New Technologies

                I thoroughly enjoyed this online class this semester.  Online learning is so different from the classroom.  I think making the decision between online and in class session depends on the person and their learning style.  If you are self-motivated and can easily understand instruction, online learning is a great opportunity.  With an online English class I think it was nice that accessing our assignments was easy.  In writing our blogs, journals, and papers, it was a different way our class could communicate with each other and give our advice through peer posts.  There were many new aspects of technology that I have not used before.  One of the things I used the most this semester was Blogger.com.  

I have never done a blog before, so I didn’t know what to expect.  When you first sign up for Blogger it takes you step by step to set up you blog page.  After getting used to it, it was fairly simple.  We used this for everything from class discussions to posting essays and hoping for good critical feedback.  It was nice to have all the assignments on a blog and to read feedback for improvement.  

One of the most interesting new technologies that I used this year was Glogster.  I have never heard of it until this Fall.  You can be as creative as you want to make a poster and put whatever facts you want on it.  I didn’t use it until the end, but wish I would have here and there throughout.  This poster makes putting information together fun and interesting to read.  I think that I can use Glogster in the future for many things.  First of all, being in college, if I have any assignments that I am encouraged to be creative with, I would love to use Glogster to bring in my points.  Since I am working towards my Elementary Education Certificate, I could use this to put my ideas on an electronic poster before I transfer it into reality.  As an Elementary teacher, I know I will be putting together creative activities and I know that Glogster can help me to see what my project will look like before I even do it.  Online learning can be fun and useful and I sure enjoyed it this semester!

Picture Sources:

Youtube- http://www.simplyzesty.com/video/how-to-run-an-effective-youtube-video-ad-campaign-and-why-you-should/

Blogger- http://jaime-jtrain.blogspot.com/2011/04/biggest-challenge-of-being-blogger.html

Glogster- http://techmeetsed.com/2011/05/28/glogster-in-the-classroom/

Google-  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/google-music-launches-label-licenses-187022

Analyzing a Passage

Learning

English class has been a great growing experience for me.  In choosing to write I generally choose to write about something that interests me.  I believe that it is a challenge to have an assignment that you may not have the most interest in.  For instance, in this class most of the writing has been based on monsters as well as fictional creatures.  Now, for me this is far from a subject I would choose to write on and this made it a challenge for me.  Even though it was stretching me, this is what should happen in an English class.  I should be pulled out of my comfort zone and have to accomplish something I wouldn’t normally do.  I believe this helps a person grow.

            I am going to school for Elementary Education Certification, and English is the cornerstone of teaching elementary students.  If a student fails to understand English they will not be able to make it through school.  Although it seemed like such simple assignments, I thoroughly enjoyed the simple refreshers on commas, apostrophes, and citations.  Although we all learned this years ago, it is nice to look at it again.  When you are out of practice you tend to forget.  I believe that many of the things that we have been over in this class will be very helpful, not just for my career, but as I continue through college.  Whether it be English classes or a History class, my teachers will still expect me to have good writing skills.

I think that analyzing a text is one of the biggest things I am taking away from this class.  I have learned to look beyond what my own mind sees and try to step in someone else’s shoes.  In my own world I can interpret however I want to, but to really understand what a writer is saying, I sometimes have to step elsewhere and analyze.  What has the writer went through recently that may affect this writing?  I believe that I have grown a lot in this area.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and I am glad to take away what I can to further my career.  English is the cornerstone of learning and I want to walk away with as much knowledge as I can.         

Picture Source:  http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/spelling_lesson.asp