Blog Post 10!!

As a teacher, data collection will be very helpful in my classroom. It can be used to keep a back up of all my students grades in case the grade site (i.e. blackboard) was to crash. It also makes it very easy to compute the averages, medians, and modes of students grades and test grades. 

Throughout the semester, I have learned a lot form reading my peers blogs. Some of the topics I found most interesting were how to keep students safe when using technology in the classroom, different forms of tech to use in the classroom, and how everyone would implement the technology differently. 

There is so many new technological things I would like to learn more about. The main one would probably be the smart board. I think it is such a great, versatile tool to have in the classroom. There are so many aspects to it that would excel my classroom and teaching to the next level.

Blog Post 8!!

A powerpoint is a very useful tool in the classroom. In the terms of Blooms Taxonomy, powerpoint would be most useful at the remember and understand levels. You can use it to recall facts and basic concepts (to define certain terms or state topics). It can also be used to explain new ideas or concepts. 

International Society for Technology in Education

This site is great for keeping up to date on the latest trends going on in the educational technology world.

Blog Post 7!!

Adaptive technologies are any products or devices that are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. There are many different forms of adaptive technologies based on what the person’s disability is. At my high school, there was a boy I knew who had some form of aspergers and because of this he was able to use a tablet to take notes and do his work. Some issues with adaptive technology may be that they’re to expensive for the student with a disability to have.  Another challenge may be that the technology could be extremely distracting to other students. 

I was actually very apprehensive about the Web Page design assignment. I had never created something like this before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Making the website was not at all difficult. It was actually very fun and easy. I learned to how to create different pages for information and how to hyperlink url’s. Since it was my first time doing it, It wasn’t the best it could be. Next time it’ll have a lot more text since I’ll be more familiar with weebly. This will be an essential tool for me when I become a teacher.

bellajackson2040.weebly.com

I’ve learned a lot from our Diigo activities. I learned how to annotate and bookmark articles, and use tags on them so others can find them. This will be helpful when I’m a teacher because its easy access for links that I’ll need on a day to day basis. It’ll also be helpful for students to be able to annotate online articles and share them with their classmates.

Blog Post 6!!

The school website that I’m using is actually my AP Biology teachers website from my high school (H.B. Plant HS grades 10-12). The teacher, Mr. Tait, updated the website every day. He would record his lectures in class and upload them for students to view if they missed class that day or needed to rewatch for further clarification. He also uploaded materials needed for class scubas study guides for upcoming tests and instructions for labs and homework. This was a great asset to me in this class. It has also been very handy in college for my biology class because all of his lectures are still available and relevant in my current class. http://plantlectures.com/taitr/

There are many different technologies that will help me succeed in my teaching career. I will definitely be using grading technologies. I will be utilizing a teacher website. After seeing the great effects it had on me when I was in school, I think it will give my students all the extra tools they need will need to do great in school. 

Although I had some digital whiteboards in my school, teachers rarely used them the way they are supposed to be used (mainly as a projector). This is why the whiteboards especially interested me. There are so many more features than I knew that could really take my classroom and teaching to the next level. I thought the ability to play games on them were very cool. My favorite part of the smart board was the 3D feature when looking at certain things, like the inside of the fish they showed us. This could really peak students interests because it is something so different and not normally used in classrooms.

ILP "Design" - Prezi!!

For my ILP project, I decided to do something from the design category. I created a Prezi which is similar to a powerpoint. It allowed me to choose from multiple fun templates that grab your attention. It is customizable and extremely easy to use, even for those not technologically inclined. You can add text and inset pictures. My Prezi is a brief history of psychology, describing the five major theoretical frameworks that have guided psychology's history.

https://prezi.com/gwp2gyanxfwc/a-brief-history-of-psychology/

Blog Post 5!!

Web 2.0 tools can be extremely useful to teachers when doing different activities. The two Web 2.0 tools that I liked and would use in a classroom are blogs and Twitter. Blogs allow for a teacher to post their lesson plans for that day for students, videos that go along with what they are learning, or updates for parents. Twitter is also good because the teacher can post questions about certain topics and get immediate responses from students. With twitters, you just have to make sure the students are constantly on task.

An interesting web 2.0 tool that I might use in my classroom would be Prezi. Prezi is a website where you can create amazing presentations easily. You can easily add visuals to enhance the presentations. They are so easy to make. 

https://prezi.com

I think MOOCs hold the biggest promise for education. I think this because they are open-content, open-access online learning opportunities that are available to anyone. You can use them anywhere and they are free. This allows people who may not be able to afford college to expand their knowledge and make themselves better applicants for jobs.

Blog Post 4!!

I’ve thoroughly been enjoying the twitter assignment. It hasn’t been as bad as I thought it might be. I generally use it to retweet the articles on education that I find fascinating. I also like seeing what everyone else in the classes is responding to or retweeting. I want to teach either first or second grade, so a twitter could be handy in keeping parents updated on the go. It takes only a few short seconds to write and send a tweet, so it gives parents the chance to see whats happening at that exact moment. 

The Digital Divide is the divide between people who have access to technology and those who do not. Some students do not have access to the technology used in the classroom because maybe they live in very rural areas where there is no internet or their families can not afford said technology. This can affect those students because they may not be as proficient in using these technologies as much as the students who have access to technology at home. The digital divide was more prominent when I was in high school and in the future I believe it will dissipate as technology because more and more prominent in classrooms. 

I’m hoping to teach either first or second grade in the future. I don’t think I would use softwares like word for them since they are still young. I would most likely use educational games and interactive reading book on a tablet to get them interested in learning and using the technology.

Blog Post 3!!

I feel like I’d be able to teach a few different standards in a classroom. The one I’d feel most comfortable with teaching would be “SL.5 “Use Digital Media””. This standard can be used in grades 2 to 12. It focuses on using digital media and visual displays of data to express information. I feel like this is a important standard to teach because it sets the standard of what kind of tech you can be using in the classroom based on grade.

Technology is going to be a very big factor in my future classroom. I’d like to incorporate it in every aspect of the classroom. I’d like to teach either first or second grade. I’ll definitely be using powerpoint to teach topics because it gives the students a visual to remember. I’d also like to use fun games like Kahoot! to really get them excited about learning. I’d also use technology as a reward for students. If students performed well on a test, had good behavior, or finished their assignment early, I’d allow them to play educational games on an iPad or read a book on a tablet. 

I actually found myself really enjoying the Newsletter assignment. I thought it would be a quick easy assignment that I could bust out in 20 minutes, but I probably spent closer to an hour trying to make it as perfect and pretty as possible. Newsletters are going to be very important as a teacher to keep parents informed on whats happening in the classroom when they aren’t there. I found myself learning a lot of new skills on Word while completing this assignment. 

Blog Post 2!!

Throughout my student career, Microsoft Word has been present. I remember using it in elementary school (with the help of my parents of course). MS Word is a great tool. I’ve used it a variety of different ways, whether it be to write an essay analyzing a book read in english, or to present the information I gathered in a lab. As a teacher, I couldn’t imagine not using MS Word. My teachers used it for everything: study guides, news letters for parents, worksheets, and tests.

From the very beginning, I remember being told about plagiarism, copyright and fair use of materials. My teachers constantly checked to make sure your work was your own and that you were correctly citing those sources thats weren’t yours. As a teacher, I would constantly be reminding my students of the rights and wrongs of copyright and fair use. 

Three things that I would make sure do not occur in my classroom are cyberbullying, cyber stalking, and sexting. I’ve known far too many people who were cyberbullied and its just not ok. I also know many people who sexted and it caused them great trouble like cyber bullying or explosion from their school. I would make sure my classroom is a friendly, safe environment for students to use technology. I would always be monitoring what they are doing and making sure they are on task and doing what they are supposed to. 

EME 2040 Twitter!!

@bella_jackson17

Blog Post 1!!

In todays society, technology is everywhere, spanning from business use, to home use, even to a classroom. Implementing use of technology into classrooms opens a variety of doors for not only students, but also teachers. If used correctly, technology can be extremely engaging. Students can use technology to read books when done with work or study a set of notecards on Quizlet for an upcoming test. Technology is useful for teachers because it allows for fun, memorable review sessions using Kahoot!, direct contact to parents, and even easier access to grades or updates on students. 

The International Society for Technology in Education (ITSE) is the applied set of technology standards for students and teachers. The standard that really stood out to me was the first one, to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. I believe creativity in children is exceptionally important. Creativity allows your mind to be free and think of new ways to do things. There are so many ways to inspire creativity with the use of technology. The standard that is a bit out of my comfort zone is the third one, model digital age work and learning. This is out of my comfort zone because I’m not a master of all the technology a teacher uses on a daily basis in the classroom.

I agree completely with the labeling of today’s youth as “digital natives”. This just means that the children of today do not live without technology, they spend most of their days connected to it in some form. I have experienced teachers who have been digital immigrants and teachers that have been digital natives. Those who were digital immigrants struggled with technology and would give up when they couldn’t figure it out. This led the class to be less engaged because we were being talked at instead. Those teachers who were digital natives led a very engaged class that made me always wanting more. I believe the students of the future will have a much more engaged learning experience starting at a young age compared to my learning experience, when technology was introduced when I was almost done with school. This will cause them to be more excited about learning and going to school.

Blog Set Up!!

I'd say my skill level with technology is about a 5 or 6. I'm an avid social media user (instagram, twitter, facebook, etc.) and have been using it since I was around 12. Also, in high school, I was an editor on the yearbook staff for two years which required me to learn how to use Indesign, Photoshop, and Light room.

I'm hoping that this class will educate me more about technology. I really want to learn what are the best ways to incorporate it into a classroom are and what the advantages are for students by utilizing technology in a classroom.I'm excited to see what this class has to offer.

I learned that I am an reflective learner meaning that I have to stop and think about what I am learning about. I am a sensing learner so I learn better if I connect things to the real world. I am a visual learner, which I have know for a while. I learn much better from sketches and diagrams rather than just spoken or written word.