CEdu 581: Architecture of the Computer

What were the most valuable and least valuable parts of the course?

I found this class very interesting and informative. I enjoyed looking inside the computer and labeling all the parts of the computer. I liked the components presentations -- because it was beneficial to hear information on all the important parts of a computer. I also like the movies we watched in the course. Learning about the history of the computer was fascinating. Hearing the actually people speak in person about their views was neat to hear. I would love to see an even more up-to-date movie about the history of the computer.

I found the disaster recovery activity least valuable for me personally -- but that is probably because I have a husband who is very into keeping our computer and it's contents safe. However, if you didn't have a signficant other who was prepared for a disaster the information was very thought provoking and informative. I also did not find the computer simulation part of the course beneficial. I understand that we needed to learn about the 0's and 1's but wasn't all that into the project.

Thanks for making my last masters course fun and interesting. You did a wonderful job!!

Week 5

What were the most valuable pieces of information that you learned from presentations in class?

I found all the presentations beneficial.  I knew some information about most of the components presented but it was nice to have a little "refresher."  I learned the most about my presentation on video cards and Ron's presentation on BIOS.  My husband is a gamer and is always talking about the graphics of his computer so I wanted to learn about the possible video cards available so I understood why he bought what he did.  I did not know anything on BIOS so learned many things through Ron's presentation.  He broke the part down nicely -- his football analogy helped me understand BIOS.  I found the face that flash-drives can only be written/rewritten a specific amount of times before a new one is needed to be purchased important.  I did not know this but now that I do -- it does make sense -- things can only be used too many times before they just don't work properly anymore.  I found the night of presentations one of the more important classes in this course.    

Conceptual Framework -- Week 4 continued

Describe what actions a computer takes from power-on to log-in screen.  

First you hit the power button which turns the computer on.  When the power button is pushed the BIOS starts.  The BIOS will check to be sure that all the components of the computer are working (which is called the POST).  The BIOS looks to see if the computer is starting with a warm or cold boot.  If the computer is starting a warm book the BIOS doesn't do as many checks. When it's a cold boot the BIOS checks the RAM, the peripherals connected to your computer, and then the hard drive.  The BIOS then looks for the boot drive in the operating system.  This process gets the operating system working.   

Conceptual Framework -- Week 4

What are the essential "big picture" hardware pieces a computer must have to be a computer? Explain why each piece is essential.

1.  Power Supply - gives the computer electricity to actually work/run

2.  Motherboard - sends all the data to the different parts of a computer

3.  CPU (Central Processing Unit) - processes & coordinates the data of the computer

4.  RAM (Random Access Memory) - holds all the information a computer must access

5.  Case - holds all the parts of the computer

6.  Hard Drive - holds all the long term data/memory

Portfolio is DONE!!

I am happy to report that my portfolio is D-O-N-E.  I have burnt it to a CD and am ready to turn it in tomorrow at class.  I can't believe that I am going to be graduating in less than a month -- 3 more Monday night classes in this last course.  It feels like just yesterday when I signed up for this program.  I don't know what I am going to do with my extra time -- but I am sure I will find something.  :-)  

OS Activities

I watched the "Pirates of the Silicon Valley" movie.  I found the movie to be interesting yet strange at the same time.  I knew most of the information in the movie but did learn a few new things.  I found the information about Apple and Microsoft being "entangled" together somehow interesting.  

I also had the ability to talk to a "techie" -- my husband.  He prefers to use Windows XP (but has Vista on his computer).  XP has a more user-friendly interface.  He doesn't like Vista because of the poor attempt at added security and the changes made to the Windows Explorer interface.  I found while talking to him that he has actually never used a Mac computer before -- which would be the same for me if I hadn't started working in a school environment with Macs. In high school and college I always used Microsoft.  When I started working (3 years ago) and started this masters program is when I began using an Apple computer.  It was a huge change for me but I am now comfortable with both Microsoft and Apple.    

CEdu 581: Week 1

Describe your previous knowledge of the concepts presented in class 1?

I don't know lots about computer architecture.  I, however, have heard lots about all the different parts and seen numerous parts of a computer because my husband has built many computers for himself and friends/family.   Because my husband was well informed -- I really didn't have much interest in it or need to understand it -- as long as the computer was working for me, I was content.  

What did you learn through the activities in class 1?  I found the "walk through a computer" movie interesting.  Yes, it was an 80s movie and a bit outdated but it was neat to see the insides of a computer and get a better understanding of how things work.

What questions do you have about the material in class?  Did the new version of the "History of a Computer" come in?

Week 5: Online Meetings & Web 2.0 application

This week we were introduced to different online meeting sites. The sites seem very beneficial for people to collaborate on -- especially those that live far away from one another.  Using these online meeting sites can save people on gas money and time.  

I chose to look at the Web 2.0 application of TripCart.  It is a trip planning tool that I really enjoyed looking at.  I thought it offered many wonderful qualities all in one spot to help individuals plan their own unique travel experience.  I love to travel and have started using the site to help plan my next summer vacation to Hawaii.  If you love to travel, I would suggest taking a look at the site ... www.tripcart.com.  The site offers a 'take the tour' screencast that shows you exactly how to use the site and everything it has to offer.  Happy traveling.

Week 4: Podcast and Vcasts

I really enjoyed doing the podcast/vcast assignment this week.  Once I figured out how everything worked I was ready to go.  I decided to use gcast with my students.  I found the program very easy to use. The kids enjoyed singing our morning song into the phone and then listening to it on the computer.  One of my students (who asks very good questions) said "how does that happen?"  I didn't know how to explain it to him in 'kindergarten' terms.  :-)  As my students listened to themselves, they all had smiles on their faces.  In the future, I look forward to having my students read stories and sing more songs.  It would be nice to show to families at conferences.  I think these activities will help keep my students motivated. Two of my fellow kindergarten teachers used sightspeed and I would like to try that program as well with my students because they would be able to actually see themselves.

Week 3

This week we focused our technology studies on WIKIs and Nings along with RSS feeds and Flickr.  I really enjoyed using the bloglines site -- it is so convenient to have your blogs all on one site so you can easily navigate to them all and see which blogs are updated.  It makes it so easy.  I also liked the Flickr photo site -- it was so easy to upload pictures and organize them.  I look forward to using these two websites more frequently.  My students will especially love to look at the pictures of themselves on the Flickr site.

Week 2

Week 2 was more about blogs -- which at this time seem not to be appropriate for kindergarten. We also started talking about WIKIs and ways to use them and I find them more appropriate for kindergarten students.  I even found a kindergarten WIKI that was called the Kindergarten Counting Book where the students took pictures of making groups of things from 1-100 and then the teacher put up the pictures.  It was very cute.  I would like to do an ABC book with my students as we get more into the year.

Digital Media

As I think back on the first day of class, I found the ability to use text messaging to get information from google amazing.  I thought I was pretty up-to-date on most technology but have never heard of being about to text google to retrieve information. This was so fascinating to me. 

I also liked being able to look at other educators blog sites. Being able to view these weblogs, showed me the many possibilities as to how a weblog can be used in the classroom.  I don't think I can truly use them in my classroom with such young children but liked seeing what other teachers were doing with technology in their classes.  A person could really spend a day looking at weblogs. 

I look forward to seeing other digital media I have never experienced and think it's important to know all these things being a student in the IT program.  

Using Data

The Use of Data

As I think about the use of data in kindergarten -- I feel it is more informal than formal. I 'test' my students using a self-made test that covers areas each quarter that I feel my students need to be successful in the following grade. Being a special education teacher, I can not 'test' my students like other students so I do a lot of observation and collaboration with my special education aid about where we think a student is and what that student needs to continue to work on. The only formal test my kindergarten students take is the MAP reading and math test at the end of the school year. I use what I've learned and what the test results state to place my students for first grade.

Some of my students (depending on their disability) may be tested formally so they get even more help when they progress to the first grade. I, however, make only the recommendation for further testing depending on what I see in the classroom and the formal tests are given by school psychologists, etc. to see if a student qualifies for more assistance.

Blogging???

Blogging during the leadership class (CEdu527) ...

It has been very difficult to blog over the last couple weeks because we have not gotten information/questions to blog on. Now that we have a new professor for our CEdu527 class hopefully we will be able to blog about leadership and what's important in leadership.

Web Design Knowledge

"Why is web design knowledge critical for instructional technology leaders in the K-12 environment?"

Technology leaders must know what is out there to be able to present to district administrators as well as fellow teachers. Being up-to-date and knowledgeable, will attract others to join in and use technology which is so important in the education field.

Website Solution

In a perfect world, what do you think is the best Website solution for your school/district?

A school district, each individual school, and each teacher must be on the same page using a web-program that works for a district. A form of CSS would be ideal for a school district. Each level of a district must understand the basics of technology, why it's important, and be on-board to incorporate it in the classroom in age-appropriate ways. In an ideal world -- a district would have a website and it would continue down the line to each individual school and then classroom pages of the teachers at each school. This could be a very difficult process but if the district makes everyone feel comfortable about technology and finds a CSS program that's useful for everyone this process could be such a positive addition to a school district.

Teacher Web Pages

How could an educator use a class web-page?

An educator could use a class web-page to inform families of what is happening in their classroom. A teacher could post lesson plans, a newsletter, and important information for families to see weekly, bi-weekly, and/or monthly .

An educator could also use a class web-page to put links to student Internet sites and publish children's work.

When creating a class web-page, an educator must keep the page easy to use for both students and families and keep it updated. The more user friendly the web-page is the more families and students will use it.

Web Design

Why is good web design important in education?

Good website design is important in education. A school website should be a site that is easy for staff, students, families, and community members to find the information they need easily and quickly. The tabs on the site should be clear so that each person is able to find what they are looking for and aren't confused.

When I think of using websites in the classroom, the first thing I think of for my kindergarten students in a site that is not too distracting, doesn't have pop-ups, and is easy for my students to navigate so they can easily get to the area they desire. My student's seem to enjoy the pbskids.org website I use in the classroom.