Excel Basics

This assignment was a challenging one for me. This assignment required us to utilize basic Excel features which I am not familiar with Excel at all really. We were asked to organize and make a spreadsheet. Then, we were told to turn our text values into numerical values using the Replacement/Find tool. I followed the directions which seemed somewhat self-explanatory. Lastly, the assignment asked us to calculate the average number of Blog Posts. In doing this it required us to use the average function. In doing this it was determined that my number of blog posts was lower than the class average.

I believe that this assignment follows the following NETS-T standards: 3 & 5. This assignment allows educators to model their ability to use technology in a variety of settings. It also shows that educators can use various methods of obtaining data.

Self-Assessment

I wasn't sure what to expect of this class when I enrolled. I knew it would have something to do with media and technology. I didn't realize the depth of what we would learn until we got further into our assignments. I must say I am learning a lot.  I still at times feel very lost also. Trying to keep up with all the assignments has been a challenge for me this semester. I am not very advanced in technology and so all of this is new learning for me. My favorite activity so far has been the Audacity podcast. After completing this assignment, I felt a real since of accomplishment. Several things this semester, I have learned are easier to do with the help of step by step tutorials. It seems so hard to believe we are almost in November and over half way through this semester. I am excited to see what else we will learn before the semester finishes.

Research Overviews

For this assignment, we were to open the program Excel and from there, go to the tools menu bar, click the add ons button, etc. The link provided to us for this assignment was very helpful in guiding me step by step on what I needed to do in order to complete the required steps.

"The Analysis Toolpak is an Excel add-in (add-in: A supplemental program that adds custom commands or custom features to Microsoft Office.) program that is available when you install Microsoft Office or Excel. To use it in Excel, however, you need to load it first.

1. On the Tools menu, click Add-Ins.
2. In the Add-Ins available box, select the check box next to Analysis Toolpak, and then click OK.

Tip If Analysis Toolpak is not listed, click Browse to locate it.

3. If you see a message that tells you the Analysis Toolpak is not currently installed on your computer, click Yes to install it.
4. Click Tools on the menu bar. When you load the Analysis Toolpak, the Data Analysis command is added to the Tools menu."

These directions were perfect and I was able to complete without any problem, such ease. I believe this assignment relates to the NETS-T standards in the following way: " Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership".

Pew Millennial Test

After taking the Pew Millennial Test I was a bit surprised at the results. Especially since they consider age/when you were born as a slight determining factor for what is considered "a typical response". My results, "

Your Millennial score is 30!

I rate between the Baby Boomer (1946-1964) and the Gen-Xers (1965-1980). Closer to the Baby Boomer generation, but I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing. :)

Personality Blog Post #2

After completing the personality questionnaire, I found that my personality type is: INFJ. This is consistent with the results of my Personality Blog Post #1. I feel in knowing my personality type, it will help  me better engage myself with others and realize that we are all in different categories. In leading a class of students, it is important to remember that not all children learn the same way or will understand how you may explain things the first time around. As an educator we must look at a variety of teaching methods and ways to explain things to make sure we meet the needs of others. This is the same for administrators and other co-workers we may be working with.

Your Type is INFJ

Introverted	Intuitive	Feeling	Judging
Strength of the preferences %
11	25	38	67

 

Qualitative analysis of your type formula

You are:

       slightly expressed introvert

       moderately expressed intuitive personality

       moderately expressed feeling personality

       distinctively expressed judging personality

I found out that "INFJ" Famous Personalities include careers in the following types of fields:
Social Work, Education, Early Childhood Education, Law, Psychology & Counseling. Seems like I am in the right area. :)

Personality Blog Post #1

Rank your self on each item and develop your own hypothetical 4 letter code.
If I had to chose one, I would rank myself as: INFJ which states,

"INFJSeek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision".

My rationale for this is simply, I believe I fit each of the characteristics described. I do think I have other areas that fit pretty well also, but in just chosing one, I feel that the INFJ fits be best. I am always conscientious and committed to everything that I do, I believe and stand by my principals and values, am organized, etc.

Audacity Project

The Audacity project was interesting and challenging. I have never experienced or worked with any software like this. In addition, converting the information and manipulating the software to adapt format was quite cool. Audacity is a free open source software for recording and editing sound. The assignment required us to create a podcast. At first, I was overwhelmed not sure where to begin. What I didn't realize was that through each step I was learning how simple it was to create what seemed like such a complex task. I used the microphone to speak at the beginning of the podcast to explain why I chose the music that I did. I used songs from youtube.com and then converted into mp3 format using the bender converter software. This was fairly simple as we had been required to use bendconverter software on a prior assignment. Having the example links and tutorial videos were also very helpful and informative as it showed me step by step what to do for each of the steps to process. I believe this assignment relates to the NETS-T standard: "#3 Model Digital-Age Work and Learning-Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations, collaborate with peers, students and community members using digital tools and resources to support to support student success and innovation. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students using a variety of digital-age media and formats. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate and use information resources to support research and learning".

The music I chose was a variety of songs, types, etc. When creating this assignment, I began thinking about music that inspires me, words, beat and tempo. Time is of the essence isn't it? Never do we have enough hours in the day to accomplish the many task at hand. I like these songs and the mix is a creation of items that help me disgard the many daily tasks that I have to accomplish and just allow me to unwind and focus on the music, nothing else. Enjoy!

Audacity Project by: Jessica S.

Voice Thread

I enjoyed the Voice Thread assignment. I wasn’t sure what to think when I started working on it, although as I have stated before, that seems to always be the case. What interesting new ways education is developing in regards to multi-media and technology driven applications. After reviewing the videos, I can see the importance on being in the classroom and also having the privilege of online learning. There are pros and cons with each and every thing that we do. Everyone will have their ideas on what they think is best. Voice thread can provide so many more opportunities for open communication. I feel that this assignment and the videos I watched relate to the NETS standard 1 (Facilitate and Inspire Learning & Creativity)

I am a new teacher and work in other classrooms as a co-teacher at this time. Though I have not used this type of information in the classroom before, I plan to incorporate using these tools as allowed with the help of the other co-teachers and as allowed with school standards.