Using Microsoft Word and Excel

I had to be very creative deciding what to write in my reflections this week. It was hard to incorporate computer programs made for older people to my teaching as an Elementary school teacher. But the challenge made me creative and therefore have better ideas for their use in my classroom.

I have concluded that these programs can be very beneficial for both myself and my students. Microsoft Word can help my younger students write small papers for English and have fun with the typing style,size functions and add pictures if they choose to. This will make my students assignments more enjoyable. I can also use this function to make my class outlines and goals, in a graph by days of the week with assignments.Which will make my teaching easier during the school year.


Also i could use Microsoft Word as a means for all my students K-6th grade as their first assignment of the school year,to find 5 pictures they think describes them on the Internet; like their favorite food, animal, color or something unique about them. For the older students i could make it more difficult by asking them to write something deeper about themselves with their pictures. I can then have my students e-mail me the assignment using g-mail or yahoo with the students name. During the course of the school year i will spotlight students at the beginning of class to connect them with their classmates.I could even make a spotlight of myself for the first class to create an example of the assignment and introduce myself to my students. This assignment will create a fun environment in my classroom and allow my students to use technology to complete it.

Excel is also a beneficial tool to use in my classroom. I can use it with my younger students probably k-2 grade for a math lesson on percentages. I could incorporate the pie charts to make math fun by using percentages with examples that relate to my students, such as their favorite cartoon. Excel can be beneficial for me as a teacher to keep track of my students grades and their homework assignments instead of using paper. I could also use it to evaluate my students understanding of certain concepts i am teaching by using their scores from pre-tests and tests to create a class percentage using the pie charts and bar graphs function of Excel as a way to tell what concepts my students need further help comprehending.

As hard as it was to write this Reflection it forced me to be creative in my use of these programs for my classroom. Which in my opinion is what teaching is all about. Being able to take a subject that not everyone will enjoy learning and making it fun.