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.