My eFolio

Here's a link to my personal self assessment for Educ 520.
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Google Spread Sheet

Here is my google spreadsheet presentation. You should be able to navigate between my spreadsheet and graph. I think this assignment is very useful for me as a teacher. It is an easy way to organize a class gradebook and chart the progress of my students. In this example it is apparent that the students progressively got better test scores from Test 1 through Test 10. It was also important for me to chart the progress of the students below the class average. Even though these students may not be above the average they all demonstrate the ability to get better from Test 6 through Test 10. This chart gives me the opportunity to see they are learning and getting better. Since I recognize the improvement and the fact that these students are learning maybe I can change teaching strategy with this group to try and raise their overall scores.

ScreenToaster

Here is a project Benjamin Sell and I put together that utilized the features of Screen Toaster and Google Docs. This is another great feature that will be beneficial to me in my classroom. It will allow me to put presentations together, narrate them, find materials useful for class online, and combine them into one lesson plan.

Screencasts and videos online

Windows Movie Maker

Here is a little presentation I put together on Movie Maker. I took video clips, spliced them together with pictures and music, and posted them to my blog for the world to see. I enjoyed learning how to upload my own video, create cut ups, snap video shots, gather pictures from the internet, download music, then add it all to my project. Many ideas come to mind on how this can benefit my classroom. One benefit for a teacher would be to spend some time creating a lesson plan on movie maker for a day when they are absent from class. Having a substitute lesson for being absent is a necessity so why not make it fun and interacting for the students. I am going to play around some more with this feature and put together an educational clip in the next week or so. ENJOY!
I ran into some trouble because my MB were too large for my blog. To fix this problem I opened my project in movie maker, went into the file tab, chose the option to publish movie, and then converted my AVI file to "high quality small video." This got my video under the 100 MB maximum. There was also an option to compress my video where I could choose the number of MB I wanted.

Google Doc Presentation

This is my Google Doc presentation. I am so happy I found out about this tool. I have made a presentation for another class, as well as help my girlfriend do a presentation for her class. The best thing about helping her is she is living in Eugene, I am in Salem. She had no clue about this so in a matter of minutes I set her up with gmail, started the presentation for her, and collaborated together online until she figured it out. She received an A. Her teacher and her entire class was very impressed she could log on to a school computer and get into her Google Docs and show a presentation. Very useful tool that will help me in the future as a student but even more as a teacher. There are multiple examples within the presentation that show the benefits of using Google Docs for future teachers.

WEB 2.0 TOOLS

WOW,
Web 2.0 is a web based set of tools that are accessed on the web. The best part about all of these is the fact that if you get the net you can get the tools. Most of them are free! Spreadsheets, audio, video, picture programs, power point, etc are some of the many options to choose from. Very useful, easy to use, and the best part is the compatibility of working with your home computer, laptop, mac, windows, etc.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE 2.0 TOOLS:
Here are some of my favorite web 2.0 tools that I am currently using
GOOGLE DOCS:
I have stopped taking notes on my Microsoft word program because of the user friendly google docs programs. I love the ability of having everything available to me, in one spot, on all my computers. I can't forget anything at home, have flash drive problems, etc. I am using google docs to share documents in my classes. I am excited to learn how to use the spreadsheet features of this program. It is completely free and anyone can use it if they can access the Internet.
YODIO:
Yodio is an instant voice messaging system that is accessed through a home or cell phone. Yodio was brought to my attention when I called in some reflections on our OTEN conference. It is easy to use. It is a great way to make a short phone call and have that go directly to my Yodio account online. I can call in reminders, summarize lectures, reflect on experiences, etc. One cool thing about this tool is the ability to attach photos or videos and give a voice over through my yodio account.
YOUTUBE:
I am fortunate enough to have access to a digital editing program where I work. I spend all day cutting up film of football games. I went to a pop warner football game, filmed some plays, pulled out a clip, and posted it all on Youtube and my blog. Once I had the clip it took me less than 20 minutes to create an account and post my first video. I even posted the same clip on my blog.
QUIZLET:
I was referred to this website http://quizlet.com/ by a friend. It was so cool I wanted to share it with the class. This is a great site for students to make their own flashcards for studying. I have only dabbled with this but it is very easy to use. It takes a little time to create the cards but it ends up being a great way to study. They can give you tests on your material, in random order. You can choose to be quizzed on the answers to questions or just vocab words where you give the answer. All this is available for free and anyone with access to the internet can use it. Create an account and use it from any computer!

Yodio - MY FIRST YODIO....oten...Yodio by justnesbitt

Why Blog?

Blogging for teachers:
How will this help? Here are a few reasons I think blogging will help in our classrooms.
It is a fun and easy way for us to learn about one another, open up communication in the classroom, connect in a digital world, etc.

It provides a home base for teachers to communicate, link websites, learning activities, etc to their class.

Blogging encourages students to write, express their feelings, share ideas and much more

A little about me

I have lived in the Eugene area my entire life. I moved to Salem this summer to coach football here @ Willamette University. I have been interested in teaching since I graduated from the University of Oregon. I decided to start the aspire prgram in August. My goal is to be a high school social studies teacher and coach.

Morning Laugh

Just came across this funny message, sent from a teacher friend of mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C5Rnb7J3sU
Hope you get a good laugh

MAT "Deuce on the Loose" BURTON

Mathew rumblin, bumblin, and stumblin to his first career TD!

ENJOY!