Class 10

Looking at HotPotatoes last week was interesting. I think that the types of activities that can be built on the site are useful in the classroom. Those types of quizes take time to write and time to grade. By taking the time to write it the time to grade it with Hot Potatoes is eliminated. That is a great thing for a teacher. Time is so darn precious when working in the classroom that anything that saves time is worth the effort. These are things that can be designed and used over again without comprimising your integrety. I greatly dislike reusing tests and rewrite them every semester, taking bits from here and bits from there. But the type of activity here is more like a worksheet or a quick check of comprehension. This is something I can wrap my brain around. It's too bad I'm not teaching right now, because by the time I get back to the classroom I may not remember about the site.

I'm still struggling with the webpage. I understand the concept and what I need to do. I just need a decent amount of concious time at my computer. All the documents I would use on the website are on my home (desktop) computer. It would not make sense for me to devote a ton of time on campus to this, because I wouldn't actually get anywhere. The biggest obstacle right now is figuring out how to access my mavdisk at home. That is an issue I have with MSU. Students who did their undergrad recently here (or probably other colleges) have a great grasp on what is available and how to get there. I graduated college in 94 and 96-we didn't even use email for classes. We were excited that we could register for classes by phone. This does not mean I don't know how to use computers. I find information, email, play games, watch tv and use discussion boards on-line. I play games, write papers, and even used to program at home. I digress.

When I came to MSU I was never given any information about what was available here. In my first class the instructor was talking about deeTool (d2l) I had no idea what dee Tool was. I was pretty sure she was insane. Then I remembered my student teachers talking about d2l and I was able to search the site and find it. We went to a computer lab that week too. I couldn't get in to the site...my college registration was wrong and I did not have an account. They'd established an email account, but not a d2l account. I never knew we had money to print anything on campus, so I've exclusively used my home computer, paper and ink. I would think this was totally unfair to me, but I know other grad students who are in the same boat. The things that are available to us were never told. I've never had a tour of campus, a list of things available or any type of orientation. I think I'm doing well for the little information I've recieved over the past year. I use d2l fairly well. I send papers via email that everyone can open, even though I can't open theirs. I download programs for test taking, audio files etc with no problem. But I never knew, until this class, what MavDisk was...let alone how to access it.

Yes, I find technology to be a huge pain in the kiester, but I also value it. There are so many ways I use tech, but if I don't have a specific goal I don't really find the uses. Personal mental block.