Independent Learning Project

1. For this project I spent some time in the Tech Sandbox. They have a lot of wonderful resources to use and I was able to try them all out. They have smart boards, ipads, virtual reality sets, and many other gadgets. But the one that stuck out to me was the 3d printer. To have that in a classroom or a school would provide infinite opportunities for learning and enhancing education. You make three dimensional models for a wide range of subjects. For STEM programs you can create cubes, chemical compounds, any type of structure, and many more things. You can create figures and signs for your classroom as well. It is a great tool for incorporating technology into the classroom and I love how it can be used for a very long time in the classroom and still provide endless possibilities.

Blog #10

1. I believe surveys and excel can be very important as a teacher. Using surveys can help you as a teacher get an idea about how students feel about a subject they are learning. It can also use data to see information they have gathered from each lesson. Then by using Excel, you can analyze quantitative data gathered from your students. You can look at their average, median, and mode test grades. This can be done at an individual level or as a class whole.  This would work for any grade, especially smaller kids. You can use excel to see where they are struggling the most based on test scores. I think middle or high school would benefit the most out of surveys.

2. I found the blogs to be pretty interesting to read throughout the semester. I really enjoyed reading about the responses from Blog #6. I found it interesting to see everyone views on school websites and how to incorporate technology in the classroom. These are relevant topics to consider when going into teaching and seeing how it would impact everyone as a teacher was very interesting. Also, I was unable to visit the tech sandbox with everyone, so I liked seeing everyone's experience.

3. Diigo was something I have never worked with or even heard of before this class. I think it is a great tool to use when filtering through information. You can highlight and bookmark important information and when revisiting the site, you can go straight to those highlighted portions. Also when working with other teachers you can share important information with each other. Although, a great tool, I do not think I would use this as a daily tool.

Blog #9

1. Flipped classrooms are an innovative way to incorporate a blended classroom of online and in person. It is unique by having the children in your class read and/or watch online instructional material or information for a lesson, then the next day the class does an activity with the given information they learned the night before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIEwAztv9w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p63W_2F_4

2. Open source software is one of the most common terms used. It is an amazing resource for people to be able to use, edit, and share freely. It has licenses that makes it available and to fall under the open source definition.

3. I was able to learn how to do things PowerPoint that I did not know how to do. One being non-linear presentations. I always wanted to acquire that skill, but did not learn until this course. Also having action buttons were a very helpful tool to have incorporated in my PowerPoint.

Blog #8

1. PowerPoint is an incredible learning tool for students and incorporating this into a lesson can be a great resource for student success. A great way to do this is by teaching a lesson of learning how to do division. First by remembering what the student have learned on times tables, you can review this topic and showing them on the slide. Then by understanding the key terms for division, as well as the basic steps to solve a division problem. Then apply what you know and have them each do a problem that is on a slide. By analyzing their notes and work, they can organizer their thoughts and notes given by the slides of information. Then they can then Evaluate their work by looking at the solutions and steps provided on this slide. Then the students can create new knowledge and can do an activity listed on the power point.

2. http://edtechteacher.org/
This is a great website for teachers to take online workshops and have the resources available to learn about technology in the classroom and overall professional development for educators.

Blog #7

1. adaptive technology is "any object or system that is specifically designed for the purpose of increasing or maintaining the capabilities of people with disabilities. Some of these would include, handheld amplifiers, Screen reader software, and screen magnifiers. I knew one student who went to my high school who had a visual disability and he used screen reader software so that way things on his computer would be spoken to him. I feel like the biggest challenge is not having the funds or resources to provide these devices and software to students who need them. 

2. I really liked the idea of having a website as a teacher. It is an easy way to have all your information easily accessible to parents at all times. I learned that Weebly is a great website to be able to create free websites. The only thing is I found it a tad difficult to use and set up my website exactly how I wanted it to look. I would make sure to update the website as frequently as possible for parents and make sure i am comfortable using the website. 

3. I have learned that Diigo is a great tool for myself and being able to share information with other teachers at my school or in my community. Also, when I find great information on a website, i can highlight and bookmark it so I can refer to it later. 

ILP “Participation” – Edmodo

I created an Edmodo account for my project. I think this is a great way fro you to connect with your students. You can provide contact info, assignments, survey questions, and more. I set it up as a teacher for my second grade classroom.

https://www.edmodo.com/home#/group?id=24043397

Blog #6

1. I looked at my old high school 's website. It is a school for the arts so there is a lot of information on each of the department's pages on what things are required for auditioning for the school. As well as the required department specific classes you would take while you are attending. I have provided a picture of that down below for the Orchestra department. The website also gives you contact information for every teacher within the school. Parents can also see upcoming events on the homepage. If you were to log in you would see grades, special announcements from your teachers, as well as past purchases or donations you have made to the school. https://www.harrisonarts.com/

2. I would want to stay as organized as possible when I become a teacher. Especially since the first year of teaching can be the most challenging year. I would use Excel for grading purposes. There is also an app called EverNote. It is a great way as a teacher to provide lesson plans, assignments, grades, and even classroom management.

3. I was excused that day and was unable to visit the tech sandbox

Blog #5

1. Web 2.0 is an awesome tool for teachers tp use with students and collaborate on many different lessons and assignments. An awesome one is Google Docs or Google Slides. These tools help students work on projects together and are able to collaborate their ideas and be in different locations. They can also makes edits from anywhere and at the same time. But this tool can also help with teachers and for them to work with fellow teachers. Maybe to do a lesson with other classes or to share ideas or information like on Diigo. This can help teachers gain knowledge from their peers.

2. A really cool tool to use in the classroom is one  i mentioned above, Google Slides. It works like power point where you create presentations for a group project, but with the tools to edit simultaneously like Google Docs. It automatically saves your work and constantly updates. Students can use this for all kinds of group work.
https://www.google.com/slides/about/

3. I believe any type of virtual reality tool is an amazing advancement and will only help students success. Whether it is a game or a virtual field trip, students will have the opportunity to explore and learn without leaving the classroom. Plus it is interactive and will engage students for the lesson.

Blog #4

1. Since I have had this Twitter account for class, I have been able to follow Educational Twitter pages like; WeAreTeachers, Edutopia, TechLearning, and many more. It has been a great experience to see what they are posting about on current topics in Education. Also it has been nice to see updates from my classmates and how they like the class and how it is going through Twitter. I believe this could be beneficial as a future teacher in the classroom because you could have parents and students follow you on Twitter for immediate updates. For example, when upcoming assignments are due, last minute reminders on tests, and even updates throughout the day on what we are learning in class.

2. The Digital Divide is a very relevant and prominent issue in the world of education and student success. It can either create ample amounts of student success or it can make students fall behind because they don't have access to these technologies. So in the podcast there were two schools, public and private, who were finding ways to bridge the gap. One was for it to be BYOD or bring your own device. This way students who had the devices already could bring them to school to use and aid in their learning. For students who did not have access to these devices at home could check out tablets, laptops, etc from the school and take it home to do activities and homework. This way kids all have the same opportunities to use technology to aid in their success. For the other school, they had laptops and other devices at school, but technology was incorporated so much that students were almost required to have and use their own devices. As a teacher you may experience that students will not always have the resources for online work. So making sure that you find ways for students to have access is very important. Like even having after school time where students can come in and work on online assignments.

3. I want to teach 1st or 2nd grade and I expect their will be some use of technology. Mainly through
academic databases and educational games. This is because in most public schools, students don't have access to computers, tablets, or iPad on a daily basis, so their learning experience isn't as technology based. Like in 1st or 2nd grade, they would most likely have educational games to for homework or have research projects where they would look through a database and find information about a topic.

Blog #3

1. I believe that there are a couple standards that I would feel comfortable teaching in a classroom. The main one is RI.5, "Text Structure" Informational Text. It focuses on grades 1st-3rd and since i want to teach Elementary, this is perfect. It focuses on electronic menus and search bars, which is a common skill to have. Also how to locate information through the icons they are assigned. It also shows how to use common search tools and hyperlinks which I am pretty comfortable with. 

2. I would like to use as much technology software I can as a future teacher. I will use power point, but I would like to take it a step further and use graphics, music, and games that will be Incorporated into my presentation. This way it addresses all students and provides tools for visual and verbal learning students to succeed and gain as much information from the lesson. Also, it will help them keep the students entertained and engaged on what we are learning about. This will work for an Elementary school setting and classrooms. This way it is meeting the ELA Standards for this particular age group. 

3. I really liked the Newsletter Assignment because it is something I want to incorporate into my future teaching career. It is a great way to reach out to parents and keep them informed on what is happening in the classroom. I was able to work on formatting a lot and how to insert images while providing text and borders as well. I was able to correctly insert columns and make sure to get as much information as possible into a couple documents. 

Blog #2

1. Microsoft Word has been a very important tool for me as a student. Especially in collage I write papers with it, fill out assignments, display graphs/charts etc. As far as my teachers, they have all used Microsoft Word in some way or another. Whether it was to create a newsletter for the parents/kids, create worksheets, tests, or quizzes as well. Without this tool, it would be almost impossible for teachers not to be able to use Word.

2. Copyright is something as a student and teacher will have to deal with for every assignment and presentation. You can not take credit for someone else's work and it is important to give credit when credit is due. So as a student, making sure you site everything. Any bit of information or image you use that is not original is referenced and cited properly. The same goes for a teacher. There are somethings you can get away with because of fair use in an educational environment, but when in doubt always cite it.

3. There were a handful of issues discussed in Chapter eleven, but I would like to discuss cyber bullying, student privacy, and academic dishonesty. As a teacher I would try to create a lesson on cyber bullying for my students. Explain what it is and how it can be prevented and what to do when it occurs to them or other students. Making sure your students treat it as a serious issue. For student privacy I would send home a document with students for the parents to go over with them explaining that when you ut something on the internet everyone can see. So making sure the students are careful and aware of what they put on the internet. For academic dishonesty I would use software like Turn it in to check students assignments and making sure it is original work from them.

Blog #1

1. I believe there are a few reasons that influence teachers to teach teach and use technology in the classroom. It is a way to accommodate for all types of learners, like having PowerPoint up for the visual learners and talking through a lesson at the same time for the auditory learners. It is also a huge part of our culture today and having kids become more comfortable using technology is important in a classroom. It encourages the teacher to help teach students new skills that involve technology.

2. The ISTE Standards I think are a great way to create standards for students and teachers. As we discussed in class, its a great way to make sure children are hitting certain milestones with technology, since they do need to acquire these skills. But ISTE is also a great way to set standards for teachers and make sure they are knowledgeable on how to teach and implement technology in the classroom. I agree with the fact that it suggested that technology is a way to inspire. It is a great resource and should be utilized. Although, it says that technology should be something children have a high level fluency in and I know I am probably not at that level as an adult.

3. To be a digital native means to have grown up with technology. But as we discussed in class, you may not have access to technology based on location, SES, etc even though you were born in the time of technology. So I think its important to recognize as a teacher you will have all levels of students when it comes to technology. I think technology is an important skill to have because once you are an adult, you need to have basic skills and be comfortable with it, but it shouldn't be all you know. We said that technology will never replace teachers and I agree with that because although technology is a great skill, there is so much more to learning that you can not from a computer.

Welcome to Twitter

https://twitter.com/EME2040EW

Blog Introduction Assignment

1. Technology has always been a part of my life. Whether it was computer class in elementary school, to using Blackboard in college and at my job where students are provided chrome notebooks for homework and assignments. So it is for my own personal posts and use as well as aiding students with their technology usage.

2. I hope to learn more details in general concepts. That way I can become more fluent with these tools to help aid my success and ease with assignments and my future teaching career. I have general concepts down when it comes to technology, but I want to practice with technology to become more comfortable.

3. I learned that I am pretty well balanced when it come to my learning. I was not surprised that I am skewed very heavily to one type of learning. I am a visual learner and this helps when it is aided with written instruction. I also am very realistic and I make sure to look at general concepts and then focus on the details afterwards. As well as following things in the order that seems the most logical.