Module 8 Activity 2

As a teacher to actively engage and hold students attention in an ICT enabled  classroom we must engage ourselves in carful and proper planning.  We ought to foresee and ensure that the challenges that may be encountered and be prepared to deal with them.  There are always bad and good to everything, however, whatever side we lean to - bad or good - depends on how we embrace the change.

Module 8 Activity 1

Integrating ICT in the classroom is very engaging to students. When students are engaged there is less classroom misbehaviour, and when there is less students misbehaving, more learning takes place and this makes my life as a teacher a lot less stressful.

I also had to create a wiki account.....this was something new to me.  It was challenging to follow but after a few tries I got it.  It seems to be very useful and interesting and I plan on using it a lot.

Module 5 Activity 6: Using Office Software with Subject Learning

I am elated. I am happy. I am excited.  I welcome this activity so much.  I have never known there are so many things I could use Microsoft Office to do! I will be putting so many of this new information to use.  My favourite is manipulating paint to get my desired image and using equation editor. Usually making a Mathematics worksheet, test or exam has been hard.  Using Symbol has limited the number of the denominator and  I do not like to use the slash method to show fractions.  This is now a lifesaver!  I am really thankful for this activity as I am better prepared to teach and prepare worksheets to meet my students needs. 

Module 5 Activity 5a Software Evaluation

As an educator it is always a welcomed experience to discover new sites that lend themselves to various interactive activities to share with my students.

The sites I browsed provided relevant information that can be used by both students and teachers.  The sites are very user friendly and most were recently updated.

I especially liked the http://interactivesites.weebly.com/  site as is it interactive.  In fact, I spent a lot of time on the site  myself doing some of the activities and I enjoyed doing them so I know my students would enjoy themselves too.  This site makes learning fun.

Some other sites I browsed were:

www.english_online.org.uk

www.biologyjunction.com

www.discoveryeducation.com

https://sites.google.com/site/sailonedu/

Module 5 Activity 3b - Reviewing Educational Software

The new dispensation in learning is using educational software.  While it should not take the place of the teacher it should be a very good help to both students and teacher.  It is therefore very important and critical that we review the software/sites to ensure they meet the necessary criteria before presenting it to students.  We should always  take the time to plan and prepare our lessons and ensure that the sites we use and direct the students to meet most if not all of our criteria. 

Module 5 Activity 2 - Experiencing Educational Software

The various sites my colleagues posted were very informative.  There are a few of the sites I know but there a few I have never seen nor encountered before.  Those that I viewed were very informative and educational and would be very useful and helpful to  me.  I especially loved the sites with the games as my students would be very happy with these sites - they enjoy playing games.  While they are 'having fun' they would be learning at the same time.

Module 5 Activity 1 - Reflection on the value of Social Bookmarking

OK module 5 has started and I have no idea if I have bookmarked or added the sites correctly to the diigo page.  I am just winging it for now.  I have bookmarked pages (crochet patterns and other educational sites) on my computer before  never had I had them on a 'site'.  I am hoping I did the correct thing and when I get the hang of this I will be bookmarking everything and categorizing them.  It amazes me that everytime I think I have made a headway in using technology something comes along and stumps me out.  Anyway this is a learning process and I am glad I have this opportunity to learn.    

There are lots of advantages to be derived from bookmarking sites.  As teachers we can visit each other's sites to use them as teaching tools.  It would also be very handy to have and store these sites to come back to them when we need them.  The links can be placed into lists and this makes for easy retrieval at anytime. I am looking forward to the other activities!