Blog 1

I do have some previous experience using technology. I took the computer literacy course here at FSU in which we used SAM on a daily basis. I earned an A- in the course so I did acquire considerable knowledge and skill in the programs. I have used Microsoft Word and PowerPoint regularly since middle school and feel I am fairly compotent in using both of them. I have used Excel only minimally and hope to gain in my profiecency in this area.

I hope to further advance my skills in Word and PowerPoint and also gain a better understanding of Excel. The "Inspiration" program is completely novel to me so I am interested in finding out what it is all about. I would like to learn some "do's and don'ts" regarding what visually appeals to students and what will most facilitate their learning. I would like to gain and overall understanding of how to best use technology to my advantage in enhancing a lecture and as an instruction tool.

Today I learned I have a moderate preference for reflective learning. I learned that pausing after reading a few pages to think about the material or even writing a short summary of what I read can really facilitate my comprehension. I am balanced between a sensing and intuitive learner. I have a strong verbal learning preference, which was surprising to me as I know it is not the norm, but made sense the more I thought about it. It seems college courses are structured in my favor and that written summaries will also be helpful in this regard. I also have a moderate preference for global learning. This explains why the "chapter overviews" found at the end of chapters in many textbooks seem to make so much sense to me! The site encouraged me to overview the entire chapter or section first, as it will help all the smaller details make sense.