Smartboard

I really enjoyed learning the software that accompanies the Smartboard. I have used the Smartboard before but I never used the actual software. I am glad I got to learn the different things that are offered in the software. There is so much that you can do with a smartboard. The possibilities are endless!

Microsoft Access

I have never heard of Access before this year. I know I have it on my computer, but I never knew what it was. This week in MIS we had to do a lab using Access. I really enjoyed working on it. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. We used it to list people and reservations, but it could be used for a lot of things. I defiantly use it for listing grades or anything else in the classroom. It would make listing who has what book easier than using Excel.

Excel

This week I did a lab in my MIS class. We had to set up a thing in excel that could be used to grade tests easily. All the teacher would need to do is to type in the answers that the children gave and it would automatically give a grade. Or a teacher could have the students type in their answers. I really liked learning how to set it all up and see how the different formulas worked. I could really use it when grading a test or having students take a test to encorporate technology in test taking.

Powerpoint

I have used powerpoint many times for projects, but there were still things that I did not know about it. I am glad that we were able to learn some more about powerpoint. Anytime my teachers used powerpoint in class it was always a lecture. I see no point in paying attention to the teacher if they have the powerpoint up if its not interactive. Some of my teachers will put the powerpoint slides up online and then I really do not see the point in listening or writing the notes down. I really think if people are going to use powerpoint it needs to be interactive to keep the children engrossed in the presentation.

Videos

I had a really fun time recording our video. I was surprised how easy it was to do. Once we had everything taped, it didn't take long to edit and finish our movie. I think this would be a really fun activity to do in elementary school when in small groups. I remember I did it in junior high and enjoyed it.