What are the advantages and features of electronic spreadsheets? How do you see them as a benefit in an educational environment?
As a math teacher, I love electronic spreadsheets. I work at a low budget schools, and I am aware that some of the school districts in this area use a program called SAMS or something similar to keep track of student grades. What I use is a spiral notebook and manually pencil in my students’ grades in on a daily basis. Then at the end of the week, I input them into a spreadsheet on my laptop. What a spreadsheet allows me to do is organize the information, compute long complex numerical analysis with just a few clicks of the mouse button. I can alphabetize my students in a few seconds and average their scores in just moments.
Spreadsheets are extremely accurate. If you see that you have made a mistake in your calculations, you just have to go to that row or column where you have mistakenly input the data wrong, and retype it, and the spreadsheet will recalculate the computations for you.
Electronic spreadsheets organize their data into rows and columns. Usually at the top of the column, one types a heading. For me, I would type my students’ names, then the date or assignment. Below, I would then type their names and grades that they earned on their assignments or tests. Then I could use a few clicks of the mouse and use some pre-entered formulas to calculate some essential information.
Let me give you an example of what I can do with a spreadsheet. I can click on an entire row (horizontal) for a student’s grade. At the end, I can click on a summation icon, then find that student’s average so far this term that he is earning. Or I can take a column (vertical) and find an average for an assignment comprised of all the students who did that assignment, all done with a few clicks of a mouse button.
You can also highlight cells and tell the spreadsheet to compute different functions just for the cells that you highlight. For instance, say you want to find little Joey’s average for his first two weeks of school, but you want to put it in a special place on your spreadsheet. You would click on the cell that you would want to send the average to, click on the summation icon, click average, then highlight the grades that you want, then press enter.
Also with an electronic spreadsheet, you can make charts and graphs. This is an excellent way to visually demonstrate the numerical data that you have entered into your spreadsheets. My personal favorite is the bar graphs, because it allows you to compare your students’ grades side by side. There are other types of graphs as well, though. Like I have said, I am partial to the bar graph.
I think the biggest benefit that the spreadsheet has to education, as I have mainly made, is that it is a great way for a teacher to keep track of their students’ grades, especially in a school with low budget (such as mine) that does not participate in SAMS. It saves time rather than having to calculate all the students’ grades by hand.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Emerging Technologies, Week 5
Emerging Technologies: How they can affect teaching and learning.
With the advancement and speed of technology today, the integration of that technology into the classroom is a must. One of the most popular forms of emergent computer technology is the Wifi capability. Wifi (wireless fidelity) allows computers to network with other computers via radio frequency at very high speeds. What does this mean? Through radio frequency, they are doing it “wirelessly” and thus cutting the need for cables. A classroom can be run without having cables run throughout the corners and students tripping over them, causing a safety hazard. Also, a computer with Wifi capability can be accessed inside, outside, or anywhere on school grounds. It is not limited to just the classroom, as well.
Wireless and handheld computers make teaching and learning much easier, as well. One can install widely popular programs on them, such as word programming, spreadsheets, educational games, and other educational media. While the children are away from class, they can use this portable computers to type their reports or analyze their data; they do not have to wait to get back to class to input their information. Another importance is through Wifi, they can access the internet and be introduced to worlds of knowledge. Their internet usage must be monitored so that they are not accessing sites that are harmful to them.
Also on a portable computer, students can purchase e-books, which are electronic books. Rather than carry a large, overweight clunky textbook, they can download their text directly onto a PDA and read their lessons on it that way. They can store and record notes on their portable computers this way.
Through voice technology, a computer will be able to take commands by a human telling it what to do vocally. Through dictation, a computer will recognize a command and act upon its user’s request, must like today’s cell phones. Some of today’s cell phones have this capacity. For example, on my cell phone, I can say “Call Mike” and my cell phone will automatically know to call my good friend Michael. In the future, it is fathomable that computers will be able to take commands, such as “start spread sheet, enter 5 in row 1, column 1, etc.”
Lastly, an accessory that almost every college student should have now is the flash (jump) drive. This portable storage device can hold massive amounts of information and is relatively cheap. It is small enough to put on a keychain and can be used on any modern day computer. It works in a USB slot, and transfers data from computer to computer. Students can easily save their files and work this way, and last time I checked, you could get a 1 gigabyte flash drive for $20 at your local retail store.
So, how can all of this technology affect teaching and learning? With the integration of all of this technology, teachers can find new ways to incorporate media into their lessons. They can visually feed the students the material and give the children a more hands-on approach to the material that they are learning. If the students can afford it, they can bring their computers to the school, or if the school can afford it, they can provide the students with portable computers and let them use them in class. Students can save their work on their flash drives and continuously add to their work week after week. Students cannot fail with technology behind them, unless they are not trying and they are letting the technology become a distraction. In that case, they are not there to learn.
With the advancement and speed of technology today, the integration of that technology into the classroom is a must. One of the most popular forms of emergent computer technology is the Wifi capability. Wifi (wireless fidelity) allows computers to network with other computers via radio frequency at very high speeds. What does this mean? Through radio frequency, they are doing it “wirelessly” and thus cutting the need for cables. A classroom can be run without having cables run throughout the corners and students tripping over them, causing a safety hazard. Also, a computer with Wifi capability can be accessed inside, outside, or anywhere on school grounds. It is not limited to just the classroom, as well.
Wireless and handheld computers make teaching and learning much easier, as well. One can install widely popular programs on them, such as word programming, spreadsheets, educational games, and other educational media. While the children are away from class, they can use this portable computers to type their reports or analyze their data; they do not have to wait to get back to class to input their information. Another importance is through Wifi, they can access the internet and be introduced to worlds of knowledge. Their internet usage must be monitored so that they are not accessing sites that are harmful to them.
Also on a portable computer, students can purchase e-books, which are electronic books. Rather than carry a large, overweight clunky textbook, they can download their text directly onto a PDA and read their lessons on it that way. They can store and record notes on their portable computers this way.
Through voice technology, a computer will be able to take commands by a human telling it what to do vocally. Through dictation, a computer will recognize a command and act upon its user’s request, must like today’s cell phones. Some of today’s cell phones have this capacity. For example, on my cell phone, I can say “Call Mike” and my cell phone will automatically know to call my good friend Michael. In the future, it is fathomable that computers will be able to take commands, such as “start spread sheet, enter 5 in row 1, column 1, etc.”
Lastly, an accessory that almost every college student should have now is the flash (jump) drive. This portable storage device can hold massive amounts of information and is relatively cheap. It is small enough to put on a keychain and can be used on any modern day computer. It works in a USB slot, and transfers data from computer to computer. Students can easily save their files and work this way, and last time I checked, you could get a 1 gigabyte flash drive for $20 at your local retail store.
So, how can all of this technology affect teaching and learning? With the integration of all of this technology, teachers can find new ways to incorporate media into their lessons. They can visually feed the students the material and give the children a more hands-on approach to the material that they are learning. If the students can afford it, they can bring their computers to the school, or if the school can afford it, they can provide the students with portable computers and let them use them in class. Students can save their work on their flash drives and continuously add to their work week after week. Students cannot fail with technology behind them, unless they are not trying and they are letting the technology become a distraction. In that case, they are not there to learn.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Operating System
What is the role of the operating system? How does it help you interact with your computer?
After you turn on your computer, the computer reads instructions that are stored in ROM chips. After “booting up”, it runs a diagnostic check that is carried out through a program stored in the BIOS chip. This program, called the POST, ensures that all the computer’s components are working and that the computer does not have any malfunctioning units. If the POST test fails, you would get an error message saying that a component of the computer was not working properly. If everything went smoothly, the operating system would load up.
An operating system is a collection of programs that tells the computer how to function and how to manage its own operations. It also maintains an interface between you (the user) and the machine. The interface is how you react with the computer, whether it is by menus, text, or graphics. This is strictly done between the user and machine. The operating system is the first software that the computer needs to run in order to be able to communicate with the user. Without the operating system, the user cannot perform tasks on the computer. In order to use a computer, the user must be capable in knowing how to use the operating system; it can be thought of as a prerequisite.
On today’s computers, Windows and Macintosh OS are the common forms of operating systems. Windows is commonly used for PC, and Macintosh OS for the Apple Macintosh computer. Both of these use a combination of typed-in text commands, menus with pre-set commands, and icons. Icons are graphics that represent a computer’s option or program. A menu is a listing of command options that appear on the computer screen.
People have tried to make computers a lot more user friendly over the years, especially with the use of a mouse. A mouse is a clickable rolling device that you roll around on your desk, with a cursor on your computer screen. A cursor is an arrow on the screen that is positioned where the mouse is. When you click something with the mouse, wherever the cursor is on the screen, it will click, also. Many people can use a mouse with only little practice. With the computer mouse, you move the mouse to move the cursor. With this technology in hand, you can click on icons, “bring up the menu”, click on options, and tell the computer what to do. With the mouse, you can practically tell the computer to do whatever it needs to do. Then there’s the keyboard. You can type in commands on the keyboard as well, or just word process. When the mouse cannot be used, the keyboard and its many keys (such as F2) can be called into play. All of these components work together to make the computer happen in a way that people can use them.
After you turn on your computer, the computer reads instructions that are stored in ROM chips. After “booting up”, it runs a diagnostic check that is carried out through a program stored in the BIOS chip. This program, called the POST, ensures that all the computer’s components are working and that the computer does not have any malfunctioning units. If the POST test fails, you would get an error message saying that a component of the computer was not working properly. If everything went smoothly, the operating system would load up.
An operating system is a collection of programs that tells the computer how to function and how to manage its own operations. It also maintains an interface between you (the user) and the machine. The interface is how you react with the computer, whether it is by menus, text, or graphics. This is strictly done between the user and machine. The operating system is the first software that the computer needs to run in order to be able to communicate with the user. Without the operating system, the user cannot perform tasks on the computer. In order to use a computer, the user must be capable in knowing how to use the operating system; it can be thought of as a prerequisite.
On today’s computers, Windows and Macintosh OS are the common forms of operating systems. Windows is commonly used for PC, and Macintosh OS for the Apple Macintosh computer. Both of these use a combination of typed-in text commands, menus with pre-set commands, and icons. Icons are graphics that represent a computer’s option or program. A menu is a listing of command options that appear on the computer screen.
People have tried to make computers a lot more user friendly over the years, especially with the use of a mouse. A mouse is a clickable rolling device that you roll around on your desk, with a cursor on your computer screen. A cursor is an arrow on the screen that is positioned where the mouse is. When you click something with the mouse, wherever the cursor is on the screen, it will click, also. Many people can use a mouse with only little practice. With the computer mouse, you move the mouse to move the cursor. With this technology in hand, you can click on icons, “bring up the menu”, click on options, and tell the computer what to do. With the mouse, you can practically tell the computer to do whatever it needs to do. Then there’s the keyboard. You can type in commands on the keyboard as well, or just word process. When the mouse cannot be used, the keyboard and its many keys (such as F2) can be called into play. All of these components work together to make the computer happen in a way that people can use them.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Formative vs. Summative Feedback
In this blog entry, I will talk about formative vs. summative feedback. Formative feedback is feedback that occurs when you are teaching and are getting the information back from the students during every step that you are teaching. For instance, I am a math teacher. If I am giving a lesson on order of operations in pre algebra, I would start off by saying that the first thing you would compute would be computations in parenthesis first. Formative feedback would require me to make sure that all my students would comprehend this information first before moving on. I would then continue by saying next one would do all multiplication and division from left to right. I would then stop and make sure that all my students understood this before continuing on. Lastly, I would teach that addition and subtraction come last, done from left to right.
Summative feedback is a little different. The feedback comes at the end of the process, after you have taught. In my lesson on order of operations, I would say that you would do all operations in parenthesis first, then do all multiplication and divisions from left to right, then lastly do additions and subtractions from left to right. I would then pause to take a moment to see if any of my students had any problems grasping these concepts, then if any of them did, I would go back and re-teach the concepts back to them. In formative feedback, if there was any confusion in any steps, I would take the time during that step and re-teach them, but in summative feedback, I would not know where the problem lay until after I had completed my lecture.
In my opinion, I think formative feedback is a much more useful tool, and is one that I use in my classroom on a daily basis. I find it is much easier to stop a lesson midway than having to go back and re-teach a whole class who might be lost. It is easier to stop the problem halfway through than to continue a lesson where the class may be completely lost on what I may be saying.
Summative feedback is a little different. The feedback comes at the end of the process, after you have taught. In my lesson on order of operations, I would say that you would do all operations in parenthesis first, then do all multiplication and divisions from left to right, then lastly do additions and subtractions from left to right. I would then pause to take a moment to see if any of my students had any problems grasping these concepts, then if any of them did, I would go back and re-teach the concepts back to them. In formative feedback, if there was any confusion in any steps, I would take the time during that step and re-teach them, but in summative feedback, I would not know where the problem lay until after I had completed my lecture.
In my opinion, I think formative feedback is a much more useful tool, and is one that I use in my classroom on a daily basis. I find it is much easier to stop a lesson midway than having to go back and re-teach a whole class who might be lost. It is easier to stop the problem halfway through than to continue a lesson where the class may be completely lost on what I may be saying.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Learning Styles
My understanding on different learning styles and its influence on learning:
My perspective on learning is that not all children and adults learn the same way. The book talks about different filters that people have, and that these filters can block what a person can take in while they are in class or a meeting. There are several different kinds of filters, each with a different effect on how a person can take in material that they are trying to comprehend. Also, each person also has a different learning style. One person may be a visual learner. That is, they may want to see everything and learn it that way. Another person may be auditory, and may want to listen. Another may be physical and learn by doing. Also, the attitude towards the message is important as well. If the message is not being well received, the input of the message may be distorted or “warped”.
The book then goes on to comment on different types of psychologists who studied children and their different learning patterns, such as the behaviorist, the cognitivist, and constructivist. In order to create the best possible situation for a child to learn, they need the best learning environment. They need to feel that they are comfortable with the classroom and that they can approach the teacher at will and can talk to them about their problems.
There are many factors that determine how a student learns, and in this intro chapter, I felt that they briefly summarized the main points.
My perspective on learning is that not all children and adults learn the same way. The book talks about different filters that people have, and that these filters can block what a person can take in while they are in class or a meeting. There are several different kinds of filters, each with a different effect on how a person can take in material that they are trying to comprehend. Also, each person also has a different learning style. One person may be a visual learner. That is, they may want to see everything and learn it that way. Another person may be auditory, and may want to listen. Another may be physical and learn by doing. Also, the attitude towards the message is important as well. If the message is not being well received, the input of the message may be distorted or “warped”.
The book then goes on to comment on different types of psychologists who studied children and their different learning patterns, such as the behaviorist, the cognitivist, and constructivist. In order to create the best possible situation for a child to learn, they need the best learning environment. They need to feel that they are comfortable with the classroom and that they can approach the teacher at will and can talk to them about their problems.
There are many factors that determine how a student learns, and in this intro chapter, I felt that they briefly summarized the main points.
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