Technology Final Project

Ms. Knudtson Fitness Calendar
Technology in Education

First, of all I am so glad that I choose to do a web based calendar as my technology assignment. A web-based calendar is a calendar that can be created online, posted to a Web page, and easily updated when necessary. The idea of a web based calendar from a teacher stand point help can be used to organize assignments, track project due dates, schedule, and remind you and students when things are due. For this project the web program that I choose to use was called Web Cal Plus Calendar, mainly because it had a free trial.

In order to do this project I had to download Web Cal Plus onto my lap top. Through trial and error and some tutorials I learned what it takes to create a web based interactive calendar. I learned how to change calendar settings, edit and delete entries, add entries, and view calendar. I also learned how to make the calendar information available on the internet even though it did not turn out the way that I would have like. For some reason our school server and the program that I used did not format correctly. I did learn for the future how to upload things on to the server and if things would have gone according to plan to do this you first have to choose “publish calendar,” specifying the starting and ending month/year, (for me just December), and click “create.” An HTML is then created on my computer in the Web Cal Plus folder for the calendar that you have published. I then would have upload this folder from my Web Cal Plus folder and put it on a school website on the internet with an FTP software, and make a link to the calendar on the homepage. I did get a form of my calendar on the server but it did not have my background and many of my pictures did not load making it look not a pretty as it originally did. After doing this project I would definitely not use this calendar program again unless I could figure out a better way to place it on the internet for other to view.

After doing this project I know that this is something that I would like to incorporate into my classroom, and the great thing is I know how to do it. One of the things that I learned when doing this project is the HTML code is very confusing and one change to it can change the whole layout of the web page. Another thing that I learned was how to import pictures and have them be a link to another website, making my calendar very view friendly. I also, learned how to change the layout of a webpage and put in my desired background. I did not find all these things out on my own, but after watching many tutorials I was able to figure them out.

The web calendar that I used had many great features. One of these of these was that I could use a picture to symbolize a family event or girls basketball game and the person viewing the calendar could just take their curser over the activity and see what the activity was and if they wanted more information they could click on the symbol and it would open up another page that gave specific details of the activity. Another feature that I liked was when a student or parent wanted to view an event it took takes to another page to give the explicit details of that activity. I liked this because it gave me the option as a teacher to have the assignment on the calendar but giver further in depth detail of the assignment on another page, leaving me not to not to crowd everything into a tinny little window. Another feature that I utilized was having every activity link to the original website in which I found the information or the activity. Another cool feature that this program had was that you could import a Google map into the calendar activity. I used this tool in order to give directions to basketball games. I though this would be a great tool for new student drivers who don’t know directions very well. I also, utilized my fitness logo at the top of the calendar to link to a Wiki sign-up page where students can sign-up for events and hopefully get involved with other fellow students.

After finishing this assignment I felt as though I had pretty well mastered the calendar creating software and its features but feel as though my ability to but it on a server for others to view is still iffy. I don’t really know if it was my fault as to why I couldn’t get it on the server or due to the program and server compatibilities for my calendar not being on the server in the complete format.

To conclude there “So much to do, so little time,” but fortunately or unfortunately, technology cannot extend our work day, but it can help us and our students organize and be on time. That is why I feel as though adopting a web based calendar like Web Cal Plus in the classroom makes sense for many reasons. Beyond the obvious benefit of keeping everyone informed of upcoming events, the use of web based calendars at school can encourage teachers to overcome their fears that they may have of technology and increase their overall computer literacy. By helping teacher use their computer as an essential tool in their daily routines, web based calendars can promote the process of technology integration in the classroom that, in the end, can result in enhanced student learning.