Week 5: Personalities

I enjoyed taking the personality test, I never thought of myself as a Duty Fulfiller. I do believe that the different personalities that everyone has gives them different learning styles. Some people, like me, tend to work toward perfection and are usually hard on themselves when something goes wrong. While others still try hard, but they don't try and grab perfection.

I think that the personality test that I took will help me understand my students better. I know that each person is different, which means that we learn differently. I will still grade everyone equally, but I can now see that some students just don't feel the need to work as hard as others. That still doesn't excuse them from not doing the work that will be assigned.

April Brown

Week 4: Thoughts on Excel

I am more use to using Microsoft Word, but I enjoy using Excel. I really liked what I learned this week in class, some of the things I didn't know or didn't remember. It was nice to have a refresher course in Excel. I can see me using this in my classroom, especially when I am calculating grades.

Teachers use the Spreadsheet for their gradbook, it is an easy way to keep up with grades, and calculate them. I can see myself using Spreadsheet rather than the calculator, because the Spreadsheets can calculate averages simlutaneously. This helps save time for teachers, so they can get back to planning lessons and getting ready to teach. I like all the primary functions of a Spreadsheet. It is an organized way to store information, and as I have already said it helps teachers calculate grades at the end of the semester, and for business it is an easy way to look at a lot of information by using the graph and charts. I cannot think of anything else that the spreadsheet can be used for because I think those three cover everything.

April Brown

Inspiration Discussion

I enjoyed the Inspiration video, it was very helpful in teaching how to use the software. It even showed how teachers can use this in the classroom. As an English/ Secondary Education major I can see several reasons why teachers would use the Inspiration software in their classrooms. I would use the Inspiration software in my classroom so that it can be easier on the students to start their writing assignments. I would have them do a diagram, or an outline so that they can brainstorm and put their thoughts together. Also, I know from experience that the first words a person puts on a paper are the hardest to find. Maybe if the students had a way to organize their thoughts, before they started to write, they would be able to start a paper without a problem. In using this software in my classroom, maybe my student's papers will be more organized and thought out instead of the first thing they put on paper. I really believe the Inspiration software should be added to every schools lesson plans.


When I finish college I am planning to be an English teacher, so technology plays an important role in my lesson plan. The main way I plan to use techonology is with essays. All of my students essays are going to be typed, but I also plan to have a blog with daily writing assignments, such as journals, and short writing prompts. This is suppose to promote students to start thinking and to help them with their writing skills. I will also have the student's classmates comment on the different entries so that they will know exactly where they need to improve. As my teaching time is limited, and I do not have the time to look at their essays twice I will have my students do peer review. Sometimes this might be in class, or they will upload their essays onto the blog and their classmates will read and revise their essays. This way it saves me some teaching time, and this can also help the students with their writing skills. In recalling the last time I had to teach a class, I remember I did not know the material very well. I was nervous because I did not think I was going to get the idea across to the class. Once, I was finished they knew the material and I knew the lesson better as well. This is usually how things happen for me, reinforcing a certain area of a lesson helps me to understand exactly what is being taught.