Post #3

In my classroom, which would most likely be middle school Language Arts, I would assemble a daily lesson plan that incorporated the use of Power Point, Inspiration9, and Word. I would begin the day with a handout made in Word on the day's topic. The handout would include new information as well as review questions; the students could refer back to these handouts when studying for a test. I would then give a lecture aided by a Power Point presentation. Within the Power Point I would include videos, interactive games, animations and pictures all surrounding the day's topic so that the students would not grow bored. Then, I would follow the lecture with a flow chart or outline designed in Inspiration9 that included fill-in-the-blanks as a review of the day's lecture. The remainder of the class would be dedicated to group discussion and activities.

For my website critique I chose a blog about cakes that have been horribly decorated, CakeWrecks.com. I feel that this site is very well designed. It employs the multimedia principle and uses well justified text to notify where the reader is on the site. There is only one type style accentuated by a limited amount of colors that have become the CakeWrecks standard; I have been viewing this site for over a year and the colors remain to be blue, white, and orange. Within every blog post, there are multiple pictures with hilarious captions and there is nothing on the page to distract you from the purpose except a few ads along the edges. The author of this blog is very in touch with her audience and does book tours frequently after posting the dates and locations on the blog. Overall this page is well designed and easy to navigate.

I haven't really had any experience with copyrighted material in school before. I suppose I have watched copyrighted videos or read copyrighted books but there has never been a problem associated with them. However, I would avoid problems with fair use in my classroom by always giving credit where it's due. For example, if I borrowed a Power Point from another teacher or found it online, I would just add a line on the title page stating where it came from and that it is not my original idea but, I will strive to create my own lessons from scratch. Within these lessons I will include a column along the right side of each page to notify students of where exactly the information came from. For example, if we were covering The Great Gatsby, I would refer to the chapter, page and location on the page (top, middle, or bottom). As for students, I will instruct them how to properly cite their work at the very beginning of the year and provide them with handouts of examples and thorough directions for the future. Of course, if my students needed any additional instruction I would be there.