Video Teaching Mini Lesson

Here is a Link to a video I made using my laptop to record a lesson.  I took the opportunity to show my wife how to use Google Docs, specifically gearing the lesson towards use for the school newspaper.  We sat down at our own computers and walked through set up and the different options.  I used my computer's built-in web cam and speaker to record and here is how it came out:

It was a lot of fun to

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

This weeks task was to analyze class data using Google Spreadsheet, as the title suggested.  We were given imaginary test scores and students to go through and organize into a graph.  Here is a Link to my work.



In the Graph, the blue bars represent the average scores of the class and the lines are the student's own scores.  Looking at the data on the graph, the encouraging thing that I see is the lines are going up at the end, which is to say the students are improving.  Also, most of them improved above the overall average for the class.  Only one student's final test was lower than before.  So it would appear that learning is happening.

Multi-media Project: VoiceThread

Voice Thread is a program that allows you to create a slide show on your computer using the internet.  Think Yodio with more options.  You can upload pictures, arrange them in the order you want, than add comments using a phone or computer microphone by scrolling through the pictures one at a time.    All you have to do is resister at voicethread and you have access to this tool.

This can be very handy in presentations in class because it is so simple to put together. 
Students can bring their digital images together, and lay out a presentation in just a few minutes.  Here is an example of a presentation I put together:

Google Docs Group Project

Google presentation is the Google Apps equivalent of power point.  It is a free application that allows you to build presentations for projects, business presentations, or lesson plans. I have had a fair amount of experience with Power Point and found Google Presentation to be very comparable,if not better than the new Microsoft Office.  In this project I added bullet points, added a picture, played with inserting slides, and moving slides.  Here is an example of our presentation:



This can be a very useful tool for teachers and students alike.  it can be used in lesson planning or to present to the class.  Students can use it on their projects and they would be able to work on it together from different houses, which can make group projects much easier on the students.

My Favorite Web2.0 tools

As near as I can tell Web 2.0 is the internet we know today.  Web 1.0 was "static" internet.  Websites a person can look at, but not interact with.  Web 2.0 are the site we use such as Facebook, YouTube, Blogging, or websites that allow a person to leave there comments.  It is the interactive websites we use all the time.

Teamviewer

Web Definition:  "TeamViewer is a computer software package for remote control, desktop sharing, and file transfer between computers."

This means A person can take control of another computer from their own computer.  This can be used for tech support or showing a program you have saved on your own computer. You can also file share, so if you forget to print an assignment you can access it from your home computer, or share a song with a fiend. 

Id you are interested in playing with the program click here to download the program.  And here is a link to a video demonstration.

This could be a handy tool in education.  A teacher could use it to help trouble shoot a computer for a student, or allow a student to trouble shoot for you because many students are going to be more computer savvy then their teachers.  A teacher could also lead a  demonstration in a students computer to show them how to use a program or set up an assignment.  Also the program can be used to upload assignment onto teachers computers.

OTEN Confrence

Google Docs Project

Rachel Ewing and I started working on a project in class where we discussed some of the benefits of google docs.  We started listing out our ideas in a new document we could share and came up with this: Click to take a look.  It was a very handy way for Rachel and I to work together considering we live three hours apart.  I was wondering how it would be best to work on group project when I lived in Coos Bay and the rest of the class was at least a three hour drive away, and Google Docs seems to be the answer.  With the comment bar on the side we can share ideas as we work together, in the future I could Skype with the people in my group while working on a document and it would feel almost like we are in the same room.

Having never used google docs before, it was a very interesting experience.  Being familiar with word processing I knew the basics, but I had to play around with all the other function that were new to me and I learned a ton, and I am sure there is still a lot more I haven't discovered.

Rachel started the document for us, and then I read what she contributed, made some changes, then added my own ideas to the document.  Rachel then went over what I had read, commented and added some links and picture. and finally I went in and added my own link and picture.

Uses of Blogging

I can see many uses of blogging in the classroom.  First and for most it could be a useful tool in helping your students get to know you.  In the short amount of time I've spent looking at different blogs, it seems like you can get a feel for someone by looking at pictures, their writing style, and even from the layouts they choose.

Also it appears to be a great way to keep students up to date on goings on in the class.  You can update assignments, have a class discussion online, or provide useful links and materials from a blog.  You can also just introduce the students to the applications and let them use their imaginations to find how it might be useful to them.  According to Teaching Today Blog is an opportunity to motivate student who wouldn't otherwise be participants in class.

I can see many uses of blogging, and I am sure as I continue to do it and play with the different options, More will come.

About Me

I am Arthur Thomas Cavanaugh IV, aka Tom, aka Episode IV: A New Hope (but nobody calls me that...yet).  I am currently in the MAT program at Willamette University with aspirations of being a high school theatre/math teacher.  I grew up in the Beaverton/Hillsboro/Portland area, spending my youth riding bikes and drinking slurpees.  I went to college as a theatre major, and after ten on again, off again years I got my B.S. in Theatre with an emphasis in performance.  From there I worked as a professional actor throughout the Willamette Valley, having a ton of great experiences before I realized my heart was not in it all the way.  Which is when I discovered teaching and here I am.  I still enjoy doing a show from time to time, as well and spending time with my wonderful wife, Jessica.  I also recently adopted a Lab/Shar Pei mix puppy named Luna (yes, after Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter).  I enjoy the occasional video game with my friends online and well as playing cribbage, when I actually have someone around who knows how to play.