Week 11 Exit Slip

Today I learned about the potential uses of Poll Everywhere, Flickr, and Slide Rocket. I think that any of these can be used in the classroom. I could poll students or parents about a variety of topics, organize, label, and share pictures, and create presentations for lessons or have students share presentations. I am continuously realizing how most technologies can be adapted for classroom use. I also had not considered before that job loss could be related to technology. This is definitely an issue that could affect my students and their families. I feel that students need to be aware of the fact that they need to work hard in school so that they will develop skills and be able to go to college. Our job is to do our best in teaching our students. I had also not really thought before about how easy technology makes it to cheat. I think that as a teacher, I need to be aware of student attempts to cheat and also encourage students to use technology in a positive and fun way. If students do not have a desire to learn something, they may choose to cheat. I feel that students would not want to cheat if they really enjoyed what they were learning.

Next, I learned that typical animation has 30 frames per second. I did not realize it was this high! The three phases of animation are pre-production (planning and organizing), production (filming - capturing images), and post-production (editing and sharing). I realized that animations can be used to share opinions and information, whereas before I had only thought of them as Disney movies, etc. I had crated an animation a long time ago, but the technology was very different. Animation would be something that I think students would enjoy, and I think I will also have fun doing this project with my group based on my past experiences. I learned that FrameThief can be used on Macs to make a stop-motion animation. This program offers a lot of unique features that make it simpler to see the changes between each shot. After this, iMovie allows you to put the pictures in and create a final product. This is definitely completely different than what I used in 4th grade and I'm sure it will continue to evolve.

Last, I learned about the many uses of Scratch, such as models, tutorials, simulations, games, or animations. I am starting to think about how I can make my project really engaging and interactive. I am going to explore topics and examples this week, and am thinking about what would be a good topic. I feel that almost any topic could be addressed.