Spreadsheet on Excel

I cannot believe the amount of problems I had with this assignment. I remember using Excel in middle school, and it is safe to say that it did not stick with me. I was only able to accomplish the first steps of copy and paste before I had to call in reinforcements. Thanks Meghan! Through reinforcements and trial and error I was able to create my spreadsheet.

In the beginning the concept of "Insert/Function" was completely lost to me. However, once it was explained to me I realized what a great tool this was. There were so many possibilities  Dates, times, sums, products, sin, tan. ect. I could not believe that there were so many shortcuts. I do not think I was taught this in middle school! Math is can be easily messed up just by the simple mistake of hitting a wrong button or using a wrong number. "Insert/Function" takes away many of the variables that can cause a mistake. Everything you type is clearly in front of you and when using big numbers, it is a significantly faster to use this shortcut.

I had to draw back on my middle school memory to remember how to make a chart. This process entailed me looking up a YouTube video. Once I saw the first steps in the video I quickly remembered the process.

I used the inquiry based approach by attempting to draw back on my prior knowledge of Excel. Once I got the hang of the program I started to wonder how the different functions worked. I began experimenting and found that if I did not put in the function right an error would occur. In order to use the functions you have to know what you are doing. This is good because it helps insure that your information is right.

Inquiry Questions:
Plan your dream vacation, and create a budget

What will your expenses be?
Create a chart to represent your data, which chart would be the best?
In what ways would creating a budget on Excel be helpful?

Movie Making

For my unit plan I students are expected to see and demonstrate patterns within the world. The content area for the movie is science. Students must be able to recognize patterns between environments through living and nonliving organisms. The video I created will be used as an anticipatory set which will introduce the content unit to the students. At the end of the unit students will be expected to create their own video demonstrating their knowledge.

I am not surprised to say that making the movie was a bit of a challenge. It took a while for me to decide exactly what I wanted to include in the footage. Once I started filming however, I began to see so many possibilities. At first I attempted to talk in the clips but soon realized that I could not say everything I wanted to say in only a few seconds. This was especially hard knowing that the video needed to be only a minute long. I realized I elaborate A LOT! I decided that I could always figure out how to shorten the video clips so I filmed in sections allowing me to select the best parts. (You can always cut out footage, but it is impossible to add in footage you did not film.)

Deciding weather or not to keep the original audio or insert a voice recording was my next decision. I found that what was previously recorded did not get my whole message across, in three seconds. I used the sound recorder on my computer to overlay on the video.

Though the art of movie making is new to me, I feel that with more practice I will be able to execute my initial plan very well. I see great potential for future use in my classroom.

S.K.