Blog Journal 6: Feb. 28, 2019

          I visited the Leon High School Website. On the homepage, there was a tab dedicated to teacher pages. The teachers were listed alphabetically with links to their respective pages. Not all of the teachers had information posted, but some kept an updated page. For example, a physics teacher had an "about me" page with contact information and a short bio. He also had links to the syllabi and class procedures for both his honors and AP courses. Additionally, there were links for resources for students to find extra help. A French teacher posted links to Quizlet sites for French 1 and French 2 as well as links to a list of vocabulary words and syllabi. Check out the Teacher Website Directory here.
          While we were searching for teacher productivity tools in class today, I found many that help you from getting distracted. The tools block websites that you may be tempted to visit when you should be working on something and show you how long you spend on each site. I think I would benefit from these tools because I tend to get distracted when I work on my laptop, so I will start using one. I think I will also start using Google Calendar to list all of my important dates. I don't like to carry around a planner, so this could help me stay organized without having to write things down.

           The technology that stuck out to me most at the Technology Sandbox was the 3D pens. I had heard of them, but I had never seen one used. I was so impressed when I used it to draw straight up. I think this would be a great resource for students to take a hands on approach to learning. Traditional lessons may help students that are auditory or visual learners, but I think implementing a tool like the 3D pen would be an effective way to teach students who are kinesthetic learners. A 3D pen would be especially helpful in a science class. If I was a science teacher, I would have my students use it to create a model of the cell. In a math class, students could use it to create different shapes like types of triangles. This would help students be excited about math class. One of the pens in the Sandbox was designed specifically for kids and was not hot to the touch, so that would be a great resource for younger students.

       

ILP "Participation" - #aplitchat Education Twitter Chat

          For my ILP, I participated in a Twitter chat for teachers of AP Literature. We answered questions to analyze a poem together and shared teaching strategies. I really enjoyed the poem and reading other people's perspectives. This would be a great resource for any English teacher. Check out my VoiceThread here.

Blog Journal 5: February 19, 2019
          I enjoyed using Diigo to bookmark and tag articles and share them with my group. I liked Diigo because I think it is a great way to stay organized while doing research or keep track of any interesting web pages I come across. I often come across articles that I want to read but do not have time, so Diigo will be a convenient way for me to save articles in the future. The only part I do not like is that the library section does not look aesthetically pleasing and could get cluttered when I add more articles.
         So far I have enjoyed blogging because I can reflect on what I have learned in class. My favorite part about blogging is interacting with my classmates by reading their blogs and leaving comments. I think it is interesting to see different points of view.  However, I do not like knowing that my blog is public and anyone can read it. The blogging process has taught me how to express my thoughts and feelings into a post that can be easily understood by readers.
          I would definitely use the website Quizlet to teach. Quizlet allows you to create flashcards for terms and concepts. I think Quizlet is a great resource because it offers more than virtual flashcards. You can listen to pronunciations to practice spelling and play games with the terms. Teachers can also create groups for their classes and assign activities to complete. However, if I ever implement Quizlet, I would have to consider the digital divide and make sure that all students could have access to it. Quizlet can be used on mobile devices with the app, so that allows more students to use it. If students want more practice, they can search for a topic and use flashcard sets that other users have created. Check out Quizlet today by clicking this link!

Blog Journal 4: February 13, 2019
          So far, I have enjoyed using Twitter, and it has enhanced my experience in EME 2040. I mostly interact with other students in the class and the EME 2040 course account. I like interacting with my peers on Twitter because we follow up on what we discuss in class. About a week ago, some of us chose to write about the digital divide in our journals, and then we also discussed it on Twitter later. It was nice to continue the conversation outside of class. In my future career, I can see myself using Twitter to connect with other people in my field and share my ideas like how my class shares ideas on Twitter. I can also follow accounts that share articles and interesting news about my field.
          Because of the digital divide, some students have more access to technology than others. Those who have computers and internet connection at home may feel more comfortable with technology and do better on assignments relating to technology because of their ease in access to it. However, not all students have technology at home, so they may have a harder time completing online assignments. Students that grow up without a lot of exposure and access to technology in their homes and school may be less equipped to use technology in the workforce. The digital divide is caused by differences in socioeconomic status. Students from wealthier families will probably have more access to technology. Additionally, students in rural areas may have less access to technology than students in urban areas and may have to travel farther in order to use a computer like at a public library. As a teacher, I may teach a class where students have differing levels of access to technology at home. I will adjust my teaching strategy to make sure that students are given in-class time to complete online assignments. Additionally, the students may be more likely to have smartphones, so if they do I can assign apps for them to use.
          I think it is important for students to learn through academic software in school because the skills they develop will help them throughout their education and in their careers. I would definitely implement MS Word and teach students how to use it. MS Word allows students to format text. It is crucial for them to learn how to use it because they may be required to use it to write assignments for courses and to write documents in their future jobs. I would also like to teach some general Photoshop skills. Photoshop is an image editing software. Using Photoshop would allow students to develop valuable graphic design skills while being able to get creative.

Blog Journal 3: February 7, 2019

          I think the ELA technology standard I would feel most comfortable teaching right now would be LAFS.4.RI.3.7. In this standard, students must "interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively." I am familiar with this standard because I presented it to the class and researched different resources that teach this standard. Also, I feel like I personally interpret and analyze media frequently for my courses, so I feel equipped to teach someone else. Additionally, I think I could teach LAFS.4.RL.3.7, the standard in which students compare a written work to a presentation of the same work. To teach this standard, I would have students get in groups to create videos of a scene from a story we read in class. Then, I would have students watch each other's videos and analyze how they compared to the original written work. However, I would need to prepare more to teach the LAFS.K.W.2.6 standard. While the standards I feel comfortable teaching are for fourth grade, this standard is for kindergarten. Students must use technology to publish writing. I am not as good with handling groups of small children, and I would be unsure of what level of technology and writing would be appropriate for them. I would also struggle teaching LAFS.910.RH.3.7. In this standard, ninth and tenth graders must "integrate quantitative and qualitative analyses" and use programs such as Excel. I am not proficient in Excel or making spreadsheets online, so I would have to become better at this before teaching it.
          A resource from CPALMS that teaches the LAFS.4.RI.3.7 standard is an audio interview about net fishing in Florida. Students listen to the audio recording and then complete a Sound Recording Analysis Sheet. On the worksheet, students pick out the important ideas of the interview and describe the content. I would use it in my classroom because I think it is important for students to practice their listening skills and think critically about what they hear. I also think the topic of the interview is interesting because it is not something students usually learn about in class, and it is relevant to Florida.
         The Newsletter Design taught me many new skills in Word that I will carry with me throughout my education and into my career. I learned how to create page breaks in order to switch from one column to two and back again. I also learned how to include an email link and shade text boxes. I think the content of my articles is strong, but the design did not turn out as professionally as I would have liked it. The formatting frustrated me because I could not get the graphics and text boxes to line up evenly. Next time, I will definitely give myself more time to complete the assignment. I underestimated how long it would take me, and I ended up rushing to turn it in. In my career, I can use the skills I learned from this assignment to add email links to documents and use URL shorteners to get rid of very long links. I can create a header for any flyers or office documents I create.