to look like a politician, a cartoon, or some whacky thing you want it to be. You can use your voice or type something in and it will speak it for you. Voki is a great way to introduce something in a different way or maybe even teach a class without having to speak. It is a fun and creative way to interact with people or use for presentations. Rating: 5

http://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/

Have you ever had trouble with copyrighted music? With Garageband you can make your own music without having to pay for the rights. Using various tones, beats, and instruments, you can make your own background music, or theme song in videos or lessons if you wanted to. It can be a bit difficult to use at first, but then it'll get easier as you practice. Rating: 3.5

https://mightybell.com/

Mightybell is a tool you can use for group chats. You can create your own network and add the poeple you want to your network. You can video chat, talk in forums, and host events. It's like Facebook but with privacy and can be used for anything. It can be a bit difficult to use and could use improvements, but it is a different way to communicate. Rating: 3.5







Resources:
http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home
www.voki.com
https://www.icloud.com/
https://moodle.org
https://mightybell.com/
http://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/
https://www.google.com/chrome/
https://apps.google.com/

Enabling Dreams

             According to atia.org, “Assistive technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.” Assistive technology helps people with disabilities. Crutches, wheelchairs, text to speech devices, and even Braille plaques are examples of Assistive Technology. Assistive technology makes things easier for students with disabilities because it helps them. In a lesson plan, if you were to have the class read a book and a student was blind, you can get a book with Braille in it so the blind student would not be left out and assist with the reading.

              If a student were to have trouble walking, that student could use a wheelchair to get to classes. I have a friend who cannot really walk so he uses a wheelchair to assist him in getting from class to class.

Resources:

https://www.atia.org/at-resources/what-is-at/

https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics

ASSURE Lesson Plan Reflection

               For our multimedia lesson plan assignment, we were tasked with creating a lesson plan utilizing the ASSURE lesson plan model. The lesson plan that was created was meant for children in the 5^th grade. Trying to create a lesson plan using the ASSURE template was difficult for me. Along the way it started to become a little simpler.

               According to Janelle Cox (2014), “A lesson plan is a detailed guide for teaching a lesson. It’s a step-by-step guide that outlines the teacher’s objectives for what the students will accomplish that day.” The lesson plan is very important as a teacher. It helps you organize your lesson, meet objectives, and move on to the next thing on the list with ease.

               On myteacherpages (2016), it states that, “The ASSURE model is helpful for designing courses using different kinds of media. This model assumes that instruction will not be delivered using lecture/textbook only.” I find that this lesson plan model will be very useful as I have learned about many different resources online and different ways of presenting. The acronym used in the lesson plan is also very helpful as it stands for all the things you should follow. Analyze learners, state objectives, select the methods, require learner participation, and revise and evaluate. It gets straight to the point.

References:

 

Janelle Cox (2016). What is a Lesson Plan? Retrieved from http://k6educators.about.com/od/Components/f/What-Is-A-Lesson-Plan.htm

Marianna Kiva (2016). The ASSURE Model. Retrieved from http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/mkiva/university.cfm?subpage=1114844

Lesson Plan

                                     ASSURE Lesson Plan Template

Analyze learners	Characteristics of Students: This lesson is designed for students in the 5th grade. There are 20 students in the class and their ethnicities include Chamorro, Filipino, and Chuukese. There are two children in the class who are slow learners, so those two students will be placed in a group with students who understand the subject matter. Putting the two slow learners in a group with students who learn fast will help them to learn a little better. Familiarity: Students are familiar with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. They know how to understand and read nutrition labels. Students understand how to operate Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, and Google Spreadsheets. Students are also familiar with group work. Learning Styles: Visual: 25% Kinesthetic: 70% Auditory: 5%
State objectives	Objective 1: Students will be able to analyze and collect the data of fats, sugars, and sodium from three different cereals. Objective 2: Students will be able to organize that data and construct a chart or a graph using Powerpoint or Spreadsheets. Objective 3: Students will be able to distinguish which cereal is least nutritional and most nutritional.
Select  instructional methods, media, and materials	Methods: Students will watch how to do it and will be given the chance to do it by themselves. They will be placed in four groups of five. Materials: The nutritional labels of various cereals, Computers, Writing utensils, Projector or Elmo, Paper. Media: Powerpoint, Google Spreadsheets, Wix, Internet.
Utilize media and materials	Preparing materials: Students will be provided laptops in class with internet access. Examples and instructions of the lesson will be provided and Spreadsheets and Powerpoint will have icons when students are ready to use them. Environment preparation: Desks will be arranged in four groups of five and there will be a table where students can go to use the laptops when they have finished discussing. Preparing the students: Showing them examples and explaining what the lesson will be about.
Require learner participation	Introducing the lesson through presentation. Assign the students into groups. If students do not have nutritional labels they will be provided three different ones. On a piece of paper, record the sugar, sodium, and fat content on each of the labels. Organize the data and have them use the computers to create a chart or graph using the data they have compiled. Using Powerpoint or Elmo, the students will then present their data to the class and display which cereal was not nutritional to very nutritional.
Evaluate and revise	1.      Student’s Performance Students were able to compile the necessary data. Students were able to organize the data into a chart or graph. Students were able to identify the most and least nutritional cereal. 2.      Media Was the media helpful for the students? Did it hinder or progress their learning? 3.      Instructor Were the objectives or student learning outcomes met? Were the students struggling? Was the lesson organized?         Criteria         3 EXCELLENT           2 SATISFACTORY        1    POOR Data Compiled all the required information and easy to understand. Not all of the required information is present and the data is somewhat comprehensible. Lacks the required information and hard to understand. Graph Various graphs and data in the graph is organized. One graph and data is somewhat organized. No graphs and graph is hard to understand. Presentation Presentation contained all the data and graphs. Missing some data or missing a graph. Little to no data and containing no graph.