Blog Journal 6

I searched "Leon County High School Teacher Pages" on Google to find teacher sites that I could access. I found Swift Creek Middle School and looked at several teacher pages from their homepage. The page that I found in particular with the most information on their site was a 6th grade band teacher. Other teacher pages did not have any information on it, or had links to other sites that directed the viewer elsewhere. This band teachers page has the most information out of all the educators at Swift Creek Middle School. I see four bolded titles of upcoming events happening such as "Band Parent Meeting" and "Jazz Band/Symphonic Band Auditions". Underneath these headings are a brief explanation of when they will be occurring and what students/parents should be prepared with. There is a link to a form for an audition that needs to be filled out before auditioning, and also a link to the Band Calendar for the month. Underneath all of the headings there is a graphic that says "Be in Band!" and lists reasons why students should join the band. This graphic is visually appealing to the viewers and matches the text. The overall format of this teacher page is aesthetically pleasing and shows contrasting colors. This band page is for 6th grade students and Ms. Emma Haley is the teacher responsible for the page.

Band Teacher Webpage 

I envision myself using technology to accomplish my professional responsibilities more efficiently and effectively in my classroom by using technology that is useful to my grade level and specialty. I would like to use Kahoot to create fun games for my students so they could interact with me, as well as better understand the information I am teaching them. Kahoot is great for creating quizzes, polls, short answer questions and other types of games. Other websites I would like to use in my classroom would be Diigo because I have enjoyed it so much when I have used it in the classroom here are FSU. This tool would be geared more towards older aged students since it requires some computer competence and the ability to browse the Internet for related search criteria. Students in my classroom could find articles pertaining to the information we are discussing and highlight/comment on them to interact with the material and with their peers. Depending on the grade level I am teaching I would use differing technology to accommodate information to my students. 

Last week I visited the Tech Sandbox in the Department of Education Building and it was very interesting! My favorite pieces of technology that the guides showed us were the 3D printers and the ClearTouch board. The 3D printer could be used in the classroom to create models of complicated topics that students are trying to grasp and need a visual representation of. This could range from molecules in science class to triangles and shapes for mathematic calculations. The ClearTouch board could also be used in the classroom and would be my favorite piece of technology to use! This board could be divided into sections so multiple students could use it at one time which was my favorite feature. The ClearTouch has many functions like playing a piano, conducting science experiments or searching content on the Internet. Many applications can be opened at once on this touch-screen board so that possibilities are endless. In my classroom I would encourage my students to explore their interests on the ClearTouch by searching for educational applications like learning how to play the piano or  tutoring for a certain subject. Overall, the Tech Sandbox had many pieces of technology that would be great to use in the classroom to enhance students learning experience. 

Bog Journal 5

My initial experiences using Diigo were pleasant. I was skeptical at first to use this new technology because I have never even heard of this website before. After downloading the gadget to my home page with the extension I had to figure out how to highlight information and create group sticky notes with the resource. It was little confusing in the beginning because I did not know how to sync my sticky notes to the whole class but eventually I overcame this challenge. The resource makes annotating and commenting on pieces of text on the Internet easy and simple. I like how accessible this technology is to students because all they have to do is download the extension and then they can sign in and highlight any piece of text they wish to. I do not like how one-dimensional this technology is. I wish there were other functions than highlighting and commenting on the resource to make it more exciting.

I have come to really enjoy blogging. I loved how we were able to design and create our own blogs at the beginning of the semester. Creating weekly journal entries has become one of my favorite homework assignments because it is self-explanatory and independent. I like how there are prompts we are given and must answer within each blog post and how thoughts can come and ago as this process occurs. I however do not like how strict our writing must be with a certain amount of sentences and paragraphs. There are times when I feel like I do not have enough information to give a substantial paragraph but in the end it all works out. Thus far I have learned how to use Blogger and know the ways that I write best. This is usually once all of my classes are done in the afternoon when I begin working on schoolwork for the day. The blogging process is time consuming but rewarding when I see my blog post on my Blogger home page.

An interesting Web 2.0 tool that I found is called 'Poll Everywhere'. This educational tool allows teachers to create polls for their classrooms that can be comprised of any question and options. There are multiple choice polls, open-ended questions, Q&A style polls, and even clickable images through this site. Educators can create an activity and select the kind of polling style they would like. When they are ready for the poll to go live, they activate it so the students can engage as well. Students can respond to these polls through text message responses, web responses through the polling page, as well as web responses through a private link. I would use this tool in my classroom with middle-school or high-school aged students because it would require the use of a cell phone or computer of sorts. This is a great new tool that allows students and educators to connect through instant messaging instead of verbal communication.
Poll Everywhere

Blog Journal 4

My Twitter experience started in the beginning of high school around 9th grade. I remember seeing my friends on the app around me and I was curious was the purpose of the app was. I downloaded it on my laptop because I did not have a smartphone yet and browsed celebrities tweets. Ever since joining in high school I have created a close-knit community that I follow on my Twitter account. I follow my friends and sports athletes on the teams that I follow. Recently on my educational twitter account for this course I interact with educational content and technology accounts. I have been interacting with educators, professors, professionals and associations that tweet about their views on educational technology. Twitter might be helpful in my future career as a school psychologist by keeping up to date on the most recent research findings and conferences upcoming in my area. Twitter pages are created daily to notify people of upcoming psychology conferences and research symposiums.

The digital divide is the space between those who have ready access to computers and those who do not. The divide affects student success in schools especially in this decade. Teachers and professors are requiring students to complete schoolwork on their own time after class which is impossible without a computer available at home. For students who have access to computers when they are away from their educational institution, this is no issue; for those students who do not have access, this could lead to poor grades due to the inability to complete assignments at home. Some causes of the digital divide are socioeconomic status because those who cannot pay for a computer and Internet access is not able to use this kind of technology. Motivation is also a contributor to the digital divide because people who do not have the spare time to learn technology do not bother to educate themselves. Since people have lived without technology before, some don't see a need in using computers 24/7 and rather living in the moment and consuming paper materials. As a classroom teacher I expect to experience the digital divide at some level with my students. This will affect my teaching strategies by not having my students rely on computer and the Internet for completing their work at home. Rather I would assign homework given on paper or reading in physical books so students of all SES can earn the grades they deserve.

Academic software for students is designed to facilitate different types of educational processes. Two software tools that I would like to implement in my future classroom is Canvas and Microsoft Word. I find that having all of my courses listed in Canvas is very beneficial and keeps myself organized throughout the semester. Canvas is a great tool for teachers to post assignments and due dates for their students in an organized fashion. MS Word is another software that I would love to use with my students because it teaches a valuable life-skill of being competent in typing. MS Word is used everyday in my life and I see a value of teaching my students how to use this software.

ILP Design #1-- Piktochart

I decided to create an Infographic for this design project using the educational technology of Piktochart. This free website is a tool that allows anyone to create infographics, posters, presentations and flyers. Inside of the site users can decide if they want to use a pre-made template or create their own design. Piktochart is user-friendly and allows educators to better convey information to their students. Infographics are virtual flyers that use pictures, words and colors to create a visually appealing graphic. It has been shown that students absorb educational material more readily when it is shown in this kind of format. The infographic I created using Piktochart relates to the 4th grade ELA writing process and consists of prewriting, drafting, revising and publishing stages. This is a start to finish representation of the writing process intended to teach students effective writing strategies. Educators of all levels can access this free website to create graphic content for their classroom. In the future, educators like myself and fellow peers can implement this educational tool into our classrooms. Learning more about Piktochart to create an infographic was enjoyable and a great project overall to explore new educational technology!

Voice Thread
Piktochart--Infographic

Assignment 1: Newsletter

Blog Journal 3

I decided to evaluate fourth grade ELA technology standards from the Florida Department of Education. The standard I decided to choose is the LAFS.4.SL.1.2 which wants students to be able to paraphrase certain portions of a text or information presented in diverse media formats. This would include presenting media visually, qualitatively and orally through the use of YouTube or TeacherTube videos and online magazines. In simpler terms, students would have to understand pieces of texts they are reading, listening to, or watching by paraphrasing in their own words. I do feel prepared to implement this standard based on my current skill set because I am comfortable using YouTube and am familiar with TeacherTube in an educational setting. Showing students videos on these platforms allows them to use their imagination and grasp the material rather than reading straight from a textbook. Media platforms can be used in the classroom to help the students develop a deeper connection to their work.

On the CPALMS website I browsed under 4th grade resources and toolkits to find 'Super Writing!'. This resource is meant for fourth grade students to assist them in learning how to use commas and quotation marks through visual media. "Leo the Superhero" is a talking turtle who is the main character in this video. Leo is going to help the students understand the material and make it engaging.  I would use this tool in my classroom because a video is much more interesting for the students to watch rather than learning through a lecture. Having a superhero in this media platform creates a figure for the students to identify with and want to learn from. The Educator Toolkit has many resources for all different subjects that assist teachers with their lesson plans.

Working on the Newsletter Design assignment was the most fun I have had with an assignment since I came to FSU. It was enjoyable to create an aesthetically pleasing visual that was going to be handed out to parents and students. I acquired the new skills of learning how to format columns on MS Word which I did not know how to do previously. I could improve my newsletter in the future by creating a more consistent theme and really utilizing the white spaces of the paper. The skills I learned from the Newsletter assignment can be used in my future career when I have to write newsletters to my student's parents. This was a great assignment to get creative in the classroom and realize how much work goes into one small aspect of being a teacher.