Blog Journal 6

Wow, I was very surprised by teacher websites! I found a teacher website for the teacher I observed last year at FSUS (Florida State University Schools). This was a second grade class. When searching for a teacher website it looks like my county does not require these, because I could not find any teacher websites for any of my former teachers. Publicly, I can see a lot of information, however this teacher sends specific information via focus to parents and students. For instance, I could see the class newsletters, the wishlist, the projects going on and much more! There were also links to the online textbooks and resources to help the students in their subjects. See the screenshot below!!

When I accomplish my professional responsibilities, I hope to use technology a lot. However, this might differ depending on what sort of resources the school offers and what SES the students and parents have. For instance, I would love to send out monthly newsletters via email, but I have to be aware that some parents do not have access to the internet easily. I would also like the keep a class website that can have special permissions for students and parents that has literally all of the information they need. I like being organized and think this would be a good way for parents to find the information they need, without having to worry about reaching me on the phone.

I really enjoyed the tech sandbox. I thought it might not be fun and just be something we had to do, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I really liked the 3-D printing and the child safe 3-D printer pens. I think having those pens would be a great tool for the students in multiple ways. For one, students could be creative and make models of things or objects we are learning in the class. I also think it would be a great way for students to de-stress. I really enjoyed using the 3-D pen because it took my mind off of everything and gave me a creative outlet to just have fun! I did not take any photos, but Mel took a group photo and I stole it and posted it below! (Thanks Mel!!)

Blog Journal 5

This was my first time using Diigo and it was honestly not what I was expecting at all. Like anything, there are pros and cons. For the pros, I liked how it could be embedded in my google chrome. That made it very easy to access when doing google searches and when needing to annotate websites. However, I thought it was kind of weird submitting the annotations to a group, because I don't see myself doing that in the future.

This was also my first time blogging. At first I was overwhelmed by all of the options and themes and additionally by how to even use it. But, once I got the hang of things I grew to like it. I learned that blogging is a cool way to interact and to share your experiences. I do plan on exploring more to better understand how I can be more connected, like following other people's blogs similar to Twitter.

Class Dojo is a Web 2.0 tool that can be used in the classroom for teaching. This is a tool that can be used by teachers and parents, and can be experienced by students. Teachers can use this Web 2.0 tool to engage students in what they are learning and to help parents understand how their child is doing in the classroom. This can be done by giving students rewards (e.g., stickers) when they are on task or answer a question correctly. These rewards will reinforce these behaviors by the students.

Blog Journal 4

I first got twitter in early high school and mostly used it to connect with friends, whereas now I follow less friends and more meme accounts to see funny memes and videos. I found that Twitter was problematic in high school because it was a chance for people to fight with each other. I've now learned the Twitter can be a good collaborative social media platform. For instance, I now find it beneficial because I created a professional Twitter to follow psychologists to see job openings and current research.

I think having easy access to internet resources is very beneficial to students. The digital divide could be caused by lack of resources and schools having lower SES. I've been able to observe FSUS and Sabal Palms Elementary which are on two different spectrums of SES and have very different resources. At Sabal Palms, I noticed the students were struggling more to learn math and reading and they also only had three computers for the entire class. However, at FSUS, the students seemed to grasp learning better and coincidentally each had their own personal laptop. As a future educator I would feel responsible to make sure my students are on track with or without the digital resources available to other students.

The two tools I would like to implement into my classroom as academic software are Kahoot and Edmodo. Kahoot would be a great way to review before exams or to review concepts learned in class. Students would be able to answer quiz questions and compete against other students in the class. Edmodo is a way for students, teachers, and parents to collaborate. Teachers can use this to create collaborative groups with students and also to track their progress.

ILP #1 - Figma

For ILP #1 I decided to use Figma, a collaborative design tool. I thought this was fitting since we just had an assignment about designing a newsletter. Figma is great for collaboration and user experience. When collaborating using Figma, it is easier than using something like google slides and google docs because there is no lag between edits and you don't have to wait for edits to update. I also thought Figma was easier for the user to use and less aggravating than word. Check out my voice thread for this project as well as a link to Figma's website!

News Letter

Blog Journal 3

Reading about the ELA standards was interesting, because I never realized how many standards teachers were required to know and be able to teach. I chose the 7th grade, specifically the first standard: LAFS.7.L.3.4. This standard is put in place to ensure teachers know how to assistant students in finding the meaning of words and phrases that they might come across in their readings. Given my current skill set I feel like I would be able to teach the students how to use some of these tools, however there are some I would need to learn first, like Snappy Words. 

I decided to stick with the 7th grade, and therefore selected a 7th grade resource in the science department. The resource is called, "Science in Action: Biologist." I would want to use this in my classroom because it seems like a resource that will really let the students understand what they could do if they pursued a career as a biologist. There are other "Science in Action" resources that would also be useful for future careers like chemists, geoscientists, and engineers. I would like to use this series in a future class to give my students a full circle understanding of future science careers. 

The newsletter was slightly aggravating for me to complete because I was learning new skills in the process. One in particular that I learned was the column function. I had difficulty because once I created two columns I couldn't figure out how to put the wording below it into just one column. Using trial and error I figured out how to navigate the columns option and I think I can use it in my future career if I ever need to make a newsletter or other type of flyer in the future. In the future I could improve my newsletter by having less white space and filling in information to the edges.