Blog Journal 5

    I had not really used Twitter before this class. I have had an account for years but am not very active on it. Since I have been using Twitter for this class I have been interacting with other future teachers as well as current teachers. I have found Twitter beneficial in helping me find others that I can relate to and to inform me of current events in the education department in America. In my future career, Twitter might be helpful for finding lesson ideas and asking for advice from other teachers. 

    The digital divide is the gap between those that do and do not have access to technology. The digital divide affects student success in schools because as standardized testing is more and more online, the students who have year-round access to technology and feel more comfortable with it may do better just as they are more used to it. That is just one example of how the digital divide affects student success. As a classroom teacher, I will experience children who come from various backgrounds, some already skilled with technology and others who have never experienced technology. I will ensure to give clear instruction on how to use the technology I expect students to use and help those that are struggling so that no one is behind. 

    Academic software for students is various platforms that can be used in order to facilitate learning in the classroom through technology. In my future classroom,  I would implement OneNote and Microsoft Teams. I would use OneNote for notes and various assignments that my students could collaborate on by using the collaboration space tool in OneNote. Microsoft Teams can act as a place to hold a remote class as well as where I can put assignments as well as links to OneNote. I would like my students to use these software tools because I used them in my marine biology class my senior year of high school and the use of both helped with organization and collaboration. 

    Badges are an electronic visual representation of achievements. I think that badges should be used mostly at the elementary and middle school level. I think the incentive is good for younger students but less so for young adults preparing to enter the 'real' world. I don't believe I have ever earned an electronic badge before. If I had, I would share that I got one because I would be proud, but I would not share the badge with other people as I would be the one that earned it.

Blog Journal 4

    The ELA technology standards for grades nine and ten focus on various ways of implementing various uses of technology into the classroom. The technology standard I choose to further explain is the digital media one. As a teacher I will need to assist students in learning how to strategically use digital media in presentations to enhance the understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence. This can be done through formats such as Prezi, Creately, and ERIC. With my current skillset I would be comfortable instructing students on how to use Prezi but not the other two platforms. This is because I have used Prezi for various projects in the past and have an understanding of how it works whereas I have no experience with Creately or ERIC. I can become comfortable with teaching more aspects of digital media if I spend time learning how to utilize them.

    In the CPALMS Educator Tool Kit, I selected social studies grades nine through twelve as I plan on becoming a high school history, psychology, and sociology teacher. The '54 Original Student Tutorials Social Studies -U.S. History Grades 9-12' tool provides various lesson enhancers and resources that teachers could use for a variety of history topics. To take a closer look I selected the 'America in the 1920s: A Changing Political Culture' where I found a video attachment, aligned standards, as well as suggested tutorials. As a teacher I would use this to gather ideas of how I can make sure the lesson I am teaching is interesting and gets the attention of all students through various ways of teaching the material. 

    Internet searching is an important skill to have in life no matter what career path one takes. I think it is important to be a proficient internet searcher as a teacher so that I can teach my students how to be proficient internet searchers as well as provide them with appropriate outside sources I find. Of the internet searching skills that were introduced this week, I think I will use the Google Advanced Search the most.  I think this skill will help me throughout college in finding valid and reliable sources as well as when I become a teacher. 

Blog Journal 3

    The concepts of copyright and fair use should be taken very seriously. Copyright is a legal right which has been given to the creator proceed to make public in their name their original material which may be literary, musical, or other. Copyright protects the originator. Fair use is a doctrine which states that in certain circumstances such as criticism, news reporting, or teaching, work may be quoted verbatim without the need for permission from the copyright holder. As a teacher, when I develop my own instructional materials I will ensure that if I use sources I cite them correctly in order to avoid copyright and to show my students the proper way of citing sources. When students create their own work I will emphasize the importance of copyright and fair use. If a students copyrights, I will go through the process which the school I work at expects. 

    With the growing implementation of technology in schools, I will have to address the various issues that come along with this. A possible solution to cyberbullying in my classroom would be by creating a safe environment in which my students feel comfortable reaching out to me in the instance that they are being or witnessing cyberbullying. Once I knew what was happening, I would pull the student who is doing the cyberbullying aside and help them understand that they cannot do that and if they do it again they will receive a call home or further punishment such as a referral or detention. A possible solution to academic dishonesty is having students turn in their work electronically through a system which checks for plagiarism, as well as having different questions on quizzes and homework for students so that they cannot give each other answers. I will have a policy of honesty and respect in my classroom which will provide students the chance to act as adults. 

    During the Newsletter Design assignment I learned how to create a permission slip and how to make columns on a document. I also created a banner which is something I can implement into my future teaching newsletters. In the future I can have more graphics and space out my text a bit more. In my future career I can use the skills I learned to make my own newsletters once I become a high school teacher as well as to make flyers if I become a soccer coach. 

Image Attribution

 

"Siesta Key Beach" by Jim Mullhaupt is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Blog Post 2

    I used MS Word starting in elementary school. I used it for various research papers and other assignments throughout all of middle school and high school. I have tried using Google Docs but I never really stuck with it. In high school I used Word through the Office 365 program my school offered and it was nice to have all of my work in one place. I use Pages on my MacBook but, as I said, I prefer to have all of my work saved to my Office 365 so it is easy to locate and keep track of all of it. 

    The ITSE Standard for Educators that means the most to me is 'Learner'. I truly believe that it is important for teacher to know about the newest technology and how it can best be implemented into their classrooms in order to create the best learning experience for their students. I think that the 'Analyst' standard is very important because not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace. Knowing how each of your students learn best can help them achieve their learning goals. I think a combination of each of the standards is important to be the most well-rounded and effective teacher one can be. 

    I do agree that the label 'digital native' is fairly accurate for today's youth. Digital native describes someone who has been raised during the time of digital technology. I have seen that digital natives are more adept with new technology than digital immigrants. That is not to say all digital natives are skilled with technology, some digital natives struggle with technology and some digital immigrants are adapting quickly to the new technology arising. Some teachers have a hard time implementing new technology into their courses as they are not used to using it and may have a hard time learning how to. I anticipate that I will try to use the newest technology in my future classroom, but I will probably always be better at using the platforms I grew up with which will be 'old' by the time I become a high school teacher.