Blog Journal 9 

This year for EME2040 I was in an asynchronous section. After doing school completely online last year I thought this year would be easy doing both online and in-person classes. However, now what I know what a regular in-person class is like I definitely would choose in-person classes over everything else. In an in-person class everything is easier. Connecting with your teacher and classmates, group projects, and overall engagement in a class. If I could go back to last year and change my schedule for this year, I would have chosen to be in an in person setting for this class!

Open educational resources are a way around a flawed educational system! OER's offer extra aid and updated resources for students in areas that aren't receiving the best education and/or may have disadvantages in life that put a pause on their educational growth. The article below looks at the positives and possible pushbacks of OER's from a forum of people who examined this new way of education.

Open Educational Resources Article

I have learned a lot about PowerPoint this year through projects. My "best friend" when it comes to PowerPoint is the design lab that pops up on the right-hand side. It takes a regular power point and gives each slide an updated look to take the presentation to the next level. This project, like most projects, had some challenging elements. I think for this project, each step was pretty clear in the videos, but I don't think they always are. However, I did like the overall assignment. Creating PowerPoint lessons will be a necessary skill in the future!

Blog Journal 8

 Blog Journal 8 

I enjoyed this assignment! I like having complete control over bigger projects like this. Weebly is a really easy to use website and the assignment itself was pretty fun. I learned what can/should go into a class website in the future and I learned how helpful a class website can be for students and parents! Through this assignment I learned how to incorporate other resources into a website like a Google Calendar. 

https://tiaeme2040.weebly.com

Diigo was okay. I can see how it is useful when trying to pull multiple resources and put them in one place. In a classroom setting, a teacher could use this resource for bigger projects where students have to compile a list of multiple works. Diigo would also work well in a group setting because it allows several people to pull information in one common space!

As a teacher, keeping up with the latest educational technology is incredibly important. Online resources are constantly evolving and increasing. Introducing students to current technology not only sets them up for success but it also helps them adapt to a fast-paced society that is centered around technology. It also encourages students to go out and find resources themselves in the real world. 

https://powergistics.com/education-technology-trends/

Blog Journal 7

 Blog Journal 7

I really enjoyed creating a class website! I think they can provide a plethora of valuable information about upcoming events in a classroom and school. The class website I found divides their students into classes. I chose class one. From there I was able to see a brief description of the objectives in each subject, coursework, and helpful materials for the class. The website also provides links to their other pages including a home page, "About us" page, information, events, parents, and children page that all provide resources that and valuable information that a student and/or parent will need!

Technology is a handy tool that can benefit teachers along with students! As a teacher I would utilize online organization tools that will help me stay on track for the school year. One resource that I have found useful this year is Trello. Trello is an organizational tool that allows you or a team to collaborate and organize upcoming events. This would not only come in handy for creating lesson plans and tracking student progress, but a teacher could also create a collaborative board full of deadlines and share it to the students to keep them all on track!

I did not like PB Works. It took my team a really long time to figure it out and I feel like there are better and easier platforms out there that would have accomplished the same thing. I would not use that platform in the future. If I gave out a website assignment, I would probably use something like Weebly which is a lot easier to understand. 

Blog Journal 6 

If I'm being honest, I don't love Diigo. I think the resource is cool for a strictly English or language arts purpose but the way that Diigo looks if cluttered and confusing in my opinion. However, if I had an online textbook and needed to highlight certain important topics, I would definitely use Diigo for that! I just don't like it in a classroom setting especially if I need to find my own work in a class group.

 

I actually found that I love blogging for a class. I like the freedom to express my opinions about the subject matter and see my other classmates takes on similar material. However, I will say that a discussion section on Canvas does the same thing that this does. A lot of my classes in the past have utilized the discussion section in Canvas and it is a lot easier having a lot of my coursework be in one place versus using a bunch of different platforms.

 

I've come to really enjoy web 2.0 tools that allow students to connect and share virtually. One online program that helps this platform is Edmodo. Edmodo is a website where a teacher and students can connect to share ideas, opinions, and other resources online. It also allows the teacher to track student success and allow feedback.

https://new.edmodo.com/

 Blog Journal 4 

I chose standard LAFS.1.W.2.6 for first grade students in ELA. The goal of this standard is to have first graders be able to effectively create and finalize an article of writing with online tools with the assistance of an adult by themselves and with their peers. I would say right now I would have to familiarize myself with the digital tools needed to achieve this standard. The standard highlights online resources like StoryJumper and Pixlr. I have never seen or used these resources before but if I had time to familiarize myself with them, I would be able to assist students in achieving this standard.

 

The CPALMS website provided a lot of useful resources and lesson plans. One that I found particularly interesting was call The Best Pet. This was an easy to follow, interactive video that discussed fact vs. opinion, and problem solving using supporting details. By the end of the video the student gets to decide what kind of pet the children should get. I would assign this program to students because it offers clear and informative information. It is also incredibly relatable for young students. The two characters were children debating a topic that is familiar to children.

 

 Being a proficient Internet searcher as a teacher is incredibly important because as an educator it is your job to research and find new technologies that can help your student's success. Of the internet searching skills that we have used this week; I would use advance google search again. Before this week, I never used the advanced search. The closest thing I got to it was google scholar. The advance search is a great tool to find specific knowledge on your topic and can definitely come in handy as an educator in the future!

 Blog Journal 5 

I have only recently started to use Twitter. I got the account for my advertising job but that specific platform was taken over by someone else so my knowledge in it is limited. However, that page is used to give out information on events and attract reactions from people. Twitter is a great branding platform that can come in handy in your future career!

 

The digital divide can play a significant role in student success and effective learning. Without access to a computer in a world that is constantly evolving in technology a student may miss out on great resources. A cause of the digital divide can include poverty and class among other things. As a future teacher, I assume technology will be prominent in my classroom. For students without access to technology I will come up with other ways to engage and prepare every student.

                                 Photo of Man Standing in the Middle of the Crownd by Cottonbro 

                                                                         on Pexels

Two educational technologies that I would utilize includes an overall classroom tool like google classroom and a study tool like kahoot. I have used both in my past classrooms and I know it has proved to be effective to students. google classroom is kind of like canvas where you can clearly list out assignments and upcoming quizzes. Kahoot is a website that teachers use as a practice tool for students.

 

Personally, I love badges in education. In school, especially elementary, we would receive rewards as a reinforcement for positive behavior. "Badges" for us would be candy, an extra A on our report cards, or anything to incentivize us to do well.

 Blog Journal 3

Copyright is a restriction that is placed on certain works. Most teacher understand and even appreciate copyright to an extent. However, most teachers are confused about the limit at which copy right is put into place. Because of this, teacher may neglect certain techniques that could be useful in a classroom setting because of the fear of copyright. Fair use aids some flexibility when it comes to certain copy right laws. In the future to avoid issues, doing research on the material to ensure copyright laws are not broken will be important.

 Lack of funding has been a decades long issue that, in all honesty, I don't expect to be fixed in the near future. Working with what you have is really all you can do. Finding solutions and techniques that don't include technology but are still effective could be a good solution. The amazing thing about technology is that there are several platforms out there. If I as a teacher see decreased productivity, then the technological strategies need to be changed to possibly get a better outcome.

 I absolutely LOVED Canva! I have never used it before or even heard of it. I was incredibly easy to use, and I really appreciate how I was allowed me to change the look and create what I wanted. In the future I could be more classroom specific rather than events that could apply to the whole school.