Week Fifteen Course Wrap Up/Final Evaluations

This week was our final class meeting. I am sad to see that this class is over because I really enjoyed learning about the different technologies that are out there! In class this week, we discussed our final project. I am once again excited to get started in this because for the project, I will be writing a mock cover letter that shows how the skills that I have learned in this class relate to a potential job. I think that this will give be experience and I plan to actually write the cover letter for a legit job and apply and everything and see how it goes, so it should be very interesting.

I think that writing cover letters will definitely be something that I have to do when it comes time for me to start looking for a job, so I think that the project that we talked about this week will definitely help me out in the long run as it will give a chance to practice without pressure!

This is a link to a website that I found using Yahoo that shows the format of a cover letter. This website will definitely help me with my final project for this class because it will show me how I should format my letter.

Week Fourteen Using Games for Teaching and Learning

This week in class, we talked how games could be used for teaching and learning. We also discussed second life. I definitely agree with the need for educational games because I think that they are a great means for both teaching and learning, however I don't really understand the need for second life. It seems kind of weird to me and from my understanding it's kind of like a 'real' version of the Sims if that makes sense. However, I think that programs like second life definitely take the virtual world too far and I think that they make it very easy to get caught up in the virtual instead of the reality.

I think that the stuff that I learned about educational games definitely applies to my major. I plan to use educational games in my classroom as a teacher because I remember playing them when I was younger and I think that they are a great resource.

Here is a link to an article that I found on Yahoo that describes some of the benefits of educational games. I think that this is a great resource because it makes a great case for the use of educational games in the classroom.

Week Twelve Creating a Professional Web Presence

This week we watched a tutorial on Google Sites. Prior to watching the video, I had thought that creating a web site would be very hard and that there was no way I could do it! However, I was surprised to see just how simple it really was. It took me actually making my Google Site to believe that it was super easy because even after I watched the video I was like there is no way that it can be that easy...but it was. I really enjoyed creating my site and making a web presence for myslef!

I think that my web site that I created for the web presence project will definitely help me when I start applying for jobs. The web site will allow me to show employers things that I have done that won't fit on a resume. Additionally, the web site allows me to showcase that I am ready and willing to be a 21st century worker and take advantage of all of the new technologies that are available to me!

This article that I found using Yahoo describes the benefits of having a professional personal website.