Blog Journal #10

 Hello again, my avid readers. 

The time has finally come. This will be my last blog post for this course, and what a ride it's been! This week, I will reflect on what I learned from the PowerPoint Interaction Assignment, how I plan on using data collection tools in the classroom, and overall what technology-related skill I would like to learn next. We're at the home stretch right now, so let's finish off strong!

To start off, the PowerPoint Interaction Assignment was much more challenging for me than our previous ones. Going into it, I had no idea how to insert hyperlinks to different slides, how to attach links to transparent shapes, or even how to disable the linear progression function during presentations. I ended up learning a lot about what PowerPoint can offer beyond the basic presentation tools. I also noticed just how important it was for me to double check the accessibility of every slide in order to avoid getting stuck throughout the Jeopardy game. Overall, I'm quite proud of the result, and I will definitely be using PowerPoint differently going forward. You should too! 

 

Screenshot from my Jeopardy PowerPoint Interaction Assignment.

Moving on, let's talk about data collection tools. If you're a university student, chances are you've taken a survey before through the survey maker tool, Qualtrics. There are other sources as well, such as Google Forms, which can come in handy when collecting data. As a teacher, data collection tools such as these can be quite helpful for polling students on their preferences and opinions on the class and their learning style. The anonymous aspect of these tools can be especially useful to encourage students to speak up, perhaps more than they would in person during class. These sites also come with data analysis functions, which can help analyze patterns and make sense of the data.

Lastly, let's look ahead. So far in this class, I have learned so much throughout the course of the semester. Going forward, perhaps I would like to learn how to do some basic coding. Nothing too complicated, but just enough to benefit me and facilitate or even automate my teaching career. I would also like to learn some basic keyboard shortcuts for internet browsers and Office applications, just to facilitate the process and improve efficiency. Lastly, I would like to learn more about Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and the Creative Cloud (and how to best use them in a classroom setting).

Well, that's all for me, folks. Thank you for sticking by me and reading this far. Maybe I'll publish another blog in the future, but for now, take care :)