Software Tools

With this project, we were expected to create an educational game using Powerpoint. This project was greatly different from anything I had ever created using the program. I had no idea one could make such an interactive game in the PowerPoint! Though I used a blank template to create my project, I still found the interactivity of the game to be unprecedented for being a work of Microsoft PowerPoint. I decided to make my Powerpoint game in the style of Jeopardy, centering on influential people and important events in U.S. history. After filling in each question and answer square, I decided to try to run through the game as if I were in a class myself. Although I was a little unsure of how it worked at first, I did eventually figure it out. It was a very thorough experience, complete with sound effects and interactive links that would take you from the answer to the specific question it was linked to. The game was definitely a great recreation of what an actual game of jeopardy is like. This type of game would be a great addition to any teacher's lesson plan. Not only is it educational, but also very interactive and engaging. I could easily see such a tool coming into use in the classroom as it could give teachers a chance to add life and interactivity into assessments. This would likely help reach the class as a whole and gain more participation and engagement from all individual students.

NETS-Standard

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, deveolp, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize tcontent learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identfied in the NETS-S. Teachers:

b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

5) Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resourches. Teachers:

b. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others





This assignment was given in order to explore the types of works you could create in Microsoft word, specifically with visuals. The assignment itself was to choose a poem, break it into two columns and put a relevant watermark on the page. When given the assignment to create projects inside of Microsoft Word, I felt confident that I would have little trouble. Having used the program since before middle school, I felt as though I probably knew all there was to know about the program. Once I began diving into the actual assignment however, I quickly found that there was still much to this commonly used program that I had never explored. Beginning with the poetry assignment we were given in Microsoft Word, I learned how to insert watermarks into text documents. Though I had seen many documents with watermarks on them, I never quite understood how such an image was transposed into the background of a Word document. Though I was unaware of the process at first, after consulting my textbook and other online resources, I found the process to be simple and easy to use.This project in Word is just one example of the various types of works that can be created with the program. Such a resource could come in handy when teaching students, specifically the younger ones. To use different features in Word, such as using watermarks and other visuals can help spark interest in students as well as appeal to learners who learn best through the use of visuals.

NETS-Standards

2. Design and Develop Digital - Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S Teachers:

a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity