Spreadsheet Practice

This is my example of the benefits of using Google Spreadsheets. This program is very similar to Excel spreadsheets but is extremely user friendly and can be accessed from any computer at any time. In fact, using formulas on spreadsheets becomes a virtual no-brainer with this program! You can simply click on formulas and view the hundred of options that are available.

The different sheets you can view illustrate the kind of graphing that can be done to show student score averages and can help a teacher easily pick out who is falling behind and who may have dropping scores. One chart shows the average test scores for the class. The other shows the average scores for each student.

The charts help illustrate the fact that the students overall improved their scores from the beginning tests to the later tests. However, there were some drops in test scores at various points. Some students started steady, dropped in scores for a couple of tests and then rallied their scores at the end. These drop in scores could be from plain old burnout or could mean that I need to change the way I prepared those students for those particular tests. This is the kind of helpful information that can be drawn from spreadsheets and the charts that in can produce.

Another feature illustrated in the spreadsheet is standard deviation. This allows you to look at the information beyond averages. It can show you how far scores may be from the average. In this set of information it allows me to see that many of the tests show similar deviation and most are not falling too far from the average.

Skype!

I used skype for the first time tonight. Every time I had used it before it was because someone else had it set up and I just joined in on the conversation on their computer. It was great to finally get my own account set up. It is a great way to stay connected with family and friends, or even colleagues. It is like chat taken to a whole new level!

Catch Video Presentation - Ed Tech

Online Video Converter is easy to learn and easy to use. It allows you to take videos from virtually anywhere online and convert them so they are compatible for use on your own computer.

It took roughly an hour of trial and error to virtually perfect the process of using the converter and trying out its different features.

The Video Converter has many possible applications for educators including enhancing lessons by being able to present videos in class, and being able to create your own "video library" for use with teaching specific content.