Alexa

VOICETHREAD

2008-04-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

I think this would be cool to use in a classroom full of students who need to see the directions as well as hear them. Teachers can explain what they want the students to do by putting up pictures of the steps. They can then explain the pictures and students will learn what they are supposed to be doing. I think this is a great way to teach students in a classroom, and hopefully other people will enjoy it as well!

Done in three...

2008-04-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

DONE IN THREE WEEKS! Anyone else as excited as I am? I can honestly say this has been my hardest month of school since I can remember. I guess taking all these classes has really caught up with me. My education classes both have projects that are time consuming and difficult for me because I have never written a lesson plan...now I have two to work on. My English class has a project that is a bit confusing still for me, and my Political Science class does not have my interest...still! Yes, my venting blog...sorry guys but I figure everyone is feeling similar to me and I wanted to let you guys know...YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Luckily this class is very fun and interesting. We learn so many cool computer activities. I have already used three for my other classes as well as just for fun. I really hope everyone in this class is having fun with at least one of their classes...and summer is just around the corner...I HOPE!

Panraven Storybook

2008-04-02T20:41:00.001-07:00

I think this is a good tool for students to use in a classroom. It is a way for them to express a story in a fun way. They are able to add pictures as well as words to describe their stories to people. It is fun to pick different layouts for the pages and different backgrounds for the type of story that will match. It is a good tool for teachers to use because we can have a variety of methods to teach students with. We have the flickr slideshow to show pictures on, but we have the storybook to write about the pictures shown.
I think Panraven is a fun idea. Although it is a bit frusterating to work with because it does not have a lot of options to mess around with, it is a great learning tool. It was very easy for me to figure out how to use. The only problem I had was with changing the font, but even that was not too difficult. I hope everyone enjoys my storybook.

Flickr

2008-03-31T17:36:00.001-07:00

Flickr is such a cool program. I did not realize that all my pictures, that have been sent to me through emails, were being saved. It is nice to know that there is a program that I can access on any computer to view those pictures. The slide show part is fun because slide shows are always enjoyable to watch. I think they will be useful in a classroom because you are able to put a bunch of pictures together to show your students while talking about what is going on in each one. Also, you will not have to open different pages for the pictures to show. They will all be on that one slide show. It is important that the students do not view any of your personal pictures because they may be inappropriate for them to see. Flickrslide.com allows you to decide which pictures will be seen by the students, and which pictures will be hidden from them. This program is not that difficult to figure out, and hopefully it will be used in future classrooms.

SAC Mystery

2008-03-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Sense of Place

2008-03-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

My sense of place is where I live. I thought it would be fun to make a story on my poster. My friend, Rachael, and I decided to give a holiday treat to our neighbors. Hopefully you guys will enjoy our adventure after viewing my poster.
There are many ways this poster project can be used in a classroom. There are days where you may want to give different sets of instructions to students. You can put step-by-step instructions, on a poster and have the students look at that while you help other students on a different topic. You can also have the students make a step-by-step poster on how they achieved something. Kids can also just have fun playing around and making posters for their friends. I am pretty comfortable using this tool because I am able to show other people things that I enjoy. I am able to use the different tools in comiclife, and make a poster. I am pretty good with playing around and figuring out what else to do. I really enjoy this application now that we have used it to make a sense of place poster!

Canada

2008-03-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

This is my random blog....I WENT TO CANADA OVER SPRING BREAK AND HAD AN AMAZING TIME! I went to visit my friend Sarah Lowry. She played volleyball last year at UAF with me, but decided she would be happier back home in Canada. We have kept in touch since she has been gone, and we decided it would only be fair for me to go visit her. Canada was amazing! We had many fun experiences. I met all her friends. They are really a nice group of people and I was sad to say goodbye to not only her, but them as well. I went to her classes one day. That was interesting because I got to see how a bigger University worked. Her smallest class has 150 people in it. Nothing like Alaska hey?! I met her volleyball team and I worked out with them for the week. That was also exciting to see another team's practices and chemistry together. Canada in itself was so beautiful. The snow was melting, like Alaska, and the walk from her apartment to her classes was so refreshing. It was so nice to spend time with Sarah and see how she spent her days without us Alaskan folk :) Someday, I hope to visit her again in Canada! All of the volleyball girls, and many other friends of ours, really miss Sarah. One of our friends, Hannah Armstrong, said to Sarah as Sarah was leaving Alaska, "See you later!" As I was leaving Canada, I gave Sarah a huge hug and said, "See you later!" It will happen!! Spring break was just a blast for me and I hope all of you guys had a fun experience as well.

Digital Video-Mammoth 2008

2008-03-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!!

Digital Video

2008-03-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of making my digital video and I am having so much fun! I really enjoy putting music to my pictures, and adding fun texts. It is funny because I was putting all my pictures in a slide show and it was kind of boring. I enjoyed looking through my pictures and remembering the great times I had, but at the same time, something was missing. Then when I added music to the slide show, it was perfect. The music really just topped it off. My video is about my trip to Mammoth over winter break. When I snowboard, I listen to music. Sometimes its punk, other times its country. It just depends on the mood I am in. I usually listen to punk or rock because I want to just rush down the mountain. When I added the music to my video, I put on songs that I would want to listen to while riding down the slopes. I am not quite finished with my slideshow because I really want it to be perfect. I hope you guys all enjoy it and I also hope you all are having fun reminiscing your memories as well.

Whoops

2008-02-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

So I am definitely swapping my blogs around. I just realized that we had a blog due on Monday about life...well obviously my life was hecktic enough to not see that. So, I am writing my blog now....
IT IS SO HOT AND BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE!
I called my sister today and told her that it was 50 degrees outside. She laughed at me, then checked the internet and was in shock. I keep telling her Alaska is a crazy place, -40 to 50 in just 3 days, but she did not believe me. She just thought -40 was the true Alaska. It is really exciting to be able to live in a place that has such drastic changes throughout the year. I think everyone should experience Alaska once in their lives!
Hope everyone has a fabulous day and I am sorry that I did not post this blog earlier, but if you think about it, you guys would not have gotten to hear my cool story about my phone conversation with my sister!

MIDI Keyboard Powerpoint

2008-02-20T23:01:00.001-08:00

I think I have found my new love! I love music and playing the piano. This project introduced me to a way where I can write music on my computer. I really enjoy that because I have always wanted to save my songs, and now I can! I learned a lot about garage band too. I did not really understand how it worked because I did not like how you just pressed the keys on the keyboard for the "piano," but now that I can use an actual keyboard, garage band is actually really cool! This program would be a success in a music class, I think, because students do not need a full piano to learn how to play. They can practice scales and learn how to play songs in a certain range. It is also exciting to add different sounds and put them all together to make one great piece. I hope everyone gets a chance to try the MIDI keyboard...it really is a ton of fun!

Software Resources

2008-02-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

Software Title: Arithmetic Four
Grade/Age level: Second Grade Mathematics
Subject Area(s): Mathematics
Platform: Both Mac and Windows
Purpose: This is a fun way to have kids learn to add whole numbers. They are able to play a game as well as learn math. Not only is this a fun way to learn math, but it is a competition between two people, so it makes it more fun for the students to learn.

Software Title: Formula Fusion
Grade/Age level: Third Grade Mathematics
Subject Area(s): Mathematics
Platform: Both Mac and Windows
Purpose: This is another fun way to learn math. This is a way to make fractions a game. The game is to see how fast the child can add two fractions together. The cool thing about it is that they are racing against the computer, so it will make them feel smart when they beat the computer. And, if they do not beat the computer, they may feel better that a computer is beating them, not their friends.

Software Title: Math Magician
Grade/Age level: First to Fifth Grade Mathematics
Subject Area(s): Mathematics
Platform: Both Mac and Windows
Purpose: This is a fun game for all of Elementary School. The kids can choose what kind of math level they are comfortable on: Addition, Subtraction, Division, or Multiplication. Then, they can choose the amount they want to add, subtract, divide, or multiply by. Once they are comfortable at one level, they are able to move up on their own, not having to worry about the student next to them. The kids can also print out their certificates after they finish the game.

One to One

2008-02-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

After watching a video and discussing the one to one laptop program, I am still partial to the idea of a computer being used everyday in class. There are many positive and negative aspects to having a computer as a main source for a school. A few positives are that the children will be able to manage computers very well as they grow up. They will be able to use programs besides KidPix and instant messenger. They will be able to graph information and use programs such as Excel, which I hardly know how to use. Also, it is better for the environment. Teachers will not have to print out excessive amounts of paper for the students to do their work on.
There are many negatives to this program as well; a main one being that students will not be able to correct their spelling. Because computers have spell check, students will not really pay attention to what is spelled right and what needs to be fixed. All they have to do is click the mouse and the word is fixed. Another downside to computers in classrooms is that parents, as well as teachers, have to know more about the programs than the students do. The students are going to need help with their work, and they are going to look to their parents and teachers for help. The problem is, because the adults did not grow up with computers always in front of them, the students may know more about the computers than the adults do. I do not think that is OK. Students need to have time away from computers and television. School is the time to do that. It is a time to socialize with your peers and run around on the playground at lunch. It is a time to learn from a human teaching information to you.
After writing this blog, I think I lean more to not having a one to one laptop program at schools. While the idea is good for some people, and I would be fine teaching in a school with this concept, I do not feel that it is what is best for the students at such young ages.

Personal Introduction

2008-01-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name is Alexa Sherman. I am at my second year at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. I am from Southern California, but I got a volleyball scholarship up here in Alaska. I love playing for the school, and I really enjoy the team. I am looking to be an elementary school teacher. I love kids and I work very well with them. I want to help the children learn that learning is really fun. I want to help them learn that learning is not just in a book, but also part of everyday life. I am excited to get started in the classrooms.

I have two sisters. I have an older sister, Jenna, who is twenty-one. She is at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. She is studying to be a Doctor. My little sister, Dana, is seventeen. She was just accepted to the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is hoping to open up her own dance studio. As much as I love my family, I also have a love for a few more things.

I love the beach, with the sound of the waves crashing up against the sand. But, at the same time, I love the mountains. I love the peacefulness of the snowfall. Music is a big part of my life. One of my favorite feelings is driving up the coast with the windows down and the music cranked up. The view of the ocean is just amazing. I love traveling. I want to see the world... Australia, Greece, Brazil, Africa, Everywhere. I love quotes. I once read that "as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do." I am going to do everything!