Copyright Challenge: Gap Steal

Copyright Challenge: Gap Steal

I believe that this could be a violation of copyright.  Some may say that the onesie makes the picture transformative-- but I do not believe that there is any added value to the work.  Especially because these onesies will be marketed for profit, I believe that it is in fact violation of copyright.  If this picture was used in an educational setting, it would be slightly different in that the photo would not be marketed to others.  Students may be able to use an image like this one in a comparison of older cars to newer models, thus making the work transformative.

Disciplines in Education: 5 Apps for Elementary Students

Disciplines in Education: 5 Apps for Elementary Students

App #1: Sketchpad Explorer for iPad

This app seems like it could be an incredible app for a student of any age.  Elementary school students could use this app to practice plenty of concepts, including base ten operations and various operations.  This is also a tool that they could use as they grow older to learn and practice whatever they are learning at the time.

App #2:  Leafsnap for iPad

This app is so cool!  With this app, students can look at various leaves and their corresponding tree species.  Students could compare pictures on the iPad to actual leaves found from the trees in their own area.  It can also help them learn about classification and scientific nomenclature.

App #3:  Read Me Stories

I think that this app could be useful for getting students engaged in reading who might otherwise have a hard time being motivated.  It would help younger primary students with concept of print, and the book highlights words when they are read so that young children can follow along.  The interactive aspect of being able to click on characters for more storylines makes it interesting and engaging for students.

App #4:  This Day in History

I think that this app would be a great way to grab students' attention at the beginning of a history lesson.  Learning about various events in history for each particular day could spark good classroom discussion, and it could even be an app to use as a sponge activity with a little bit of extra time.

App #5:  Play2Learn Chinese

This app would be wonderful for elementary aged students!  It has an interactive interface where users can point to various objects in an illustration to hear the corresponding mandarin word read out loud.  Then it gives students the option to test their knowledge as they listen to words and attempt to point to the correct object.  I think that many primary aged students would be interested in using this app.

GAIN Extended Assignment: Google Sites

GAIN Extended Assignment: Google Sites

My Experiences:

• I think that Google Sites could be a great tool for teachers to communicate with parents and with the community around them.  There are several features that make it a wonderful tool for sharing various types of media all in one place.
• However... I was a bit frustrated in trying to figure out how to make things look just like I wanted them to look.  Some of the widgets were confusing, and a lot of what you can put on your website must first be created through another Google App.  For example, when I wanted to include a slideshow in my site, I had to first create a Google Slides presentation.  When I wanted to place a calendar on the page, I had to import a calendar from another source.
• Some of the design elements are not in the same place.  For example, the way that you change the layout of the page is in a different location than the way that you change the theme or background of the page.

Here is the link to my site:

https://sites.google.com/site/misscinnamonsfifthgradeclass/home

GAIN 5: Google Drawings

GAIN 5: Google Drawings

My Experience:

• I had never used Google Drawings before this assignment, but it is definitely a tool that I will make use of in the future.  Everything about this tool is straight forward.  What I love about Google Drawings is that it has a sole purpose of formatting an image-- it is not a tool that is embedded in another resource like a word processor.  This means that the features are very accessible in comparison.  For example, if one were to create a shape in word, they would have to right-click that shape, click format, and then navigate a formatting menu in order to change the fill and line colors.  With Google Drawings, these options are found right in the toolbar at the top.  I think in the future I will definitely create my images using Google Drawings before I insert them into another document.

Exploring Shapes Lesson Plan:

• This lesson plan gives students the freedom to play around with shapes by rotating and flipping them.  Students would become acclimated with the concept of a 90-degree turn, horizontal and vertical flipping.  I believe that the lesson would be easy for students at the primary level to complete.  Teachers could make the lesson more engaging by asking students to duplicate a previously created image by using only a few shapes.  This would encourage students to rotate and flip shapes in order to place them in a previously determined pattern.

Graham Chapter 8:

• Graham emphasizes the fact that by using Google drawings, students can create collaborative drawings that express learning.  Many different types of images can be created by students for use in the classroom, including flowcharts, graphic organizers, and mathematical patterns.  The way that students can use this tool to manipulate shapes makes it useful for meeting plenty of elementary mathematical standards.

GAIN 4: Google Forms

Gain 4: Google Forms

Outside Sources:

• When I attempted to follow the link to the tutorials for Google Forms, all of the tutorials were locked.  However, I did follow a link for instructions on how to create a self-graded quiz-- entitled Self-Grading Multiple-Choice Tests with Google Docs-- found at rpollack.net.  I found that these instructions were quite clear until the step of creating the array formula for the self-grading portion of the form.  No matter how many times I checked myself and the manner in which I was writing my array formula, it did give me the results that I desired.  At this point of instruction, I stopped using the steps in this site and instead began following the steps presented on my professor's guide sheet.

My Own Self-Grading Quiz:

• Here is the link to my quiz:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/155tCpUtolJ-9ZSm7eI3itc_TklgPHmDodBneskbrAso/viewform?usp=send_form#start=invite

• Here is the link to the spreadsheet with the scores from my quiz: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tcGR0aOL9wi2dcBBnUdZZnSbbk6VzOhNOR847UvXqqc/edit?usp=sharing

Educational Use:

There are plenty of ways that Google Forms could be utilized in a school setting.  In Google Meets Common Core, Graham mentions several uses from a school staff point-of-view.  Special education teachers can create forms that monitor information about students that will be useful for their Individual Education Plans.  Principals, or even teachers, can create forms that monitor disciplinary actions that are taken with a student.  The form can monitor the time of the infraction, the class period, student, and the type of misbehavior.  These forms can be as available or as secure as they need to be.  Counselors can use forms as a way for their students to communicate with them.  As far as students go, students can create their own surveys to harvest data for research projects-- this would be a great way to get students using technology to make sense of the world around them.