Blog Journal #9

        I have experienced distance learning both synchronously and asynchronously. Before the pandemic began, I participated in distance learning through Florida Virtual School. This was mostly asynchronous distance learning plus synchronous phone calls with the teacher to assess my learning. I took a few courses through Florida Virtual School throughout high school because my school did not have teachers that taught the courses. Later on, I also experienced distance learning because of the pandemic. This would also be known as emergency remote learning. This was mostly synchronous learning through Zoom plus assignments that were meant to be completed asynchronously. One thing that I disliked about distance learning was that it is harder to focus compared to traditional face-to-face learning. Another thing that I disliked was that it is much harder to communicate with the teachers if I have difficulty with an asynchronous assignment. They are a little less accessible. One thing that I liked about face-to-face learning is that my location did not matter as long as I had an internet connection. For example, I was able to travel to Maryland to visit some family during the school year due to distance learning. When I am a teacher, I plan to be responsive by answering any emails that students have sent me to improve the distance learning experience for my future students. 

        Open educational resources are teaching materials that are free to use and reuse in your classroom. Funbrain and the CPALMS website are examples of open educational resources. Funbrain is a website with educational resources for the subjects reading and math. The website also has regular games for students to take a break and practice using technology. For the subject reading, they have a library of online books for a variety of grade levels. For the subject math, they have math games for a variety of grade levels. The CPALMS website has tutorials, lesson plans, and more tools that align with the Florida state standards. The CPALMs website link is the following: https://www.cpalms.org. The Funbrain website link is the following: https://www.funbrain.com.   

        One of the new skills that I acquired from working on the PowerPoint Information Dissemination assignment is how to record audio on a Powerpoint. I also learned how to save a PowerPoint in a video format. Lastly, I learned how to create my own PowerPoint slide template. Before this assignment, I thought I preferred Google slides over PowerPoint, but after completing this assignment my preference changed. I liked that PowerPoint is very customizable because of the ability to create your own slide template and the ability to record audio to it so that it can be like a video. I will definitely use PowerPoint when I am a teacher. I do not think that there was something that I disliked. Below is a screenshot of the first few slides of the PowerPoint I created.

Blog Journal #8

    Some of the new skills that I gained from the Web Design assignment are how to embed HTML code on a website, create multiple Google calendars, add events to a Google calendar, make events on Google calendar public, and I also learned how to better envision my future. I liked that this assignment allowed for creative freedom which made it more fun. I do not think there was something that I disliked. I can apply what I learned from the assignment in my future career by actually making my own teacher website with features such as a Google Calendar so that parents, students, and the school administration can be up to date with what is going on in my classroom and my teaching career overall. Here is the link to the website that I created for the assignment: https://sites.google.com/view/msmirandasteaches/home?authuser=0. 

The new skills that I learned by using Diigo throughout this semester are how to bookmark a website, share a website with a group, add tags, add highlights, add sticky notes, add comments, and make comments private or public. I can apply these skills I learned from Diigo in my classroom when my students have to read a text available online so that they can highlight important details. I can apply these skills when I work with other team members such as other teachers at the same school by creating a Diigo group. In the Diigo group, we can share websites with useful information or resources that can help us teach better in the classroom. Lastly, I can use Diigo in my individual professional efforts by frequently bookmarking websites that I find useful for my formation or professional development as a teacher and adding private notes on how to apply the information.

A website that I found that I think could be a helpful tool for teachers to stay informed on technology trends in education is made by the Office of Educational Technology. This is a government website. It includes features such as a blog, downloadable publications, technology resources for teachers, and stories. Their mission is to create national educational technology policies and create the vision for the place of technology in the classroom that allows for the transformation of teaching and learning for the better. The following is the link to the website: https://tech.ed.gov/.

Blog Journal #7

    The school website that I visited was the Chiles High School website. The information that I see the teachers including on their class pages include their name, phone number, email, and degree typically under a section titled about the teacher. Something else that I see that teachers include in their pages are student resources through links. Lastly, I also notice that teachers include an announcements section on their pages. The following is the link to the chiles website: https://www.leonschools.net/Page/6971. I have also attached a screenshot of a teacher page I found on the Chiles website for reference below.

I think that when I become a teacher I can benefit from using technology to accomplish my professional responsibilities more efficiently and effectively. One specific teacher productivity tool that I plan to use is Google Calendar on my laptop to keep track of important dates such as PTO night, school festival, breaks, etc. Another teacher productivity tool that I would plan to use is the reminder feature on my iphone so that I can schedule reminders for when I might need to do some preparation the night before for a lesson such as printing some worksheets ahead of time. The final productivity tool that I would plan to use when I become a teacher is the timer feature on my phone or laptop to help me set goals for completing tasks. For example, setting a 35 minute timer to grade the math homework assigned to students. 

Recently, we had to use canvas to complete our Assignment 2. I liked that Canvas was overall easy for me to use. At first I was unsure if I was going to be able to get the hang of it, but once I started clicking on things and experimenting with the tools available on Canvas, I was able to easily get used to it. Everything from creating the pages, tables, and inserting links became pretty intuitive to me quickly. There was nothing that I disliked about the platform. I see my future self using Canvas with my future students as a sort of virtual classroom or workspace that includes announcements, homework assignments, helpful links, etc just like we currently use canvas here at FSU as college students. Canvas could be helpful for bridging the gap between learning at school and at home. I also know that some K-12 schools such as my high school have already been implementing Canvas ever since the pandemic to help students and teachers transition to virtual learning.

Blog Post #6

    Recently, we have started using Diigo in class. One thing that I enjoyed about Diigo is that it allows users to annotate websites by highlighting and adding notes. This is something that I did not think was possible to do, so when I learned that it was something that I could do with Diigo I was pleasantly surprised. Another thing that I enjoyed about Diigo is that users can view all the websites that they have bookmarked on the Diigo website and that you can even share the bookmarked websites with others. One thing that I did not like about Diigo was that I could not use it on the web browser Safari so I had to download Google Chrome. 

Over the course of this class, we have been consistently blogging. One thing that I like about blogging is that it is like a journal where I can keep track of what I have been learning in class and other personal thoughts about the class content. Another thing that I like about blogging is that the blog will be saved on the internet forever unless I decide to take it down. Therefore, when many years have passed and I graduate from Florida State I can look back at the blog to reflect or reminisce on my time in this course. I cannot think of anything that I do not like about blogging so far. Before I took this class I had already had some experience with blogging because I had to create a blog for a project when I was in the sixth grade on blogger. That is why the blogging felt pretty familiar to me. However, I have learned something new about the blogging process which is that blogging is not all about the text. It is also important to make the blog more appealing and interactive through features such as images, links, twitter gadgets, etc. Otherwise, the blog might be a little too static and slightly resemble past Web 1.0 websites. 

Lastly, I would like to write about Kahoot, a Web 2.0 tool that I would like to use when I begin teaching. Kahoot is a website that allows users to create a set of questions and then make them into a game that multiple players can play. As a teacher, I can use Kahoot as a fun way for students to review the information we have learned in class. I have experienced using Kahoot from the student perspective in high school so I know that it is a good way to engage students. Therefore, I would recommend using this Web 2.0 tool to other teachers. The following is a link to the Kahoot website: https://kahoot.com. 

Blog Journal #5

I have been interacting with the education related twitter accounts that I followed and an education twitter chat. I have found it beneficial because I am learning how to use twitter since I have never used this platform before. I have also found it beneficial because I am finding interesting articles and other resources that people in the field of education share. For example, I recently participated in the #Elemmathchat where I found out that it could be beneficial to use stories or books with pictures to help teach math to elementary students. That was something that I would have probably never thought of, but I learned about it on Twitter. Overall, I think Twitter might be helpful in my future career because it can help me find and implement new teaching strategies or even find worksheets that can help me better teach my future students. It can also help me keep up with education news. 

Digital divide is a term used to describe the gap that exists between people that readily have access to technology and those who do not. The digital divide affects student success in schools because it can affect how comfortable students are when they need to use technology for assignments or in the real world. Some of the causes of the digital divide are socioeconomic status and location. As a classroom teacher I think I may experience the digital divide if some of my students do not have technology access or if the school that I work at does not have technology access. If some of my students do not have access to technology at home and the school is equipped with technology, that would not greatly affect my teaching strategies because we can still complete activities that require technology access at school as a class. However, if some of my students do not have access to technology and the school is not equipped with technology, that would affect my teaching because I would not have the opportunity to teach my students how to use technology. 

Two software tools that I would like to implement in my future classroom are Google Slides and Google Chrome. Google slides is a software tool developed by Google that allows users to create a slideshow on their own or even collaboratively. I would like to use this in my future classroom because I can use it to display objectives on the board or create a lesson on a slideshow. I can also use it more directly with my future students by showing them how to use the software and assigning a group project so that they practice using the software collaboratively. The second software tool that I would like to use in my future classroom is Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a web browser created by Google. I would like to use it in my future classroom because it is convenient that I can download extensions such as diigo to help me annotate and bookmark useful information that I find on the internet such as worksheets and teaching tips. I can also use it more directly with my future students by teaching them how to search on internet web browsers responsibly. Some schools also download extensions on Google Chrome in school computers to prevent students from entering distracting or inappropriate websites which can also make Google Chrome a good web browser for young students.

Blog Journal #4

The grade level that I chose from the Standards and Technology Matrices for ELA was third grade. The standard that I selected is LAFS.3.W.2.6. This standard states that students should be able to use technology to create and publish written works with adult guidance. In addition, students should be able to interact with the works of other students. I feel like I am prepared to teach this standard because I am proficient at typing, using word processors, and using blogs so I can give my students tips that can help them master these skills. However, I might need to learn how to use more kid friendly websites that are suitable for my students to introduce them to these skills.

The grade level that I selected on the CPALMS website was third grade because that is the grade I am most interested in teaching. I selected the math subject area. I clicked on the MA.3.FR.1.2 standard. The standard says that students should be able to model and understand fractions including those greater than one through adding. The resources that I found under this standard were many including student tutorials, a virtual manipulative, and assessments. I think I could incorporate the resources in a variety of ways. For example, I can use the student tutorial by assigning it to my students that were absent or that just need extra support to understand the material. I could also use the virtual manipulative by displaying it on the board to show fractions in an interactive format. I could show my students how to use the manipulative and then allow for them to come up to the board and try it themselves. Lastly, I could assign the assessments to see what my students have learned and what I can teach better or should review one more time with my students.

I think it is important to be a proficient internet searcher as a teacher to be able to find resources that you can directly use in your classroom to enhance student learning such as worksheets. I also think that being a proficient internet searcher is important to find resources that help you become an overall better teacher such as academic articles about teacher pedagogy. Out of the Internet searching skills that we learned about this week, I think that I would use the search within the website, search for an exact match, and the advanced image search the most. Lastly, I do not know of any additional Internet searching skills that were not mentioned this week.

Blog Journal #3

    Copyright is when a work has legal protection and exclusive rights for its owner. Fair use is a way of deciding if a copyright protected work is being legally used. There are four factors used to determine fair use which are purpose of use, nature of work, amount used, and effect on market. When I become a teacher, I will deal with those two concepts when developing my own work because I might be referencing copyrighted works to make a derivative or I might be directly incorporating a work into my lesson. In those cases, I need to make sure that I am fairly using any resources. I might also deal with these two concepts when my students are creating their own work because they might also end up in a situation where they are referencing a copyrighted work. In that case, I need to teach my students that for some works you need to ask for permission to use if they do not meet the fair use requirements. 

The two technology implementation issues that I would like to discuss are academic dishonesty and lack of funding. Firstly, now more than ever academic dishonesty is more common because of the amount of fast and accessible information available on the internet. In my future classroom, I would take the following precautions during tests to prevent academic dishonesty in my classroom: students will take paper tests, turn in their phones, and put up paper folders. Secondly, technology can also be expensive so not all schools can afford to incorporate technology due to lack of funding. In my future teaching career, I would talk to the parents and other school staff to help me create fundraisers throughout the school year to raise money for technology. 

From the newsletter assignment, I learned a lot of cool features that help me make a page visually appealing. One of those features is the two column layout tool, word art tool, and the shape tool for creating a permission slip. I think I can improve my newsletters in the future by being more original and creative with the theme. I think that the skills that I learned from this assignment can be used in my future newsletters when I am actually a teacher. In fact, I can make this newsletter into a template to allow me to make newsletters more quickly in the future.

                                  

                                   

Images of my blog. Click on the image for better quality.