Flip Chart Instruction

Our class has begun to work on flip charts this week. I really enjoy the assignment because it allows for choice and creativity; however, there are some things that I think could be changed in the instruction given to us for using flip charts.

I think we could have combined two days worth of class into one. I feel that we spent a lot of time reviewing the basics of ActiveInspire. And although instruction of the basics is necessary, I feel that we could have gone over them in one day instead of continuing this instruction onto the next day, but I may view it this way because I like to see an example and then learn it by trying it out on my own.

One part of the instruction that I thought was the most helpful was when we got to see how to create the different types of interaction step by step and then practice it on our own. For me, it would have been helpful to have more of this type of instruction.

I also liked how we used the story boards. I usually start a project by doing one part at a time, but this helped me see the whole picture before starting to work. I also liked that we were able to change things on our story board if they didn't quite work the way we wanted them to at first. It wasn't something that we had to stick to no matter what. I saw it as more of a guideline or an outline that I might use when writing a paper.

I really like this assignment, and I can see how this would be effective in a classroom. Of all of the projects we have done in this class, I believe this is the one that I see being used the most in actual classrooms; therefore, I am all for flip charts.

Interactive Whiteboard

Over the next few class meetings, we will begin creating a six page flip chart of any subject or grade level we choose, so in preparation I have considered all the ways I have seen interactive whiteboards used and the ways in which I think they are useful. 

I recently visited a Kindergarten class that made good use of the interactive whiteboard. They used it for their morning routine. Each day the teacher draws a name to find a student who will carry out the activities on the board. They go over the date, how many days they have been in school, an activity (this day's activity happened to be about money), and a matching game to help learn sight words. I thought each activity made great use of different techniques in the activities. I'm sure this class used the interactive whiteboard in other content areas as well, but I only observed half of the day. 

I think interactive whiteboards are a great way to motivate students and make learning fun for them. From what I have seen in various classrooms, students love to get the chance to do an activity or write on an interactive board. 

Interactive whiteboards are also useful because they provide other ways to present information, other ways for students to retrieve the content, and other ways for students to show their understanding. Using an interactive whiteboard is just another step closer to having a universal learning environment. 

Digital Images

Before this section on digital images, I had a very basic understanding of digital images; although at the time, I thought I knew a lot about the topic. I knew how to take, upload, scan, screenshot, crop, and adjust contrast and color; I did not realize this was only part of the information out there about digital images.

Through this class and the projects we have done with digital images, I have learned about the different file types: JPEG, GIFF, TIFF, and PNG. By using Picasa and Google Drive to create slideshows and presentations, I learned how to adjust resolution and picture size by inches or pixels.

There is still one thing I would like to know about digital images. All the work we have done in class has been on Mac computers, but adjusting size and resolution works a little different on a PC. Since I have a PC, it would be beneficial to know how to make these changes on my own computer. I have figured out how to adjust the size in the program paint, but I have been unsuccessful in trying to adjust the resolution.

I don’t see how I could teach without using digital images. They help enhance and clarify content. I will likely use digital images in every subject area throughout instruction. 

Here is a slideshow I created in Picasa Web Album.