From Myth to Movie!, Lesson Plan Reflection

From Myth to Movie!

This multimedia lesson plan was by far the most interesting, exciting and time-consuming project of the semester. From planning to completion, I spent 3 weeks laboring over every little detail. Honestly, I brought the stress on myself by choosing to build an entire website on which to display my lesson plan. But in the end, it was all worth it. I have a product that I am truly proud of and have gained skills and knowledge I did not possess prior to this endeavor.

Although building the website took quite a bit of time and energy, the elements I struggled with the most were the objectives and the rubric I used as the evaluation tool. I assume that had I taken at least one methods course prior to this assignment, I may not have struggled so much with the objectives. Also, I am currently taking the ED 489 Evaluations course but have not received much instruction on rubric building. Objectives and rubrics aside, the rest of the lesson plan assignment was pretty much downhill.

I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed this assignment. I like that we were able to choose our content area and subject matter. I chose to incorporate the oral tradition of storytelling while making the assignment culturally relevant by limiting the stories to those unique to Guam. I also included multiple technology tools for presenting and accessing the lesson. These various elements were brought together through the artistic perspective of film.

The only thing that I would change about this assignment would be to have more time. The end of the semester always seems to be packed with labor-intensive assignments and finals. Having so much work to get done in my other classes kept me from really concentrating on this assignment and developing it to the level that I would have preferred.

Reflections: Technology Tools

iWeb * * *

http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/
http://web.me.com/s.celes/From_Myth_to_Movie!/From_Myth_to_Movie!.html

Although I found this technology tool on my own, I was introduced to the wonderful world of Macs while in ED 451. I know it sounds dramatic but I believe that Macs have changed the way I think about and use technology. I have literally convinced 3 different people to purchase Macbooks in place of their original intentions.

iWeb holds true to the many superior qualities I have come to love in Apple products. iWeb allows users to create professional looking websites with ease.

I struggled for more than a week looking for free online website creators and then struggled further while trying to navigate the controls and weed through the many “bugs.”

Although you have to purchase a mobil-me subscription in order to use the iWeb program, it is well worth the money.

Online Educational Games * * * *
http://www.de.mingoville.com/content/view/13/29/lang,en/

Online educational games are great for supporting and reinforcing classroom instruction in a fun and student-centered way. There are so many different games on the internet for educational purposes that you can use them in virtually any content area.

The only con to using online educational games in the classroom is that there are not enough computers and internet connections in the GPSS classrooms for all students.

However, this should never stop an educator from including this type of activity in the classroom. Students can participate by taking turns or competing two at a time.

Slideshare * * *
http://www.slideshare.net/

Slideshare is a really interesting concept. I had never heard of this site before ED 451 but have found it very useful since. I like seeing other people’s presentations. It’s a good place to find ideas to incorporate into your own presentations.

Slideshare also allows you to embed your uploaded presentations on to your blog or webpage with ease.

Blog * * * *
http://elementechblog.blogspot.com/

I’m sure it would be very difficult to encounter anyone under the age of 60 in any of the developed nations that has never heard of a blog. However, much like myself, I’m sure that most people have no idea of the capabilities that a blog can offer. I had no idea that I could upload videos, slideshows, presentations, audio, etc. to a blog.

After I was introduced to the world of blogging, I have used my blog in other classes for various different assignments. This tool has proven very useful and I will definitely use it in my classroom in the future.

Google Me!

Google applications * * * *
http://www.google.com

Google… what would the world be like without you? Yes, I am a Google fan in a big way. I love iGoogle, Google docs, Google calendar, blogger and of course the most user-friendly email: gmail!

The thing I love about Google is that they don’t just design things that are extremely easy to navigate but they go the extra step and add really great features such as themes for you gmail and igoogle accounts. This lets you personalize your pages and, in my opinion, creates the loyalty in users.

I will definitely integrate the Google applications into my classroom assignments/activities.

OODLES of MOODLES

MOODLEROOM * * *
http://www.gaughin.thinkingdistance.org

I have been forced to use tools similar to our MOODLEROOM in past courses. Which is why when I first found out that we’d be using it for assignments, information, etc. I wasn’t very excited.

However, this tool proved to be much easier to use than were the classroom web-tools I’ve used in the past.

Pros: easy to use once you get the hang of it, ability to see your group and other group members, easy to submit assignments and keep track of due dates and allows students to plan ahead for future class topics.

Cons: the blog leaves something to be desired, the additional resources are not always displayed on the main page and there are still a few elements that I never quite got the hang of.

I would consider using the MOODLEROOM or similar tools in my classroom in the future.

Foxzilla

Mozilla Firefox * * *
http://www.mozilla.com

I have been using the Firefox browser for a while now. I really like the set up and navigation of the toolbar and controls. I also like the add-ons and the spell-check options.

I have tried Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Safari but so far, I prefer to use Firefox.

I will use Firefox in my classroom in the future.

It's Delicious

Delicious * * * *
http://www.del.icio.us

I think that the delicious list is an excellent tool for searching for and saving bookmarks. I had heard of delicious before the beginning of this semester but I did not know what it was or how incredibly helpful it could be!

The delicious site was probably the most useful technology tool I was introduced to during this class. It really changed the way I search for things and it was very useful in keeping my bookmarks organized for not only my classes but also my work and home!

The only “gripe” I have about delicious is that I would like to be able to create more than one bookmark at a time. I’m also still trying to figure out how to send people in my network bookmarks that I think they would be interested in.

I will definitely introduce my students to delicious.

From Myth to Movie! Multimedia Lesson Plan

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