Blog Journal Ten

I think surveys would be a great way to get your students' true opinions on things that go on in class. This would be a good way to individualize the course for the students and teach in a manner that they receive well. Using a spreadsheet system such as Excel could be be useful in compounding this data, making it more accessible as it is all in one place. By using these two in combination a teacher could create not only more a more individualized classroom, but a more organized one at well.

I think it was really interesting to see the various blogging approaches people took for each assignment. Some were strictly academic and formal, while others preferred a much more lowkey and laid back tone and style. Both of these have their own perks and drawbacks and it was just very intriguing to see people perform within their constraints as individual styles. I also think it was interesting to see how we all went about answering the prompts, each of us interpreting the prompt and the information that we found very differently from one another. This allowed for a lot of variation and creativity, which I think strengthened us as a group.  

I would love to learn how to code! I've always wanted to explore technology and what I can create with it and I think learning how to code is the natural progression of this. I have always wanted to make video games, and was slightly deterred once I realized that it wasn't just all art and story creating - but a looooot of coding as well. As a kid I explored the basics of coding, falling neck deep into the world of HTML. I used some of my background knowledge in HTML to help me in one of the assignments in this class even. I would love to continue learning, and to level up into the more complex and intricate levels of coding. 

Blog Journal Nine

Interactive PowerPoint Screenshot

Interactive PowerPoint Screenshot

I have always had a thing for creating incredibly elaborate PowerPoints. I just adore spending the extra time to make them as perfect as possible. I didn't really learn anything new from the lesson plan PowerPoint assignment - it was pretty much what I expected a PowerPoint assignment to be. However, I did things I had never even attempted before with the Interactive PowerPoint assignment. I spent seven hours fiddling with transitions, animations, text, insertions, and audio. I was able to pull off exactly what I wanted to and felt so accomplished at the end of it. I chose to do a "Choose your own adventure" PowerPoint, and I wanted it to look like a legitimate video game. I spent a lot of time experimenting and exploring the option. "How do I make the text scroll like it does in games?" "How do I add sound to the choices that I have for players to choose from?" These were the type of questions that was asking myself as I made this game. I never even knew something like this could be made in PowerPoint and I feel as if this assignment has definitely opened my eyes to all of the possibilities and projects that I could do in the future. 

Blog Journal Six

An example of the more standard teacher page.

An example of a teacher page separate from the high school's.

I chose to do Leon High School and looked to see if they had any of their own teacher pages up on their website. They did, which came as a surprise to my as my small town high school never had anything like that set up. After going through a handful of teachers' pages I began to notice a trend in the information they provided publicly. A lot of the teachers introduced who they were and what they were teaching, and provided materials such as calendars, announcements, or even samples of what they were doing in the classroom. Some teachers made their pages right on the Leon High School website while others took it a step further and had their own separate site that linked back to the high school's. 

I think I will definitely utilize a variety of technologies both in my classroom as well as in other realms within my job as a teacher. I'm very enamored with the idea of using software such as Class Dojo on a SmartBoard in my class (which is rather unsurprising if you've seen my Independent Learning Project) but I definitely plan on using technology in other ways as well. I've fallen in love with the academic space that's been created on my EME twitter and I think networking and communicating with other people in my field is something I will continue to do as I move forward. 

The Technology sandbox was such an interesting and fun experience! I love that with every single technology they showed us they discussed some of the ways in which it could be used either in the classroom or to teach people in general. I thought the merge cube was one of the coolest technologies there, and definitely one of the ones that I could see getting the most use in a classroom setting. With this technology you take a cube with coding physically engraved on it and view it through an app, which changes the appearance of the cube through the lens of the device's camera. It can become anything depending on the programming, from the solar system to a plane engine. Because of this it has such an incredibly wide range of use and such potential for active learning, as it now allows students to literally hold what they're learning about and interact with it on an individual level.

Independent Learning Project #1

Below is the link that leads to the VoiceThread for my first independent learning project:

VoiceThread Presentation

Blog Journal Four

The digital divide is a very real roadblock for a lot of students and its something that needs to be addressed more within our education system. It very often stems from a lack of exposure to digital devises and technologies which in of itself can stem from many things, a huge one being lower socioeconomic status. From an incredibly personal point of view I have experienced this digital divide due to being too poor to have access to certain technologies at home. For a huge chunk of my life I simply didn't have internet or even a home phone due to this disadvantaged position, and it affected my education in very real ways. I wasn't able to do work that required the internet or type up papers and the like at home. It stole time away from me that other students had, as I always had to rush to do my computer work in the school's library during school hours while other students were able to do their work at home. This was only one of the very real ways in which the digital divide I experienced due to my circumstances affected my school life and such situations are occurring everywhere. I think a way that I would address this in my own classroom is to not rely on technology so much for assignments and papers, and to also allot time within a library or computer lab for students to work in if they truly need access to computers for what we're doing. I think being aware of the fact that not every student has the same privileges and access to certain materials and then framing your classwork around that is so important in making sure a student isn't robbed of a grade or learning experience due to not being so fortunate as their peers. 

I would adore using Class Dojo in my future classroom. I explored the software a lot for my newsletter and completely fell in love with it. I love the idea of giving such personal attention to each of your students, and I also really liked a lot of the resourced included within it for teachers to utilize at their own discretion. 

My experiences with my EME2040 Twitter account have been interesting thus far. I follow only Education based Twitters and other EME2040 students so my entire feed is always filled with with Education based content - which makes me feel very focused and productive. Having access to all these accounts has also made more more aware of what is going on currently in the Education world, which is something that I think is important for myself to be knowledgeable on. I feel like continuing to interact with Educators and people on the same path as mine will ultimately benefit me, and would be helpful in my future career as a teacher. It will help while in my career to keep up to date on what's going on, as well give me fresh new ideas or inspiration when I find myself feeling as if I've hit a roadblock. 

Blog Journal Three

I feel as if the more basic standards, such as LAFS.1112.L.3.4 and LAFS.1112.RH.3.7, will be easy to teach with my existing knowledge as these are standards I implement frequently myself as a student. I have used the internet and technology in order to find the definitions and meanings of words, as well as using online tools to make charts and graphs, several times throughout my academic career. As such understanding and teaching these things will not be a challenge for myself. What will perhaps prove more difficult will be implementing more complex and involved standards, such as LAFS.1112.W.1.2, which requires a deeper level of integration of technology into what the student is doing. However, I think with time and the development of my skills as an educator that I will find myself perfectly capable of teaching each and every ELA standard.

The resources in the CPALMS Educator Toolkit were incredibly easy to access and provided a surprisingly large selection. I chose to go through the Educational Games in the English section as I felt it to be something I in particular would like to implement within my classroom. I would like for my students to enjoy learning as much as I always have, and I think this would be one way to go about it. There was again a wide selection to pick from and I found this appealing as well, as it allows the teacher to choose a game type that best suits their content needs and teaching style. Pictured below is a small sample of some of the games it had for English.

I loved the newsletter assignment! I had a lot of fun with it and it made me really think about the kinds of things I want to implement in my own classroom. I felt like it was a perfect way to express who you are and even the style in which you teach, all while remaining in the academic and professional field. While this assignment didn’t give me any technological skills that I didn’t already have, it allowed me to see one way in which I can utilize my skills in Word to create a document that can be used in my future classroom. This kindling of the spark for creativity and exploration of methods in which these skills can be utilized rather than the teaching of these skills themselves is something I personally benefited from a lot.

Also a side note to keep in mind while viewing my newsletter that is truly indicative of who I am as a person: I cried a little bit the first time I saw the candy corn border because I thought it was so cute.

Blog Journal Two

Just about everyone involved in academics, either as a student or as a teacher, has a basic familiarity with MS Word. I was introduced to it personally through school, and only was able to have access to it at home as well within the last year due to growing up in a very poor household. I actually became certified in MS Word during my time at high school within a vocational branch, which increased my familiarity with it exponentially. I think it is an invaluable tool for students and educators alike to have access to, as it is used to create a wide variety of things used in academia – from newsletters, articles, worksheets, essays, and so much more. It’s one of the most user-friendly programs within which it is possible to construct such projects.

Learning about copyright and fair use was something I have also experienced in the same vocational branch as I mentioned before. It is incredibly useful information to know, especially as we progress forwards into becoming educators. We have to strive towards doing things in the most ethical way possible not only to establish professionalism as educators but to also set an example to our future students. This kind of ethical consumption and use of others’ work within the allowed parameters is also something we should directly instruct our students in, so that as technology becomes more prevalent within the world and the classroom they can create within that space while still behaving ethically. I think encouraging students to create and to use other’s works in their own is a good idea, and a good way to familiarize them with these concepts in a tangible way that they can understand.

I think a lot of academic dishonesty occurs due to misinformation and lack of opportunity. This is because a good majority of academic dishonesty is either accidental or due to a student feeling as if they are unable to do the work themselves, either due to an insecurity in their own ability or to feeling overwhelmed with their work. I think that both of these problems can be addressed on a larger level as well as directly by teachers themselves. To combat the first cause of academic dishonesty a more rigorous and helpful teaching on what exactly qualifies as academic dishonesty and how to avoid accidentally participating in it would be helpful in assuring that less likely for a student to do so. The second cause can be avoided by providing more resources to students, and by teaching them emotionally fulfilling things – such as how to deal with stress and a higher workload, as well as how to build confidence in their own abilities. By implementing these things in the classroom we can help combat academic dishonesty.

In a similar fashion I think that we can combat decreased levels of participation directly within our classrooms with our actions as educators. It is true that there can only be so much done for those who are truly dead set on being disengaged, but I have experienced myself a greater desire to interact in classes that either I am directly interested in or classes in which the teacher made an effort to interact with the students. If a teacher seems unmotivated and or uninterested in what they are teaching, then students are going to feel the same. By putting effort and care into what we teach we are more likely to cultivate an environment in our classrooms in which students will want to participate.