Week 7 Reflection: Doug Off the Record

Posted on July 3, 2015 by sbnider

The blog Doug- Off the Record made a post about becoming a better writer. In this post, the author states that everyone always has room for improvement. The author then goes on to say that an app that can can help anyone become a better writer is called the “ProWritingAid.” This app gives feedback and fixes grammatical errors in a persons writing. It is pretty simple to use and a great resource for students, teachers, businesses, or anyone who wants to check an email or resume. It looks like the pictures below before and after you install it.

Week 6 Reflection: Ditch That Textbook

Posted on July 2, 2015 by sbnider

In on of the blog posts of Ditch That Textbook, the author talks about how to help students be more efficient and better in their writing skills. It provides a list of apps and a description for each one. I appreciate the thorough descriptions so that I don’t have to go and try to find them out myself. All of the apps have been hyperlinked and will take you right to the app if you click on it. It is a nice and easy way to learn about helpful apps and then be able to get to them right away! The picture below is of the page it takes you to when you click on the Turnitin app link.

Interactive Whiteboards and Screencasting, My First Screencast

Posted on June 23, 2015 by sbnider

The topic I chose to use for my first screencast was how to start an informative speech. I used the free app, “Vittle.” It’s a good app to use for beginners but it did not have many features on it. It also only let you make videos for one minute, which is hard to explain anything thoroughly in that amount of time. Pretty simple to use though. The picture below is what the app looks like and the video below that, is one that I made on the program.

Week 10 Reflection: Tech edge in the classroom

Posted on June 23, 2015 by sbnider

I will be talking about three videos that I have watched from “The Tech Edge: IPads in the Classroom” channel on YouTube. They have many videos that are incredibly useful for teachers to learn new things about technology in the classroom. The video below is from episode 167. The title is “Making the IPad Safe for children. It shows a few tips on using safeguards on the IPad. If you go to the settings on your IPad, click on general, and then go to restrictions, you will find a list of apps and various places of use on your IPad. You can then click to choose which apps can be open for anyone to use and which ones require a passcode.

The video below is from episode 165. It is called “Nutrition Apps.” One of the apps they talked about is called, “From Farm to Plate.” It shows a picture of a plate of food. You can click on a food group to explore the different information on it. There is also a survey feature that takes you to a browser and determines how well you like the app as well as your eating habits. This app would be very good in an elementary classroom that is starting to learn about food groups and what healthy options look like. Another app is called “Eat and Move O-Matic.” This app is nice and also offers a Spanish option. It has something you eat or drink on one side and tells you options on the other side on how you can burn those calories.

The last video I will be talking about is episode 162. It is called, “Journaling Apps.” One app that they mentioned is called “My Wonderful Days Lite.” There is a free and a full version. The full version is about three dollars. In the free version, you are able to select a mood and insert photos, text, no stickers. The side of the app shows all of your journal entries. It is a very organized app. You can share these entries as well.

Week 4: Websites of the Day

Posted on June 9, 2015 by sbnider

There is a huge variety of websites that we can use to our advantage. Yet, so many people are not taking advantage of these helpful website. Larry Ferlazzo is a blogger who tells of many amazing websites you can get ahold of, especially for educational purposes. Some posts tell of the high school grad rates and gives websites to go to for different testimonies to read. There are also helpful resources to some of the best and fun videos to learn the English language. The picture below is a snapshot from one of the videos.

Reflection 3: iLearn Technology

Posted on June 2, 2015 by sbnider

Technology in the classroom can be incredibly beneficial. It can help use the different types of learning styles and intelligences. There are many different ways students learn, you can even look at 3D objects like the picture below.

Technology can can help with various different age groups. For instance, there is an app called Monster Math. It is generally used to help 4th and 5th grade students better their math skills through a fun, engaging and creative game. The app looks like the picture below.

Thinglink in Education: Parts of the Theatre

Posted on May 29, 2015 by sbnider

The picture shown above is an interactive picture. It contains links to YouTube videos, websites, and pictures. I made it on a free app that I downloaded called Thinglink. The picture below shows what the app should look like.

This app is incredibly easy to use and would be very beneficial in a classroom. Personally, I used Thinglink to show the different parts of the theatre. It has links to backstage roles such as stage design, costume design, different types of stages, etc. I could most definitely use this in my future classroom. Being a future secondary speech/drama teacher, this same engaging picture can help my students understand some different parts of the theatre. If you need help figuring out the app, click on this link. It should help you but if you are still confused, click this to see a tutorial on YouTube.

Reflection 2: Cool Cat Teacher Blog

Posted on May 29, 2015 by sbnider

If you are a blogger, or a person who reads blogs regularly, you might be aware of the problem I’m about to discuss. Using google’s Blogger can be a little frustrating at times. It’s slow, inefficient, and you may be getting tired of always having to code everything. That is why switching to WordPress would be a great idea. The picture below shows what the homepage of WordPress looks like.

While you may have to pay for it, you are also paying for a better site with customer service to always help you out. Free things are great and all but we get what we pay for. Vicki Davis is just one blogger who expresses her disgust with google’s Blogger and why switching to WordPress was much better for her. You will see a part of this in the picture of her “Cool Cat Teacher Blog” below.

Don’t just take my word for it. Try them both out, and see which one is better suited for you. I’m sure WordPress will not disappoint.

Week 2: Moving At The Speed of Creativity

Posted on May 25, 2015 by sbnider

In this day and age, it is important for the leaders in a school to be digitally connected. Being digitally connected can broaden the horizon for creativity in the classroom. It can help the students and parents stay engaged and aware of what is happening throughout the school year.it can also allow teachers to communicate with each other and share ideas. Of course, having a Twitter account does not make you a good teacher. Yet, it can be a helpful step and a useful tool in the process. The first picture on the left shows a website that can take you to multiple different links that share different information about education. The next picture shows how you can spread the word with links and listings on Twitter and use it educationally.

Sara Nider

Future secondary education speech/theatre teacher

Category Archives: Reflections