Blog Journal 8

    I acquired some new skills from working on the Web Design assignment. I learned how to make a logo for my website, have links to all of my other pages on my home screen, and how to have external links open in a new window. I also began to get familiar with the platform we used. I liked that we wrote an 'About Me' section and had some creative freedom in the design of our website. I disliked the function of the website, I found it very difficult to complete some of the tasks needed to receive a passing grade on the assignment. I can used what I learned from the assignment in my future career as I now have a logo, banner, and an idea of what I would like my teacher website to look like. The link to my website is:  https://mrs-zamskys-aice-psychology.square.site/ 

    I have also acquired new skills by working with Diigo. I have learned how to post a link to a group and annotate the article that I have posted. I also look at what my fellow classmates have posted in order to gather more information about what we are learning about. This application can be useful in my classroom as I can have a group created for my students where they post their annotated texts and can compare with their classmates. I can use Diigo with team members as we can share informational links including videos and articles to give each other lesson ideas and more. Finally, Diigo will be useful for my individual professional efforts as I can keep track of all of my annotations and view my students and colleagues work at any time. 

    Technology and teacher professional development go hand in hand. Teachers not only have to constantly move with the innovation of technology in their personal lives, they also have to apply this to their classrooms. This can be difficult and may seem like a lot for teachers to handle, but teachers stay informed and learn quickly. Technology innovation can help make certain aspects of teaching easier. For example, teachers can now give multiple choice tests or quizzes which the computer can grade right away. This makes it so that teachers spend less time grading and more time preparing their lessons or have more time at home. A site I can use to stay informed of technology trends in education is:  https://tech.ed.gov/what-we-do/ . This is run by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology which develops national educational technology policy and helps it transform how technology is used in the classroom. The blog section has updates of what the newest trends are. 

Blog Journal 7

    This is a high school English teacher's website. This website includes a welcome page, a student resources page, and a page for each of the different English classes. I see a picture of the teacher and her family on the welcome page along with some information about the teacher herself. On each of the individual class pages, there are due dates for various assignments which is helpful for students to know when their due dates for their class are. There are not a lot of varying colors which I think could make the website more appealing but it is still clear and easy to understand.  https://www.leonschools.net/Page/31713  

 

    I envision myself using technology in a couple ways in order to accomplish my professional responsibilities more efficiently and effectively. I will utilize PowerPoint as well as Microsoft Teams in my classroom. In my experience as a high school student, these were effective in organizing various assignments and easy to use. As a teacher, I would like my students to have a place they can go to and easily find all of their assignments to complete without stress. This is also efficient in grading my student's assignments all in one place and sometimes the website will do so automatically. I will also encourage my students to use Google Drive as it keeps all of their work in one place so that they are less likely to lose their work and they can easily look back on what they have done. 

    My experience working on a wiki platform was that it was difficult to use at first but became easier as time went on. I liked that we could design most parts but I do wish it had some more creative elements that could be changed. I found it very plain and difficult to use, I got more used to it by the end of the assignment but I still would rather use another platform. I could use a wiki with my future K-12 students to show them how to use it so that they can decide if it is something they would like to continue or not.

Blog Journal 6

     I had not used Diigo before this class, I like it and think it is a helpful tool. I like that there can be groups for certain classes which keeps it organized. It is also fairly easy to use, as a new college student using various new platforms of technology, it is nice to have some that don't take too long to learn how to use. I also like the various ways you can link pictures, articles, and more to your own page and groups pages. The title and description tools are also handy so that in groups one can see what someone thought after reading a certain article. 

    I have actually blogged using Blogger before but got away from it as I became busier in high school. Although I prefer writing with pen and paper, I can see the appeal of online blogging. I like that one can easily go back and refer to another blog as well as see their progress throughout the blogging process. For this class specifically, I like that it gives me a chance to reflect on what I have learned and how I might apply it to teaching in the future. I have learned that blogs can be personal as well as educational, I had really only thought of blogs as personal until I used them for this class. 

    An interesting Web 2.0 tool that I might use when teaching is Padlet (https://padlet.com/). This is an electronic stick note tool. Notes can be created and put on a wall, they can be text, images, videos, or links. I think this is a useful tool to use in the classroom because it will keep students engaged as well as help them share out their responses as they can be anonymous. I also like the flexibility of this tool as a variety of different links, pictures, and other tools can be used in response to a teacher's question.