The website I chose to critique is Once Wed a blog style site about creative and unique weddings. The website has a very simple and assethitcally pleasing design. The colors are muted and consistent. The layout is simple with all links on the top bar, posts with images to the left and advertisements and links to wedding photographers, jewelers, designers, etc. This layout is consistent with every link that you follow. The font and colors are attractive and simple. The links always remain at the top so it's easy to navigate back and forth through the pages.
Some of the biggest advantages of using presentation software would be creating a more diverse learning experience; making it visual as well as auditory. It would provide you with more resources to show and explain lessons and concepts. One of the biggest disadvantages is the struggle to stay current. Technology is forever changing and it can become a difficult and expensive task to remain abreast of current technology.
Power point helps both the teacher and student stay on track with what is being discussed. A power point with bullet points can help a student in keeping track and taking notes on a more complicated lesson. With power point you can also go back to older slides in case there was anything your student needed to see again. If you were teaching a lesson on the Civil war you could use a chart on power point to demonstrate time line or to link people with events. This gives the students something visual to help the information to stick.
1.) Concept maps are a great way to help students grasp a concept. They are especially helpful when it comes to studying. It's a great way to break down information and see how it all connects together. Programs like Inspiration are good tools for students to learn how to make colorful and easy to follow concept maps. There is also something to bed said for doing this free hand however. As a student myself writing things free hand definitely helps cement it into my head. So I would teach students how to first brainstorm with a free hand concept map, and then set it into order by using a program like inspiration.
2.) Like I said before mapping things out can be a great way to better grasp a subject and really implant it into your brain. I love the idea of using story boards. I would like to someday teach writing courses, and story boarding is definitely helpful in this aspect. It's great to get your ideas out of your head and in some visible order before actual starting on a project or story.
3.) Learning how to use MS word more fluently has definitely been helpful already. Also, learning some good tips on evaluating the content of a web page will definitely be helpful in the future when looking for sources to beef up lessons.
