Wednesday, October 22, 2008

De-EXCELerating

Well, after having a few more days in class to work with Excel, I feel a lot more comfortable. I made a shapes lesson for kindergarten that tells whether or not the answers inserted are correct and then scores the answers. This could be a really cool use for Excel in the future. I'm still not completely comfortable with the different formulas, but that's what the Internet is for. Well, I'll check in next time. Until then, abidee abidee abidee a That's All Folks!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

EXCELing Above the Beast!

I will admit that me and EXCEL have never been good friends, so I am a little nervous about revisiting this BEAST in class. However, being allowed to take it slow with some directions to guide me is definitely a good start. I'm still not sure that I am be able to create something as wonderful as my mind presents to me, but hopefully I will gain enough experience and knowledge to be able to set up a fancy schmancy grade sheet for my future classes. Better yet, "I WILL succeed at this." "Do you hear that you BEASTIE...I am going to VANQUISH you!!!" Prepare yourself world, for Sir Jonathan of Smith is going to become EXCEL-lent!'

P.S. I decided to pass on the pun of using my sword "EXCELibur", but then again, I do love puns!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

I Have Found Inspiration...Quite Literally.

Working with the Inspiration software in this class this past week has been interesting. I can see how it can be handy for creating graphic organizers to use in class, but I can also see that it is going to take a lot more exploration for me to figure out all the tricks of this program. Hopefully once I get the hang of it, I can use it more often and in fun ways.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Digital Image Delving

This week in my IT 486 class, we played with different methods of acquiring digital images and on putting them into documents and slide shows. I already had a good understanding of coping images from the internet, scanning, clip art, and of course, taking pictures with a digital camera. I did at least learn about taking screen shots. I can see activities like the scavenger hunt being good both as teaching and learning tools for my future students. Hooray for technology!