Blog Journal #11

     As this course comes to an end, I hope to continue to learn more technology-related skills that I can utilize in my future classroom. Some types of technology skills I hope to learn more about include more interactive ways of teaching, innovative ways to use a SmartBoard for teaching, and different ways of organizing class information, lessons, and resources for my students online. I believe all of these skills will not only help me grow in experience as a teacher in our technology filled world, but it will also help me to better educate my students and allow them to gain knowledge on how to use technology in a productive way. I plan on achieving this by doing my own research and continuing to observe classrooms that utilize technology daily. I believe I think best when I am able to observe something in front of me and interact hands-on, so continuing to observe different classrooms will be the best way for me to learn more technology-related skills. 

Check out my comments on Gabi's and Minnie's Blog Post #10!

Blog Journal #10

     Professional development describes the kind of lifelong learning that teachers engage in. The world around us is constantly changing and so should the way we educate. As I begin working on technology professional development as a new teacher, I will first focus on adapting a routine and discovering diverse teaching methods that will enhance my students education. Teachers can learn a lot from other teachers, and technology has made it easier to share those ways more easily. I believe using the Internet to find new and innovative ways of teaching will help me grow as a teacher and give my students a more enriched learning experience.

     Through the PowerPoint assignments I was able to learn how to create a non-linear presentation and implement navigation buttons into a PowerPoint presentation, which I did not know how to do before. I was also able to learn how to make my own PowerPoint show for the first time, which can be a helpful tool used for the “Flipped Classroom” method we learned about last week. I like creating PowerPoints because you can personalize it in so many ways and make it interactive. I ran into some technological issues when it came to creating a PowerPoint show and having to record my voice for each slide, but eventually it was fixed. Attached below are images of my PowerPoint presentations.

Check out my comments on Sierra's and Madison's Blog Post #9! 

Blog Journal #9

     “The Flipped Classroom” approach is a modern approach to teaching and giving instruction. This model flips the traditional lesson and instruction during class time with traditional homework. Instead, students learn at home through online coursework and instructional videos, and teachers use class time for more teacher-guided practice or projects. This model enables teachers to use class time for more than just delivering traditional lectures, leaving more time for additional practice. This benefits the student in that it allows for them to learn materials at their own pace, as well as having the teacher present when they are applying knowledge.

     The digital divide discusses the gap between people who do and do not have access to technology or Internet. This disparity of access effects student’s success by lack of knowledge and skills that these technologies provide. This divide creates a disparity between students because those with access to Internet and technology are seen to be at an advantage for success. As a teacher, I could experience a situation in which a student does not have access to technology or Internet out of school. In this situation, I would work my teaching strategies around this possible disparity by giving students time to utilize school computers and Internet access when required.

     Through the PowerPoint assignments I was able to learn how to create a non-linear presentation and implement the navigation buttons in PowerPoint which I did not know how to do before. I was also able to learn how to make my own PowerPoint show for the first time. Attached below are images of my PowerPoint presentations.

Check out my comments on Bailey's and Lucy's Blog Post #8!

Blog Journal #8

     Assistive and adaptive technologies help people with disabilities perform tasks with more independence and ease. They support learners who typically have trouble utilizing all the benefits of technology by allowing them to make learning, communicating, performing tasks using technologies more adaptable to their needs and more accessible. I have never personally used these technologies, but I have seen demonstrations of how they are used and how much they benefit those with disabilities. Some challenges I perceive of using adaptive technologies in my classroom is understanding how to use them properly and making sure that everyone who needs help is given access to the proper tool for their learning disability.

     I envision using technology in order to take my lessons and how I teach to the next level. I feel that technology allows for more interaction when learning and has the capability to allow students to learn and experience education at an advanced level. I plan on using technology when giving my lessons as well as organizing my class in the most efficient and effective way possible. I believe my professional responsibility as a teacher is to give my students all the tools they need to learn and succeed, and I believe that can be more than accomplished through utilizing the benefits of technology in education.

     As I mentioned before, technology in education allows for students to perform more interactive tasks to help them learn more effectively. WebQuests allows for an interactive learning experience regarding any subject or lesson. I enjoyed creating the WebQuest and designing the website with my own personal style. I also liked how organized I was able to make my information. Some of the steps to creating the WebQuest was tedious and it was also difficult to create the project for my WebQuest. Next time I’d like to improve by adding more questions and interactive elements to the assignment. Through the WebQuest, I learned how to design and organize a website successfully while also learning new and interactive alternatives for presenting and teaching a lesson. Below is a link and an image of my WebQuest website.

https://margauxfry17.wixsite.com/webquest

Check out my comments on Karla's and Gabi's Blog Post #7!

Blog Journal #7

     When looking at different school websites I came across Jackson Elementary School’s website which contains a list of links to multiple teacher pages and information about each of their classes. The school’s website has a Google login screen as well as a Teacher Portal that most likely gives access to more private information about students and teachers One that I came across was Mrs. Andrew’s teacher page for her 4th grade class. Some of the information that is shared publicly on this class website is the school bell schedule, classroom supply list, and a link to an external website called Jupiter Ed which is most likely used by the teachers to show grades online so parents can access them. Mrs. Andrew’s website also goes into more detail on information in regards to her class specifically. She goes over the curriculum and what each subject learning entails for her 4th grade class. She also goes over her expectations for her students in regards to what to bring to class each day, projects, and keeping up with homework assignments. Lastly, she has her grading and late work policy posted for her students to refer to.

     Through my experience and learning with this class, I believe I progress with each of my blog posts. In the beginning I was quite unfamiliar with blogging and how I should present information in each post. I believe this is because I am used to a more formal way of writing because I have been writing essays and research papers for many years now. I enjoy blogging because it is less formal and more focused on my opinion and point of view on the different things we are learning. I also believe it is enjoyable for me because I have a passion about education which is what this class and my blog revolves around. One thing I do not like about blogging is sometimes I don’t know how to start or how to finish a blog post, because there is nothing definitive that you have to do for a blog like you do for a discussion post or a research paper. During this blogging process, I have learned how to freely write and not follow a basic structure to everything, but still make it all coherent and easy to read.

     Through the Web Evaluation assignment we completed last week, I was able to acquire some new skills when it comes to searching the Internet for reliable sources. For example, I was able to see all the different ways in which a website can be looked at and evaluated. Through my past years of using websites as a resource for different things for academics, I was able to learn how to successfully find a useful and credible source through experience. I feel that a Web evaluation checklist is a helpful tool for those new to learning how to evaluate web sources. I like the idea of this assignment because I believe it is an important skill that students should have to make sure the information they gather can be used and is credible. Although, with web evaluations there can be many different aspects to look at depending on what type of information is being gathered. If I were to do this assignment again, I would probably pick a different topic/project to base the web evaluation off of, because mine was a little difficult to do.

Check out my comments on Minnie's and Kinsley's Blog Post #6!

Blog Journal #6

     Technology in the classroom has become an important part of advancements in education. Academic software for students makes learning easier and more interactive. One software tool I would like to implement in my future classroom is Kahoot. It is an interactive game that students can play to quiz themselves on their knowledge of different subjects. I would use this tool because it helps the students interact with the lesson which will help them retain the information better. Kahoot also allows students to make their own quiz in order to study by testing themselves. Another software tool I would like to implement is called Google Classroom. Google already has a lot of tools that allow for student and teachers to better organize, collaborate, and communicate as a class. Google Classroom combines all of these tools into one software that allows for students to keep information organized and easy to access. This tool allows for classroom discussion, feedbacks and comments, and parents and guardians to manage and view work all while keeping lesson materials and resources organized and easy to access. I would use this tool often because it allows for students to access all aspects of the classroom in one software, making it easier for them to find information and collaborate with other students. 

     I have very much enjoyed using Twitter as a tool for this class. Before this course, I did not realize how many educators use this tool to communicate and share information. I have been interacting with our fsu2040 hashtag as well as following some famous educators in order to absorb some of their knowledge about educational technology. Twitter is a very popular social media platform among high school and college students. I have seen many teachers use twitter to interact with their students in a funny yet educational way. I think using this platform in my future career might allow me to connect with students in a different way, and possibly help share my experiences of education with others.

Check out my comments on Bailey's and Kathryn's Blog Post #5!

Blog Journal #5

     The English Language Arts standards require students to learn to read, write, speak, listen, and use language effectively in a variety of content areas. More specifically, the technology standards prepare students of the 21st century by using more technology tools in education. I am interested in teaching 2nd grade, and a lot of the technology standards have to do with making things like books, posters, and comic strips through website creator tools. I have had a lot of practice with different applications and websites that help you build these types of things. I also have existing knowledge on teaching tools such as the Smart Board from when I was in elementary school. Something in the technology standards that I would require more learning from is an effective way to teach students to create a blog.

     One of the resources in the CPALMS Educator Toolkits are lesson plans for each specific subject. In each Toolkit there are interactive lesson plan suggestions that are appropriate for a particular age level and informative on a specific subject. This resource allows teachers to experiment with different lesson plans to see what works best with their student. They are also unique and most are interactive which allows for fun yet informative activities that will help students relate what their learning to a certain task. I would use this tool for my classroom because it would allow me to get more creative with my teaching. I like that these lessons aren’t just cut and dry, but incorporate educational subjects such as math and science with everyday things such as gardening, sports, and even grocery shopping.

     While working on the Newsletter Design assignment, I was able to practice incorporating a lot of the tools we have learned to use on Microsoft Word. I also enjoy putting my own style and color coordination on things, and this assignment allowed me to find what worked best for me with Word. I am typically not very creative, but I enjoy organizing things and making it look visually appealing. Something I did not life about the assignment was figuring out how to place everything in word so it fit properly and didn’t overlap. Something I would improve was the fact that my newsletter did not save how I wanted it to with the spacing and fonts even though I saved it as a PDF. I actually learned through this assignment how useful a newsletter for parents and students could be for my class, and will definitely be something that I will utilize in the future. The images attached below is my Newsletter Design assignment.
Check out my comments on Amanda's and Sierra's Blog Post #4!